This new version is a reimplementation of Paolo Mori’s Libertalia which originally was released back in 2012. I had heard a lot of good things about the original version but never got a chance to play it, so I was excited when this new version was announced. 999 Games was kind enough to send us a Dutch version copy of the game to try out.
1-6 players, ages 10+
Playing time: 45-60 minutes
Designer: Paolo Mori
Artwork: Lamaro Smith
Publisher: 999 Games (Dutch Version, originally published in English by Stonemaier Games)
In Libertalia: Winds of Galecrest, players take the role of sky pirates who send their crews to different islands to collect loot.
The game is played over 3 rounds, representing voyages of 4 to 6 days. Each player receives the same 6 character cards at the beginning of each journey, and each day they secretly choose one to send to the island. These cards are placed in ascending order, with tied ranks broken by the reputation track.
Beginning with the lowest numbered card, the daytime abilities are executed, after which players may take, in reverse order, any of the loot tokens available for that day. Finally, all night abilities on the cards in your ship are activated.
At the end of the voyage, the anchor abilities on the cards and the loot tokens are activated, after which your score dial is increased by the number of doubloons you collected this voyage. After 3 voyages, players reveal their score dials to determine who is the richest pirate.
🔹Libertalia: Winds of Galecrest is a game that relies mostly on player interaction, and therefore in my opinion really comes into its own with 4 or more players.
🔹The game is very accessible and can be played with anyone, and despite the fact that there is a dose of ‘take that’ in there which some players may not like, it plays fast enough to convince even those players.
🔹I really like the diversity of the 40 different characters, which allows you to manage your hand very differently depending on what cards are available and ensure each game is different.
🔹This in combination with the excellent game quality and beautiful artwork, makes me have nothing but praise for this game.
Tabletopping 