Libertalia Winds of Galecrest Board Game Review!

If you've ever found a board game that you wanted to add to your collection, then learned it is no longer in print, it can be a bummer! Libertalia is a board game that originally released in 2012 & has since been added to the "Out of Print" category. However one Libertalia enthusiast loved sharing that game with his online followers & after many comments about fans wishing it was still in print, he reached out to the original publisher, then the designer. He was able to get the rights & work along side the original designer to create a newer updated version of the game. The man who was able to accomplish that is Jamey Stonemaier who owns & runs Stonemaier Games. The newest version of this game is called Libertalia: Winds of Galecrest. It is recommended for ages 14+, however this is a fairly easy game to understand & if you are a family that plays board games together kids under the recommended age shouldn't have an issue playing this. You can play this as a solo player with it's own set of rules or you can play with up to six people total, games last 45-60 minutes. 

When you pick up this game box it is quite hefty which may lead some to believe the game is too complex, but the game only gets the weight from the high-quality materials the game pieces are made from & the fact that there are seven character card stacks. One of the stacks is for a solo game & the other six are for the players. I love the little loot tiles that come with this game, they are fun to shake around in the loot bag and I appreciate that they aren't flimsy pieces of cardboard. I also really like the art on the character cards, there are forty different characters & each one is unique. All of the character cards have a pirate theme to them & are all animals, one of my favorites is the Gunner which is an adorable pirate sloth! 

This game is played over the course of three rounds & each round has a different number of turns. The first round will consist of four turns, the second round has five turns and the final round will have six turns. You will also start each round with a different number of character cards to play, this may vary from the other competing players depending on which cards you play each round. To start off the game, one person will shuffle their character deck & select six random character cards. The other players will pull out the same character cards from their deck & this will be the hand you will play with during the first round. Everyone will be on the same playing field, but what will set you apart is the order you play your cards in and how much reputation you have on the board. 

Once per turn, you will select one character card to play & at the end of your turn if your card is still on the board it can be moved to your ship. Every character card has it's own ability that will be used to play the game, some cards allow you to add additional character cards to your ship without playing them, some remove other players characters from the game & more. The order of who goes each turn is determined by the number at the top of the character cards, it starts from the lowest number to the highest in how they are placed out onto the board. So what happens if there is a tied number? There is a reputation track that helps determine the winner during a tie, the lower reputation will be placed out first. At the start of the second & third rounds, you will do the same character card selection mentioned above and add them to any cards you have left over from the previous round. 

Your main goal is to collect characters in your ship who will help add doubloons to your treasure chest, you will also want to collect loot that helps add doubloons as well. At the end of the game the winner is the pirate who was able to find & collect the most doubloons. It can be a pretty fast paced & also cut throat game as you work to build your loot while also stopping your competitors in their tracks. It can be a lot of fun to see how everyone plays out their cards, even when someone plays a card that boots one of your characters, it is still all fun and games. We enjoy playing this together, it is an easy game to set up, game play is fun + quick and it is fast to put away as well. This has made a wonderful addition to our growing board game collection.

Does this sound like a board game you would enjoy playing? What is your favorite feature of this game?

If you want to find more great board games like Libertalia head over to check out my Board Game Reviews section.

Disclaimer- The products mentioned above were provided by Stone Maier Games for the review free of charge no other compensation was provided. However, no product compensation will influence the outcome of any review. My honest opinions are used in all reviews, they are solely my own & they may vary from others. My reviews are posted for readers in order to provide an informed decision before purchase.