
- BGG rank
- BGG #22,686
- BGG rating
- 5.8
Tiffin
- 2–4 players
- 30–60 min
- Complexity 2.0/5
- 2016

Rules assistance for Captain's Wager: The Maelstrom
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.

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Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Captain's Wager: The Maelstrom is an expansion for Captain's Wager released in 2015 for 2–5 players, 20–40 minutes per game, and ages 12 and up. It was designed by Jonathan Hager and its main mechanics are Hand Management, Push Your Luck, and Betting and Bluffing.
A great storm ravages the skies, grinding airships to kindling and sending pirate crews scrambling. Whole crews are sucked in and spirits drift out, bringing curses and spreading chaos. as the haunting worsens, you risk losing your loot and being doomed to captain a ghost ship for all eternity. Maelstrom is an expansion for Captain's Wager which adds: 4 Crew Cards 30 Haunt Cards 15 Treasure Cards And a Haunt Mechanic giving players an extra resource to manage if they wish to resist the rising haunt levels and avoid becoming a ghost ship incapable of winning with mortal wealth.
Captain's Wager: The Maelstrom supports 2–5 players according to the catalogue. This range comes from the publisher’s listed player count, so the game can be set up for any group size within it. Some setups, rules and scoring details may still vary by player count, so check your edition’s rulebook for the exact configuration.
The listed playing time for Captain's Wager: The Maelstrom is 20–40 minutes. This is the publisher’s estimate for a full game. The actual duration depends on the group, the player count and familiarity with the rules: first sessions usually run longer, while experienced groups often finish faster. Setup and teaching time are not included in this estimate.
The catalogue lists Captain's Wager: The Maelstrom for ages 12 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.
Captain's Wager: The Maelstrom has a complexity rating of 1.5 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a light game. The rating reflects how much rules knowledge, planning and decision-making a typical game demands. Expect a longer first teach for heavier games, and use a preparation guide before game night.
Captain's Wager: The Maelstrom belongs to these categories: Card Game, Bluffing, and Pirates. Its main mechanics are Hand Management, Push Your Luck, and Betting and Bluffing. 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 Captain's Wager: The Maelstrom are: Jonathan Hager. 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 Captain's Wager: The Maelstrom as an expansion for Captain's Wager. Expansions add new content, rules or scenarios to the base game and usually cannot be played on their own, so you need Captain's Wager to use it. Check that your edition of Captain's Wager is compatible, as some expansions were revised between editions.