Caribbean

Six neutral pirate ships, three safe havens each, and rum as the only currency that gets them to carry crates to you.

Designers: Jens-Peter Schliemann, Michail Antonow
Published by: Competo / Marektoy
Editions by: Rio Grande Games, Winning Moves Germany, Kanga Games, Nilco S.A., Winning Moves France, Identity Games International B.V.

Six pirate ships roam the 18th-century Caribbean, and none of them belongs to you. That is the catch of Caribbean (2004): the pirates work for whoever pays them best, and the currency is rum. Each player owns three safe havens on the board, and your goal is to get the pirates to deliver treasure crates to your havens, not to your opponents' ones. So you bribe, bluff and time your moves so that the ship ends up where you want it. The board is split into spaces and the ships move step by step. For two to four players and about half an hour, with a lot of looking at what everyone else is planning.

Six neutral pirate shipsBribe pirates with rumDeliver crates to your own havens

Who it's for

You like pirate theme, simultaneous plans and bluffing, with four players around a short game.

Not for you if…

You want full control of your own pieces. Here the ships belong to nobody, and plans often get hijacked.

Vibe's take

Scheming and a bit chaotic. You plan your actions ahead, then watch the ships do something slightly different because rivals bribed them too, which keeps everyone leaning over the board.