Pirate Barons. Pirates of the Caribbean: Pirate Lords

"Pirates of the Caribbean" - famous movie who owes his success brilliant game Johnny Depp and the exploitation of the extremely popular pirate theme. The creators of this epic quite deliberately did not pay attention to historical nuances. Because these nuances would greatly complicate the work on a pirate fairy tale. Alexey Durnovo has collected three of the largest historical schools of Pirates of the Caribbean.

If you ask historians about Pirates of the Caribbean, they will most likely answer that it simply makes no sense to seriously discuss any historicity of this film. That there is an error on an error and so on. In fact, there are a lot of them there, even in small things. For example, Commander Norrington appears at one point with the Order of the Bath around his neck. And a self-respecting falerist will immediately point out several mistakes. For example, that this order was established only in 1725, that it would not have been given to any commander, and certainly not to anyone would have been allowed to put it on their neck in the same way as the character in the film did. Therefore, let's not talk about trifles. Let's focus on the global.

Sea robbers or privateers?

It must be understood that the turbulent history of the Caribbean in the 16th-18th centuries is divided into two periods. In the first of them, maritime robbery was legalized by a number of major powers (England, France, Spain), in the second, piracy was a criminal act, and pirates were hunted. None of the first three films in the series specify the year in which the events take place. The problem is that it is impossible to even approximately determine it. And that's why. Jack Sparrow is being hunted like a pirate. This kind of hunt began only in the 18th century, and specifically after 1719, when many filibusters refused the royal amnesty.

At the beginning of the 18th century, Port Royal was a small village

It is logical to assume that the first film takes place after 1719... But that was not the case. The first scenes of The Curse of the Black Pearl take place in Port Royal. Port Royal is the unofficial capital English possessions in the New World, The largest city, administrative center. But he had all this only until 1692, when a monstrous earthquake occurred in Jamaica. Port Royal was completely destroyed. Hardworking residents partially restored it, but in 1703 there was a fire, after which many decided that the place was cursed. The entire administration had moved to new town— Kingston, and Port Royal has become a small village. In general, in 1719, in this settlement it was impossible to find a governor, a shipyard, an impregnable fort and a regiment of English soldiers. But we see all this in the film. Jack Sparrow could have arrived in such a magnificent Port Royal in May 1692 at the latest. But then there wouldn’t be a hunt for him all over the city. And he would not bear any mark of the West India Company. Most likely, Jack would have had a letter of marque, since all the sea robbers of that time had one. By that time, of course, several edicts had been issued condemning and prohibiting piracy, but there was no fight against maritime robbery as a phenomenon.

This is how Port Royal could look only until June 1692

Go ahead. From Port Royal, Jack flees to Tortuga in the company of Will Turner. Let’s not talk about the fact that it’s almost impossible for two people to travel such a distance in a brig. The point is different. There was no longer any Tortuga in 1719. That is, the island still exists today, but the settlement with the fort and brothels disappeared at the beginning of the 18th century. Brothels on Torgtug ceased to exist altogether back in the 80s of the 17th century. The idea of their creation belonged to the local governor Bertrand d'Ogeron. This was a kind of marketing ploy to attract potential French privateers to the island. But Ogeron died in 1676, and soon the brothels disappeared from Torgtuga’s life. In general, it would be logical for Jack and Will to go to the island of New Providence (modern Bahamas) where they were found the last pirates. Those who did not accept the amnesty, those who wanted to rob and kill in the new world, where robbery and murder suddenly became prohibited.

Pirate Lords, the Army and the Code

Jack Sparrow

We hear about the pirate code throughout all three films. In the third film, “At the End of the World,” pirate barons also appear. Next we learn that the sea robbers have their own fortress and intend to create a republic to resist the pressure of the West India Company. Republican views pirates are generally a mainstream accordion. It is necessary for one simple reason: without it, it is extremely difficult to turn drunken criminals into freedom fighters. To put it simply, those pirates who remained sea robbers after 1719 were not even close to creating a republic. No, they had a fort in Nassau, but this fort was taken over by the new British governor Woods Rogers, and in this he was helped by those local inhabitants who decided to accept the amnesty.

Charles Wayne. The only person who thought about creating a pirate state, but quickly abandoned these plans.

The rest scattered across the seas in search of happiness, or rather, the future gallows. Jack Sparrow obviously belongs to this group. And when in the second film England begins a large-scale anti-piracy operation, it becomes clear that Jack, of course, is not a privateer, but an outlaw pirate. So, these pirates had no general organization. Each gang was on its own; organizations existed only within individual ships. Not to mention the fact that there could be no trace of connections between the sea robbers of Madagascar and Singapore. These pirates did not sail on brigs (at most, on sloops), did not storm forts and did not hang black flags on the masts. They were afraid of the royal fleet like fire, because they understood perfectly well that they had no chance in a battle with it. And the code... The code also existed only inside the ship, and, most likely, only one specific ship.

Pirates dreaming of their own republic - a mainstream accordion

The only pirate captain who actually implemented rules and forced the crew to follow them was Bartholomew Roberts. And this code was valid only on his ship and only during the period of his command. In all other cases, the so-called code was, at most, a collection of recommendations, but not rules that must be followed. Captain Barbossa speaks about this, quite rightly, in the first film.

Davy Jones and the Flying Dutchman

The second and third films, Dead Man's Chest and At World's End, tell about the heroes' struggle with the Flying Dutchman and its captain Davy Jones. For those who haven't seen the films, let's make it clear: Davy Jones is a guardian. the afterlife, who must take care of the souls of sailors. Sailors can serve on his ship and thus remain immortal. At the same time, they cannot set foot on land; this happiness is available only to Jones, and even then only once every ten years. This plot story pirate legends began, but Davy Jones, even in pirate myths, had nothing to do with the Flying Dutchman. Because if the ship is “Dutch”, then why is its captain English?

Davy Jones from Pirates of the Caribbean

Let's restore justice. The captain of the Flying Dutchman, according to legend, was named Philip van der Decken. He supposedly killed his passenger in order to marry his lover, but she refused him, threw herself overboard and brought a curse on the ship. At the Cape good hope the ship was caught in a storm, the crew rebelled, demanding to wait out the storm in the bay, but the captain shot the main rebel and swore that his crew would not go ashore until they rounded the cape.

Davy Jones and the Flying Dutchman - different stories

But the ship is cursed, and therefore Decken and his people are not destined to go ashore. So these living dead have been walking the seas ever since, instilling fear and horror in all oncoming ships. But Decken’s team is not replenished with new dead ones. "Dutch" is a closed community.

Davy Jones in an 1892 illustration

Sailors who die at sea, on the contrary, end up in a locker (not in a chest, but in a locker) with Davy Jones. Who Davy Jones is is unknown. Apparently some evil spirit. And his locker is, in fact, the ocean. Therefore, the expression “getting into Davy Jones’s locker” meant dying, drowning in the sea, playing at the box. The expression itself appeared already in the 18th century, somewhat earlier than the legend of the “Flying Dutchman”, the first mention of which dates back to 1791.

Video games based on Hollywood blockbusters usually do not shine with quality: the authors work within strict limits, are limited in time and try to repeat the plot. It turns out to be a dull craft on the topic, and nothing more. This, unfortunately, also applies to tabletop entertainment. But if the game was created separately from the plot of the film, simply based on the famous universe, something really worthwhile might come out.

There is little left from the adventures of Jack Sparrow in The Pirate Lords: memorable art on the box and ship cards with images of famous filibusters (Barbossa, Xiao Fen, and so on). Otherwise, this is a game about the harsh everyday life of a pirate, and a very exciting one at that. The main task is to destroy the forts and deliver the stolen gold to the port. But keep in mind that after a fierce battle, another pirate may swim up and sink your battered ship, capturing the loot. This is how you have to live: figure out a safe route (or, conversely, think about intercepting an enemy ship), remove guns for the sake of speed of movement, conduct careful fighting, and also closely monitor the actions of competitors. The rules of "Pirate Barons" are extremely simple, so it will be interesting to play for both adults and children - the intensity of passions depends entirely on the skills of the participants. One drawback: due to the possibility of quick repairs, battles can drag on, and this negatively affects the dynamics. However, there is a way out - you can agree that, for example, for two turns the player who lost the battle cannot respond to the offender.

The execution didn't disappoint either: colorful ships, cute chests, 20 pirates and 20 black cannons. No paper figures - only plastic. The field does not bubble, the art is bright, the cardboard does not delaminate. Everything is as it should be.

Result: simple and at the same time exciting game for the whole family. And don’t pay attention to the fact that it is based on the film - this is an independent product on a pirate theme.

Everything is better with pirates!

The Gamers 2: Darkness Rising

This is exactly what the eccentric hero of the film, dedicated to rabid fans of board games, exclaimed role playing games. The Zvezda company seems to absolutely agree with this statement. With a small caveat: only if these are not ordinary filibusters, but “ Pirates of the Caribbean» Disney.

This is interesting: Game developer Rainer Knizia is by no means new to the business. The following are his authorship: famous games, like Blue Moon City, Lost Cities, and the popular tabletop adaptation of The Lord of the Rings.

The first thing that attracts attention when you first get acquainted with the game is the good quality of execution. A minimum of cardboard tokens, a maximum of plastic miniatures: tiny cannons, chests, figurines of pirates (all of them are obvious clones of Jack Sparrow) and sailboats are made with high quality and are pleasing to the eye. The playing field is no less well made. The thin book of rules seems to hint - this is not “Sid Meier’s Civilization”, maybe you can finish it in an hour. Well, let's get started. All hands on deck!

Walk the plank

Three in the boats: Xiao Fen, Barbossa, Jack Sparrow.

The plot of the story refers to the third part of the Hollywood epic “Pirates of the Caribbean” - “At the Ends of the Earth”. The six pirate barons are a familiar fraternity of thugs from all over the world, familiar from the film. Xiao Fen, Sri Sumbaji, Mrs. Ching, Mr. Jokara, Barbossa and, finally, Jack Sparrow this time decided not to waste time on meetings and councils, but to engage in a typical pirate business: rampant sea robbery.

The choice of the protagonist does not matter, except for the aesthetic one: both the fragile Mrs. Ching and the burly Xiao Fen are equally successful in their simple work - be sure to walk under a black flag and rob treasures wherever they are found. The treasures are just bad - ten hexagonal forts are scattered across the improvised map of the Caribbean Sea (more reminiscent of the Khimki Reservoir diagram), and in each such fort there are a number of hostile pirates, coastal guns and treasured chests of gold. At the beginning of the game, fort cards are distributed randomly to key points, so the captain can never predict what awaits in each specific bastion - rich loot and a minimum of guards, or a heavily armed garrison protecting only a few measly piastres.

Ships came into our harbor. And they never left it, which is remarkable.

Each pirate baron has his own ship. In the game, it is represented by a card on which six (according to the number of faces of the cube) numbered cells are indicated. Each of these squares can contain a pirate or a cannon. The former are responsible for the movement of the ship across the ocean seas, the latter are responsible for the firepower of the vessel. Players themselves are free to determine the ratio of the size of the crew and the number of guns on their ship at almost any time, so situations in which a fast, lightly armed ship at one moment becomes a slow floating fortress (and vice versa) happen here all the time.

It's funny: ships can receive reinforcements and new guns in the port in any quantity, and on the high seas they can take on board up to two combat units. I wonder where new crew members and ship guns come from far from land? Not otherwise, “The Flying Dutchman” supplies recruits straight from the depths of hell.

I jammed the charge into the gun tightly

"Black Pearl". View from above.

Sea battle in "The Pirate Lords" it proceeds, as it should be, fervently. The attacking player rolls the dice for the number of guns on board and looks at the numbers that come up. If enemy targets are marked as “1” and “2”, and the player “shot” at “5” and “3”, this means that the cannonballs flew into the milk. Therefore, the most fun thing is to fire not at sparsely populated forts, but at the ships of other players - here the shells have a much better chance of hitting their targets. And it’s probably easier to win the game if you focus on taking gold from rival pirates, instead of roaming the far corners of the waters in search of unlooted forts.

It's funny: Another implicit reference to the famous ghost ship: if you destroy its entire crew on any ship, it will continue sailing as if nothing had happened. Its speed will drop to a minimum of one cell per turn, but even without a single cabin boy lying around on the ship, you can choose the direction of the drift.

The end of the game occurs in two cases: either there is no one left in the Caribbean to rob, and all the forts lie in ruins, or one of the pirate barons has accumulated a sufficient amount of piastres for victory.

Steal kill

Despite the fact that the advertising text on the game box promises “exciting adventures,” there are no adventures in the game. The everyday life of a pirate captain, according to the authors of the game, boils down to the monotonous clearing of forts, high-speed delivery of gold to his home port and insidious attacks on his one-legged or one-eyed brothers. These attacks, by the way, turned out to be really exciting - a cannon salvo from five guns simultaneously, return fire from an enemy sailing ship, a tactical retreat that develops into a flight under full sail - all this can justify the action unfolding on the playing field much better than a slide multi-colored plastic chests, because of which, as usual, all the fuss.

	ADVANTAGES	FLAWS
Fun

This is interesting: Game developer Rainer Knizia is by no means new to the business. He is the author of such famous games as Blue Moon City, Lost Cities and the popular tabletop adaptation of The Lord of the Rings.

Pirate schooner
"Red Dawn" is in a hurry to rob.

Walk the plank

The plot of the story refers to the third part of the Hollywood epic “Pirates of the Caribbean” - “At the End of the Earth”. The six pirate barons are a fraternity of thugs familiar from the film from all over the world. Xiao Fen, Sri Sumbaji, Mrs. Ching, Mr. Jokara, Barbossa and, finally, Jack Sparrow this time decided not to waste time on meetings and councils, but to engage in a typical pirate business: rampant sea robbery.

Three in boats:
Xiao Fen, Barbossa, Jack Sparrow.

The choice of the protagonist does not matter, except for the aesthetic one: both the fragile Mrs. Ching and the burly Xiao Fen equally successfully cope with their simple work - be sure to walk under a black flag and rob treasures wherever they are found. The treasures are just bad - ten hexagonal forts are scattered across the improvised map of the Caribbean Sea (more reminiscent of the Khimki Reservoir diagram), and in each such fort there are a number of hostile pirates, coastal guns and treasured chests of gold. At the beginning of the game, fort cards are distributed randomly across key points, so the captain can never predict what awaits in each specific bastion - rich loot and a minimum of guards, or a heavily armed garrison protecting only a few measly piastres.

Ships came into our harbor.
And they never left it, which is remarkable.

I jammed the charge into the gun tightly

The sea battle in “Pirate Lords” proceeds, as it should be, fervently. The attacking player rolls the dice for the number of guns on board and looks at the numbers that come up. If enemy targets are marked as “1” and “2”, and the player “shot” at “5” and “3”, this means that the cannonballs flew into the milk. Therefore, the most fun thing is to fire not at sparsely populated forts, but at the ships of other players - here the shells have a much better chance of hitting their targets. And it’s probably easier to win the game if you focus on taking gold from rival pirates, instead of roaming the far corners of the waters in search of unlooted forts.

"Black Pearl". View from above.

Hardly anyone remembered
this trio of pirate barons from the film.
Now their finest hour has come.

Steal kill

And this lonely young man,
apparently none other than poor Ben Gunn.

Fun 2 of 3
dignity Continuous battles keep players from getting bored at sea
flaws the accumulation of pirate capital can only captivate inveterate misers
Interaction 3 of 3
dignity players constantly attack each other for profit
flaws Player interaction is limited to battles only
Study 2 of 3
dignity Naval battles are implemented in an interesting way
flaws game process does not shine with variety
Atmosphere 2 of 3
dignity healthy competition between players contributes to getting used to the role
flaws the romance of sea travels and adventures is completely absent
Quality 3 out of 3
dignity plastic miniatures are made of very high quality
flaws decoration playing field not impressive

Verdict: The tabletop "Pirates of the Caribbean" desperately lacks the same atmosphere of grand adventure that made the film of the same name a super hit. However, she can become quite good family fun for a couple of evenings, and players who are partial to the romance of a knife and an ax will most likely be inspired by the local naval battles.