While attending Awesome Con in Washington, D.C. I had the pleasure of sitting down with Luke Plikaitis to preview his upcoming card game, which he co-created: Pirates Dragons Treasure 2nd Edition.
Pirates Dragons Treasure is a 2-6 player ship-building game that takes between 30 and 90 minutes to play, depending on the game style you choose to play. In PDT, players select a Captain card, recruit crews, and obtain ship upgrades of varying strength, utilizing currency cards they discover during the game. Gameplay culminates with a fierce battle, pitting Pirates versus Dragons.
Pirates Dragons Treasure goes live on Kickstarter Tuesday, April 28th at 9 am ET
A Pirates Life For Me- Introducing Pirates Dragons Treasure
I had the opportunity to ask Co-creators Luke and Caleb what they were most excited for players to experience in this version of the game:
Luke:
“For me, two fronts. I think the new mechanics around omens and armaments really give the game an element it was missing. You have more choices/strategies as a player, and more excitement at the table throughout the game. The other piece that excites me is the 2nd edition table presence. Caleb really dialed up our design of each component, and it just looks great when you’ve got it all laid out on a table mid-game.”
Caleb:
“I think I’m most excited for the Armaments system. One of the major pieces of feedback we received from players was that they wanted more control, more options to influence the outcome of dragon battles. Armaments delivers that but it also enabled us to re-balance some of the Plunder cards with Armament distribution. They also serve as another bargaining chip for trades and there’s nothing more satisfying than watching a fellow captain lose a dragon fight because they opted to save them all for a future dragon fight.”
Life On The High Seas
During gameplay, alliances can be forged and destroyed. Players can trade cards or place curses on one another to help or hinder the other captains as they race to defeat the dragon. Pirates take heed, however, as players have the opportunity to complete real-world challenges to avoid certain curses.
Once players feel strong enough, they can attempt to take on the dragon that is protecting a hoard of treasure. Beware, with the addition of Catalysts to the game, dragons can be seriously challenging. Captains need at least one crew card and one ship upgrade to initiate the combat phase.
Throughout the game, Captains can discover Battle Armaments and Catalysts in the plunder pile. These cards are added to the combat pile and give Captains and Dragons combat boosts, respectively.
If the Dragon wins, your ship sinks, and it must be rebuilt before attempting to challenge the dragon again. If a Captain wins, the game can end, or play continues to the next round to take on a new Dragon.
What is new in the 2nd Edition?
The 2nd edition of Pirates Dragons Treasure comes with cosmetic changes, a game board, and new mechanics that can change game dynamics.
Some of these changes are mentioned on Pirates Dragons Treasure board game geek page.
Omens – A new system that introduces a different world effect each round, changing how players approach each turn and adding more variability to the game.
Armaments – Players can now build a small deck of bonus attacks used during dragon battles. This fundamentally changes how the battles play and adds a new strategic layer that didn’t exist in the first edition.
Catalysts – These act as a ticking clock during the game, gradually strengthening the dragon and creating a sense of urgency that wasn’t present before, as well as augmenting the strategy players should use along the way.
Caleb also took the time to explain another new addition to the game, the battle tracker. The battle tracker keeps track of ship and dragon health in the combat phase:
“I’m equally proud of the new battle tracker. In our first print run we had players using an extra card to track health, just trying to be resourceful. Then I designed some card clips that could clip to the sides and be used to track the health, but they could scratch the cards. Now we’ve got the battle tracker which is far more elegant and provided an opportunity to add more pirate flair with the compass motif.”
Yo Ho Ho – This game is right for me
My first impressions of PDT are extremely positive. The cooperative elements of the game complement the player versus player and player versus dragon components extremely well. The real-life challenges tied to curses are also a unique mechanic that makes this game stand out from others in the genre.
My time playing the game reminded me of Unstable Unicorns or Here to Slay. If you enjoy these games, I highly recommend Pirates Dragons Treasure.
Pirates Dragons Treasure is an easy-to-learn, fast-to-play card game that I can’t wait to share with my friends and family during game nights.
Be sure to check out the Pirates Dragons Treasure Kickstarter page and add this game to your game night rotation!
For another upcoming game preview, check out our Expanse Osiris Reborn Beta write-up.
