What on earth smells like that? You're watching some pirates collecting ducats. A third pirate emerges from the loading area. "The ship's on fire! The ammunition stores are going to explode!" he warns you. As if struck by lightning, he quickly leaps overboard. "But all the ducats!" you exclaim. No, you won't leave them behind so easily. Quickly grab your bag and search for every ducat you can find. But the smell is getting stronger and stronger; the ship could explode at any moment.
In turn, each player draws a card from the deck. There are two different types: Ducat cards (coins) and pirate cards. The ducat cards indicate how many ducats a player can take from the treasure chest at the end of the round. The pirate cards offer special actions. If such a card is drawn, it must be played immediately. Each player draws cards for as long as they like, or until they jump overboard and reach safety.
This way, you can thwart the other pirates' collecting spree and steal the treasure. The cards are divided into ducat cards with values 1 to 5, pirate cards (8 pieces) with different actions, and one BOOM card.
If a player draws a pirate card, its action is performed, and the card is placed on the discard pile. They can then exchange another player's cards for their own; collecting means drawing one card from another player's hand. Alternatively, they can snatch cards and draw three cards from another player's hand.
The "Overboard" card can also be used. The player then receives ducats from the treasure chest equal to the number of ducat cards collected so far in their hand, but the pirate cannot play again until the end of the turn. The "Secure" card allows you to protect your secured loot by choosing one of the ducats from your hand and exchanging it for ducats from the treasure chest. This ducat card is then discarded, and the player has gained the ducats without going ashore.
With the "Davy Jones' Treasure Chest" card, the player who drew this card is protected for the next 5 cards drawn. Once the next 5 cards have been drawn, the card returns to the discard pile. If, for example, the BOOM card is drawn among the next 5 cards, the player currently holding the Davy Jones Treasure Chest card is the only one to receive the ducat cards, which are replaced by ducats from the treasure chest.
With the "BOOM" card, all ducat cards in the players' hands are placed on the discard pile without anyone receiving any ducats from the treasure chest except for the Davy Jones card. The discard pile is then shuffled and prepared as the new movement pile for the next round.
The pirate game ends when all the ducats have been distributed and the treasure chest is empty. When the BUMM (boom) card is drawn, all players who haven't jumped overboard lose their loot. The player with the most ducats wins.
Number of players: 2 to 4
Minimum playing time: 20 minutes
Minimum age: 5 years and up
!The game is in German, but the illustrated rules are provided in German, French, English, and Italian!
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