My Favorite Game I Never Play

Two small pirate ships, constructed from plastic components, "sail" on a table. An island appears to the left; a number of gold tokens representing treasure appears to the right.
Pirate ships battle it out for the right to explore tropical islands and loot their treasure. Credit: Ken Newquist.

I love WizKids’ Pirates of the Spanish Main and its various expansions, even though I never actually get to play the game. Hell, I think I’ve officially played it twice, but that hasn’t stopped me from picking up booster packs for every other expansion.

The most recent of these is Pirates of the Frozen North , which introduces a new Viking faction and corresponding Viking longships. It also has icebergs that move about the board on their own, smashing any ships they come in contact with, and the icebreaking ships needed to destroy them. I picked up a pack to honor my Swedish ancestors, but I’m more interested in snagging the recent Pirates of the Mysterious Island, which has submarines, and the upcoming Pirates at the World’s Edge which ups the game’s weirdness quotient even further with giant crabs and prehistoric sharks.

And, of course, I need to find some time to actually play the game. I think another all-day board game Saturday (aka LanceCon) is in order…

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