Legacy at Sea

Full review: https://lanceschaubert.org/2024/08/04/legacy-at-sea-board-game-review-gen-con-2024/

Played this at GenCon during their kickstarter. Excellent mobility, excellent team with a sense of humor. Combat's clean and the economics makes the victory point mechanics rather diverse for the folks you're competing against. I played as Stede Bonnet because I've written a fictional version of that historical pirate into my work a long, long time ago. Loved the chance to play this at what was (functionally) an otherwise writing, film, business, and puppet focused conference for me.

The year is 1716. The Caribbean has become a region rich in goods and trade. Ships from Europe have descended to this new world to find riches. A new “Golden Age” is underway…. It is the Golden Age of Piracy!

I have had the wonderful opportunity to play LEGACY AT SEA by DPH Games, a thoroughly enjoyable, thematically rich, and ultimately engaging game about piracy during the beginning years of the 18th century. Pirate themed games have always been of interest to me. And there are a bunch out there. From the realistic to the ridiculous. In a sea of pirate games ( pun intended ) LEGACY AT SEA stands out in may ways. All of which make it easy to set up and play as well as make it enjoyable to play.

LEGACY AT SEA is played in a series of player rounds which see pirates living through the years 1716-1718. A Story Deck representing the progression of years acts as a game timer in addition to providing events that players have to deal with. Central to the game is a colorful map representing the Caribbean divided up into sea spaces and ports. Players can choose from a selection of historical pirates each with its own starting traits of ferocity, seamanship, leadership and tactics. An individual player board helps to keep track of these stats and the benefits each can give you. In addition to a player board, there is a selection of pirate ships that each pirate sets sail on. A board representing your ship shows you the number of spaces available for goods, crew and cannon as well as the strength of the sails equating to the ship's maneuverability. Small changes in each ship offers decisions on which ship you want to try playing given your pirates particular skills.

Your pirate ship starts in its home port located on the central map. On your turn you can choose to set sail or do various port actions if at a port. If you sail into the ocean you are faced with a choice of 3 visible merchant ships you can try to plunder for their goods. But first you must take an ocean card which can be anything from a rogue wave, a storm, or a warship, or other challenges. Surviving events and plundering ships involves rolling dice and comparing your cannon, crew or maneuverability depending on the challenge. When plundering, you will also be rolling a damage die. Fail and you will take damage eventually necessitating a trip back to port. At port you can sell goods, repair your ship, buy cannons and crew, or upgrade your hull and sails. You can also pick up Prospect cards at certain ports (4 are always available) that give you a quest to accomplish in order to gain benefits.

Eventually at some point in the year 1718, the game will end and the pirate with the most points will have the greatest legacy. This is a very brief overview but gives you a flavor of the game.

WHAT I LIKE:

COMPONENTS: The components of this game are simple, effective and functional. Your pirate ship is realized in 2 ways: 1) a birds eye view board with spaces to put your cannons, crew and goods and 2) a plastic miniature which sails around the main board. The central board is bright and detailed as a map of the Caribbean. The combination of miniatures to represent crew and cannon as well as tokens to represent goods works very well. I love the pirate flag dice that are rolled for events and plundering. The artwork on the cards evokes the pirate theme and helps tremendously with immersion into this world.

SANDBOX: This truly is a sandbox game where you are free to explore what you wish, plunder what you want, and develop your legacy how you see fit. The prospect cards give you routes you can travel to rewards. You have a choice of merchant ships to attempt to plunder each turn. Port actions allow you to build your ship anyway you may want. There is little player interaction (I mean you "can" attack other players if you want but it can be risky!) and that is fine because you are often busy exploring this world as much as you can.

PROGRESSION: I like the fact that the game story occurs over 3 years. It is very thematic because as the years go by, it becomes more difficult to keep your ship afloat. Merchant ships become better equipped to fight pirates and warships appear more frequently in the ocean deck. More thematic things happen at ports from the story cards. This all adds greatly to the theme of the game.

HISTORICAL: While I wouldn't call this a strictly historical game, it is heavily based in historical content from that time and place in history. There are real pirate captains you can choose from and I love how the designers included a little bit of backstory on each pirate. Merchant ships represent countries that were influential then. Story cards represent realistic events. One thing that I loved was the fact that merchant ships that you plunder can increase your animosity at ports controlled by that country. You may no longer be able to trade at those ports for instance unless you bribe them. Very "piratey" :). Like another fantastic title by DPH games, "Affliction: Salem 1692", this game makes me want to dig into the historical setting that it is placed in so that I can learn more.

STREAMLINED: LEGACY AT SEA is a very streamlined game. The rules are easy to follow and what you are doing in the game not only makes intuitive sense but also thematic sense. I love the unique way that damage is assigned to your ship. When taking damage, you roll an 8 sided die and compare your roll to a table at the bottom of the ocean board to determine where your ship takes damage. This is a game that you can pick up and play without fumbling through a myriad of complex rules. And that is a great thing! You can spend your time in this world being a pirate and not referencing a rule book repeatedly,

VARIABLILITY: There are many ways to to add variability to this game. Random Prospect cards each game as well as the variable story cards set up a different game each play, Players can choose different pirates with unique starting skills and a ship with different layout. Merchant ships and the Encounter deck are also randomly assembled at the start of the game. You can also vary the length of the game by changing to amount of story cards that yo add to the game All of these things combined together make for a unique experience every time you play.

LEGACY AT SEA is the pirate game that I have been waiting for. Streamlined rules. Historically realistic. Exciting gameplay. If you love pirate games that are easy to learn and allow you to explore an 18th century Caribbean world as a pirate, this is a game that you will certainly enjoy!