
- BGG rating
- 8.8
Shiver Me Timbers: Fifth Player expansion
- 1–5 players
- Complexity 4.0/5
- 2021

2021
Rules assistance for Shiver Me Timbers
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
For 2 players

What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Shiver Me Timbers is a board game released in 2021 for 2–4 players, 90–150 minutes per game, and ages 13 and up. It was designed by Michal Vitkovsky and its main mechanics are Variable Player Powers, Hand Management, and Take That.
Shiver Me Timbers is a highly thematic, strategic sandbox game set in the Golden Age of Piracy. The game is heavily Euro-inspired: It uses a tactical card-based combat system and takes lots of strategic planning to use your available actions to optimal effect and become the most notorious pirate of your era. Each playing will vary as you randomly reveal five of ten vastly different victory conditions: One game, you'll be rescuing your lost family, the next you might have to conquer enemy ships and fortresses or face the hideous Kraken. At the beginning of the game, each player secretly chooses two of the revealed conditions as their personal goals. After all players have chosen, they set-up the fully modular board, each of them trying to find a constellation that optimally supports their hidden agenda. Then they outfit their modable ship miniatures, select their starting abilities and equipment and set sails to fight, conquer, trade, loot, hunt for treasure and much more. During play, every achievement is rewarded with victory points. The game continues until all five victory conditions have been met. There's a final scoring in which players collect extra points if they managed to achieve the goals they chose, and highest point total wins. —description from the designer
Shiver Me Timbers supports 2–4 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 Shiver Me Timbers is 90–150 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 Shiver Me Timbers for ages 13 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.
Shiver Me Timbers has a complexity rating of 3.4 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a medium-weight 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.
Shiver Me Timbers belongs to these categories: Pirates. Its main mechanics are Variable Player Powers, Hand Management, and Take That. 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 Shiver Me Timbers are: Michal Vitkovsky. 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 Shiver Me Timbers 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.