Captains’ War

Ahoy, Mateys! Are you ready to sail the seven seas?
In this roll & write game for 1-6 players you take on the role of the captain of a pirate ship, gathering resources to buy new attributes and ships, and recruiting pirates to prepare for the ultimate naval battle!

1-6 players, age 12+
Playing time: 30-45 minutes
Designer: Alexandre Aguilar
Artwork: Olivier Derouetteau

Publisher: Bragelonne Games
https://www.bragelonne.games/

Every game turn, the active player rolls the loot dice and sets one aside that will only be available to them. Each player selects 2 results and marks them on their sheet: this way you’ll acquire resources, gold or crew, and advance on the attribute and boat tracks.
Next players can spend gold to buy resources or recruit pirates, and use resources for attributes or boats allowing you to move further on the corresponding tracks.
Finally, the active player may choose to attack an opponent and board his ship. Both players secretly select the pirates they want to deploy, with the winner either stealing 5 gold or moving 2 steps on the track of their choice.
It’s a matter of not being too generous with your crew because at the end of the game there’s an ultimate battle between all players where the winner can still score a considerable number of points!

The game ends when a player has reached the end of both tracks, circled their last gold coin or has participated in 5 boardings.

Captains’ War is an accessible roll & write with clear rules and great art, making the mechanics really fit the theme in this game! What’s different from other roll & writes is that there’s more interaction than we’re used to in this type of game, with the players able to board each other’s ships and the battle that follows that is filled with bluffing and deceiving.
This is an excellent family game that really shines at the higher player counts, and thanks to some hidden content in envelopes and a secret adventure deck, it always screams to play a few games back to back. We certainly enjoyed our plays a lot and hope that many others can get acquainted with this game, we can strongly recommend it!