Stonemaier Games Libertalia: Winds of Galecrest

Now, for a board game geek like me, I love the intricate in-depth rules that some introduce and even go so far as to add additional rules myself in an attempt to better represent how the game should play, in my humble opinion of course! But, I do realise Im a funny sort and that others would rather just have a light evening of entertainment without feeling the need to worry about the intracacies of multiple rules. Fine!

Winds of Galecrest accomplishes this well but also has a great undercurrent of bluffing and memory work due to the interactions of the various cards you will have in your hand. You are each the Captain of a pirate skyship and have a crew. You all start with the same crew members (and associated rules) but you only play one card per day of your voyage and this is where the bluffing and second-guessing starts! Each card will activate at 1 or more parts of the day (day, dusk and night) and they get activated as the day goes by so choosing what crew member to use in a day can be quite crucial as some of the abilities interact and countermand with others and can either cause you major problems or bring a boon, all dependent on what your opponents have done of course. At the end of each day there is a booty counter to collect and the pirate with the most booty at the end of your voyages is the winner.

What I really like about this game is the fact that all the tactical rules are on the cards themselves meaning no confused looking up of rules to break the flow of the game. It’s fairly easy to pick up and has a great depth of play with plenty of re-playability due to the fact that it’s reliant on the players themselves in a battle of wills and that will always be changing in every game you play. I won’t be needing to add rules to this! RRP £54.99

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