2.1 Initiative

At the beginning of each turn, all sides roll a d6 to determine initiative for that turn.  Break all ties by rerolling the initiative for the tied sides only.  During the Movement phase, each side will move all of its ships, with sides going in the order of highest to lowest initiative. During the Tasks phase, each side performs tasks on all of their ships in the order of lowest to highest initiative.  Ships engaged in Boarding will resolve boarding combat at the first initiative of either engaged players.

2.2 Movement

Ship movement is based on the current Speed of the ship, which is subject to damage and wind direction.  Wind direction is determined at the beginning of the game by either a random die roll or by agreement of the players.  Each ship must move all of its current Speed as modified for crew loss, sail loss, and heading.  A ship's movement is measured in a straight line and a ship turns by pivoting on its rudder.  The number and maximum angle of turns depends on the current Speed and Length of the vessel.

A ship has three Speeds: Full, Tack, and Adrift.  These speeds are based on the direction of the ship with respect to the wind.  Full Speed is with the wind coming from aft to abeam and the ship moves its full current Speed.  Tack Speed is when the vessel is sailing from abeam to aquarter and is one half the ships current full Speed.  A ship that begins a turn within 45° of the wind, has no crew, or has no sails is adrift.  Ships that are adrift will move 8 dots with the wind and turn 45° with the wind each turn until running with it.  A ship is running with the wind when its bow points in the direction the wind is moving.  The speed of a ship under way is determined by its heading at the beginning of the turn, see the Heading Chart.

The simplest method of measuring a move is to place a tile next to the bow where it contacts the floor and move the ship forward until the keel just before the rudder is next to the marker.  This distance is the Length of the ship shown on the Ship Data.  The ship continues to leap forward like this until the remaining movement is less than the length of the ship, then a scale is used to measure the remaining movement.

A ship can turn up to 90° for every leap over one half its length that it makes during Movement.  This is accomplished by making a normal movement leap and then swinging the bow to the desired angle while using the rudder as the pivot point.  A ship that has a total move of less than one half its length during Movement may turn up to 45°.

After all ships have moved, they can adjust their headings by Falling Off the wind.  Falling Off allows each ship to turn up to 45° with the wind up to running with it and is conducted in the same order of initiative as movement.  This is used primarily to aim the cannons or to move through the wind to avoid being caught adrift in the next turn.

Example:  The Skull's Eye Schooner is running abeam with the wind off the port, allowing it to move 64 dots.  The player places a tile near the bow and pushes the ship forward until the rudder is just behind the tile.  He then turns the ship 90° port which puts him heading straight into the wind.  The player places the scale next to the ship and counts off another 16 dots to complete his move.  If he were to stay in this position, he would be adrift next round, however, the player has done this with the intent of falling off the wind to aim his cannons.  During his opponents turn, a ship moves to his starboard aft.  With all  movement complete, the Skull's Eye Schooner then falls off the full 45° which brings his cannons to bear on the enemy ship and leaves him at tack speed, 32 dots, for the next turn.

Ramming

Ramming is a form of attack that is executed during the Movement phase.  In order to ram another ship, the moving ship must contact the hull of the target ship while moving forward.  Contact is made if the two ships touch and the moving ship has enough movement left to make it contact hull to hull at a 45° angle or greater.  Whenever one ship rams another, they both go adrift and neither ship may take any action during the Task phase of that round.

A ship that rams another takes 1 HF in damage, 2 if the other ship is larger.  The rammed ship takes damage equal to one half the current SF of the rammer, rounded up, directly to its HF.

Either ship may declare a Boarding attempt in the following turn.  During Boarding, both ships are lashed together and will move adrift every turn.  If the impact is at an angle of less than 45° or was made during turning, then it is not considered a ramming and no damage is done to either ship, although either ship may declare a Boarding attempt.

Example A:  The Black Seas Barracuda has become irritated with an Imperial Flagship and decides to ram during movement.  The player advances his boat forward and strikes the Imperial Flagship after moving only 32 of its of movement.  The Barracuda was at full sail with 7 SF and does 4 points of damage to the Flagship while taking one himself.  The Barracuda loses his top HF and the two SF above it which causes him to also lose three pirates.  The Flagship loses all four of its HF which sinks it at the end of the movement phase.  The Flagship crew is reduced by nine figures, four for the HF and Five for the SF.  In addition, one half of the remaining crew dies along with the Captain, the rest end up in the water.  The player puts 4 marines and the Lieutenant in the water in front of the Barracuda.  The Black Seas Barracuda is adrift in the next round and the pirates on board may not perform any tasks until next round

Example B:  An Imperial Flagship approaches the Skull's Eye Schooner in the next round.  The Player decides to board and makes a turn after the first leap to make the contact less than 45°.  Halfway through the second leap, the ships contact but no damage is done to either.

Running Aground

All ships will run aground if they get too close to reefs or islands.  The safe depth a ship can sail in is refered to as its draft.  For narrow ships, the draft is 8 dots, for wide it is 12 dots.  If a ship sails into reefs that are shallower than its draft or nearer to an island than its draft, then it has run aground.  A ship takes one point of HF for running aground plus an additional point for every four dots less than its draft.  This damage is repeated for every full hull length moved through the shallow water.

2.3 Tasks

All figures can perform only one of the following actions during the Task phase: Boarding, Firing, Moving, Reloading, and Sailing.  Any figure that is not firmly joined to some part of the ship by either hand or foot cannot perform any task that round except Moving.  Any figure that is set on the ground or knocked off the ship at any time is considered overboard where ever it lands.

Some figures are restricted to certain tasks while others have greater freedom.  Captains and First Mates may perform any task and can move freely about the ship without counting it as a task.  Pirate crew and Imperial sailors may also perform any task, however, movement is considered a task for them.  Imperial marines may only fire and reload muskets and participate in Boarding.

Boarding

A player may declare a boarding attempt in the round following a ramming or in any round that two ships contact without ramming.  The figures on a ship may not perform any other tasks while it is engaged in Boarding.

Each player counts the number of figures on their ship and subtracts any figures that are on the gun deck or the top castles.  The Captain, First Mate, and Imperial Lieutenant may participate in boarding combat regardless of location.  Each figure gets one attack and figures with hooks or loaded pistols get an additional attack.  All officers get two attacks with their cutlass.  Once the number of attacks has been totalled, both sides roll dice to determine their successes.  Each side loses a number of figures equal to their opponents successes.  The player who has the most figures left wins the round of Boarding.

During the first round of Boarding, both sides may fire any loaded muskets or deck guns before the melee ensues. All successes are removed before normal combat begins.

If the attacker is successful, they may board the enemy ship.   If the defender wins, then any surviving attackers are forced off their decks and the defender may decide to attack or flee.  If they flee, they may move their ship normally in the next turn, otherwise they continue with Boarding.  Boarding is carried out until one side is destroyed, surrenders, or flees.

Example:  The Imperial Flagship has initiative and has made hull to hull contact with the Black Seas Barracuda.  On the Imperial players initiative, she declares a boarding attempt.  The Barracuda has 30 pirates left alive on board after the ramming.  Of these, 1 is the Captain, 1 is the First Mate, 4 have muskets, 5 are females, 2 have hooks, 8 are on the gun deck and 2 are on a top castle.  The pirates commit everyone available except the Captain giving them 4 muskets and one deck gun to fire before melee and 27 attacks in melee if everyone survives gun fire.  The Imperials have 9 sailors, 7 marines, 1 First Mate, 1 Lieutenant, and 1 Captain.  Of these, 4 sailors are on the gun deck and 2 are on the top castle.  The Imperials commit all 7 marines, the Lieutenant, and 2 sailors for a total of 12 attacks if everyone lives past gun fire.  The pirates get 6 dice of gun fire, 4 for the muskets and 2 for the deck gun, at a target number of 3.  They roll 1,1,1,2,5 and 5 for 3 successes.  The marines get 7 dice of gun fire at target number 4.  They roll 1, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, and 6 for 5 successes.  The pirates lose 5 pirates and are down to 22 attacks, the Imperials lose 2 sailors and a marine and are down to 9 attacks.  The pirates roll 20 attacks at a target of 3 and get 11 successes, and they roll 2 attacks at 4 (First Mate with cutlass and pistol) and get 2 more successes.  The pirates 13 successes will clean the Imperial decks, but the Imperials get to make them pay first.  The Imperials roll 6 attacks at a target of 4 for 4 success and 3 attacks at a target of 5 (Imperial Marine Lieutenant with pistol and 2 cutlass attacks) for 3 successes.  The pirate crew is cut down by 7 members, reducing their total crew from 30 to 18, leaving them with only 7 pirates left from the original boarding group of 19.  The pirates won the boarding combat and decide to leave before any of the marines in the water manage to climb on board the Flagship.

Firing

The player states which figure is firing which weapon and at which ship.  The player must also declare whether they are firing shot or ball out of their cannons.  The ship must be within the maximum range of the weapon, which is measured from the closest firing weapon to the target using a scale.  The player must declare all attacks before rolling any dice or measuring any ranges.  See the Weapon Chart for ranges, target numbers and the number of dice used for each weapon.

Cannons must be able to establish a straight line down their bore to the waterline of the target in order to hit.  The best method of sighting is to flip up the cannon port covers on both sides of the ship and to sight over them. Cannons on turrets may fire at any target they can point at as long as a scale placed down the bore does not touch any part of the firing vessel.  Cannons that fire shot have a shorter range with a higher target number, but they only affect sails.  All hits with shot cause double damage if the attacking ship has at least one cannon dead ahead or astern of the target.  Cannons achieve critical hits when all three dice roll successful hits while firing ball.  Roll a d6 and refer to the Critical Hit Chart for the effect.  If any cannon rolls three 6's, then the cannon has exploded, destroying the cannon and its crew.  Cannons may not fire at any target closer than 8 dots without destroying the firing cannon and its crew plus the ship receives damage equal to what the target receives.

Muskets and pistols both require visible targets.  Any target behind a railing receives a -2 to the target number.  Any figure in a cabin or on the gun deck cannot be hit unless the attacker is on the same vessel.  There are no modifiers during Boarding.

The Captain of a ship may scuttle it by firing his pistol into the powder stores at the end of the Task phase.  The ship receives its full HF in damage to the hull, killing an equal number of crew and an equal number of boarders, if any.  Any ship engaged in Boarding it receives one half the HF in damage applied as a ball hit.

Example A:  The Skull's Eye Schooner has a full broadside on target for an Imperial Flagship and fires 2 cannons with shot and 2 cannons with ball, in that order.  The dice are rolled in groups of 3 for each cannon starting with the shot.  The first cannon fires shot and rolls 3, 3, and 6 which removes the top 2 SF and 2 sailors.  The second cannon fires shot and rolls 1, 4, and 6 which skips the next open slot, an HF, and takes out the third SF and another sailor.  The third cannon fires ball and rolls 1, 2, and 3 for 2 hits which take out the first and second HF along with 2 more figures.  Th fourth cannon fires ball and rolls 1, 2, and 2 for 3 success which take out an SF, an HF, and another SF along with 3 figures.  Since all three rolls were successful and the cannon fired ball, the player rolls a d6 for the resulting critical hit.  The roll is a 2 which destroys a cannon and 2 crew members.  The total damage to the Flagship is 5 SF, 3 HF, 10 figures and a cannon.  The ship is adrift next turn and has lost most of its starting crew  of 19 figures.

Example B:  The Imperial Flagship returns fire as though it had not yet been hit, casualties and damage are applied at the end of the phase.  Both cannons fire shot at a target of 3 and they get 4 successes total.  The Imperials also fire 7 muskets.  The Schooner has 4 men on the top castles, the rest are on deck.  The Imperials get 4 musket shots at a target of 4 for the pirates on the top castles and 3 at a target of 2 for the pirates on the deck.  They get successes against 3 pirates on the top castles and 1 success against those on the deck.  The total damage to the Schooner is 4 SF and 8 pirates.

Moving

The figure may move to any location on the ship.  Any overboard figure may move up to eight dots by swimming, and if it starts within eight dots of a friendly ship, they may board it.  Any figure that falls on the floor or is set down by the player has fallen overboard and may not reboard in the same round.  Figures may move a cannon from one side of a ship to the other.  This requires two figures to accomplish and the cannon can not fire or be reloaded in the turn it moves.

Reloading

A cannon takes one round for two figures to reload or two rounds for one to reload.  Pistols, deck guns, and muskets take one figure one round to reload.  Figures manning cannons are indicated by facing the figures toward the cannon and equipping them with either a shot or a ram rod.  Imperial Marines cannot reload or fire cannons on board a ship.

Sailing

The figure is adjusting sails or steering the vessel.  During the task phase, there must be as many crew sailing as there are remaining SF or the ship loses the extra SF, which must be reset.  Place one crew at the helm and split the remaining between deck and top castles.  The ship regains one SF at the end of the turn for every two crew tasked for sailing above the remaining SF.  A ship may reset up to two SF per turn, but may never reset more SF than the total remaining HF of the vessel.  Imperial Marines cannot sail.

3.0 Morale (Plus Sharks)

Certain conditions will require the crew of a ship to make a morale test to remain in a battle.  The target for the morale check is the highest Attack of the surviving crew, usually either the Captain or First Mate.  Imperial Marine Lieutenants only influence marines and sailors follow only Captains or First Mates.  Check Marines seperately from sailors.  A morale check is made when any of the conditions listed in the Morale Test Chart occurs.  Add the modifiers together if multiple conditions exist.  The player rolls one die for each ship affected.  A crew that mutinees will throw the Captain and First Mate overboard and attempt to flee.  If the crew passes a morale check in the next turn, they may return to the battle,  otherwise the ship is removed once it is outside cannon range of the enemy.  An Imperial ship is considered to have passed the morale check if any Marines on board succeed, regardless of the outcome of the test for the sailors.

Examples:  The Black Seas Barracuda took a stern rake from the Imperial Flagship that they broke off boarding combat with last round.  As a result, they have no sails left and are out another 5 pirates bringing their total to 13 including Captain and First Mate.  The original crew size was 33.  The target number for the morale check is the Captains Attack of 5 with a -1 modifier for being adrift and a -2 modifier for being at half crew or less, yielding a result of 1.  The roll is a 3 and the crew mutinies.  The Captain and First Mate are dumped overboard while the sailors reset sails in order to flee.  At the end of the next round, the player rolls another morale check.  The target number is the highest Attack on board, a 3, with a modifier of -2 for half of the crew being dead, yielding a result of 1.  The roll is a 4 and the ship is out of the battle as soon as it leaves cannon range of the nearest Imperial ship. 

Any figure that ends up in the water is likely to become shark bait.  A d6 is rolled for every figure in the water, and on a 5 or 6, the figure is eaten by sharks.  The Pirate Captain will always be the last pirate figure from a given ship to be eaten.

Example:  Our hapless Captain and First Mate of the Black Seas Barracuda are in the water after a failed morale check when the local sharks become interested.  Two dice are rolled with results of 3 and 5.  The First Mate is eaten because Pirate Captains always live to the last.  He gets munched two turns later.

4.0 Damage Chart

The Damage Chart is used to keep track of the amount of damage a vessel has taken.  Before starting a game, you will need to cross off the extra lines on the chart to make it reflect the ship you are using.  Start at the first HF and count HF's down the column until you reach the number shown in the Ship Chart for your ship's HF.  Cross off everything below this.  Next, count from the first open SF at the bottom of the chart until you reach the number shown in the Ship Chart for your ship's SF.  Cross off everything above this.  Place the Speed shown on the Ship Chart next to the top most SF on your chart and fill in the remainder of the speed ratings next to the SF's by subtracting the Sail Loss (SL) shown in the Ship Chart.  See the example of the completed chart.

Damage is marked off of a ship starting at the topmost undamaged line and crossing off one line for each hit of damage, skipping any lines already crossed off.  If the damage is from a cannon firing shot, then it only crosses off SF's. A ship may only have as many SF as remaining HF once it has taken damage to the HF.  Any excess SF are immediately crossed off and may not be reset.  Erase the lines over SF's as sails are reset.  The ship loses one figure for every HF or SF lost. 

When a ship reaches 0 HF, it sinks and is removed from play at the end of that phase. One half of the remaining crew dies and the rest end up in the water.  The Captain of an Imperial vessel always goes down with his ship, the Pirate Captain always ends up as shark bait.

5.0 Prize Crews

A Prize Crew is assigned to sail a ship that was captured during Boarding.  The Prize Crew consists of the First Mate plus a number of figures equal to the remaining SF on the captured ship.  Additional figures may be transferred to the Prize Crew to man cannons or act as boarders.  The Imperials may prize a ship by placing the Lieutenant and a number of marines equal to one half the captured crew on board.  A ship captured by the Imperials cannot engage in further battle and must leave the area immediately.  The ship is removed once it is beyond cannon range of any remaining enemy ships.

6.0 Ship Design

The attributes given for the LEGO® models on the Ship Data Chart were derived using the following set of design rules.

6.1 Hull Type

There are two types of hulls available, 8's and 12's.  The widths are determined by the width of the base deck in dots.  An 8 is a narrow hull ship and includes the Renegade Runner and Imperial Flagship.  The 12's are wide hull ships such as the Black Seas Barracuda, Carribean Clipper, or Skull's Eye Schooner.  The major differences between the two types  of hulls are the tonnage, cannon configuration, and draft.

The 12's tonnage is equal to one and one half times the HF, rounded up.  It can carry back to back cannons or cannons that move from side to side, either on wheels or slides (see the Skull's Eye Schooner).  They have a draft of 12 dots, see Running Aground in the Movement section.

The 8's tonnage is equal to its HF.  It can only carry cannons configured to move from side to side on wheels or slides and can never have cannons configured back to back.  The draft is 8 dots.

6.2 Hull Length

The hull Length directly determines the HF of the ship.  The HF of a ship is equal to its Length divided by 8.  The bow and stern hull sections added together have a Length of 24.  Each center hull section has a length of 8 dots.  Once you have determined the Length of the vessel, divide it by 8 to get the HF or add 3 HF for the bow and stern sections plus 1 HF for every additional center section.  The minimum Length for a ship is 24 and the maximum is 80.  Record both the Length and the HF.

Example:  The Skull's Eye Schooner has bow and stern sections plus three center sections giving it a total HF of 6 and a Length of 48 dots.

6.3 Sails

The models produced by Lego® may have one of six types of sails; mainsail, topsail, high topsail, gaff sail, lateen, and jib.  Each sail has a Sail Factor and the sum of the sails is the SF for the ship.  The number of Sail Factor required to achieve a given speed is dependent on the HF of the ship, with the HF determining the Sail Loss for each SF.  Divide the desired Speed by the Sail Loss to determine the number of Sail Factor and drop any fractions.  The final Speed of the ship is equal to the Sail Loss times the SF.  The SF for a ship must always be less than one and one half its HF.  The slowest a ship can be designed to move is 48 dots.

The main sail, topsail, and high topsail are all square rigged sails with a yardarm at both top and bottom.  The main sail spans from the first yardarm mount to the second, the topsail spans from the second yardarm mount to the third, and the high topsail spans from the second yardarm mount to the top mount.  Regardless of the sails used, the first of the square rigged sails on a single mast adds two SF and the second on the same mast adds one SF.

The gaff sail is supported by two yardarms that pivot off the back of the mast with the upper arm, called the gaff, at an angle to the lower arm.  The gaff sail has an SF of two.

The lateen is a triangular sail supported from the top of a single mast by one yardarm.  The small triangular sails provided by Lego® provide one SF.

The jib is a small triangular sail mounted between the front mast and the bow.  The jib provides an SF of one.

Example:  The designer of the Skull's Eye Schooner wanted a Speed of 70.  The designer finds the row for a 6 HF and finds that the Sail Loss is 8.  Dividing the Speed of 70 by the Sail Loss of 8 yields a result of 8 with the fraction dropped.  The Skull's Eye Schooner ends up with a Speed of 64 dots using 8 SF.  The Skull's Eye Schooner cannot add an additional SF because one and one half its HF is 9 and the total SF must be less than this.

Sail Loss Table

6.4 Masts

The masts on board a ship support the sails and are limited by the sail types and number.  Lego masts come in three sections; base, middle and top.  The base mast has an integral base plate, the middle mast mounts on top of it and the top mast mounts above the middle mast.  Both the middle and top masts may be mounted directly to base plates.  In terms of design, there are three types of masts; single, topped and full.  Some masts require top castles and ratlines to support them.

A single mast is a top mast section mounted directly to a mounting plate (e.g. Renegade Runner).  Single masts do not require top castles or ratlines, and they may carry lateen or gaff sails.  The single mast is frequently used as a mizzenmast on the rear deck of ships.

A topped mast is a middle mast section with a top mast and a top castle with short ratlines (e.g. Imperial Flagship).  A topped mast may carry a gaff sail, a high topsail or any combination of these.

A full mast consists of all three mast sections with a top castle and long ratlines (e.g. Skull's Eye Schooner).  Full masts may carry a main sail plus a topsail or high topsail.

In addition to the above listed sails, the first mast of the ship may also carry a jib.

The width of the ship determines the types of masts it may use.  An 8 can mount only single masts and topped masts.  12's can mount full or top masts on the main decks and a mizzenmast on the rear deck.

The number of masts needed depends on the type of sails being used and the SF required by the design.  Subtract one from the SF for the jib and divide the remainder by 3 if the ship is using full masts.  A remainder of one requires a lateen on a mizzenmast, a remainder of two a gaff or topsail on a mizzenmast.  If the ship is using gaff sails, divide by two.  Typically, ships with gaff sails on the main masts will use either gaff or lateen sails on the mizzenmast.

Example:  The designer of the Skull's Eye Schooner needs enough masts to loft 8 SF of sails.  The designer subtracts 1 for the jib and divides the result of 7 by 3 to get 2 with a remainder of 1 SF.  The Skull's Eye Schooner ends up with a jib, two full masts with main sail and topsail, and a lateen on a mizzenmast.

6.5 Tonnage

The ship now has values for its HF, SF, Speed, Length, and Sail Loss and all that remains is the crew and cannons.  The sailing crew of the ship is equal to the SF for the ship plus two.  This translates into one sailor for every Sail Factor plus a Captain and a First Mate.  The additional crew and equipment is limited by the tonnage of the ship.

The ship's tonnage is equal to its HF for 8's and one and one half its HF, rounded up, for 12's.  The tonnage is then allocated for crew, cannons, marines, cargo, etc.  One ton is equal to 4 figures, 1 cannon and 2 figures, or 4 chests or barrels.

Example:  The Skull's Eye Schooner is a 12 with 6 HF, resulting in 9 tons of space available (6 multiplied by 1.5).  Being a pirate ship, it cannot have more than one half its tonnage in cannons so the designer puts 4 cannons on the gun deck on slides to allow them to have a broadside of 4 cannons on either side of the ship.  The designer then adds 4 tons of pirates, a total of 16 extra figures.  One half of the extra pirates may have muskets or pistols so four of the pirates are female and 4 other pirates have muskets.  This leaves one ton of space open for treasure chests.

6.6 Design

The actual configuration for your ship depends on your imagination and how many pieces you have.  However, there are some general guidelines in designing ships.

-Ships with two or more cannons typically mount the cannons on the gun deck.  The cannons face out gun ports on one or both sides of the ship and may be mounted on wheels or slides.

-Rear facing cannons, called stern chasers, can be mounted singly or dually on 12's in the hull.

-A ship may have only one cannon mounted on a turntable.

-Any ship can mount up to 2 deck guns on the bow.

-Pirates may allocate a maximum of one half of the tonnage to cannons.

Optional Rules

The following are optional rules for Pirate Wars and are intended to add more options and complexity to the game.

Running Aground

Whenever a ship travels through shallow water, either reefs or near islands, the ship runs the risk of damaging its hull on the sea bottom.  The draft of the ship, the distance the hull extends below the surface, is equal to the interior width of the ships hull.  Narrow hulls have a width of 8 and wide hulls have a width of 12.  Damage from running aground can never exceed the ships remaining HF.  Ships that lose all of their HF by running aground do not sink, they become obstacles that must be maneuvered around.  The ships that are aground are out of the game and cannot fire cannons or guns at passing ships.  The crew may use launches to go to other friendly vessels or islands.

A ship runs aground if it passes an island at a distance less than its draft.  If the ship is going past the island or rock, it takes only one point of Hull Factor in damage.  If the island is within 45° of the ships heading, the ship then takes one point of Hull Facter for every 8 dots of movement it had left when it began to run aground.  In addition, the ship takes an additional point of damage for every four dots less than their draft that they are closer to the island.  A narrow hull ship takes one point of damage if it is from 4 to 8 dots from the island and two points of HF if it is withing 4 dots of the island.  A wide hulled ship takes one point of damage if it is from 8 to 12 dots from the island, two points if from 4 to 8 dots and three points if less than 4 dots from the island.

Example:  A Skull's Eye Schooner rounds an island and is forced to cut it close.  The ship passes the island with 6 dots between the edge of its hull and the edge of the island.  The Skull's Eye Schooner loses two HF, one for running aground and one for being within 8 dots of the island(more than four dots less than its draft, but less than eight dots less than its draft).

Example:  An Imperial Flag Ship maneuvers for a shot but the Captain forgets that they can't turn until they move forward a full length.  The ship has its full move of 60 dots and is 16 dots from a rock.  On the next turn, the ship moves forward 16 dots before running aground.  The ship has 44 dots of movement left, which divided by 8 results in six points of HF damage.  The ship only has 4 HF of damage and stops dead on the rock, a navigational hazard for the rest of the game.

Reefs are set up at the beginning of the game and have a specific area they cover and a specific depth.  The depth may vary along the length of the reef.  The reef may be 4, 8, or 12 dots deep.  A reef deeper than 12 dots does not affect ships because it is deeper than the draft of a wide hull.  The damage is taken when the bow of the vessel crosses the edge of the reef and is not taken again unless the ship leaves and then reenters the reef.  A depth 4 reef does two points of HF damage to a narrow hull and three points of damage to a wide hull.  A depth 8 reef does one point of damage to a narrow hull and two points of damage to a wide hull.  A depth 12 reef does one point of damage to a wide hull.  A ship that enters a reef in a deep area and then travels to a shallow area takes additional damage equal to the difference between the damages of the two depths.

Example:  A Man of War (an Imperial Skull's Eye Schooner with 8 cannons, 4 per side) is chasing a Renegade Runner.  The Renegade runner crosses into a reef to try and lose the Imperials.  The reef is depth 8 and does one point of damage to the Renegade Runners hull.  The Man of War follows and loses two HF from hitting the reef because it has a wide hull.  The Renegade Runner then passes into depth 4 water and takes an additional point of hull damage.  The Man of War decides to steer clear of this and heads back out to open water.

Oversailing

Oversailing is a sacrifice of cargo area in order to add additional sails to make the ship faster.  A narrow hull may add one additional sail over its maximum for every ton of cargo space it allocates to additional sails.  A wide hull may add one additional sail for every two tons of cargo space it allocates to additional sails.  Each additional sail adds another figure to the sailing crew.  The speed of the vessel is increased according to the number of sails added. 

Overloading

Overloading is a sacrifice of speed for extra cargo.  A narrow hull adds one additional ton of cargo space for every sail withheld.  A wide hull adds two additional tons of cargo for every sail withheld.  Sails that are withheld are not removed from the ship or the damage chart and the crew is not lost.  Instead, calculate the speed of the ship as though it had lost that number of sails and then begin numbering at the first sail with that speed and reduce by one Sail Loss for each SF down the chart.  Fill in all the remaining slots with a speed of 8 once the speed drops below 8.

Example:  A Skull's Eye Schooner overloads by adding two additional crews of men and two tons of treasure chests.  The Skull's Eye Schooner then moves as though her speed were reduced by two Sail Factor.  The original speed was 64 and with a Sail Loss of 8 the new starting speed is 48 dots.  The player puts this at the top of the chart and then fills in the remaining 7 SF slots with 40, 32, 24, 16, 8, 8, and 8.

Launches

All ships carry launches, small rowboats used to get the crew to and from shore.  Each ship carries one launch for every 8 figures, dropping any remainder.  Launches move at a speed of 24 dots and turn like ships.  Launches may move backwards at one half speed and are not affected by wind.  They do not get damaged when they run aground.  Launches may not fire cannons and are at -1 to hit with a cannon firing ball.  Launches have only 1 point of HF and sink when hit using the standard rules for sinking ships. 

A Launch may be placed next to a ship with up to seven figures on board as a single action in the Action phase of the turn.  The launch moves normally on the next turn.  A Launch may land on a beech or at a pier as an action.  The figures on board may not leave until the next turn, but they may fire muskets and pistols.  A launch may not leave a beach or a pier until the turn after the last figure boards it.  Launches may not be used in a turn that a ship sinks, but they may be used to flee a ship that has run aground.

Launches may carry up to seven figures.  A treasure chest or barrel counts as two figures and a cannon counts as four figures.

Some launches are equipped with a gaff rigged sail on a mast mounted on a small turn table.  These boats use the standard sailing rules with a speed of 36 dots.  They have one SF which cannot be reset and may carry four figures.

Wind Heading by Sail Types

The type of sail a ship lofts affects the direction it may travel with respect to the wind.  Ships that loft square rigged sails may only travel with the wind from beam to beam and may never head into the wind.  Ships that loft only gaff rigged or lateen sails may tack as per the normal rules.  This rule reflects the reality of sailing these ships.  If this rule is used, the Skull's Eye Schooner and Black Seas Barracuda will never be able to move up wind and the Imperial Flagship will only be able to move at tack if the main square sail is struck.  To do this, two additional sailors must be tasked to bring the sail down and the ship then moves as though it had lost 2 SF.  This rule drastically changes game balance and is not highly recommended.

Firing Cannons

The older ships have cannons that actually fire.  This rule may be used with firing cannons to determine hits and damage.  The player loads the cannon with a grey round for shot and a black round for ball.  They may then fire the cannon at the target. 

If the shot hits the target and bounces beyond it, it does one point of damage.  If the shot hits the target and bounces back toward the attacker, it does two points of damage.  If the shot hits the target and stays on the ship, then it does three points of damage.  All damage is applied according to the basic rules.  Please note that the normal ranges for cannons still apply even though the cannon may be able to physically shoot farther.

Fortresses

Fortresses represent stone and brick structures capable of withstanding cannon hits.  Fortresses are typically controlled by the Imperial Marines, pirates would rather be free to move about.

Fortresses cannot be sunk, nor can they be destoyed within the scope of the game.  The figures manning the fortress can be killed, allowing the fortress to be overrun.  Due to the solid construction of a fortress, the first success of every cannon strike is eliminated.  A cannon firing shot only kills one figure for each success after the first.  A cannon firing ball kills one figure for each success after the first, but it also destroys a cannon and its crew if it gets three successes.  Figures can fire muskets at the fortress with a penalty of -2.  Each success kills one figure.

Entering Fortresses

There are two ways of entering a fortress, scaling the walls and blowing down the doors. Once inside, all casualties from cannon fire is split between the attackers and the defenders, with the defenders always taking the first loss.

Any pirate figure that lives long enough to get to the wall of a fortress may scale the wall.  The figure must end a turn adjacent to the bottom of the wall.  At the end of the next turn, they are placed on top of the wall.  Any figures on top of the walls are at +1 to hit a figure climbing the wall.

Cannons outside of the fortress may destroy the doors, if any.  The doors require two successful hits to destroy using ball and the cannon firing at them must point at them. The first success is not dropped when firing on doors.

Figures on Shore

Figures on shore, including in fortresses and on docks, follow the standard turn sequence.  However, the figures move during the Movement Phase and may still fight during the task phase if they moved.  They may not reload cannons, muskets or pistols if they have moved.

Figures have a base movement of 24 dots, except figures with peg legs move only 18 dots. Count the number of dots from where the figure is to where it is going and move the figure after you reach 24 or the desired position.  The length of the ramp on the mountain base is 18 dots and a figure may only move onto the ramp if they have enough movement to reach the top.  Figures on stairs pay two dots of movement for each dot moved forward.  Figures on ladders pay 12 dots of movement for each level climbed up or down.

All figures must be firmly attached to the base plate, building or pier.  Any figure that falls over must spend the next task phase standing up.  Figures that fall off of a building are killed unless they fall off into the water. 

Cannons firing shot on figures in launches or on the ground outside of a fortress kill two figures for each success.  There is a -2 penalty for any figure outside of a building that fires at a figure inside of a building.  There is a -1 penalty for any figure firing at another figure that is partially obscured by parapets, barrels, cargo, etc.

Fortress Design

The size and configuration of a fortress is left to the discretion of the designer with only a few conventions.

A fortress may have only one cannon for every 24 dots in length of outer wall, not including the main entrance doors.  The mountain base plate has a perimeter of 88 dots and can have up to three cannons.  The perimeter can be increased by building out over the edge, but the structure must be supported from below.  Docks do not increase the perimeter of the fortress, but enclosed buildings on the docks do.

Buildings are considered to be enclosed when they have walls or structure on two sides and a roof.  The other sides may be left off as a convention to allow the easy placement and removal of figures and they still give a -2 fire modifier to targets iside the building.  Buildings can be of multiple levels and cannons can be located on any level.  There must be a ladder or stairs to provide access to all levels.  Typically, each fortress sports a tower at least two levels high.

Cannons can be mounted anywhere within a fortress with at least 4 dots or one floor between them.  Cannons may be mounted on wheels, slides or turn tables.  Cannons mounted on wheels may be turned and moved inside the fortress.  It requires two figures to move the cannon and the cannon can only be moved 12 dots per turn.  Cannons on slides have a fixed direction and cannon be removed and fired.  Cannons on turn tables can be turned freely, but cannot be removed and fired.  Cannons on parapeted structures are considered inside the fortress for determining hits.

Fortresses receive 4 Imperial Marines for each cannon.  The Marines may fire and reload cannons in the Fortress as well as their normal tasks.  Each Fortress also receives one Imperial Marine Lieutenant as a commander.  

Hauling Loot

Cannons can be moved from ship to ship or ship to shore by tasking four figures to move the cannon.  The cannon is moved to the other ship or pier at the end of the turn.  The ship or pier receiving the cannon must be in hull to hull contact with the ship moving the cannon.  The cannon can be loaded into a launch with two figures and may be unloaded on shore by a team of four figures.  Treasure chests and barrels can be moved by tasking two figures to carry each one.

Revised Renegade Runner

The Renegade Runner model is a basic stripped down ship that is frequently seen as being unworthy of battle.

The speed of the Renegade Runner is 48 dots, which leaves it slower than just about any other vessel.  To increase the speed, add one of the gaff rigged masts from a launch, replacing the compass on the stern castle with the mast.  This adds one Sail Factor and one sailor to the ship and increases the speed to 64 dots.  This makes the Renegade Runner a quick moving and agile ship.

The single cannon limits the ship's firepower.  Remove the center mount cannon and use two four long by one wide bricks on each side to support a turn table mounted on the hull.  The Renegade Runner gets two cannon crew for each cannon and now has sufficient firepower to make people worry.

These modifications will result in a crew consisting of four sailors, four cannon crew, four extra pirates, and the Captain and First Mate.  The revised Renegade Runner moves as fast as the Skull's Eye Schooner and can make three 90° turns at full movement.  The dual turret cannons allow it to shoot at just about any target.  These modifications are highly recommended to increase the worthiness of the smallest ship in the line.  Without these modifications, its better to just strip the ship and use it as a target vessel for pirate captures.

Stern Chasers

Stern chasers are cannons mounted out the back of the ship that are used to discourage tailgating and boarding approaches from the rear.  Only wide hulled ships may mount stern chasers and they may mount one or two.  Due to limited space, stern chasers are mounted on slides.  A slide is constructed using two one by four bricks, two one by two bricks, two one by four smooth tiles and a one by two smooth tile. Other bricks may be substituted to achieve similar function.

Rules Clarification for Resetting Sails

After lengthy playtesting and many requests, the rules for resetting sails are changed as follows.  A player may reset as many sails as desired providing they have the necessary number of figures available and tasked for sailing.  The player may reset the excess sails at the top of the damage chart as long as they have not lost any HF.  As soon as the first HF is lost, any remaining sails above the HF are lost and cannot be reset.  After that point, the number of sails cannot exceed the number of HF.

Rules for Islanders

The Islanders are the native inhabitants of Legonesia.  They quite obviously inhabit a number of islands of varying sizes.  Some Islanders are friendly to the pirates, some are friendly to the Imperials, some are friendly to both and some will take either with barbecue sauce.  The Islanders lack the big ships and high tech muskets and cannons of their more advanced cousins, but they make up for it in cunning.

Figures

There are three types of islander figures, Kahuna, Warrior, and Tribesmen.

Kahuna      Attack 5, Hits 3, two melee attacks per round.  Chiefs wear a mask with a white plume at the top and are equipped with spear and shield.  There is only one chief on each island or chain of islands.

Shaman      Attack 5, Hits 2, two melee attacks per round.  Warriors wear a mask without a plume at the top and are equipped with a spear and shield.  There may be one Warrior for every four Warriors.

Warrior      Attack 4, Hits 1, one melee attacks per round.  Warriors wear the standard bone in the hair or long straight hair may be used for the female figures.  Warriors may be male or female figures and are equipped with either a bow or a spear and shield. 

Weapons

Islanders cannot use the standard weapons; they can use either a bow or a spear and shield.

Bow   Dice 1, Range, does not require an action to reload.  Bows may be used against any target from 4 dots away to 48 dots away.

Spear Dice 1, Range 24B.  Spears may be thrown up to 24 dots or they may be used in melee combat(Boarding Combat Rules).  Each figure with a spear has an unlimited number for throwing.  A figure cannot throw a spear and engage in melee in the same turn.

Shield      The shield reduces the opponents target number in melee by 1 regardless of the weapon that is being used.

Movement

The islanders move 24 dots on the island during the movment phase per the optional rules governing figure movement on ground.  In addition, they also have canoes, outriggers, and catamarans for moving on the water.

Canoes hold three figures each and can move 36 dots during the Movement phase.  Only two figures need to paddle the canoe so the third figure can shoot arrows or throw spears.

Outriggers hold three figures and can move 48 dots using the rules for launches.  Outriggers only require one for full movement allowing the remaining two to attack.

Catamarans hold six figures and can move 48 dots using the rules for launches.  Catamarans only require two figures to move at full allowing the remaining four to attack.

An Islander on land must be within 12 dots of a canoe in order to get into it and then may move up to 18 dots in the canoe that round.  The figure must be within 8 dots of an outrigger or catamaran in order to board it that turn and then can move only 24 dots.

Islands

Islanders may occupy any island that has a base plate at least 32 dots on a side (the standard base plate size).  Smaller islands may be inhabited if they are connected to a larger island by bridges.  Each standard base plate may support up to 8 islanders and each smaller island plate may support an additional 2 islanders. 

The design of the island is left up to the builder with the following guidelines.  The main island must be a 32 by 32 dot base plate or mountain base and it must be connected by bridges to any surrounding smaller islands.  There must be at least one hut or building denoting the village and at least one idol with treasure at the base. 

Islander Disposition

The disposition of the Islanders is left entirely to the whim of the builder.  In general, Islanders will not attack unless someone lands on one of their islands.  They will attack once the figures land on the beach and if there are sufficient islanders, will send canoes after the ship to try and capture the treasure.  If they board the ship and win the fight, they will take any treasure to their idol and burn the ship, removing it and its crew from the game.  Please note that Islanders cannot be targeted with cannon fire until after they attack a landing party.

The Islanders will retreat into the jungle once they have lost one half of their starting number.  The landing party cannot follow them into the jungle nor can they be shot at during the firing portion of the Tasks phase.  The Islanders will attack again if the landing party raids their idol for treasure and will not flee until they have lost one half of their number.  The Islanders return to full strength in any turn that there are no living landing parties on their island during Initiative.  A ship anchored off shore or beached on the island is considered to have a landing party on the island.

Alligators and Traps

Trudging around on an island is bad enough with Islanders, but the figures also have to watch out for Alligators and traps.  Both of these hazards are checked for during the Morale phase.

Alligators will attack any non-Islander figure within four dots of a water edge on any island during the Morale phase.   One d6 is rolled for each figure and the figure is eaten on a 6.  The normal shark rules for Pirate Captains and Female Pirates apply.

Every figure near a tree is in danger of running into a snare. If the figure lies under any branch or frond from a tree, then they can be caught in a trap.  Roll 1d6 for each figure with a roll of 6 indicating that the figure has been trapped.  Any of the figures friends can try and free the figure by making a normal melee attack in the next turn with a success freeing the figure.  Any figures left in traps are removed from play if the player has no other untrapped figures on the island.  Figures on beached or anchored ships do not count in this situation.  

Dead Man's Island

A Dead Man's Island is any island that contains wreckage and frequently is littered with skeletons.  At the option of the scenario being played, the skeletons my fire any cannons on the island at any ship within 72 dots using shot with a target number of 1.  The skeletons cannot be shot with cannons, muskets, pistols, or deck guns, they must be hacked apart with cutlasses and hooks.  The skeletons have 1 hit and an attack of 2.  Any figure attacking a skeleton is at +1 to their target number.  Captains and Lieutenants automatically kill 2 skeletons each turn that they are in melee with them.  The number of skeletons on an island is determined the same way as for Islanders and the skeletons regroup once there are no other living figures on the island.  

LEGO® and LEGOLAND® are registered trademarks of the LEGO Group.  This game is © 1994 Stephen W. Gabriel.  This game is the sole idea of its designer and is not recommended, supported or condoned by the LEGO Group.  This game is freeware and may be reproduced for personal use only.