2002Andreas Seyfarth
- Videos
- 55
- Creators
- 43
Mostly how-to-play and reviews
3 - 5 players90 - 150 minHeavy weight
Scourge of the High Seas
2025Dustin Dade
- Videos
- 9
- Creators
- 3
Mainly how-to-play and playthroughs. Scourge of the High Seas is covered on BoardGameVideo.com by 1 reviews, 3 how-to-play guides, 2 recorded sessions, 1 unboxings, and 2 other videos.
2 - 6 players
90 - 120 min
Medium weight: Teach it in one sitting
From BoardGameGeek
Take to the seas Pirate Captains! The merchants are over burdened with goods and money and need your assistance to relieve them of their troubles. But be leery! The King's navy is on the lookout for the Jolly Roger. Get your loot, sell it, and be the one with the most wealth at the end of the season by any means necessary! Scourge of the High Seas is played over 5 rounds where players will move their ship to attack merchants, islands and the navy in order to gain supplies to sell at market in trade for money. Once sold, bury the money and treasure to keep it safe for the end of the game. Whoever has the most points at the end of the game wins. FEATURES 3-6 players 90-120 Minute Playtime 200+ Pieces and Tokens Deck of treasure cards GAMEPLAY Three to six players can set sail on the ocean to try and gain the most money. Players will search out merchant ships or royal held islands and plunder them for supplies, treasure and money. With the supplies, the players can deliver them to nearby markets for selling to further increase their money. However, a captain's fortune is not safe until they can successfully bury it on the hidden island. Do not hold onto too much loot or another player may decide you are an easier way to grow their fortune. Each player will have crew tokens to assign positions on their ship board in secret. When all players have made their assignments, everyone reveals their choices and whoever has the most speed will move first. Crew assignments may depend on many factors including wind direction, nearby targets to attack, other players and the navy ships out on patrol. Each round the merchants and navy move around on trade routes, while the King's islands produce more supplies to be sold at market. Each market has its own demands for the four different types of supplies and it changes as player's sell their ill-gotten goods. In addition, every round has shifting winds making every decision in every round impactful. Will you go for the island that has a bunch of one resource in hopes the market demand is high? Or will you risk confrontation with the navy to steal from the merchant ships? Perhaps that other pirate ship is too encumbered by its own fortunes and is ripe for the taking. The choice is yours and each game has a different starting layout giving unending variety. -description from the designer
Watch first
Which Scourge of the High Seas video should I watch?
Scourge of the High Seas has 9 videos from 3 creators: 1 review, 3 how-to-play guides, 2 playthroughs, 1 unboxing and 2 other videos. They date from 2023 to September 2025.
To learn the rules, start with "Scourge of the High Seas | Setup" by LonelyMan BGs, which runs 3 min.
For an opinion before you buy, start with "Scourge of the High Seas Review Board Games with Rob" by Board Games with Rob. To see it played, watch "Scourge of the High Seas | Gameplay" by LonelyMan BGs, one of 2 playthroughs.
If you like it, try Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico 1897: Special Edition, Jaipur or Small World, which share several of its mechanics.
All videos
Creators who cover this
Dustin Dade
5 videos of this game
LonelyMan BGs
3 videos of this game
Board Games with Rob
1 video of this game
Games like this
2025Andreas Seyfarth
- Videos
- 47
- Creators
- 34
Mainly unboxings and reviews
1 - 5 players60 - 120 minHeavy weight
2009Sébastien Pauchon
- Videos
- 68
- Creators
- 62
Mostly reviews and how-to-play
2 players30 minLight weight
2009Philippe Keyaerts
- Videos
- 58
- Creators
- 50
Mostly reviews and how-to-play
2 - 5 players40 - 80 minMedium weight
About Scourge of the High Seas
From BoardGameGeek:
Take to the seas Pirate Captains! The merchants are over burdened with goods and money and need your assistance to relieve them of their troubles. But be leery! The King's navy is on the lookout for the Jolly Roger. Get your loot, sell it, and be the one with the most wealth at the end of the season by any means necessary! Scourge of the High Seas is played over 5 rounds where players will move their ship to attack merchants, islands and the navy in order to gain supplies to sell at market in trade for money. Once sold, bury the money and treasure to keep it safe for the end of the game. Whoever has the most points at the end of the game wins. FEATURES 3-6 players 90-120 Minute Playtime 200+ Pieces and Tokens Deck of treasure cards GAMEPLAY Three to six players can set sail on the ocean to try and gain the most money. Players will search out merchant ships or royal held islands and plunder them for supplies, treasure and money. With the supplies, the players can deliver them to nearby markets for selling to further increase their money. However, a captain's fortune is not safe until they can successfully bury it on the hidden island. Do not hold onto too much loot or another player may decide you are an easier way to grow their fortune. Each player will have crew tokens to assign positions on their ship board in secret. When all players have made their assignments, everyone reveals their choices and whoever has the most speed will move first. Crew assignments may depend on many factors including wind direction, nearby targets to attack, other players and the navy ships out on patrol. Each round the merchants and navy move around on trade routes, while the King's islands produce more supplies to be sold at market. Each market has its own demands for the four different types of supplies and it changes as player's sell their ill-gotten goods. In addition, every round has shifting winds making every decision in every round impactful. Will you go for the island that has a bunch of one resource in hopes the market demand is high? Or will you risk confrontation with the navy to steal from the merchant ships? Perhaps that other pirate ship is too encumbered by its own fortunes and is ripe for the taking. The choice is yours and each game has a different starting layout giving unending variety. -description from the designer
Designer
Dustin Dade
Artist
Shannon Potratz
Publisher
Self-published
Categories
Mechanics