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Libertalia: Winds of Galecrest is the reprint of the Paolo Mori game that was published in 2012. That had a limited run leaving many people intrigued about the game and unable to play it. Fortunately for us, the game was reprinted in 2022 by Stonemaier Games.
Sailing the seven seas (or skies?)
In Libertalia, you and up to five other friends are trying to get the best loot from the island, in order to make the most money by the end of the game. One of the key components of the game is that you all have the same hand, so you know every possible move other people can make. This sounds flawed but is actually one of the smartest parts of the game, as the counterplay is real. The typical round is divided into day, dusk and night. The number of days is determined by how many people are playing.
Once your shipmates are on the island, they are ranked (first based on number then players’ reputation) and abilities are triggered across the row (from left to right). During this process, things may be stolen, loot may be taken and shipmates might be killed. If you manage to survive the day, you get to claim a loot in reverse order (right to left) and bring your shipmate back onto the ship. Then night time abilities are triggered (which can be a great way to gain passive income). Naturally there are some loot that are very valuable and others that you’d rather not get (and sometimes you don’t have a choice).
Whilst you start with the same characters, as the rounds progress people use different characters and you gain new characters with each voyage so meaning it’s easy to lose track of what other people have. At the end of a voyage, you gain the money from any anchor abilities and your shipmates are sent to the graveyard before the next voyage (whether they die or not is unclear).
After 3 rounds you tally up your money from loot, night time abilities, anchor abilities and other random bits of money (that you store in a treasure chest) and see who’s the winner. You can vary the loot with different tiles and there’s a stormy side of the board that makes it a bit more cutthroat (but there are definitely other ways to make it more so).
Yo-ho, yo-ho a Pirate’s life for me
What I find impressive about Libertalia is how much variation there is and how simple its ideas are. It’s really easy to teach and get into the groove of the game.
What’s nice about Libertalia is how it changes as you become more familiar with the characters. There are 40 unique characters and some are more beneficial than others. If you’re playing with people who know the best ways to optimise characters, there’s so much potential for counterplay, blocking and strategic selection. Some characters allow you to get rid of other people’s characters from their ships and if you know a character’s going to give some 10 coins at the end of the round, you’re definitely going to want to get rid of them. But then you have to be careful that they don’t do the same to you, as they have the same character in their hand.
Whilst I like the art and general vibe of Libertalia, I will say that the cutthroat world of pirates and plunder is somewhat lost in it. I think the artwork is cute, but that might not be the word you want to describe a game about pirates. But the components are all lovely and you can tell a lot of love went into the production of this game. You’ve got to love bakelite tiles. The little treasure chests are so fun and a great way to keep track of money. The money box isn’t as lovely but still functional. But all the game’s components create a great package.
Overall I think Libertalia Winds of Galecrest is an excellent game. It’s really easy to learn and great for bigger groups. It’s harder to find a game that’s for more people that still requires some strategy and you still get all the great interactions without losing any complexity. There are lots of opportunities to strategise without going into overthinking territory, as there’s only so much you can control (which isn’t for everyone but I like having a few things left to chance in games). Libertalia’s production is great and I think you can’t go too wrong with having it in a collection.
