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We are planning on releasing new event cards for the Chance and Global Events. Instead of reading the rolled events from a PDF designed like a manual, the new cards will also be in PDF files that can simply be read, but also printed to make hardcopy cards. There's still a lot of work to be done, but it looks promising. What do you think? Scenarios #6 always offer the most stuff, so we used them to test how much content the cards can handle (most cards won't be so cramped with text). 

We just released a huge update to the free pirate print & play game, Buccaneer Heroes. Too many changes to enumerate all here, so check out this Devlog post for details. But to summarize the best parts:

New Mystic Sites

Added 6 "Mystic Sites" tiles to the Captain's Log map, numbered from I to VI with palm trees. The sites give a variety of special abilities, like time freeze, the ability to teleport other players, etc.

Silver Train Update

Added Silver Train to Porto Bello (settlement 18) on a more permanent basis. Silver Train Intel is needed to attack the city for the Silver Train to be in town. If the city is successfully plundered during this special occasion, the player receives the awards shown on the map. The Silver Train is again getting the respect it's due in pirate games!

New Achievements Structure

Restructured the various achievement categories in a more logical way. Now settlements belong to one of the 6 nations (factions). When attacking settlements, players must check the box that corresponds to the chosen faction die. With this change now bonus +3 achievements are given when the same 3 numbers are checked in the Nations section (for example, Merchant #4, Privateer #4, Settlement #4). Everything else stays the same. You still additionally receive +3 achievements when all 6 Merchant, Privateer or Settlement numbers are checked. This now makes settlement attacks a pivotal element of the game, since Nation sets are easier to gain than full target sets (all Merchants for example).

New Pirate Den Services

Added 3 new Pirate Den services for players with the Master coin.

Improved Reputation System

Changed Reputation Attack Bonuses and Achievement rules. Reputation brackets are gone. Now each acquired Reputation immediately gives an additional Attack Point, and when all 4 Reputation achievements are checked, the player receives the option to reroll any round dice roll once per round.

New Relic

Added a new Relic: Olokun's Fan. It lets the player reroll the Wind die (wind direction) at the beginning of a season.

Major Guide Improvements

Greatly improved both guides - Game Rules and Detailed Game Rules - making various elements clearer, and added as many visuals and examples as possible.

Improved Events

Many updates to various events, as well as illustrations in all the materials. Mystic Sites are mainly available in Chance Events. Sirens were made the clear "bad guys" in the game.

We hope you like it, and please leave feedback. The game is still being improved. 

Buccaneer Heroes

Buccaneer Heroes, a pirate-themed print and play game, is out! But even though the game looks quite polished, it can still be improved - it needs your feedback! Is the game fun? Is it too complicated, or too simple? Are the intructions clear? Is tracking loot bothersome? Should it be more abstract? Is attacking hard targets (that require dice rolls) confusing?

The game is free for now, but if we feel there is enough interest, we will launch a kickstarter and eventually turn it into a commercial product. The franchise would expend in two phases: a print and play game with multiple expansions (already in the works), and a physical table top game, which would greatly expand the current gameplay mechanics (there's a lot of stuff we can't do with a print and play).

But before we delve any deeper, we'd like to know what works and what doesn't.

DOWNLOAD HERE

To get you started, check out this How to Play video:

Also check out this Full Playthrough video to see how the game is played in realtime:

Ok. Ya, it appears to be a fan favorite everywhere I post this.. 

Hi. It's come to my attention by a few people that our game's name (Open Ports of the Caribbean) might not be so good. It's still early enough in development that if we are to change it, it's now or never. Our game is a free pirate-themed print & play. The main characteristic is that it's an open world sandbox where you can trade in any city, attack ships and cities, go anywhere, and do a bunch of other stuff - hence the name's double meaning "Open Ports" (open cannon ports / open cities / open world). I thought it was a really smart name, but many feel it's not "exciting" and it reminds people of IT jargon (open serial ports). So anyway, below are my replacements. A small note: in the game, players are members of the Brethren of the Coast, a real group of pirates that existed in the 1700s. Feel free to reply with your favorite or even make your own suggestions:

1. Pirates of the Red Coast
2. Black Banner Bandits
3. Black Banner Buccaneers
4. Black Banner Brethren
5. Buccaneer Heroes

Wow. So many video games, and here I am with a simple print & play board game… 

Ok, mine is Open Ports of the Caribbean. It’s a pirate game that is played with 3 dice. You print two A4 sheets of paper, and you use the dice to sail, pick targets and plunder. Games last 30 minutes in solo, and obviously longer with more players. There are 24 rounds and in each round you roll the 3 dice. There’s story-driven events every 3 rounds. 

https://red-hot-bandits.itch.io/open-ports-of-the-caribbean

Open Ports of the Caribbean is a sandbox pirate Print & Play game that can be played solo or up to six players. It is an epic, story-driven action-adventure that is also suprisingly quick (30-45mins), with plenty of twists and turns, characters, monsters, events and treasures to keep you busy for weeks. A single playthrough will not be enough to get a sense of the world of Open Ports.  

I really do hope you enjoy playing it as much as I enjoyed creating it.

YOU CAN DOWNLOAD IT HERE

FORMAT: Print & Play
PLAYERS: 1-6
GENRES: RPG, Action Adventure
MODES: Single, Co-op, PvP
TIME: 30-45min (solo) / 30-120min (multiplayer)

A bit more about the game: