One can more or less guess what Blood & Plunder is about based on the name. But, if you need clarification, it's a high-stakes game of adventure — primarily pirating — set in the Golden Age of Piracy where sea rovers were free to sail, kill (that's the blood part), and capture (that's the plunder bit) at will. The game is loaded with opportunities for cinematic action in a historically accurate setting, complimented by combat-posed miniatures and towering ships laden with cutthroat crews. In short, it's a tabletop endeavor to throw players into the swashbuckling action of 17th Century Caribbean conquest.

Steer your crew of bloodthirsty pirates to riches or your pirate-hunting privateers to their prey. Band together with the native islanders to fight off the French boucaniers treading your shoreline! You can throw your armies into the battles that made Captain Henry Morgan a legend or immerse yourself in the seafaring shenanigans of the day. All you need is a handy set of supplies to get started.

Supplies: You'll need the rules because the hardbound book is beautiful and you'll have a hard time playing Blood & Plunder without them. You might also want some Blood & Plunder miniatures because they're painstakingly sculpted for historical accuracy and aesthetic — and imperative to game-play. Playing cards are essential, whether it's a deck from Firelock Games or a regular ol' set of 52. Don't worry, everything you need to know about using them is in the rulebook. A set of D10 will come in handy because, let's face it, a tabletop skirmish needs a few dice rolls to keep things exciting, let your opponent blame their bad plays on rough rolls, and add that factor of luck coveted by sailors and gamers alike. But, you don't want too many dice rolls because, well, that's boring. You know what I'm talking about. And, of course, you'll need a measuring tape to avoid your opponent thinking you're a cheating scurvy dog and pulling his handy blunderbuss on you for passing that shoot attack right on the nose. It could happen.

Unlike some tabletop campaigns, which can start at dawn and end at dusk, you can squeeze a quick game of Blood & Plunder into about an hour (but they can, of course, go for a larger and longer game). With about 100-points of miniatures, you’re set for a small skirmish. And actual game-play is pretty straightforward.

Game Play: As is routine, we start with initiative. You’ll generally have two players in a game, but can certainly scale up if you’re feeling rowdy. Each player should have a deck of activation cards. At the beginning of a round, players draw one card for each of their units on the table. If I’m going to slaughter some English with my Spaniards, and I have three groups of models on the table, then I’ll pick up three cards. Likewise, if one of my units dies later and I’m left with two, I’d only draw two cards. Make sure your opponent can’t see your cards — they’re a secret! Unless, of course, you like to share your strategy so you can be decimated later.

To add a good deal of tactical depth, players get to attempt to choose their starting order. Opponents lay a card of their choosing from their hand facedown. Flip simultaneously. Your card’s suit will tell you who gets to go first. (aren’t you glad it’s not another dice roll?!) You control your own initiative! The general rule of thumb is Spades, Hearts, Diamonds, then Clubs. Firelock cards have a nifty reminder on the suit symbol, but that info is accessible in your handy rulebook. The faster card means you get to take less actions. A slightly slower card may give you the advantage of having more actions – and this may be for life or death. This is probably where you’ll feel the most pressure in the game because timing is everything!

But, you may wonder, what happens if both players have the same suit? There are, after all, only four. Choose the highest number between the two of you! And, if both players managed to place the exact same card on the table, then you brought this upon yourselves: roll the dice. Highest number wins!

Use the card you threw down and assign it to a unit. The card is pretty much going to tell you what to do. Your options are written out on Firelock cards, but are also in the rulebook. The folks over at Firelock Games will never leave you guessing. You’ll have to activate each unit – so you can’t just use all three of your cards to send your Milicianos Indios headlong into the enemy and stab them to death. Much like actual combat, everyone will have to be moving around and (ideally) killing things. In general, most things you need to know about what you’re allowed (or not) to do is displayed on the card, so there shouldn’t be any pesky hand-stabbings over cheating accusations.

Your units will shoot, advance, or take other actions in battle until they’re killed. You’ll roll the dice a few times for shoot tests – but, what’s interesting here is fatigue. Battle makes you tired. When you push your units, they end up feeling fatigued from overexertion. Fatigue is important because, if you have too many fatigue points, all you can do is rally, which is a dice roll to lead your men back into the fight. As you might’ve guessed, there are no cowards here! There is, however, a unanimous sense of self-preservation. Some men realize that the key to living isn’t hitting harder, aiming faster, or shooting better — it’s leaving. Failing a rally check when you’ve exceeded your fatigue will ensure that those clever gents don’t attempt to re-immerse themselves in the melee.

That’s the gist of it all, anyway. Actual game-play is significantly more nuanced, but never boring. Blood & Plunder is designed to be a fast-paced fight with a few glimmers of realism instead of a long and arduous debacle of cup-shaking, dice-rolling, and cube-counting.

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Meagan likes coffee, history, sci-fi, hobby crafts, and fun games. She especially loves any combination thereof, even more if it’s all five simultaneously.