Our game group is made up entirely of experienced gamers, and we love Plunder. In a world of often unnecessarily complicated games, the simple, streamlined mechanisms of Plunder are a breath of fresh air. And the die-rolling mechanism for moving and fighting (for which the reviewer appears to have an ingrained dislike) are actually quite fun, because players can easily augment their rolls by building faster and more combat-worthy ships. In short, Plunder is a winner. it hits the table often, and we all enjoy it immensely.
I can’t just bust out viticulture and expect my friends to understand it in 10 minutes. With plunder we’re playing in 5 minutes, eating and drinking. Teams of 2 is the best variant in this game just because you can negate your bad resource draws with your teammates cards as long as you’re in trading position that is. Makes the game feel more balanced. Solo can sometimes make you feel stuck with some really bad draws.
What we did on Plunder game! We added a Squid! lol yep and made the game more fun! So what we did was added a squid in the center of the storm and made the person that was in it roll the dice.. if they got a number 1 with the storm on them they took a hit.. and if their was two people in the storm when it moved on them they also had to roll and try not to take a hit. So each player in the storm has to roll to try not to get a one when this happens. If you move into the storm you had to roll also in hopes you don't take a hit from the squid. Also we added a Crab to the board game! lol Yep and this one moves every time after a player is ending their turn, they have to spin the spinners to move the Crab and if it lands on your ship or another players ship they take a hit. If its on s space and you need to pass you take a hit. Also if it lands on your land you cant go to it and you cant get resources from that land while the crab is their. If you are on this island when the crab is put their you take a hit. Hope this makes your game more fun! We loved it!!
He said "attacking a player is no fun and leaving them out of chance of producing resources is no fun" that sounds pretty fun to me. Also, "attacking an island is not fair, you are always at a disadvantage" well duh, it wouldn't be fun if you can conquer any territory by just moving in. For me at least.
I’ve been waiting for an honest review of this game for awhile. A large amount of the positive reviews out there for this game are somewhat fabricated, quick research (clicking on reviewers on amazon and BGG) show accounts created purposely for reviewing this game. Several of which start off “I am not affiliated with the designer” . At one point the same review word for word was posted twice by two different accounts on amazon but that’s been fixed now. Also a good portion of positive reviews of this game are by family members of the designer or people associated with his company.
What we did on Plunder game! We added a Squid! lol yep and made the game more fun! So what we did was added a squid in the center of the storm and made the person that was in it roll the dice.. if they got a number 1 with the storm on them they took a hit.. and if their was two people in the storm when it moved on them they also had to roll and try not to take a hit. So each player in the storm has to roll to try not to get a one when this happens. If you move into the storm you had to roll also in hopes you don't take a hit from the squid. Also we added a Crab to the board game! lol Yep and this one moves every time after a player is ending their turn, they have to spin the spinners to move the Crab and if it lands on your ship or another players ship they take a hit. If its on s space and you need to pass you take a hit. Also if it lands on your land you cant go to it and you cant get resources from that land while the crab is their. If you are on this island when the crab is put their you take a hit. Hope this makes your game more fun! We loved it!!
This review sucks. It feels like he only played it one time and it was with a crappy group. Me and my friends loved this game. The first glaring thing is treasure over islands. Guess what, he didn't mention that there isn't just treasure in those cards, sometimes there are severe consequences like being warped to another part of the board, and not being able to defend your territory from invaders (other players), or losing components of your ship or losing a full on ship. So if you have a play group that "just goes after the treasure to see what happens", you have a crappy group of non-competative non-gamers, because it's very risky to go after treasure. Also to go after treasure you have to abandon your territories and it makes it much more difficult to maintain your territories. Once you lose a territory, its very difficult and potentially very costly to get it back. So there is alot of posturing in the game of do I or don't I have enough time, specially, to abandon my islands and go get the treasure, before someone will come in a sack it. There are only so many reasonable islands to attack, and this forces alot of fighting and posturing, which is Hella fun! Also another indication of the bad playgroup this guy had, was they gave up on the theme and started just reading the consequences of the card. Boo-boo. We always read the pirate themes in our best pirate voice and it is very immersive. Lame for that playgroup to not play the game properly. Even more so, what shows that he only played it once, or Ina group once, is that there is a huge benefit to attaining an island with multiple skulls. Its very difficult and only really plausible when you have a ship that is very decked out. Basically you need two cannons and cannons don't grow on trees. You also probably need a mast or two because if, in the process of trying to conquer the island, you end up losing components of your ship, or more importantly your ship takes on damage, you become a target for other ships to destroy, which hurts your game because you lose a victory point, you lose a vessel which helps you get other victory points. You also will likely have to dip into your plunder points to build a new one. So attacking a two skull island is very risky. But if you are successful..... every person who trys to take it away from you, now has the same risk you had in getting plus an additional advantage because of your flag, which makes it even more difficult to conquer. So its basically an impenetrable fortress that gives you card advantage and a somewhat permanent victory point. This games is amazing. I'm only scratching the surface in my criticism of this review. It's really bad. This game is amazing. You just need a group of invested and fun players who get into the theme and try to win, instead of making stupid decisions. Our group would wear pirate hats and we had a rule that you had to read the treasure cards in your best pirate accent.
i find most games with movement and combat based solely on dice roles are not fun, thank you for the review, i love themed games but this one is too shallow, love the dice tower reviews
I’m a hobby gamer and got it as a gift. Excited for a party game, I’ll add some house rules and strategy if needed. Maybe some asymmetric pirate characters…
It looks to me like monopoly with pirates. I thought you get move movement by adding sails or masts to your ship? That you added a modifier to your attack rolls for more cannons on your ship. Maybe you were more amused by the spinners and you forgot that.
I just bought the game I love the quick throw it on the table fun game for my family and friends I like the straightforward type of game really cool best part is you don't have to be a college professor to try to figure out the rules.
Sorry I must disagree with you. I am a hobby gamer also. I found it fun, I watched video's on it before I bought it. I knew what it was roll and move. Major luck fest with the dice and spinners. But I don't care. It's fun building up your fleet. If some one gets ahead the others attack. I like the random map making. Yeah I have gotten my butt kicked. It's just a silly fun time, at least for my game group. I would rate it a 7.5 out of 10.
I know I’m late to the party but I just played this today. It SCREAMED “Take That Catan” to me. Even the storm felt like the robber sort of. I honestly really enjoyed myself and it played fairly quickly. And I dislike Catan and trading games in general.
What we did on Plunder game! We added a Squid! lol yep and made the game more fun! So what we did was added a squid in the center of the storm and made the person that was in it roll the dice.. if they got a number 1 with the storm on them they took a hit.. and if their was two people in the storm when it moved on them they also had to roll and try not to take a hit. So each player in the storm has to roll to try not to get a one when this happens. If you move into the storm you had to roll also in hopes you don't take a hit from the squid. Also we added a Crab to the board game! lol Yep and this one moves every time after a player is ending their turn, they have to spin the spinners to move the Crab and if it lands on your ship or another players ship they take a hit. If its on s space and you need to pass you take a hit. Also if it lands on your land you cant go to it and you cant get resources from that land while the crab is their. If you are on this island when the crab is put their you take a hit. Hope this makes your game more fun! We loved it!!
This Review is pretty Harsh. For a Family setting, this game was easy and fun to learn for even my 9 year old. Dice roll combat... who cares, it's not the worst thing and it makes the game move along... Plus, the Review just kind of neglected the Fact that you can upgrade your Ships Attack and Movement. We had a lot of fun on our first game... and usually a first game in anything is more of a slog to just learn it. This Game was a big win.
We played this game 4 times over our last boardgames weekend for 2 of us it was our first experience with it. And I really thought it was fun but I see it getting old quick I feel it needs a expansion and that could take this game from mid to excellent. Or mabey like a more complex rules mode cause the times it was best was when I had out 3 ships countering multiple islands and haveing stand offs and then the game tends to become fun at 1 players expense in game 2 we had a great game but player 2 had Terrible luck and lost everything very early. Then player 4 was winning by alotand me and player 3 teamed up and went at there empire from both sides and the end was very close. But I wish there was faster smaller ships that were cheaper and bigger more expensive ships
What we did on Plunder game! We added a Squid! lol yep and made the game more fun! So what we did was added a squid in the center of the storm and made the person that was in it roll the dice.. if they got a number 1 with the storm on them they took a hit.. and if their was two people in the storm when it moved on them they also had to roll and try not to take a hit. So each player in the storm has to roll to try not to get a one when this happens. If you move into the storm you had to roll also in hopes you don't take a hit from the squid. Also we added a Crab to the board game! lol Yep and this one moves every time after a player is ending their turn, they have to spin the spinners to move the Crab and if it lands on your ship or another players ship they take a hit. If its on s space and you need to pass you take a hit. Also if it lands on your land you cant go to it and you cant get resources from that land while the crab is their. If you are on this island when the crab is put their you take a hit. Hope this makes your game more fun! We loved it!!
This review is spot-on. I just played this game last night and it was awful! Children or drunks may have fun with this game, but it has no place on a serious gamer’s table.
@@Rajiin Agreed. The prejudice against spinners is such a group-think mindset. Sometimes spinners actually add to the atmosphere and theme of the game, which is certainly the case with Plunder.
Our game group is made up entirely of experienced gamers, and we love Plunder. In a world of often unnecessarily complicated games, the simple, streamlined mechanisms of Plunder are a breath of fresh air. And the die-rolling mechanism for moving and fighting (for which the reviewer appears to have an ingrained dislike) are actually quite fun, because players can easily augment their rolls by building faster and more combat-worthy ships.
In short, Plunder is a winner. it hits the table often, and we all enjoy it immensely.
I can’t just bust out viticulture and expect my friends to understand it in 10 minutes. With plunder we’re playing in 5 minutes, eating and drinking. Teams of 2 is the best variant in this game just because you can negate your bad resource draws with your teammates cards as long as you’re in trading position that is. Makes the game feel more balanced. Solo can sometimes make you feel stuck with some really bad draws.
What we did on Plunder game! We added a Squid! lol yep and made the game more fun! So what we did was added a squid in the center of the storm and made the person that was in it roll the dice.. if they got a number 1 with the storm on them they took a hit.. and if their was two people in the storm when it moved on them they also had to roll and try not to take a hit. So each player in the storm has to roll to try not to get a one when this happens. If you move into the storm you had to roll also in hopes you don't take a hit from the squid. Also we added a Crab to the board game! lol Yep and this one moves every time after a player is ending their turn, they have to spin the spinners to move the Crab and if it lands on your ship or another players ship they take a hit. If its on s space and you need to pass you take a hit. Also if it lands on your land you cant go to it and you cant get resources from that land while the crab is their. If you are on this island when the crab is put their you take a hit. Hope this makes your game more fun! We loved it!!
@@neored1608 there =/= their
He said "attacking a player is no fun and leaving them out of chance of producing resources is no fun" that sounds pretty fun to me. Also, "attacking an island is not fair, you are always at a disadvantage" well duh, it wouldn't be fun if you can conquer any territory by just moving in. For me at least.
I’ve been waiting for an honest review of this game for awhile. A large amount of the positive reviews out there for this game are somewhat fabricated, quick research (clicking on reviewers on amazon and BGG) show accounts created purposely for reviewing this game. Several of which start off “I am not affiliated with the designer” . At one point the same review word for word was posted twice by two different accounts on amazon but that’s been fixed now. Also a good portion of positive reviews of this game are by family members of the designer or people associated with his company.
The game is legit fun lol this on some pirates of the Caribbean in the background and some real rum and you set
What we did on Plunder game! We added a Squid! lol yep and made the game more fun! So what we did was added a squid in the center of the storm and made the person that was in it roll the dice.. if they got a number 1 with the storm on them they took a hit.. and if their was two people in the storm when it moved on them they also had to roll and try not to take a hit. So each player in the storm has to roll to try not to get a one when this happens. If you move into the storm you had to roll also in hopes you don't take a hit from the squid. Also we added a Crab to the board game! lol Yep and this one moves every time after a player is ending their turn, they have to spin the spinners to move the Crab and if it lands on your ship or another players ship they take a hit. If its on s space and you need to pass you take a hit. Also if it lands on your land you cant go to it and you cant get resources from that land while the crab is their. If you are on this island when the crab is put their you take a hit. Hope this makes your game more fun! We loved it!!
This review sucks. It feels like he only played it one time and it was with a crappy group.
Me and my friends loved this game. The first glaring thing is treasure over islands. Guess what, he didn't mention that there isn't just treasure in those cards, sometimes there are severe consequences like being warped to another part of the board, and not being able to defend your territory from invaders (other players), or losing components of your ship or losing a full on ship. So if you have a play group that "just goes after the treasure to see what happens", you have a crappy group of non-competative non-gamers, because it's very risky to go after treasure. Also to go after treasure you have to abandon your territories and it makes it much more difficult to maintain your territories. Once you lose a territory, its very difficult and potentially very costly to get it back. So there is alot of posturing in the game of do I or don't I have enough time, specially, to abandon my islands and go get the treasure, before someone will come in a sack it. There are only so many reasonable islands to attack, and this forces alot of fighting and posturing, which is Hella fun!
Also another indication of the bad playgroup this guy had, was they gave up on the theme and started just reading the consequences of the card. Boo-boo. We always read the pirate themes in our best pirate voice and it is very immersive. Lame for that playgroup to not play the game properly.
Even more so, what shows that he only played it once, or Ina group once, is that there is a huge benefit to attaining an island with multiple skulls. Its very difficult and only really plausible when you have a ship that is very decked out. Basically you need two cannons and cannons don't grow on trees. You also probably need a mast or two because if, in the process of trying to conquer the island, you end up losing components of your ship, or more importantly your ship takes on damage, you become a target for other ships to destroy, which hurts your game because you lose a victory point, you lose a vessel which helps you get other victory points. You also will likely have to dip into your plunder points to build a new one. So attacking a two skull island is very risky. But if you are successful..... every person who trys to take it away from you, now has the same risk you had in getting plus an additional advantage because of your flag, which makes it even more difficult to conquer. So its basically an impenetrable fortress that gives you card advantage and a somewhat permanent victory point.
This games is amazing. I'm only scratching the surface in my criticism of this review. It's really bad. This game is amazing. You just need a group of invested and fun players who get into the theme and try to win, instead of making stupid decisions.
Our group would wear pirate hats and we had a rule that you had to read the treasure cards in your best pirate accent.
Thank you, exactly what I was thinking.
i find most games with movement and combat based solely on dice roles are not fun, thank you for the review, i love themed games but this one is too shallow, love the dice tower reviews
Gameplay seems somewhat _shallow_ ....
I actually chuckled at that comment! Thanks!
I SEA what you did there! ;)
I’m a hobby gamer and got it as a gift. Excited for a party game, I’ll add some house rules and strategy if needed. Maybe some asymmetric pirate characters…
Completely agree with this review. Our family found this game boring. Played it once and have never played it again.
It looks to me like monopoly with pirates. I thought you get move movement by adding sails or masts to your ship? That you added a modifier to your attack rolls for more cannons on your ship. Maybe you were more amused by the spinners and you forgot that.
He explains both cannons and sails in the video.
@@oviaelectronica I know. and his complaint was that you can't modify movement or attacks.
@@BbBb-zx6sx Thats not what he said. He said a mast or cannon adds 1 to movemen and attack. What video did you watch?
I just bought the game I love the quick throw it on the table fun game for my family and friends I like the straightforward type of game really cool best part is you don't have to be a college professor to try to figure out the rules.
Sorry I must disagree with you. I am a hobby gamer also. I found it fun, I watched video's on it before I bought it. I knew what it was roll and move. Major luck fest with the dice and spinners. But I don't care. It's fun building up your fleet. If some one gets ahead the others attack. I like the random map making. Yeah I have gotten my butt kicked. It's just a silly fun time, at least for my game group. I would rate it a 7.5 out of 10.
Agreed, people rank games based on their own preference and not what the game is. Ignorant people out there.
@@Texasguy316 how dare people rate games based on their own preferences...
I know I’m late to the party but I just played this today. It SCREAMED “Take That Catan” to me. Even the storm felt like the robber sort of. I honestly really enjoyed myself and it played fairly quickly. And I dislike Catan and trading games in general.
What we did on Plunder game! We added a Squid! lol yep and made the game more fun! So what we did was added a squid in the center of the storm and made the person that was in it roll the dice.. if they got a number 1 with the storm on them they took a hit.. and if their was two people in the storm when it moved on them they also had to roll and try not to take a hit. So each player in the storm has to roll to try not to get a one when this happens. If you move into the storm you had to roll also in hopes you don't take a hit from the squid. Also we added a Crab to the board game! lol Yep and this one moves every time after a player is ending their turn, they have to spin the spinners to move the Crab and if it lands on your ship or another players ship they take a hit. If its on s space and you need to pass you take a hit. Also if it lands on your land you cant go to it and you cant get resources from that land while the crab is their. If you are on this island when the crab is put their you take a hit. Hope this makes your game more fun! We loved it!!
Exactly, I guess he wouldn’t be a fan of Catan then?
Thank you for the honest review, Graeme :)
This Review is pretty Harsh. For a Family setting, this game was easy and fun to learn for even my 9 year old. Dice roll combat... who cares, it's not the worst thing and it makes the game move along... Plus, the Review just kind of neglected the Fact that you can upgrade your Ships Attack and Movement. We had a lot of fun on our first game... and usually a first game in anything is more of a slog to just learn it. This Game was a big win.
We played this game 4 times over our last boardgames weekend for 2 of us it was our first experience with it. And I really thought it was fun but I see it getting old quick I feel it needs a expansion and that could take this game from mid to excellent. Or mabey like a more complex rules mode cause the times it was best was when I had out 3 ships countering multiple islands and haveing stand offs and then the game tends to become fun at 1 players expense in game 2 we had a great game but player 2 had Terrible luck and lost everything very early. Then player 4 was winning by alotand me and player 3 teamed up and went at there empire from both sides and the end was very close. But I wish there was faster smaller ships that were cheaper and bigger more expensive ships
After playing Seafall, I think all other games pale in comparison.
What we did on Plunder game! We added a Squid! lol yep and made the game more fun! So what we did was added a squid in the center of the storm and made the person that was in it roll the dice.. if they got a number 1 with the storm on them they took a hit.. and if their was two people in the storm when it moved on them they also had to roll and try not to take a hit. So each player in the storm has to roll to try not to get a one when this happens. If you move into the storm you had to roll also in hopes you don't take a hit from the squid. Also we added a Crab to the board game! lol Yep and this one moves every time after a player is ending their turn, they have to spin the spinners to move the Crab and if it lands on your ship or another players ship they take a hit. If its on s space and you need to pass you take a hit. Also if it lands on your land you cant go to it and you cant get resources from that land while the crab is their. If you are on this island when the crab is put their you take a hit. Hope this makes your game more fun! We loved it!!
This review is spot-on. I just played this game last night and it was awful! Children or drunks may have fun with this game, but it has no place on a serious gamer’s table.
This game lost me at those spinners.
You can just add your own bag of letters and numbers since you have spinner'phobia
@@Rajiin Agreed. The prejudice against spinners is such a group-think mindset. Sometimes spinners actually add to the atmosphere and theme of the game, which is certainly the case with Plunder.