Joined in 2023 
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Libertalia doesn’t leave with an ocean of paralyzing possibilities, however. You aren’t trying to predict which of the 40 cards the other players will play. Instead, it draws a line in the sand by limiting those possibilities each turn in a way that makes every game feel different. Your hand of cards begins the same as everyone else and then diverges over time. Nautical Divergence If players have to discard one of their characters, they’re placed face down on their graveyard tile.
Libertalia Winds of Galecrest includes new elements that make the game incredibly replayable. Far more so than the original.One last set of powers to activate, the anchor powers. Then count up the doubloons you have and add them to your treasure chest by setting the dials. Return every tile to the bag and discard all characters played to the graveyard (unless you have an ability that says otherwise, of course!) So while you can play at two, we don’t recommend Libertalia if you are planning on playing primarily at two. Or even three! To tell the truth, I did not expect to be buying another title from Stonemaier Games, especially so soon after having my fill of Scythe and Wingspan, growing weary of Tapestry, losing interest in Pendulum, and completely bouncing off of Red Rising. There’s nothing necessarily wrong with these games, it simply felt like my tastes and their offerings were diverging further apart. That is until the head of Stonemaier, Jamey, announced Libertalia: Winds of Galecrest—an updated design from one of my favorite creators, Paolo Mori—and he suddenly had my attention again. Anyway, I’ve been pleased to discover that Winds of Galecrest lives up to its promise in being an evolved and improved version of Libertalia. Not only that, but it is perhaps the most un-Stonemaier-like game in their entire product lineup. Against Stonemaier’s usual tropes and their stated tenets of game design, Winds of Galecrest is inorganically round/phase-based and highly interactive to the point of potential hostility. Indeed, it appears that Jamey Stegmaier is willing to make exceptions to his carefully crafted brand when it involves a favored classic—and thank goodness for that!
Resolve dusk abilities right to left with characters being placed on ships and receiving loot. The Pilferer card and loot is discarded. Loot is taken based on the priority list (unless stated otherwise). However, if you plan for it, you can take advantage of the situation. If you play the Smuggler, you get to choose a loot token during the day phase instead, so you could force some other poor sap to take the hook. Or perhaps you just play the Bodyguard and discard all hooks and sabers for money instead. You could play the Scout and replace it once you have seen what cards everyone else chose. Another bit of variety comes in the form of the loot tokens set out each day. Oh, boy! Look at all that loot for the 6 days of the final voyage. They are brightly colored and hefty plastic square tokens that have a great tactile feel, but also draw your eyes to them when they are on the board. Loot tokens represent the treasure your crew is after, and the tokens themselves highlight their importance. If you like games with a lot of player interaction and great variety, then we highly recommend getting a copy of Libertalia: Winds of Galecrest!
Key Facts
In both Art Robbery and Cover Your Assets, players each have a hand of cards that dictates what they’ll be able to claim or steal. If I have a coveted 5 card (or gold card) in my hand, I can play that card to steal the 5 (or gold) sitting on display in your possession. With Cover Your Assets, this mechanism feels like a brainless gotcha game of slap-happy take-that. With Art Robbery, this mechanism reveals itself to be far more calculated, clever, and engaging. Everyone starts out with the very same 6 characters they can choose from. But depending on what loot tokens are out on each day, and what you think the other players are going to play, everything will change after that first day of the first voyage. One of the best aspects of the “Clever” roll & write series remains the tough decision of which dice to draft and which ones to serve up on a silver platter to your opponents. If you’re a fan of That’s Pretty Clever, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t take a stab at its younger sibling (note: Bitewing Games does not condone the stabbing of siblings).
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