|
|
The following is a list of all the card types used in Buccaneer TCG
as well as a short description of how each works within the game.
Examples of some of these cards can be found on the Sample Cards page
and will also be appearing in the Forum Gallery section.
|
|
|
The first card a player will put into play is their Home Port card.
The Home Port sits outside the 60 card Resource Deck and is placed
on the table before the game begins. These cards determine a player’s
starting Infamy score as well as the Gold income for their first turn.
The Home Port represents a player’s “capital” region and the game is
lost if it is captured by an opponent. Fortunately a Home Port can only
be attacked from another region on that side of the table –
so an opponent must launch an attack on a Home Port from another
region you already control. This ensures that neither player can
simply move every ship they control to their opponent’s Home Port
to win the game.
|
|
|
While the Home Port provides a player with their initial Gold
and Infamy values, territorial expansion is vital. Island Bases
represent exploration and settlement and will be placed as extra
locations that provide both Gold and Infamy. The more Island Bases
a player has, the more Gold they will generate. Expansion has to
be carefully monitored, however, as the enemy can capture any
regions you put down if they are not adequately defended by Ships
and/or Land Units. Captured regions can then be put to use by
the enemy and also provide a valuable staging area for an assault
on the Home Port!
|
|
|
Island Chains provide a player with a way of increasing their
Gold income without putting too many Island Bases into play.
Island Chains can be linked to an Island Base to increase its
Gold and Infamy revenue. Ships and units can’t be deployed to
Island Chains and they can not to be attacked, but if the Island
Base they are attached to falls to the enemy, so do all the
attached Island Chains.
|
|
|
The main combat units in the game are Ships, which come in a wide variety
of shape, size and ability. Ships transport Land Units and Characters, can
be upgraded and do the majority of the fighting. Ships fall into one of two
categories – Basic and Named. Basic ships such as the Swift Class Ship provide
a player with large numbers of standard ships that have no special abilities.
Named ships such as the Kraken’s Fancy are unique and a player may only have
one of any particular named ship in play at any time. Named ships generally
have special abilities that make them more useful than basic ships and as such
they are more expensive to put into play.
Ships provide the first line of defence for your regions and also provide you
with mobile offensive units for blockading enemy regions.
|
|
|
These cards are your troops and artillery (and in some cases even cavalry!).
Regions without Land Units defending them are easy to capture. Capturing
regions is done by landing your own troops on an enemy region and overcoming
their land defences, if they have any. Land Units are relatively weak and
inexpensive when compared to ships, but no less important – it is a brave
or foolish player indeed who would consider not including some of them in their deck.
|
|
|
Where would a pirate themed world be without colourful characters?
Buccaneer TCG has a large number of characters – most useful,
some purely comical. All of them will have abilities on their
cards that will affect the game in some way, whether it is boosting
an individual ship’s capabilities or manipulating your opponent’s hand!
|
|
|
These cards are used to provide regions with extra abilities and can
significantly boost a faction’s overall effectiveness without
having to over-expand their territory.
|
|
|
Upgrades provide a faction with the ability to increase the fighting
abilities of its ships. They provide a valuable alternative to using
named ships, as their use is not limited – so it is possible to
upgrade numerous basic ships to have fighting characteristics
similar to their more flamboyant, named sister ships.
|
|
|
These cards provide a player with a wide variety of events that
can turn the tide of a battle or even a game. Unlike most other
cards, Sudden Events can be played at any time and use generally
use Infamy, rather than Gold, as a resource. Sudden Events include
such things as Tsunami, Mutiny, Maelstrom, etc. that can take a
particular ship out of the game or even lay waste to an entire region!
|
|
|
Similar to Sudden Events, Effects are normally put into play using
Infamy rather than Gold. Where they differ is that Effects stay in play –
sometimes only for a turn, sometimes for an entire game. Effects include
such cards as Tropical Storm, Becalmed, Fog Bank, etc. that are capable
of disrupting a region for numerous turns. Others such as Open Seas will
have a global effect and provide all players with a benefit across the entire table.
|
|
|
Action cards are paid for with Gold and sit in play like Effect cards.
The main difference though is that Action cards are activated when a
player wishes to use them and can only be used once per turn. So their
abilities are active, rather than passive like an Effect card.
Examples of Action cards are Grapeshot, Chainshot, Marksman, etc.
that are used during combat to have an effect on a specific card at
the same location as one of your own ships.
|
