Pirates Constructible Strategy Game
| Players | 2–9 |
|---|---|
| Age range | 8 and up |
| Setup time | Depends on how much time it takes to build ships the first time, otherwise 10 minutes |
| Playing time | 30–180 minutes |
| Random chance | Considerable |
| Skill(s) required | Strategy, Dice rolling, Collecting |
The Pirates Constructible Strategy Game is a tabletop game manufactured by WizKids, Inc., with aspects of both miniatures and collectible card genres. "Pirates of the Spanish Main" (the initial release of the Pirates line) is the world's first "constructible strategy game," referring to the mechanics of creating game pieces from components that punch out of styrene cards. The game was created by Jordan Weisman and designed by Mike Mulvihill, Ethan Pasternack, James Ernest, and Mike Selinker. It was released in early July 2004. Pirates of the Spanish Main refers specifically to the first release in the series, and generically to the game as a whole (or the game's "universe") including all of the expansions. There was also an online computer game based on Pirates of the Spanish Main called Pirates CSG Online, however Sony Online Entertainment ended the service on 1/31/2011.
The game won the Origins Vanguard Award 2005.
On November 10, 2008, Topps announced the closure of Wizkids.
On September 14, 2009, collectible maker National Entertainment Collectibles Association announced the purchase of the Wizkids name and properties from Topps, specifically including the Pirates line. No official word has been given on the return of Pirates, but unofficial information from insiders indicates it is possible we will see a return sometime in 2012 - though it would probably include changes to the core game (such as new rules or Clix style game pieces). Several third-party companies have picked up second-hand packages for resale at Target stores.
On March 9, 2012, Wizkids announced that they plan to release a card-only version of the game. The release date of this game has not been announced yet.
The general goal of Pirates is to collect more gold than your opponents, or with variants, to achieve a given objective or destroy all enemy ships (numerous scenarios written by WizKids and others have vastly extended the playability of the game). The game's pieces include ships, forts, sea monsters, crew, islands and other terrain markers, events, gold and other treasure tokens.
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