Les Petits Pirates

Ahoy matey! The pirate life may seem glorious, but it’s actually quite hard work. You know, only 1% of us pirates are successful enough to make a name for ourselves. We can’t all be Blackbeards and Sparrows. But even for a lowly working class pirate there comes a time when retirement looms on the horizon. A smart pirate knows when it’s time to save for the future. It’s important to bury a bit of treasure to ensure you have something to look forward to. There’s no sense in spending everything on rum and gunpowder today if it means you can’t enjoy a decadent pirate retirement tomorrow!

Second Edition

The second edition of Les Petits Pirates is finally available! Featuring upgraded components, larger maps, clarified rules, and up to four players, this classic game from GJJ Games is back and ready to take you on a wild pirate adventure!

The first edition was one of my first games available on The Game Crafter, but over the years the components available from The Game Crafter has evolved to more closely match my vision for Les Petits Pirates. Here is a list of the updates made for this second edition:

• Larger Maps (increased from 3.5"x5.5" cards to 5.5"x7" mats)
• More Maps (increased from 6 to 8 available maps to choose from)
• 4th Player (the first edition only supported three players)
• Custom Art Ship Tokens (the first edition had plain discs)
• Custom Art Coin Tokens (the first edition had plain discs)
• Updated Rules (clarified rules, more examples, some rules refinements for smoother play)
• New Box (the small stout box feels professional and has new, awesome artwork)
• New for 2024 - Updated rules for solo mode and some typos and clarifications fixed in the multiplayer rules.

In Les Petits Pirates you are a pirate captain, working to gather resources and gold while trying to prevent rival pirate captains from doing the same. Through action selection and dice manipulation you will plunder, attack, and sail the seas in your quest to retire with enough treasure to support your golden years!

Overview:

Each round is played in three phases, Action Selection, Action Assignment, and Resolution. Play goes until one player has collected and buried 20 Gold.

Components:

• 4 Map Mats (double sided for 8 total maps)
• 1 First Player marker.
• 33 1-Gold tokens.
• 16 5-Gold tokens.

Per Player:

• 3 Ship Tokens
• 3 12mm Pipped D6 Action Dice
• 1 16mm Numerical D6 Resource Die

Gameplay:

Les Petits Pirates is played in rounds with three phases. Phase 1, Action Selection, is done simultaneously. Phase 2, Action Assignment, is done in turn order, proceeding clockwise. Phase 3, Resolution, is done in action order.

Phase 1 – Action Selection: All players secretly roll their Action Dice (1 per ship currently in play). The value on the die will indicate the distance a ship can Move OR the Action a ship may take during the Resolution Phase.

Phase 2 – Action Assignment: Beginning with the First Player and continuing clockwise, each player chooses 1 of their own Action Dice and places it on one of their ships. Continue placing Action Dice on ships in turn order until everyone has placed all of their available Action Dice.

Phase 3 – Resolution: Ships are then resolved in order of the values of their Action Dice, starting with ships that have Action Die value 1 and ending with ships that have Action Die value 6. Resolving ships does NOT happen in Turn Order, unless there are multiple ships with the same Action Die value.

Each ship may either Move, take an Action, or Scavenge. Before resolving a ship’s Action Die you may choose to Pay 1 Gold to change the Action Die value by 1 level or 1 Resource to re-roll the Action Die. You may do this multiple times before finally resolving a ship. As each ship is resolved, remove the Action Die.

Once all ships with Action 1 have been resolved, continue with the same process for Action 2. Then Action 3, 4, 5, and 6.

Once all Actions have been resolved, pass the First Player marker clockwise to the player on the left. Then return to Phase 1 – Action Selection and start the next round.

Actions - Quick Overview:

1. Attack – You may attack an opponent’s ship.
2. Plunder – Collect Resources and Gold at a Port.
3. Gather Resources – Collect Resources or Gold at a Coast.
4. Go to Market – Trade Gold and Resources.
5. Buy a Ship – Add a new ship at a Shipyard.
6. Bury Treasure – Bury Gold at a Coast.

End Game:

The first player to bury 20 Gold is the winner. The game ends immediately when 20 Gold is buried, even if there are unresolved Action Dice. You can play for more or less gold to adjust the length of the game.

Les Petits Pirates Solo

In Les Petits Pirates Solo you are trying to bury your treasure before the Governor’s patience in accepting bribes runs out and he decides to imprison you.

Play is essentially the same, however the Governor gets to move his patrol ships to prevent you from taking actions. One Governor ship will move from island to island and the other will move along the mainland coast.

NOTE: Action Shots show the first edition or pnp prototype.