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Shifting Realms
- 2–4 players
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Pirate Tricks
2019
Rules assistance for Pirate Tricks
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
- 3–5 players
- 30–45 min
- 8+
- Complexity 2.0/5
For 3 players
Rules assistant for Pirate Tricks
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Pirate Tricks is a board game released in 2019 for 3–5 players, 30–45 minutes per game, and ages 8 and up. It was designed by Craig Van Ness and Jeff Van Ness and its main mechanics are Hand Management and Trick-taking.
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About the game
The Landor Syndicate, a pirate alliance in an area of space controlled by the Lunar Orion Order, needs a new leader. The outgoing Supreme Admiral is looking for his replacement. Players take on the role of rival captains recruiting crews, capturing rival pirates, and collecting treasure. Pirate Tricks is a trick-taking game for 3 to 5 players with a unique scoring system. The game is played over three hands. Each hand has different scoring goals. Once the scoring cards are revealed, the players are dealt five cards. Then players each bid on another 7 cards to complete their hands. As the players bid for cards, they will look to gain certain cards that will boost their scores. While taking tricks, the players will need to be mindful of the different factions of pirates as some will score higher than others or may be worth negative points. At the end of the hand the players will collect treasure based on how well they matched the treasure scoring card. During some hands the players will want to get as many tricks as possible, other hands they will want to have few to no tricks, or they may have to match a predicted number of tricks taken. Play continues for three hands. New scoring cards are revealed before each hand. After three hands, whichever player has gathered the most treasure will be proclaimed the next Supreme Admiral of the Landor Syndicate.
Categories
Mechanics
Designers
Publishers
- Soaring Rhino
Questions and answers
Pirate Tricks supports 3–5 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 Pirate Tricks is 30–45 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 Pirate Tricks 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.
Pirate Tricks has a complexity rating of 2.0 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a medium-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.
Pirate Tricks belongs to these categories: Card Game. Its main mechanics are Hand Management and Trick-taking. 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 Pirate Tricks are: Craig Van Ness and Jeff Van Ness. 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 Pirate Tricks 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.