OUR REVIEW

CHests and barrels in the spreaders

Riff Raff

Storing booty on the high seas

As a fan of sailing boats and stories about sailing ships of the 18^th and 19^th century I could not pass up on this game and so allow me to take a break from my journalistic absence for once. And, by the way, hope is still abounding that from now on I may be able to more often give you my opinion and comments on some games.  

The background story of the game tells us a yarn about a pirate who has his booty, at least the most valuable pieces, stored high up in the spreaders of his ship. Due to the rough sea chest, barrels and other pieces of the booty keep falling down and must be caught by the crew.

Some basic facts about sailing ships:

Spreaders - Those are the spars on the main mast where the shrouds are fastened. Mutineers and others under a death sentence were also hanged there on the High Seas-

Prow - Front part of the ship

Stern - Back part of the ship, to be exact is defines the raised end part of the ship where the helmsman was standing

Astern - the whole area from midship to the end of the ship

Keelhole or Careen - A form of punishment that mostly ended in death. The culprit was fastened to a rope, thrown into the water at the prow and pulled to the stern underneath the ship. The culprit had to not only to survive the long time under water, but also the shell growth on the ship.

Windward - the side of the boat facing the wind

Downwind or Lee - the side of the boat away from the wind

Starboard, green light - right side of the ship

Portside, red light - left side of the ship

And, finally, the right of way on the High See for ships of equal power (both with engine or both under sails)

If you see from starboard side

It’s up to you to make room

But if you see green from Portside

Yours is the right of way

Should I happen to use some of those expressions in my musings, my digression into sailing jargon or, to be more exact, shipping jargon, will hopefully be of some assistance. But now for the game:

In the classic square box from Zoch we find very unusual but very classy, high-value game components. The bottom of the box with its inlay is necessary for the game; a hexagon insert made from cardboard is placed into the border of the box insert; this hexagon insert represents a huge wave. At the crest of the wave, the highest point of a wave, we find an opening into which we place a wooden ring.

Into this ring we place a hinge or pivot, on which a rod is fastened with a heavy iron ball. This rod represents the mast of the ship. The ball is sunk into the hole in the wave and then - as a first part - the ship’s hull is placed on the mast. Into three openings on the mast we put long, thin poles, about 7 cm long, on which then the spreaders are placed. The poles are only used to stabilize the spreaders.

The deck of the ship shows four spots, numbered 1 and 2 at the prow and 3 and 4 astern. The lowest spreader shows number 5 on one side and a 6 on the other, the spreaders above this one show 8 and 8 and then 9 and 10. Each player holds a set of cards with number cards from 1 to 10, all sets are identical, and 8 load units or pieces of booty. When only two are playing you take double the number of load units.

At the start of a round each player chooses one of his cards and puts it face-down on the table, and then all cards are revealed at the same time. If you played the highest card you are the new captain and go first in placing a load unit on the part of the ship corresponding to the number chosen with the card.

In case of two or more players having chosen the same card it is up to the current captain to determine who plays first. Cards that were played are used and no longer available.

How do I place my load unit? There are very few rules and restriction aside from having to use the spot on the ship corresponding to the number on the chosen card. The load unit may not extend into another numbered area, which, strictly speaking, can only happen on the main deck of the ship. It is allowed for the load unit to extend outside the ship itself.

If you choose a spreader (spots 5 to 10) and should there be already at least one load unit on the chosen spreader you can decide if you want to place one or two load units. You must announce this before you begin placement and you cannot change your mind during your turn. It does not matter if you use one hand or both hands for placement. You can move load units already in place with the load unit you just want to place, but never with your hand or another body part.

Should it happen - and it happens far more often than one wants it to happen - that load units fall off the ship, the active player can try to catch those units; load units caught in this way are set aside, they are out of the game. Pieces that the active player cannot catch he must take and put them into his stock, he can later try to reload them.

Cards that have been used and set aside a player need to show or keep visible, which introduces a little bit of tactic into the game; trying to memorize the cards of all four players is a real challenge for experienced card players, or for children who beat everyone in memory.

Should a player be out of wooden load units at the end of his turn the game ends immediately and he is the winner. Otherwise, the game ends when all players have played all of their 10 cards. In this case the winner is the player who has fewest load units left, and there can be a joint win of several players.

In a game of two players you take up all 10 cards again when all have been played and play another 10 rounds until one of the victory conditions occur, all pieces placed or all 10 cards played again.

The game impresses with its components, the quality of which is a characteristic trade mark of the Zoch Company; the complete ship and the load units are made from wood and are well chosen as regards to size and weight and provide a real challenge to place those load units.

A totally ingenious feature of the game is the pivot with the iron ball as a counterweight. It lets the ship roll and lurch in all conceivable directions; and you have to be very careful of the counter movement: Load units very rarely fall when a unit it places, only when the ship rolls back most of them fall down. Many a ship would capsize at sea with that kind of a slanting position.

Something that you should be careful about is available space on the table and easy access to the ship from all sides, which is especially important for children. Short arms are a handicap, as you have to catch load units, too. At this point parents should instigate restrictions for themselves, for instance using only one hand for catching or no catching allowed for parents, but this is something you can decide on your own. I myself was only allowed to use one hand, both for placing and catching load units.

If you do not have steady hands you will encounter massive problems, because when your hands shake you transmit lots of unrest to the ship. Such players should be experienced catchers. My son used an interesting variant in placing: He did not place his load units quietly, carefully and slowly, but rather quick, sometimes he even kind of dropped them and so had his hands quickly positioned for catching load units. This method did not put pressure on the ship long enough to result in strong movement, he simply made use of the moment of inertia.

Two more important aspects are of course first the memorizing of cards that were played so that you can evaluate which choices are left to other players and what are the chances of becoming captain, and second the tactical placement of load units.

The only drawback are the wooden poles, which are rather filigree, but this is inherent in the construction. Adult help is necessary when setting up or dismantling the ship or for providing replacement poles from the nearest hardware store. On the other hand, the counterweight is heavy enough to destroy or noticeably damage ceramic tiles, expensive wooden floors or beautifully veneered wooden tables. This is not meant as criticism, just as a hint on where you should not play this game, or where you should not let children play the game alone.

On the other hand, nothing countermands the idea to keep the game permanently assembled; if there is room enough for it in your living room you have a beautiful piece of decoration that invites you to play again and again.

The bottom line is: Marvelous components, a well-working game with short playing time that entices you into yet another game over and over again. We had our fun, at least, when Papa’s hands were tied on his back. Because a steady hand for placing load units, quick hands for catching and knowledge of load distribution can severely diminish the fun of others. But I think there is no limit to your creativity how to restrict such experts!

Kurt Schellenbauer

Players: 2-4

Age: 8+

Time: 20+

Designer: Christoph Cantzler

Art: Michael Menzel

Price: ca. 50 Euro

Publisher: Zoch 2012

Web: www.zoch-verlag.com

Genre: Dexterity game

Special: 2 players

Version: multi

Rules: de en Fr it

In-game text: no

Comments:

Marvelous, harmonious components

Card memory can be of assistance

Trains hand-eye coordination and spatial thinking

Compares to:

Bamboleo, Hamsterrolle and other balance games on a moving base

Other editions:

Currently none

My rating: 6

Kurt Schellenbauer:

You imagine yourself to be on a Three-Master in the 19th century, out the High Seas, the ship rolls and ploughs through the rough waters, with one important difference: You do not get sick!

Chance (pink): 0

Tactic (turquoise): 0

Strategy (blue): 0

Creativity (dark blue): 0

Knowledge (yellow): 0

Memory (orange): 1

Communication (red): 0

Interaction (brown): 3

Dexterity (green): 3

Action (dark green): 3