Pirates Constructible Strategy Game

Infobox_Game
subject_name=Pirates Constructible Strategy Game
image_link=
image_caption=Pirates of the Cursed Seas is a tabletop strategy game depicting naval battles and hunt for treasure in the Caribbean in the 17th century.
players= 2–?
ages=8 and up
setup_time= 10 minutes
playing_time= 30–180 minutes
complexity=Low
strategy=Medium
random_chance=Considerable
skills= Strategy, Dice rolling, Collecting
footnotes =

The Pirates Constructible Strategy Game is a tabletop game manufactured by WizKids, Inc., with aspects of both miniatures and collectible card genres. Pirates of the Spanish Main (the initial release of the "Pirates" line) is the world's first "constructible strategy game," referring to the mechanics of creating game pieces from components that punch out of styrene cards. The game was created by Jordan Weisman and designed by Mike Mulvihill, Ethan Pasternack, James Ernest, and Mike Selinker. Pirates of the Spanish Main refers specifically to the first release in the series, and generically to the game as a whole (or the game's "universe") including all of the expansions. There is also an online computer game based on Pirates of the Spanish Main called Pirates CSG Online

The game won the Origins "Vanguard Award 2005".

Game Description

The general goal of Pirates is to either collect more gold than your opponents, or to sink all of their ships. Numerous scenarios written by WizKids and players also add other goals and further extend the playability of the game. The game's pieces include ships, forts, sea monsters, crew, islands and other terrain markers, and gold or treasure tokens.

An innovative feature of Pirates is the 'constructible' element of the game; each game piece (except for terrain) is created by popping out the small polystyrene pieces from placeholder cards and assembling them. As the ship, fort or sea monster is damaged by enemies during the course of game play, pieces of it are removed to record how much damage it has sustained, giving the game piece itself the appearance of slowly being destroyed. The elements removed from the piece - for example, a ship's masts - can no longer be used in the game unless another game element allows it to be replaced later.

Each game piece has a point value that is related to its overall power. The more powerful a piece, the higher its point value. Players assemble fleets of ships, monsters, forts, and crew based an agreed-upon point total, similar to the manner in which many miniature wargames are played. This helps balance each player's fleet, and means that the construction of a fleet can be as strategically important as the gameplay itself.

The action takes place on a tabletop or similar flat surface rather than a pre-set game board; before play begins, players take turns populating the play area with various pieces of terrain like islands, fog banks, and sargasso seas. Face-down gold or treasure tokens are then placed on each island. After creating the play area, players then place their fleets and gameplay begins.

Players take turns moving their ships around the play area, landing on islands and exploring them, which reveals the value of the gold and treasure tokens on that island. Ships then collect treasure and attempts to return it to their home islands before their opponents. Since the game's victory conditions include both gold collection and the destruction of all enemy fleets, there are several different strategies that can lead to victory: trying to destroy an opponent before he or she can gather gold; building a fast and strong enough fleet to avoid being destroyed; or, most common, a mix of both.

The game is packaged so that one person may play the game with only one game pack, but several more packs are required to play using the full rules. Additionally, the game is far more enjoyable and balanced when each player has a larger selection of game pieces from which to choose when assembling their fleets.

The recommended "sweet spot" for playability appears to be 3-5 players on a 3x3 foot 'ocean'.

Game configurations

Pirates is primarily sold in "game packs" (aka booster packs) - foil-wrapped packs of styrene cards and other game components roughly the same size as a pack of baseball cards or other trading card game packs such as Magic: The Gathering.
Each pack includes a combination of two constructible game pieces: either ship, fort, or sea monster and various crew, treasure and terrain. These game pieces are numbered and collectible, and come in multiple levels of rarity designated by a color-coded triangle on each card's corner - the most common rarities for standard booster pack items are : Common (white for generic crew, red for ships), Uncommon (silver-grey), Rare (yellow), or Super Rare (black). Other rarity designations for non-pack ships include "Special Edition" (green), a one-off Promo (purple), and "Limited Edition" (copper) for tournament prize ships.
Unlike most trading card Games, due to the limited number of game pieces in each pack, some packs do not contain any Rare or Super Rare game pieces, or may contain multiple Rares. Any given set's Super-Rares will always come all together in the same pack. Each pack also contains a cardboard island (the reverse side in later sets has printed terrain such as a fog bank, sargasso sea, or reef), a checklist and set of rules, a crew/treasure card (which may include gold pieces for use in the game), and a mini-die. Each pack generally costs $4 US.

WizKids released other game configurations as well, mostly into mass market channels such as Toys "R" Us, Target and Wal-Mart. These include but are not limited to:
- Promotional pieces and packs - various ships since the game's inception have been sent to retailers to be given away, usually in a clear plastic wrappers. Some of these are Limited Edition items, and some are duplicates of items found in common booster packs.
- Tins - a small tin box decorated with Pirates artwork which contains multiple Pirates booster packs. With Ocean's Edge, some Special Edition tin exclusive card packs were also included in the tins. Also released were "Mega Tins" - slightly larger tins containing Ocean's Edge booster packs, and a special plastic wrapped pack containing faction-specific junk ships and crew. Two of the factions were only available in Tins exclusive to specific US retailers, Wal-Mart and Target. Finally, Rise of the Fiends "Treasure Chest Tins" contained one of four Megacards.
- Value Boxes - a small cardboard box with a window in it, typically containing one of four possible Special Edition prebuilt ship, a full-sized die, crew, standard gold treasure, and islands. The prebuilt ships have a green corner rarity indicator which is referred to as "Special Edition". These have been released for a number of sets since Revolution.
- Megapacks - a booster pack twice the size of normal packs, containing 4 ships or monsters, a megacard (double-sized card), two mini-dice, and several terrain. Released so far only for Oceans' Edge.

On October 25, 2006, WizKids released , a non-collectible board game version of the Pirates game that uses gameplay elements and game pieces from the constructible strategy game, but is designed to be simplified, self-contained and sold in the board game section of retail stores.

Factions

Ships, forts, sea monsters and crew are members of various factions. The factions exist largely for fictional purposes, but there are certain game mechanics that use the factions as well. There are ten factions in "Pirates":
* The Pirates, who include Captain/"Emperor" Blackheart, Jack Hawkins, the Calico Cat, and others.
* The English, representing England and later the British Empire.
* The Spanish, representing Spain and its empire in the new world. With each subsequent expansion, the fiction refers to Spain's waning power, mirroring their empire's decline in the new world.
* The French, introduced in Pirates of the Crimson Coast, representing first the French empire and then the Napoleonic empire in later expansions.
* The Americans, introduced in Pirates of the Revolution, who represent the American colonies during and after the American Revolution, the War of 1812, and later the American Civil War. Various American historical figures have appeared in the game, including John Paul Jones.
* The Barbary Corsairs, introduced in Pirates of the Barbary Coast, who represent the pirates that operated in the Mediterranean Sea and fought the United States in the Wars with Tripoli.
* The Jade Rebellion, a fictional organization representing a confederation of pirate-revolutionaries who oppose European and American imperialism in the South China Sea, introduced in Pirates of the South China Seas.
* The Cursed, a label that encompasses various supernatural characters and ships. The Cursed faction also includes sea monsters.
* The Mercenaries, introduced in Pirates of the Mysterious Islands, a collection of steampunk-like scientists, revolutionaries and ships, including submarines.
* The Vikings, introduced in Pirates of the Frozen North. These are not historical Vikings, but Norse sailors who use Viking mythology, symbols and names for their ships

Releases

Pirates of the Spanish Main

Pirates of the Spanish Main was the first release, and hit stores on July 28, 2004. It quickly sold out in many places, resulting in a second "limited" print run which featured noticeably higher quality printing than the first print run (the first run cards appear extremely 'faded'). The third print run (Unlimited) changed the card numbering scheme to the more familiar 3-digit system used in Crimson Coast.This set included:
* The Pirate, English, and Spanish factions
* Ships for each faction ranging in size from one to five masts
* Twelve named crew members for each faction
* Generic crew for each faction
** Captain
** Helmsman
** Musketeer
** Shipwright
** Oarsman
** Cannoneer
** Explorer
* Generic treasure (gold pieces) ranging in value from 1 to 7
* Nine pieces of Unique treasure

Expansions

Pirates of the Crimson Coast

"Main Article: Pirates of the Crimson Coast"

Released on March 2 2005. The expansion introduced several new elements to the game:
* The French faction
* A single American ship, the Roanoke
* Reinforced original factions
* Added Forts
* A new ship type, Schooner
* A new ship ability, Ghost Ship
* New named and generic crew for the original three factions and the French
* Two new generic crew
** Stinkpot Specialist
** Chainshot Specialist
* Three types of terrain
** Fog Bank
** Reefs
** Sargasso Sea
* 9 new unique treasures

Pirates of the Spanish Main Unlimited

Released on March 15 2005. The expansion was a reprint of the cards from the original Pirates of the Spanish Main with the exception of changing the numbering on the cards to conform with the Pirates of the Crimson Coast numbering and rarity colors. A checklist of the cards was also added. In Europe, the expansion removed the island cards and in their place issued new rules for ship movement and a playmat.

Pirates of the Revolution

"Main Article: Pirates of the Revolution"Released in June 2005.

The expansion introduced several new elements to the game.
* Added American faction
* Reinforced previous factions
* Events
* Three new ship types: Galley, Blockade Runner, and 4 masted Schooner
* New ability, Marine
* New named and generic crew for all five factions
* New generic crew
** Firepot Specialist
* New special treasures

Pirates of the Barbary Coast

"Main Article: Pirates of the Barbary Coast"Released on October 26 2005.

The expansion introduced several new elements to the game.
* Added the Barbary Corsair faction
* Added the Jade Rebellion faction
* Added 38 Barbary Corsair Ships
* Added 7 new English Ships
* Added 7 new Spanish Ships
* Added 7 new French Ships
* Added 7 new American Ships
* Added 2 new Jade Rebellion Ships
* Added numerous named crew for Corsair, English, Spanish, French and American factions
* New generic crew
** Smokepot Specialist
* New special treasures

Pirates of the South China Seas

"Main Article: Pirates of the South China Seas" Released on February 22, 2006

Pirates of the South China Seas introduced new units from the Jade Rebellion, a faction representing China and Korea.

* Added keywords Fear, Junk, and Turtle Ship
* Added Cursed faction
* Added 26 Jade Rebellion Ships
* Added 12 American Ships
* Added 12 French Ships
* Added 12 Spanish Ships
* Added 13 English Ships
* Added 13 Pirate Ships
* 4 Cursed faction members (two ships and two treasures)
* Generic treasure ranging in value from 1 to 5
* New named and generic crew for each faction.
* Added 6 new Events (Hidden Cove, Favor of the Gods, Rolling Fog, False Treasure, Duel, Cursed Zone)
* Introduced 6-masted and 10-masted ships

Pirates of Davy Jones' Curse

"Main article: Pirates of Davy Jones' Curse"Released on May 31, 2006.

* Added Sea Monsters.
* Added 11 American Ships
* Added 12 French Ships
* Added 12 Spanish Ships
* Added 13 English Ships
* Added 13 Pirate Ships
* Added 31 Cursed Ships

Pirates of the Mysterious Islands

"Main article: Pirates of the Mysterious Islands"Originally announced for release in October 31, 2006. Released on November 15, 2006.

* Added Mercenaries.
* Added Nautilus Ships ("2" Masted and "3" Masted)
* Added 18 Mercenary Ships
* Added 11 Pirate Ships
* Added 11 English Ships
* Added 11 Spanish Ships
* Added 11 French Ships
* Added 10 American Ships
* Added Mysterious Islands

Pirates of the Frozen North

"Main article: Pirates of the Frozen North"Released on February 14 2007.

*Added Vikings
*Added Icebergs
*Added Icebreakers
*Added Longships
*Added 19 Viking Ships
*Added 10 Pirate Ships
*Added 10 English Ships
*Added 10 Spanish Ships
*Added 9 French Ships
*Added 10 American Ships
*Added 2 Cursed Ships
*Added numbered Islands

Pirates at Ocean’s Edge

"Main article: Pirates at Ocean's Edge"Released on April 18, 2007.

*Added Whirlpools
*Added Sea Dragons
*Added New Ship Types (Windcatcher, Catamaran)
*Added "Titans" (Giant Crabs)
*Added 18 Cursed Ships
*Added 20 Pirate Ships
*Added 13 English Ships
*Added 12 Spanish Ships
*Added 12 French Ships
*Added 13 American Ships

Pirates of the Caribbean PocketModels

"Main article: Pirates of the Caribbean PocketModels"Released on November 6, 2007.

*Added Crew from the three Pirates of the Caribbean movies
*Added Ships from all three "Pirates" movies plus some other Disney pirate ships
*Added Krakens (like an oversized version of the 5-segmented Seamonster)
*Added Parley and Eternal Keywords

Rise of the Fiends"Main article: Rise of the Fiends"Released January 30, 2008.

*Added Flotilla Towers
*Added Loyal and Hostile Keywords
*Added new unique treasures
*Added Scorpion ships
*Changed Kraken keyword to Octupus

Fire and Steel"Main article: Fire and SteelReleased April 9, 2008.

*Added 4 Bombardiers
*Added 5 Switchblades
*Added more Collectible Stories

Savage Shores A small 52 card set scheduled for release November 5, 2008.

*Will add two new types of crew: Navigator and Cargo Master
*Will supposedly add a new terrain type
*Will supposedly add a new type of "action ship"
*Will add new Island types with effects

Return To Savage ShoresIs scheduled to be released in February 2009.

Fiction

The Pirates Constructible Strategy Game and its expansions feature flavor text on the styrene cards that hold each ship, fort, and unique crew game pieces. The flavor text forms a roughly connected story that centers on several recurring characters: Jack Hawkins, the cursed pirate El Fantasma, the femme fatale known as the Calico Cat, and others. Although the Pirates expansions span several hundred years (Admiral Zheng He sailed in the 1300s, and Pirates of the Mysterious Islands is set roughly in the Victorian age), the recurring characters never seem to age, but they do develop. As such, continuity in the Pirates universe is difficult to establish. Many pieces of flavor text in later expansions reference events, ships, or characters in previous expansions, so there is a coherent - if factually and historically unlikely - plot that continues to develop with each new release.

Jack Hawkins is a typical roguish pirate type, similar to Jack Sparrow in the Pirates of the Caribbean films. He can often be found stealing ships and gambling them away. El Fantasma's ghostly status was left ambiguous in Pirates of the Spanish Main; in later expansions, he received his own ghost ship and became a member of the Cursed faction, cementing his role as an actual undead pirate. The Calico Cat is a strong female character who provides a dramatic balance to Jack Hawkins; she is often depicted as a plucky adventurer who uses both brains and brawn to further some unknown quest for revenge. The Cat also mentors a girl by the name of Bonny Peel . It has been hinted that "the Cat" has a personal grudge against Hawkins, and is rumored to be the missing Gunn in the Pirate stories.

Several additional recurring characters appear in Pirates fiction, including Blackheart, a pirate similar to the historical Blackbeard; the Crimson Angel, another mysterious female pirate; and even non-pirates such as Charles Southwyn, a weaponmaster who helped create several ships in the Pirates of the Spanish Main release. Other notable characters include: Capitan Alarico Castro, a Moor who, despite a grudge against Spain, becomes an Admiral ; Davy Jones, captain of the cursed ship the Flying Dutchman; Genny Gallows whose father was killed by the English; and many others.

In addition to the flavor text on styrene cards, several pieces of fiction collectively called "Tales of the Spanish Main" by Noah Dudley and Nancy Berman appeared on WizKids' website before and after the launch of Pirates of the Spanish Main in 2004.

While some ships are historical and contain accurate historical descriptions of real events, others are either original fiction, fiction in the public domain (the Pequod from Moby-Dick), mythological creatures, or are homages to fictional ships or characters. For example, some of the Sea Monsters in the Pirates of Davy Jones' Curse expansion are obvious homages to creatures from H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu mythos.

References and Homages in Pirates Fiction

A good deal of Pirates flavor text contains references to historical events or people, other fictional characters or events, or are simply references to the game's writers and designers. Pirates fiction also contains homages to other pirate fiction. Some ship names are references to other games created by Jordan Weisman. The "Pandora" (from Pirates of the Spanish Main) is a reference to the zeppelin of the same name owned by Nathan Zachary, the main character in Weisman's Crimson Skies game. The "Black Swan" is a reference to a character from Crimson Skies, and also possibly to the ship Black Pearl from Pirates of the Caribbean.

A very incomplete list of other references for the Pirates of the Spanish Main (the 1st Set) alone includes:
* "Revenge" (PP376/PS007) - Homage to the Dread Pirate Roberts' ship "Revenge" in The Princess Bride or Blackbeard's Queen Anne's Revenge.
* Scrye the Explorer (PP375) - Reference to Scrye magazine, in which the promotional piece appeared as an insert.
* "Pandora" (PS006) - Reference to the zeppelin of the same name from the Crimson Skies universe, also created by Weisman, along with the legend of "Pandora's Box".
* "Tsuro" (PP009) - Reference to WizKid's board game Tsuro
* "Jack Hawkins" - Reference to PotC's Jack Sparrow (in name and looks) and Jim Hawkins (Jim and Jack are interchangeable names) who was once in the British navy and turned to piracy.
* "Sea monkey"- reference to the Lucasarts adventure game Secret of Monkey Island the flavor text tells the story of it from the game.

Cross-Promotional Game Pieces

*2004 - Scrye the Explorer - Exclusive Explorer crew packed in the Sept. 2004 Scrye magazine (issue 75) along with the ship Bloody Throne. Collector's number PP375
*2004 - The Bloody Throne - Exclusive 3-masted ship packed in the Sept. 2004 Scrye magazine (issue 75) with the crew card Scrye the Explorer. Collector's Number PP375 1/2 & PP375 2/2.
*2006 - Gale Force Nine - A 4-masted Pirate ship LE, free by mail with proof-of-purchase when you buy either one of two island terrain sets from the G49 game company.
*2006 - "Donald Duck & Co. #26" (Kalle Anka) comic magazine distributed only in Scandinavia on 7/20/06 contained 2 ships (which were identical to their English releases), a paper slip of coins to cut out, rules, and two island variants (both islands are labelled "home").
*2007 - USS Denver - 4-masted American ship available with a $25.00 purchase from the cross-promoted "Sony Online Entertainment" online version of this game.
*2007 - Flying Dutchman - Special Edition Promo ship with advertising text, tied in to the Pirates of the Caribbean set release and the Disney movies of the same name. Commonly available as a hand out with purchase from retailers.

Convention-Exclusive Game Pieces

*2004 - 4-masted Pirate ship (Revenge) handed out free to attendees of the Origins 2004 game convention. The ship's card contains promotional text advertising the game rather than flavor text. Collector's Number PP376.
*2005 - Convention Megapack - Added 2 new American Ships (Providence and Destiny) and an American Helmsman.
*2006 - 10-Masted Jade Rebellion Treasure Ship & Crew (The Baochuan and Admiral Zheng He).
*2007 - Two Cursed nautilus-style submarines, the Locker (3-Masted) and the Pyre (2-Masted), Edward Low (Crew) and Gem of Hades (Unique Treasure).
*2008 - Four Pirate ships (Royal Rover, Queen Anne's Revenge, Amity, Minerva) and four Pirate crew (Bartholomew Roberts, Blackbeard, Thomas Tew & Christopher Moody).

Value Box, Promo & Mail-In Redemption Game Pieces

*2005 - Value Boxes - Special Edition (green cornered) pre-assembled ships in a box which includes a stack of cards from the set. This release included four Pirates of the Revolution ships, (Franklin, Concord, Red Curse, and Hangman's Noose). Note that these four ships only exist in the "UL" (Unlimited) version.
*2005 - Pirates of the North Pole Ship & Crew (The Sleigh & Captain Whitebeard) - Distributed to WizKids employees, envoys, registered retail venues and business associates as a Holiday present. Also given away in a drawing for members of WizKids online Pirates community. The Sleigh and Captain Whitebeard are only usable on Christmas Eve each year.
*2006 - Value Boxes - eight Davy Jones Curse prebuilt ships. Wave 1 had (Boneyard, Fool's Gold, Electric Eel, and Drowned Man) and Wave 2 included (Broken Key, Black Diamond, Nightmare and HMS Richard). Wave 2 released in October 2006 - this was the only set to feature 8 total Value Boxes.
*2006 - 10-masted Cursed Treasure Ship (Guichuan) - A customer loyalty promotional piece for customers who sent twelve proofs of purchase from Pirates of Davy Jones' Curse to WizKids along with a redemption certificate.
*2006 - Value Boxes - Four Mysterious Islands prebuilt ships (Tasmanian Devil, Revolution, Empty Sky, Independence).
*2006 - "Message In A Bottle" promo pack - 2 submarines (USS Mercury, Slipstream), crew (Thane Hartless) and the Unique Treasure Abandoned Crew. This was a customer loyalty promotional piece for the Pirates of the Mysterious Islands set in return for proof-of-purchase for four boosters, four booster wrappers and one each of the four special messages (paper slips) from the boosters.
*2007 - Promo ship (Obago) - a giveaway sent to retailers to hand out as they saw fit.
*2007 - "Nordic Raiders" promo pack with 2 longships (Polaris and Serpent's Fang) & a Unique Treasure Odin's Revenge. Available after sending in 'four lost pieces' of armory found on crew/treasure cards, four wrappers, receipt of purchase, and postage.
*2007 - 10-masted Pirate Treasure Ship (Zeus) - Same requirements as the Guichuan (12 "regular" wrappers or 12 "mega-pack" wrappers or a combination of both, alongside a coupon from the site and proof-of-purchase).
*2007 - Value Boxes - four Pirates of the Caribbean prebuilt ships (HMS Diamond, HMS Phoenix, Neptune, Sea Nymph).
*2008 - Rise of the Fiends Cursed Ship (Specter) - originally customers had to mail in the Specter story (a paper insert) from a pack, but WizKids changed this to any story from this set, plus a receipt & postage.
*2008 - Value Boxes - four Rise of the Fiends prebuilt ships (HMS Forge, Rusty Harpoon, Hades' Realm, Isabela).
*2008 - Value Boxes - four Fire & Steel Value prebuilt ships (HMS Resolution, Nox, Lucky Seven, Crocodile).
*2008 - Fire & Steel Cursed Scorpion Ship (Chum Maker) - customers had to mail in the Chum Maker story (a paper insert) from a pack plus a receipt, wrapper and postage.

Other Collectible Elements, Tins and other unusual releases

*2004 - Set of eight mini-busts (statuettes) of Pirates of the Spanish Main characters, including: ** Calico Cat PP388, ** Captain Blackheart PP389, ** Jack Hawkins PP390, ** Christopher Myngs PP391, ** El Fantasma PP392, ** Diana Doone PP393, ** Luys de Alva PP394, ** Skyme the Monkey PP395.
*2004 - A series of Pirate themed temporary tattoos were given out at conventions.
*2004 - Several one-off prizes were created for the Pirates Gold auction event at GenCon 2004, including a wooden replica period ship with a Pirates of the Spanish Main plaque, several constructed game pieces signed by Jordan Weisman and Mike Mulvilhill and mounted in shadowboxes, pirate items such as a replica cutlass, and more. Most of these pieces had a small gold sticker "seal of authenticity" from WizKids.
*2005 - Six different tan Pirates of the Spanish Main tins containing 3 Spanish Main and 1 Revolution booster pack.
*2005 - Six different blue Pirates of the Revolution tins, sold in mass market retail outlets such Wal-Mart (contained no unique new pieces).
*2006 - Gale Force Nine licensed items for use in the game, including a special vinyl map, a booty finder pack (containing tokens and a range tool), and two different 3-D island sets.
*2006 - UK Tins containing one pack of each of the first five releases available at Toys "R" Us (contained no unique new pieces despite WizKids' announcement that they would).
*2007 - Ocean's Edge "Megapacks" containing 1 of 6 random "megacards" (Skipping Stone, HMS Hermes, Shal-Bala, Angelica, Ghost Walker, Mystic).
*2007 - Six different "Ocean's Edge" tins featuring OE packs and multiple faction specific, tin-exclusive cards (card #'s 143-162) released to various retailers (two designs of which were exclusive to Target and WalMart stores respectively, and contained factions not found in the other tins).
*2007 - "Pirates Plunder Pack" box containing various packs, a new vinyl map, and an exclusive glow-in-the-dark 10 masted Cursed junk ship (Delusion).
*2008 - Rise of the Fiend "Stories", 1 of 10 possible paper inserts in booster packs telling crew and ship stories. Mispacking issues made these stories very hard to collect as they do "not" appear in every pack as advertised.
*2008 - Fire & Steel "stories", 1 of 10 possible paper inserts which appear randomly in every booster pack.
*2008 - A "treasure chest" shaped tin containing various packs and 1 of 4 exclusive Rise of the Fiends megacards (USS Mercury, Terrox, Polaris, Grinder).
* "Scheduled for November 5, 2008" - a "Ship In A Bottle" box containing 1 of 4 new exclusive prebuilt ships, and other unknown previously released material. Possibly $14.99 retail.
* "Scheduled for November 5, 2008" - a Pirates Of The Cursed Seas "Scavenger Pack" box containing 3 packs worth of Savage Shores items, 1 pack each of Rise of the Fiends and Fire & Steel, and one of six exclusive pre-assembled Megasized ships (visible in a window on the box). Purchasing all six variations of the box will somehow net you two new exclusive 10-mast ships (Celtic Fury and Shui Xian). This set's cards will apparently "not" be released in individual booster packs... only as part of the Scavenger Pack boxes. Possibly $19.99 retail.
* "Moved to a 'possible' 2009 release" - a Pirates Adventure Book (box?) including new ships, crew and treasures (a Pirate fleet with Charming Mary, the Mercy, and the Pirate Sean 'Cannonball' Gallows, and a Cursed fleet including the Demon's Heart, the Wraith, and crew El Fantasma, Unique treasures 'Gem Shards from the Eye of the Leviathan)', a new Map with 6 preprinted islands on it, and 4 "fiction pieces" with scenarios.

External links

Official Pages:
* WizKids' official homepage for [http://www.wizkidsgames.com/pirates/ Pirates Constructible Strategy Game]
* Wizkids official fiction for this universe [http://www.wizkidsgames.com/pirates/article.asp?cid=39027 "Tales of the Spanish Main"] Other Related Pages:
* [http://www.miniaturetrading.com MiniatureTrading] - The largest unofficial Pirates site - reviews, fleets, active forums, set lists with card images, trading, collection management, contests and more.
* General Pirates info.
* [http://pojo.com/pirates/index.shtml Pojo.com's Pirates Web Page] - Pirates info and forums for the younger players.
* [http://www.pirates.docbrown.net/ Captain Ed's Logbook] - Ship/Crew reviews, Scenarios, Event Results, and general Piratical goodness.
* [http://www.homers17weeks.com/admiral_home.htm The Admiral] - A widely used, fan-created, unofficial "fleet builder" utility.