High Seas

A random ocean to explore, treasures to find, shifting allegiances. Every team starts as a Pirate Ship or Royal Navy … but it doesn’t need to stay that way. Steal the most gold to win the game.

Like all our Classroom Games, it’s played over multiple rounds in which everyone acts at the same time. Nobody is waiting on their turn. Nobody is forced to sit still. You don’t have to play the game all in one go—you can just play one 10-minute round a week, for example, as part of history lessons about the Golden Age of Piracy.

This game, though, was specifically designed to be playable outside of educational settings. It’s a great activity to fill a birthday party or any get together with a larger group of people. (Especially one that’s pirate-themed!) Its rules are slightly more involved than other games, but in return you get a proper, tense, exciting simulation of exploring unknown seas, deducing where a treasure must be, and sea battles.

The game supports 6 boats (at most). Each boat is a group of 5 players (at most), because that’s the number of unique roles to play. Each has their own responsibility, so everybody is always involved. The Helmsman, for example, is the only one allowed to decide where the ship goes.

This game uses “simultaneous action selection”.

• Discuss what you want to do during the round. (Perhaps even talk to other teams.)
• Mark down your final choices on the Action Sheet. (Depends on the role: cross off an option, write a number, draw an arrow, etc.)
• Hand it to the Game Master at any point.
• When the round is done, the Game Master looks at everyone’s Action Sheets and executes them at the same time.

This is a great system that allows you to take complex actions completely in secret. It means only the Game Master has to know most of the rules. It means any conflicts, like two pirate ships grabbing the same treasure at the same time, are resolved neatly at the end of a round.

It’s also great because it allows a lot of freedom. You can stretch your legs, grab some more food, go have a chat with someone, as long as you simply make a decision at some point in the round.

As opposed to more typical pirate games, this one has a much larger scale and simulates it much better (which is what makes it educational). Most players actually start out as Royal Navy, earning money by transporting goods across the ocean for the British Empire. But they can “turn” to become a pirate if they think it’s the right time—which is actually how most pirates came to be. The different roles on the ship give a much better idea about the hardships and decisions to be made than just saying “you can shoot and move at any time”.

Have fun!