I have no problem mentioning that I am a snob. I don’t particularly like card games per sae. I remember playing 500 and yucca at university every lunchtime for a couple of years, of course that was before I starting playing euro’s. Now it seems I am like the Izzy Stevens, trying to put the trailer park behind her and make good as a high end doctor. I really don’t like traditional card games, which explained my fear of Tichu. But when forced to play a game like Fairy tale or in this case Corsari and chances are I’ll like it if its quick. And so despite my fear and foibles, I really like Corsari. So do my nieces and nephews who have been clamouring to play it.


In truth it plays something like a kids game of set collection, and for this reason it opens it up to a wide range of ages. But there are plenty of twists and turns and so much strategy and timing is required that it plays more like a euro in its thinking. It is a very nice balance for me between the complexity and size of a board game and the simplicity and portability of a card game.

Thematically players are attempting to set sail from port with the least number of stowaways possible. They do this by getting as many unique crew as possible on their boat (in their hand) while throwing some of them into jail to avoid taking them on the boat. There is absolutely no doubt that the them is just pasted on, and there is no way that it takes you on an adventure like something like fairy tale. But for all that the plain art has 12 attractive illustrations and the colours are vibrant. The colours do become critical and aren’t associated with a symbol and so a colour blind player will face infinite frustration trying to play. You will also note the thin card stock, which is the only real drawback of the game.



The card deck is a unique 110 card pack with 10 colours and 11 cards numbered 1 to 12 in each colour. Each player begins with 12 cards dealt randomly and in practical terms is seeking to economise their hand of twelve cards in a few critical suits with unique numbers so as to minimise the points scored. Each turn begins with players sequentially picking up a colour from a) the draw deck, b) the discard pile, or c) the tavern. Items a) and b) are standard for a card game, but the tavern is a pile of 8 cards (all eight can be seen at any time) of which colour of the top card determines the stowaway colour. By taking a card from the tavern you usually change the stowaway colour (assuming the second card in the tavern is not the same colour) and potentially improve your score. At the end of the turn a player may also wish to set sail.



Each round ends when one player chooses to ‘set sail’ and declares their hand. The ending player may choose two of the colours in their hand (their crew) and every unique number in those combined two colours does not count against their score. If you have crew in brown and blue and a seven in both then one seven will still count. Any cards of the same colour as the top card in the tavern also don’t count and the ending player counts the rest as their score (these are the stowaways). The other players may do the same, however in addition to the two crews on their own boat they may both add to the ending players crew if they have numbers not already represented.

The stowaways on all boats are compared. If the ending player has the lowest score, they score nothing. If another player has a lower score, they score zero and hand their stowaways to the ending player. In this case the ending player counts their own stowaways then adds those of the player that beat them AND adds ten on top of that. Quite a hefty penalty for not winning all in all, so take care when you set sail.

Corsari has an addictive element, that evolves from timing your run just right. Predicting what others might be keeping can help if they go out first, but not otherwise. Controlling the tavern is equally important and most often a player will end by changing the tavern colour to potentially put others hands in disarray. There are plenty of tactics to keep you engaged between turns and it is a quick game that can be played by all ages. Best of all it’s only $7.99 and won’t break the bank. A great return on investment and a great way to spend the afternoon.