Game: Piece Packing Pirates

Thread: Re: High Scores

Chris Dorrell — 2007-06-12T14:54:16+00:00

Yes, my accidental variant did mean I had to push on into uncharted territory to keep finding ships. What helped was that my sea layout was basically two connected loops so I could get back to my buried treasure without retracing my steps.

The variable layout is one of many factors that makes PPP interesting. I think it's a well thought out design and makes for an enjoyable solitaire game. Well done.

Regards
Chris

Thread: Re: High Scores

CDRodeffer — 2007-06-12T13:09:46+00:00

Chris Dorrell wrote:
I discovered the mistake I was making in my first game! I was only triggering a new ship when discovering (turning over) a new tile.

Yet you got a notoriety of nine, which means you won at least nine more battles than you lost. This is a really good record, especially since once you get that much notoriety, you'd better have a strong ship and a good crew, because your notoriety counts for the other guys (like their crew).

Anyway, the purpose for the existing mechanic (drawing ships on unoccupied tiles rather than only previously undiscovered tiles) is that it gets more ships in the game. If you had to keep discovering new parts of the sea to find target ships, then you would soon have to sail further and further to find targets. This would lead to long treks back to your buried chest, and both of those would eat up your turns quickly without much action. I also wanted to keep the game under an hour in length, but to fill that time with as much action as possible, even if a relatively small part of the sea was ever sailed.

I hope you enjoy PPP.

Clark

Thread: Re: High Scores

Chris Dorrell — 2007-06-11T22:41:24+00:00

Clark,

Thanks for checking my scoring. Yes I latched on to the need to bury booty but also to have a load on board as well. I buried the booty in a right angle formed by two tiles so that I could gain access to the spot from two sea spaces.

I discovered the mistake I was making in my first game! I was only triggering a new ship when discovering (turning over) a new tile.

What I should have been doing is checking for a ship every time I entered an unoccupied tile! It wouldn't have made a massive difference I don't think, as I didn't back track except to store the second batch of booty. The location I chose (see above) meant that I only entered one face up unoccupied tile and that was an Ace so low probability of a ship appearing. Nevertheless I did "cheat" so I'll see what my score is when I play properly.

Regards
Chris

Thread: Re: Getting One's Pirate Pieces Packed

CDRodeffer — 2007-06-11T21:42:27+00:00

Great session report, especially considering the harsh conditions you faced in the game. A pirate's life was harsh, and often short. I sometimes suggest first time players to take 12 booty for starting instead of rolling. The extra crew and a bit of booty to pay them in an early loss usually makes for a somewhat gentler start.

Clark

Thread: Re: Piecepacking Pirates

CDRodeffer — 2007-06-11T21:37:16+00:00

I'm glad you enjoyed the game!

Clark

Thread: Re: High Scores

CDRodeffer — 2007-06-11T21:22:32+00:00

Chris Dorrell wrote:
Well if the designer doesn't score that high I must be doing something wrong surely?

I'll have to read the rules again and try again.

My first game score was computed as:-

Ship:4 times Crew:8 = 32
Plus
Buried Booty:80 times Ship Booty:48 times Notoriety:9 = 34,560
Plus
Turns:20 gives a total of 34,612

is that computed correctly?

ChrisThis looks correct! The biggest contributors are booty and notoriety (as they should be), and you did an outstanding job.

The reason most people (myself included) score relatively low is for failing to bury a bit for the future, and then keep adding to the cache. You obviously found out how important it is to do so. Good job!

Clark

Thread: Re: High Scores

Chris Dorrell — 2007-06-06T21:46:14+00:00

Well if the designer doesn't score that high I must be doing something wrong surely?

I'll have to read the rules again and try again.

My first game score was computed as:-

Ship:4 times Crew:8 = 32
Plus
Buried Booty:80 times Ship Booty:48 times Notoriety:9 = 34,560
Plus
Turns:20 gives a total of 34,612

is that computed correctly?

Chris

Thread: Re: High Scores

CDRodeffer — 2007-06-06T14:43:43+00:00

Scores do vary widely, but I've never scored that high. Most games I have rather low scores, in the low triple digits (that is, if I survive the opening).

Clark

Thread: High Scores

Chris Dorrell — 2007-06-06T00:23:48+00:00

Hi,

Has anyone played this enough to get a feel for what constitutes a good score?

I just played once and scored over 30,000!! which seems incredibly high but given the levels of booty on the player mat and the final score formula it's probably pretty poor.

Chris

Thread: Piecepacking Pirates

ShaunGamer — 2007-04-17T03:33:50+00:00

I needed a lot of coaxing to get into this game. (comments and reviews mainly)
It didn't impress me originally, but now I tend to play it whenever I have a small amount of time for a Solo game.

Components
Naturally, this depends on the PiecePack you purchased, but I thought I would mention that the monochrome sets like the JCD set, really suit this game. Color isn't as important and the games look good set up.
You also need to have the 'scorecard' which tracks gold, # of turns and various other items. I would recommend taking the time to make this resilient by laminating it, or at least printing on thick card.
The Reference sheet could do with the same treatment, if you have the time/money.

Gameplay
It takes a little time to set up the game, placing the tiles to form the sea, setting up the scorecard and sorting the coins, dice and pawns but you get faster over time. There is a bit of strategy in placing the tiles that form the sea. You want to have plenty of room to move, but also plenty of islands to hide behind if necessary.

You start with a small boat and only a few crew. If you are unlucky enough to start with the smallest boat and crew, do not despair. I started my third highest scoring game from just such a position. (I have also lost a few games within 3 turns from the same position!)

You then move the boat and reveal a sea (turn over the tile). You get to place the tile any way you want. The tiles orientation determines the wind direction (diagonally) and can be a needed bonus if you encounter some of the larger ships in the next phase.

You roll a die and if it is equal or less than the value on the tile you will spot a ship.

If you and an enemy ship move into the same square then combat will occur. This is resolved using your ship size, crew and a die roll versus the enemy ships size, your notoriety and a die roll.

If you win you gain booty and notoriety. If you lose you lose booty and a crew. If you don't have enough crew to keep your boat afloat then you must downgrade to a smaller vessel.

During the game you have the option to bury some of your booty, and you can also retrieve it if you really need it. It is important that you have some buried booty when the game ends (all pirates need something to spend in retirement).

If you have no buried booty, none of the booty you have aboard ship will count toward your score. If you only have a sloop, your ship and crew won’t count, either.

However the one rule that seems to make this game work is that your ship (if well managed and strategically placed) is faster than all the other ships on the Sea. So smaller ships can be chased down, while larger ships can be escaped from. This adds strategy and makes the game enjoyable.

Conclusion
I rated this game an 8 because whenever I have a small bit of spare time, I find myself playing this. The options and strategy will have you playing this non stop when you first learn the rules. There are so many things to try. The game rewards a good all-round pirate. Someone who knows when to run and when to fight, and when to bury their booty!!

Thread: Getting One's Pirate Pieces Packed

zefquaavius — 2007-01-31T17:30:34+00:00

It was a dark night in January when we set sail in our meager sloop, dreaming of treasure and the glory of conquest on the Triple-P Sea. Almost immediately, we found ourselves in a trade route, and I cursed my naive confidence of starting a voyage without foreknowledge of the shipping lanes, as a frigate rounded the promontory and bore down on us. With only a moment to weigh our situation, I considered the eagerness and capability of my fresh crew, compared to the frigate, and bravely we lay in wait for the frigate.

As we dumped the slain bodies of a third of the crew overboard to lighten our load, we picked up a charitable wind, and fled from the frigate, into unfamiliar waters. Though the frigate pursued our brave sloop and its foolish captain, fortune was as forceful as the wind, for the frigate and its cackling blue flag started to fade behind us.

Just as our panicked thoughts of escape started to sour once more for the sound beating we'd brought on ourselves, our lookout spotted feeble-looking sloop in the mist ahead of us. Confident that we had outrun the frigate, and ravenous for victory, we engaged the sister vessel. The speed with which we defeated it bolstered our self-esteem. As we entered the hold, embracing low expectations and my concern that there would even be enough booty to split among the crew, we were astonished to find... nothing. Not one coin. Not a muffin. Not a rat - not even the remains of a rat. We searched the captain's quarters. We searched everything. We checked the corpses of the sloop's late crew. Not even a cracker to be found. These pitiful wretches probably welcomed our bloodthirsty approach, merely a day from starvation at sea.

I was wrenched from my deep dismay by frantic shouts from the crow's nest of my own sloop. Our merciful murder had allowed an unseen brig the opportunity to approach us from the south. Its red-eyed cyclops of a flag glared at us as the crosswind did nothing to keep it from us. As we scrambled back to our vessel, I sized up the brig, and vomited commands to bring us about to a less vulnerable orientation and get the crew ready for the boarding I was inviting. We certainly had no hope against its cannons, but it looked like our crew should be an even match for theirs.

My crew was simply too weary from the engagements of our journey into obscurity. The brig's crewmen were fierce. Their fierceness was only topped by their perverse cruelty. They spanked me - they actually spanked me - in front of the half of my crew they let survive. Once they discovered that we had not a single coin for them to take as their "just reward", their blood started to boil anew.

I did the only thing a pirate could do: I jumped ship.

I swam, apparently unnoticed through the escalating violence above, to the abused and drifting sloop, and managed to catch the prevailing wind before the lecherous crew of the brig had few enough armed distractions to notice me. My - now their - blood-soaked sloop whimpering between us granted them sufficient obstacle that even manning the ghost ship alone, I was able to escape with the scab of dignity I still had left.

Crushed were the dreams of investing in a larger ship and greater crew, and ruling the Triple-P Sea with pride. I tried, though, and that's worth about 4 points. Now, I'm scheming to acquire another humble vessel and a more battle-ready crew, and attempt to flex my will in new waters.

Image

maka — 2006-11-09T14:29:43+00:00

Initial setup. The main board with only the initial area explored.

Image

maka — 2006-11-09T14:22:37+00:00

A few turns into the game, with the wind on our back, we manage to outrun a big galleon that was about fire on us.

Image

maka — 2006-11-09T14:20:54+00:00

Initial setup. The play mat after making the initial purchases.

Image

maka — 2006-11-09T14:18:42+00:00

Initial setup. Away we go after buying a ketch and 3 crew units

Thread: Re: Where are the files?

GVogel — 2006-07-11T01:59:29+00:00

Sweet! Thanks much!

Thread: Re: Where are the files?

mlvanbie — 2006-07-10T10:23:24+00:00

http://www.piecepack.org/rules/PiecePackingPirates.pdf

Rules for most piecepack games can be found on that site.

Thread: Re: Where are the files?

GVogel — 2006-07-09T18:54:21+00:00

Post them here! Also, you could add them to the links area, but that'd take more time than posting them here.

Thanks for the info, by the way!

Thread: Re: Where are the files?

scriptorum — 2006-07-09T14:22:18+00:00

Patience. They're coming up. There's no way (I know of) to submit links and files along with a new game submission. I did put a link to the rules PDF in the submission comments field, but that's at the discretion of the admin.
[BGCOLOR=#CCFFFF]
EDIT: Typo fix.[/BGCOLOR]

Thread: Where are the files?

GVogel — 2006-07-09T13:15:19+00:00

Ok, sounds interesting, but where are the files??