| Reviewer | Reviewed On | Publisher | Designer | Published In | Rating |
| July 25, 2008 | GMT Games | Richard Berg | 2008 | 5 |
| Buy It Now | More Info |
After playing it, I am convinced that Blackbeard is "much ado about nothing." There are a lot of rules in the game, and it has a fairly complex feel, but the actual game play can be boiled down to a very simple, easy-going game, one that is much too light for this amount of rules. Pirates are extremely powerful, pirate hunters are weak, and a few choices are obvious to the point where I'm not sure why they were included. The game is involving and likely is more historical than other pirate games. I just don't think the amount of fun I get from it justifies the three hour playing time.
A few comments on the game:
1.) History: There is a section in the rulebook that gives the biographies of the pirates involved in the game, and I found it completely fascinating to read. I really do appreciate how much effort Berg put into the game, and how he attempted to keep it more historical than the typical romantic pirate game. At the same time, however, I'm not sure this is a good thing from a "game" perspective. If I was attempting to play a straight historical simulation (which I rarely ever want), then this would make more sense. However, the actual lives of pirates were gross, disgusting, vulgar, and horrific - and I can't imagine wanting to simulate that - I prefer the movie versions, thank you. Secondly, the historical accuracy seems to demand a certain number of rules that I think tend to bog the game down, rather than make it more enjoyable. Thirdly, the game, despite the historical trappings, still plays like a romanticized "my pirate is the most awesome ever" game regardless - so what was the point?
2.) Rules: The rulebook is twenty-eight pages long; and even with the four page reference sheet, it can be very daunting. Even with a full knowledge of the rules, it takes me about twenty to thirty minutes to explain the game, and that's skipping the exceptions and all the possibilities. We found ourselves referring to the rulebook multiple times during the game; and while some parts were very clear, other sections simply were not very well defined - particularly the control of the King's Commissioners. Some folks will revel in the vast amount of rules, with others thinking that I'm griping about a rulebook which is shorter than one they normally deal with. My contention is that this game, in essence, is a simple "take that" pirate game, determined by some lucky die rolls and card play. To have twenty pages of rules tacked onto that seems extreme and will keep many folks from playing the game who otherwise would have enjoyed it.
3.) Pirates: As I said, I enjoyed the historical flavor of the pirates in the game, and I think the game does a superb job of representing the pirates in six statistics. It took heavy perusing of the rules and playing the game to determine that these six stats are NOT created equal, having a high ability is more important than anything else; but it was fun nevertheless. I enjoyed how a player could play multiple pirates and replace a pirate if it was retired/killed.
4.) Players: I think it's insanity to play with five players (and optional rules allow more than that!) due to ridiculous downtime, and the game seems to work best with two or three players. Even though the game has a clever "anti-pirate" mechanic built in, during which players can attempt to play cards on opponent's turns to stop them from ruling the seas, player turns can still take a long time to finish, and this can draw out the total game length. Besides, in a smaller game, players have more pirates to control. Putting all of your game hopes and dreams into one or two pirates adds a bit too much luck to the game - a terrible pirate is not something I want to spend three hours controlling. There is also a solitaire variant included, which is okay; but for the amount of bookkeeping effort that Blackbeard involves, I'd rather play a computer game.
5.) Components: The board looks fantastic; and while it is a thin cardboard foldout, it makes great use of the space for a very playable map of the Caribbean Sea and Indian Ocean. The tokens are also fairly useful, although there are a ton of them - with the exception of the number tokens. The game requires the use of these to determine a pirate's treasure and notoriety, but there simply aren't enough of them for a full load of pirates. We found ourselves constantly running out of "0" markers. Other than that, everything is fine - especially the absolutely terrific cards - and the artwork is stunning! The game takes a good deal of time to set up, although with practice you can likely have it done in twenty minutes.
6.) Things I liked: There were many things in the game I found enjoyable:
- The anti-pirate turn is a welcome way to give players an opportunity to get involved during other player's turns. The idea of controlling the "good guys" in an effort to stop other players is enjoyable and works well.
- The randomization of ports worked extremely well, and I enjoyed how merchant ships randomly showed up over the map. Hunting for a ship and finding out it was a prize catch was also quite enjoyable.
- The IDEA of crew morale is very interesting, and I liked the few cards that referenced it.
- The pirate ratings are interesting, and it was fun to role-play the different styles that they used (reading about them in the rules is a MUST).
- Movement and card play is very well done, and the charts help keep things moving quickly.
- Attacking a city (such as New York) is extremely hard, and I was glad that it wasn't something taken for granted. The rewards are great, though; so the temptation is always there.
- Controlling multiple pirates is enjoyable, especially when one of them is faring poorly - at least you can take comfort in your other captains.
7.) Things I didn't enjoy: However, there were several things I did not like about the game:
- What is the point of warships? They, along with the King's Commissioners, are very underpowered, and pirates can take them out unless they are extremely unlucky. As a pirate, this is a good thing, but it's very irritating that the force I sent to take out another player's pirate simply gives them more points. The game doesn't really encourage the use of attacking of other ships, since you just are helping them more than hurting them. Note: There are some revisions (as of June 2008) that attempt to increase the power of both ships, but they are not included in the game, and don't seem to do enough - although I have only read them, not played them.
- Why would a player ever keep a hostage? Torturing them (as bad as this sounds) is much more profitable and will produce more points for the player in the long run. I don't understand why hostage-taking is included in the game, other than role-playing.
- Cards have a vast difference in power. Some can completely mess up another player; others cause such a little effect that I don't know why they were included.
- Morale sounds like a good idea, but even with all the other players actively striving to cause it to go down, it would take a stupid player to ever have their morale get very low. Mutinies can still happen (blind luck mostly), but morale for the most part just is a pretty addition to the game, without any real substance.
- Much of the game revolves around the capturing of merchant ships. While there are some variables to consider (some are in better seas, others are near ports a player may have an eye on), it often comes down to outrageous luck. One player may capture a ship overflowing with treasure and a valuable hostage, while another may hunt for a while for a ship - only to find a lean, pathetic vessel. Now I'm all for luck involved in games, but the luck here swings rather wildly; and in a three hour game, it just doesn't even out.
8.) Luck: Again, I'm all for games that utilize luck - it keeps them interesting. But when a three hour game comes down to a few major lucky breaks (or unlucky events), then I start to lose interest. Blackbeard has all the trimmings of a major game; and the theme is there, from scurvy, to mutinies, to pirates taking some good old R & R (or the pirate equivalent therein). But all that is ruined when you lose a notorious pirate that you've just spent an hour working on, or when you watch Capt'n McLucky cash in on huge ship after huge ship. The game supposedly evens out, with all the other players ganging up on the leader, but a player can still have the luck of the Irish and escape with their lives.
9.) Charts: Blackbeard is an old AH game and designed by Richard Berg, so I guess the vast amount of charts are to be expected. I'm very glad they are included in a separate card, and even though they look fairly daunting, many of them become rather intuitive, as the game goes by. Still, once again I must protest all these modifiers, which often prove meaningless over the course of the game. I want them if they are useful; but for the most part a good die roll rules, while a bad die roll causes anguish.
You may be wondering if I'm the target audience for Blackbeard at this point, given my overall unhappiness with the product. I really think that I am, because I want a good pirate simulation, a more meaningful experience than the silly pirate games I normally play and enjoy. And there was so much of Blackbeard that I did enjoy -the theme, the pirates, the map, the hunting for treasure, and the bribing of governors. However, when viewed from a distance, Blackbeard is simply another frivolous pirate game with serious trappings; and I don't think the thematic experience is matched by the game play. It certainly looks a lot better than the previous edition, but I still think the luck and "pretend" complexity are flaws that will keep me from playing.
Tom Vasel
"Real men play board games"
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