Skull Tales: Full Sail! Along with almost every darn add-on the campaign offered 😁👍
This bundle includes the base game, the expansion, the Twins add-on, the 12 doors/5 chests minis add-on, the Dynamic Duo add-on, the Sea miniatures for the Voyage phase, the custom dice, the metal Pirate coins (Yes, please!), as well as the Kickstarter Exclusive box and bag; along with a set of 12 zip rivets per order!
The only add-ons I didn’t pick up were the wooden dice tower and the Witch and Freedman Miniatures… I had to draw the line somewhere 😅
Whew! And now onto the write-up…
The rulebook…. Ahhhhhhhhhh…
That “Ahhhhhhhhhh…” is the sound of a die-hard board gamer reading through the rules, feeling confident in the game play, and then losing it after referencing the rules 100 times. Hahahaha. OK. I had to get in on the rulebook-slamming hype that took off after this game fulfilled. But in truth, I think a lot of that hype is overdone.
This game is an amazing adventure! In many ways, I feel like this is the Pirates of the Caribbean of the Gloomhaven, dungeon-crawler world. I haven’t checked with Johnny Depp personally… but I would imagine he would agree 🧐
The basic game play is divided into three phases: Adventure, Voyage, and Port. I must admit that my Navy DNA is resonating with this game. I mean, other than Merchants and Marauders, I feel like we don’t have a lot of pirate-themed mayhem in the Euro-gaming tableau. Of course, I have only been board gaming for the past 3 years or so (as of 2019), but still… I don’t know of a boatload of pirate games that immerse you in that “Yo ho ho… “ vibe. Please email me if you have an amazing pirate-themed game to share!!!!
Anyway, the game rolls out as a semi-coop with opportunities for straight-up, one-night game play… or the full-on legacy experience. Regardless of how you decide to play, you’ll swash-buckle your way through each of the three phases.
Adventure!
The Adventure Phase focuses on exploring scenarios in search of treasure and prestige. These “missions” take place ashore and involve discovering your surroundings and then interacting with the characters and terrain. Lots of fun to be had here for sure… but admittedly I prefer the phases that are a bit less land-lubbery 😉
Voyage!!
Next up is the Voyage Phase; where would-be pirates take to the sea (I am getting a little misty-eyed) and engage in naval combat, struggle to avoid mutiny, and clash with the creatures of the deep blue. I love this phase!!! ⚓️🏴☠️
Port!!!
I’d love a glass! Oh wait… not that port? Ok.. never mind… 🍷💕
Moving along smartly. Each scenario ends with the port phase. Contrary to my personal port experiences, this phase does not involve having a Heineken in the pool at the Bahrain Ritz Carlton. In the port phase of Skull Tales you will visit Tortuga Island… hiring new crew, purchasing upgrades for your ship, or perhaps partaking in a bit of music and rum…
Pick your character, gather your crew, and set sail for adventure…
Skull Tales is an asymmetric, Caribbean-crawler driven by unique characters that each have specific attributes. It would take me pages of text to fully describe the characters and/or the myriad attributes but suffice to say…. This is a game that requires a good deal of investment in the beginning… but that pays incredible dividends once you understand the mechanics, iconography, and flow.
In my personal opinion, this experience is truly a Gloomhaven on the sea. The first few hours of adventure are filled with plenty of rulebook checks and heated debate amongst players (smile)… but once you’ve got it down, the world is your oyster! Adventures on the high seas await… and the gameplay and storyline will keep you engaged for hours and hours!!!
Component Review!
The artwork is fantastic! The minis are gorgeous. The components are well made. And the coins… they be metal. Aye… ‘tis very good… very good indeed.
Not surprisingly, this game easily meets the Upstart, component-obsessed, win-meter mark! 🥰 It looks wonderful on the table… and all of the tasty bits add to the immersive quality of the theme and gameplay.
Toss the lines… trim the jib… it’s time to set sail!
Skull Tales is an amazing, Caribbean island crawler with sweet components and artwork that screams, “Land hooooooooo!!!!” If that sounds like a game you might want in your collection, go ahead and set sail today! 🏝☠️🥃
| Ages: | 14+ |
| Players: | 1 – 5 |
| Play Time: | 60 – 150 minutes |
| Designer | David Illescas |
| Artists: | |
| Publisher: | Eclipse Editorial |
| SKU: | Eclipse Editorial 001 |
| MSRP: |
The closest match on on eBay contains
most (but not all) of the content I offer in
this bundle (smile) and is selling for $189.99
at the time of this listing (late SEP 2019).
|
| Our Price: | $125.20 |
| Link to BGG: |
3 in stock
Description
Skull Tales: Full Sail plus ALL of the juicy, Kickstarter add-ons and exclusives! (except for the wooden dice tower and the Witch and Freedman Miniatures)
25th August 1703
It still smells like burning gunpowder. The deck is completely full of remains of combat after the boarding. We could be enjoying our looting in Isla Tortuga but our Captain insisted on coming to this goddamned island instead.
In the meantime, our gunner ‘Mad’ Harry does not stop telling us stories and legends about some fantastic creatures that dwell in this place. The Doctor seems uneasy, grabbing the hilt of his sword, sweating a lot more than usual after listening to Harry’s tales.
-Old Sanders lost his leg after having cut it himself. He escaped alive from the jaws of that shark-headed abomination in human form …- Harry was explaining at the same time he was miming with all his body doing so, acting out the scene with his eyes moving all directions as if they were about to jump off his face, in a way of magnifying the facts.
-I would not like to lose my leg…or my arm, or any other limb from my body. I appreciate every single limb and organ of mine- was murmuring the Doctor who was more and more nervous. –Do you think there will be more monstrosities like those?
The conversation was interrupted by the sound of two swords pulling out from their sheath together with the cracking in the wood due to a firm step. It was the ruthless Mary Jane who, with a satisfied smile in her face, expressed her wish. –That’s what I’m looking for…
Williams the Lookout’s logbook.
Yo ho ho! Skull Tales is an adventure game in which each player performs the role of a pirate character in order to fulfill any pirates’ dream: to become the ship’s Master and to reach the most precious booty.
Pirates will have to fight against many kinds of fantastic enemies, solving mysteries, sailing the Caribbean Sea and exploring islands… all aimed to conquer the highest score in prestige points and, of course, to reach the long awaited dream of becoming the Master. How is that? Each character will use different abilities to solve mysteries in each scenario or island (by means of modular boards) to fulfill secondary missions; they will roll dice and play cards in order to move, fight enemies or sail depending of how many Prestige Points they still have left. All in a cooperative way to escape alive from all this because dead men tell no tales…
—description from the publisher
Additional information
| Weight | 14.1 lbs |
|---|---|
| Dimensions | 11.5 × 11.5 × 10 in |
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