Can I get everyone's help to answer this? I'm trying to find the exact wording I read a while ago about all the conditions that end the game. One of which is getting more than half the gold, another when only 1 player has a ship afloat/able to move, etc. I checked the WK website, but the only FAQ i could find was from Aug. 16th, and didn't mention anything about it. If anyone has said FAQ printed/saved, could you please post that section? TIA :)


Later

Cap'n Morgan

I believe the rule is on page 10 of the rule book. I don't have it with me but paraphrasing it states: The game ends when a player has over half the gold (which would be at least 13 or more on home island) or the opposing player is unable to move, i.e. all ships sank or derelict. The game comes to a end at that moment. Gold is tallied. Even if you were derelict but had more gold on your home island than your opponent you win. Optional rules would be to keep all treasure won not including the treasure still on wild islands or the opposing home island.

More specifically, it's within the tournament rules which is in the same section of the Wizkidz page as the FAQ and the complete rules.

Not quite. 'Winning the Game' of the revised rules only states: "The first player to get more than half of the starting treasure (measured in gold) to his or her home island wins the game!"

That's it. No statements about gold ties, all ships sunk/derilect/unable to move, or any other way to determine a winner.

Nope, not there either. In fact, what's there is actually quite strange. It reads: "If, at the end of any turn, only one player still has a ship remaining in play, the game ends, and that player is declared the winner." So, according to that, in a tournament it doesn't matter whether your opponent has more gold than you, as long as kick his ***. Also, does anyone have a definition for 'a ship in play?' Would you need to sink a ship to remove it from play, or is any ship that's derilect/unable to move considered out of play?

Anyway, what I'm looking for is really specific. While playing in a Gencon SoCal event, I spent some extra time looking at a FAQ (or some kind of Official-looking document) which mentioned a few events that immediately end the game, as well as how to decide the winner when time runs out. I remember first was count the gold at home islands. If tied, count the number of masts successfully eleminated. If still tied then number of masts remaining. The only FAQ I can find (apparently the only FAQ ever made, from 8/16/04) mentions none of these things.

I'm also almost positive I remember one of the conditions for ending a game was something like 'At the beginning of any players turn, if one or more players cannot move, the game ends. The player with the most gold on his/her home island is the winner.'

If any of this sounds familiar to anyone, please check around to find it. I'd really like to find that document to confirm it's worded like I remember. Wording is everything when you're wiggling through loopholes, you know. =)

If anyone finds such a document, could you please post it or e-mail the pdf to me directly at [email protected] (remove NOSPAM form address. not sure if spam-mail programs scan this forum like they do lots of others I visit, so better safe than sorry =) ) And, just to forstall dozens of people sending me the FAQ I've already seen, It's none of the documents available at WK's Pirates Writs/Resources page.

Thanks again for your help everyone. Later

Cap'n Morgan

Incorrect. When an "end game" condition has been reached, the player with the most gold on his or her home island is the winner.

This is a misprint. The updated tournament rules ( FAQ also ) should be posted shortly after the release of PotCC.

This is from the current FAQs found on the WK Website - Pirates: Rules

END OF GAME & WINNING CONDITIONS

Q: Under what conditions is the game officially over?
A: The game is over if any one of the following conditions are met a) official time has expired & players have finished their last turn, b) a player has more than half of the starting gold total on their home island, c) at the start of any turn if any player no longer has the possibility of giving future move actions to any of their ships or d) all gold is on the players' home islands.

Q: If I sink all of my opponent's ships but he has more gold on his home island than I do, who wins?
A: The player with the most gold on his home island at the end of the game is the winner.

Q: What if both players have an equal amount of gold on their home islands?
A: In the event of a tie in gold count, the player who removed the most masts in combat is the winner.

Q: What if both players removed an equal number of masts?
A: In the event of a tie in mast removal, the player with the most mast remaining is the winner.

Q: What if both players have the same number of masts remaining?
A: There is no qualifier for this condition. The players can choose any method they wish to break the tie in this case.

If you want the direct link to the FAQs Page then click below...

http://forum.wizkidsgames.com/showthread.php?t=95893

Or just do house rule tourneys until they clarify it's simpler and a heck of a lot more fun.

Thanks Dropzone

For some reason I've never been able to access the forum, and that document isn't available at the Pirates homepage. Not really smart of WK to put something like that in the forum anyway. I know I never thought to look there for it.

It's also nice to finally read the correct wording. That'll put an end to 'The Dave' finally. A couple months ago I misquoted condition C as when one player 'can no longer move' instead of 'has no possibility of future move actions' and ended a game by ramming with my last ship while ahead in gold. According to the way I remembered it, that ended the game and caused me to win, instead of letting the other player get it's treasure boat back home to make 13 gold. Too bad my namesake was illegal :( but at least everyone will be done using it against me!

Oh well. Thanks again for your help everyone

Later
Cap'n Morgan

I agree that there ought to be one site for the rules. Everyone (who has internet access) can access the Wizkids site. Not everyone can access the forum.

The answer as to who wins is further clouded by the game type. Basically the rules that come with the ships say a player who has more than half the loot wins. Multiplay rules (and they are official) has the person with the most loot win. Quick Play tournament rules also has a person with the most gold win.

I do recall seeing a set of tournament rules that also had sinking all of the opposition fleet ships as a victory condition. That seems to have disappeared. I think that the designers had intended this to be a racing game rather than a clobbering game.

I hate to offer any advice, considering I have only opened my first pack. However, after reading all the rules over and over (graveyard shift, not much else to do) the winning conditions seem pretty straight forward.

Each condition negates the other.
-If I accrue over half the gold, then the game ends there, I win
-If I destroy all your fleet, you can no longer collect gold, I win

You cant destroy the other guy's fleet, and yet he has over half the gold. The game would have ended the moment he got over half.

If you're fleet is destroyed, the other guy has the board to himself to collect the gold, making it pointless to watch him, so the game goes to him.

They unfortunately do not include the FAQs in packs. You missed the game ending condition of one player not having the possibility of a move action. (i.e. all ships are wrecked, derelict or sunk.) If this were to happen, the player with the most gold wins. (Kinda like real life ;))

From the latest FAQ collection:
Q: Under what conditions is the game officially over?
A: The game is over if any one of the following conditions are met a) official time has expired & players have finished their last turn, b) a player has more than half of the starting gold total on their home island, c) at the start of any turn if any player no longer has the possibility of giving future move actions to any of their ships or d) all gold is on the players' home islands.


~J

The same applies though, If a player is unable to move before collecting over half the gold, then that would give the other player free roam of the board. So that player could collect all the remaining gold. So the game would end right there, because it would be unnecessary to watch the other player collect the golld.

You are still missing the point in the FAQ. The game is over at the start of the turn of the player that does not have a possible move action. It would take an amazing fleet to clear the board in one turn. SO, you do not want to sink all of your oppenets ships if they have more Gold than you.

~J

Actually, the main confusion that everybody is having here is that you are referring to a FAQ that is not really an FAQ.

By Wizkids own precedent which has been established from other games, the FAQ is what is listed on the main page for pirates. The forums are only for clarifications in between FAQ updates. Unfortunately, Pirahna has yet to actually update the Real FAQ (though maybe by now he has, I can't access wizkids at work).

What we are actually debating is whether or not we should use rules clarifications made by a very inconsistant judge. And when you look at it, the rule we are looking at (I win because you kicked my butt but I got 1 gold home) is not a rules clarification. It is an altering of one of the key concepts of the game, which is not a judges job. It is a designers job. Until that is in the official FAQ on the Pirates Main Page over half of us will continue to ignore it. The game runs just fine without it.

Also, the response to this statement earlier

went as follows:

I don't see your problem here. That is exactly what the rules said at the time, and they probably do still say that unless Pirahna has actually done his job properly.

I stand corrected! Then the Clarification of the FAQ ;) states the game ends at the start of a turn when the player does not have the possibility of a move. Whom ever has the most gold at that point is declared the winner.

I absolutely agree that the Official FAQ needs updated ASAP.

~J