- BGG rating
- 6.0
Jolly & Roger: Cannonball!
- 2016
- BGG rank
- BGG #6,067
- BGG rating
- 6.7
Jolly & Roger
2016
Rules assistance for Jolly & Roger
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
- 2 players
- 20 min
- 8+
- Complexity 1.7/5
For 2 players
Rules assistant for Jolly & Roger
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Jolly & Roger is a board game released in 2016 for 2 players, 20 minutes per game, and ages 8 and up. It was designed by Scott Huntington and Shaun Graham and its main mechanics are Area Majority / Influence, Open Drafting, and Lane Battler.
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About the game
Description from the publisher: Captain "Red Beard", the infamous Pirate King, is lost without a trace after an unfortunate rendezvous with a mermaid. The power-hungry Pirate Lords have waited for this chance for a long time and seek to seize his throne. After following the old pirate code mentioning a rum cask, the reckless Julienne "Jolly" Garçon and the eccentric Jack "Roger" Hummingbird were the only ones who could still stand up. The so-called "Double-Boarding" contest shall now determine the winner between the two of them – and thus the new Pirate King. Prepare to be boarded, you landlubbers! Jolly & Roger is a card game for two players featuring the well-known "I split, you choose" mechanism. On their turn, a player draws five pirate cards and splits them into two sets. The other player then chooses one of the sets, and the player who split the cards takes the leftover set. With their pirate cards, players try to board the four merchant ships by adding their matching-colored crew members on their side of the ship. The player who has the most powerful crew on a ship puts one of his captains on the ship (possibly removing the opponent's captain) and may then use further pirate cards of that color to steal gold from the ship. After eight rounds, the game ends. Each player's captain on a ship at the end of the game captures this ship as a bonus. The player with the most gold wins. Jolly & Roger includes three types of special cards – the Kraken, the Skeleton Pirate, and Tortuga – for use in the expert variant to spice up the game.
Designers
Publishers
- GoKids 玩樂小子
- Korea Boardgames
- 999 Games
- ABACUSSPIELE
- Oya
Questions and answers
Jolly & Roger 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 listed playing time for Jolly & Roger is 20 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 Jolly & Roger for ages 8 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.
Jolly & Roger has a complexity rating of 1.7 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.
Jolly & Roger belongs to these categories: Card Game, Nautical, and Pirates. Its main mechanics are Area Majority / Influence, Open Drafting, and Lane Battler. 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 Jolly & Roger are: Scott Huntington and Shaun Graham. 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 Jolly & Roger as a base game. It can be played on its own with the components in the box and does not require any other title. Expansions, if any exist, add new content or rules on top of it and are listed separately in the catalogue with a link back to this base game.