| 👨👩👧👦 | Players: 1-6 |
| ⏳ | Time: 45-60 mins |
| 🎂 | Ages: 14+ |
| ⚙️ | Mechanisms: Hand management, Action Selection |
We’ve been having a blast playing Libertalia – Winds of Galecrest. In this game you are the captain of a flying pirate ship, part of a fleet that lands on a different island each day in search of treasure.
It’s played over three rounds, each broken into a number of turns. Each round, six numbered crewmember cards are randomly selected, and to play you just pick one and place it face down in front of you.
Each card has a unique ability which can help you or hinder other players. All players get exactly the same crewmembers each round, so getting your pick of the day’s treasure pile comes down to playing the right card at the right moment.
Once everyone has chosen their card they are revealed and placed onto the board, lowest to highest. You then resolve the abilities in order, divide up the loot and move to the next round. Whoever has the most treasure at the end of the game is the winner.
There is a bit of take-that, which is to be expected in a game like this, but we didn’t find it overwhelming and a lot of the time it made more sense to gain coins rather than punish the other player. We can’t say that we played nice all of the time though, especially if the other player did something that would have guaranteed them the win if they weren’t stopped!
We loved how clever you can be with the order you play cards in. For a game where everyone has the same actions to choose from, especially in the first round, you can still end up with very different strategies. Unplayed cards carry over so by the last round you can have wildly different crews facing off, which only adds to the enjoyment.
There’s a simple variant that you use when playing at two to simulate a third player, but it’s very straightforward and doesn’t need much in the way of upkeep. It adds a little bit of variability into the mix without overcomplicating things, and we felt it did a great job.
We can highly recommend this game if you’re looking for a fun two player experience, and we can’t wait to get it to the table with a larger group as the added chaos is sure to be even more fun. We’ll be sure to report back when we do!
You can see the original post on Instagram here and if you are interested you can find out more about the game on the Stonemaier Games website!
The copy of Libertalia Winds of Galecrest used for this review was provided to A Tale of Two Meeples by LPG Distribution
The Boardgame Detective 