
- BGG rank
- BGG #12,420
- BGG rating
- 8.0
Black Seas: Master & Commander Starter Set
- 2 players
- 30–500 min
- Complexity 3.3/5
- 2019

Rules assistance for Black Seas: Smugglers Run
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.

What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Black Seas: Smugglers Run is an expansion for Black Seas: Rulebook released in 2019 for 2 players and ages 10 and up. It was designed by Tom Mecredy and Gabrio Tolentino and its main mechanics are Dice Rolling and Simulation.
Smuggler’s Run puts two players at the heart of this black market, running contraband in and out of the British Isles. Create your own smuggling company and outwit the authorities in the name of trade and profit! Smuggler’s Run is a two-player campaign where two rival smuggling companies compete to ferry the most contraband into the United Kingdom. Both players should have already created a smuggling company. On the (miniature) high seas, players will alternate commanding their villainous flotilla and the various customs boats patrolling the coastline. —description from the publisher
Black Seas: Smugglers Run supports 2 players according to the catalogue. This is the publisher’s listed player count, so the game is designed for exactly that number of participants. Variants for other group sizes, if any, are described in the rulebook of your edition, so check it before setting up a different configuration.
The catalogue lists Black Seas: Smugglers Run for ages 10 and up. This is the publisher’s recommendation and reflects reading demands, rule complexity and small components rather than theme alone. Younger players can often join with help from an adult, so check the age guidance on your edition and consider your group’s experience with board games.
Black Seas: Smugglers Run belongs to these categories: Napoleonic, Miniatures, and Nautical. Its main mechanics are Dice Rolling and Simulation. Categories describe the theme and setting of a game, while mechanics describe what players actually do on their turns. Each mechanic links to a catalogue hub with similar games, which helps when you want something comparable.
The credited designers of Black Seas: Smugglers Run are: Tom Mecredy and Gabrio Tolentino. These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists Black Seas: Smugglers Run as an expansion for Black Seas: Rulebook. Expansions add new content, rules or scenarios to the base game and usually cannot be played on their own, so you need Black Seas: Rulebook to use it. Check that your edition of Black Seas: Rulebook is compatible, as some expansions were revised between editions.