The Pirates Constructible Strategy Game is a

tabletop game Tabletop games or tabletops are games that are normally played on a Table (furniture), table or other flat surface, such as board games, card games, dice games, miniature wargames, Tabletop role-playing game, tabletop role-playing games, or ti ...

(or

constructible strategy game A constructible strategy game (CSG) (also spelled constructable strategy game) is a tabletop strategy game employing pieces assembled from components. WizKids was the first to label a game as a CSG when they released their game '' Pirates of the ...

) manufactured by

WizKids NECA/WizKids, LLC (commonly known as simply WizKids) is an American company based in New Jersey that produces tabletop games. WizKids is best known for its collectible miniatures games (CMGs) Mage Knight, HeroClix, MechWarrior, and HorrorCli ...

, Inc., released in early July 2004, and discontinued in 2008.

History

The game was created by

Jordan Weisman Jordan Weisman is an American game designer, author, and serial entrepreneur who has founded five game design companies, each in a different game genre and segment of the industry. Biography Weisman graduated from Francis W. Parker High School, ...

, and designed by Mike Mulvihill, Ethan Pasternack,

James Ernest James Ernest (born October, 1968) is an American game designer and juggler, best known as the owner and lead designer of Cheapass Games. Career Prior to founding Cheapass Games, Ernest worked as a juggler at various venues, including Camlann Me ...

, and

Mike Selinker Mike Selinker ( ) is an American game designer, puzzle maker, and the founder and president of Lone Shark Games. Credits Selinker's design credits include '' Pirates of the Spanish Main'' and '' Fightball'' with James Ernest, ''Axis & Allies Rev ...

. It was released in early July 2004. With aspects of both

miniatures game Miniatures games are a form of tabletop game which prominently features the use of miniature models or figures. War games One of the oldest and most popular miniatures game genres is that of war games, where figures are arranged into competin ...

and

collectible card game A collectible card game (CCG), also called a trading card game (TCG) among other names, is a type of card game that mixes strategy game, strategic deck building elements with features of trading cards. The genre was introduced with ''Magic: The G ...

genres, Pirates is described by the producers WizKids as a

, referring to the mechanics of creating game pieces from components that punch out of

styrene Styrene is an organic compound with the chemical formula C6H5CH=CH2. Its structure consists of a vinyl group as substituent on benzene. Styrene is a colorless, oily liquid, although aged samples can appear yellowish. The compound evaporates easi ...

cards. ''Pirates of the Spanish Main'' won a Vanguard Award at the 2005

Origins Award The Origins Awards are American awards for outstanding work in the gaming industry. They are presented by the Game Manufacturers Association (GAMA) at the Origins Game Fair on an annual basis for games released in the preceding year. For example, t ...

s. In November 2008,

Topps The Topps Company, Inc. is an American company that manufactures trading cards and other collectibles. Formerly based in New York City, Topps is best known as a leading producer of Baseball card, baseball and other sports and Non-sports tradi ...

, the owner of

Wizkids NECA/WizKids, LLC (commonly known as simply WizKids) is an American company based in New Jersey that produces tabletop games. WizKids is best known for its collectible miniatures games (CMGs) Mage Knight, HeroClix, MechWarrior, and HorrorCli ...

, announced that it would be closing the company and all of its product lines. On September 14, 2009, the

National Entertainment Collectibles Association National Entertainment Collectibles Association Inc. (mostly known by its acronym NECA) is an American manufacturer of collectibles typically licensed from films, video-games, sports, music, and television based in New Jersey. The company was fou ...

(NECA) announced the purchase of Wizkids name and its intellectual properties from Topps, including the ''Pirates'' line, which was then cancelled.

Gameplay

The general goal of Pirates is to collect more gold than one's opponents, or with variants, to achieve a given objective or destroy all enemy ships. Additional scenarios also exist, created by WizKids and others. The game's pieces include ships, forts, sea monsters, crew, islands and other terrain markers, events, gold and other treasure tokens. A feature of Pirates is the 'constructible' element of the game; each game piece is created by removing small

polystyrene Polystyrene (PS) is a synthetic polymer made from monomers of the aromatic hydrocarbon styrene. Polystyrene can be solid or foamed. General-purpose polystyrene is clear, hard, and brittle. It is an inexpensive resin per unit weight. It i ...

pieces from placeholder cards and assembling them. As the ship, fort or sea monster is damaged by enemies during the course of game play, pieces of it are removed to record how much damage it has sustained.

Other media

An online computer game was also created, by Sony Online Entertainment, called ''Pirates CSG Online'' (based on ''Pirates of the Spanish Main''), which ended on January 31, 2011. In 2007

Pinnacle Entertainment Group Pinnacle Entertainment Group is a publisher of role-playing games and wargames. History Shane Lacy Hensley wanted to create a 19th-century miniatures game so he contacted the company Chameleon Eclectic to get the game published. As a result '' Fi ...

released ''The Pirates of the Spanish Main'', a source book for their

Savage Worlds ''Savage Worlds'' is a role-playing game written by Shane Lacy Hensley and published by Pinnacle Entertainment Group. The game emphasizes speed of play and reduced preparation over realism or detail. The game received the 2003 Origin Gamers' Cho ...

role playing game A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, or abbreviated as RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, eith ...

, set in the same world as the CSG.

Releases and expansion sets

*''Pirates of the Spanish Main'' - first release, on July 28, 2004. *''Pirates of the Crimson Coast'' - second set and the first expansion to the ''Pirates of the Spanish Main'', released March 2, 2005. *''Pirates of the Spanish Main—Unlimited Edition'' - released March 15, 2005, as a second reprint of the cards from the original "Pirates of the Spanish Main". *''Pirates of the Revolution'' - third installment of Pirates of the Spanish Main, released in June 2005 *''Pirates of the Barbary Coast'' - released October 26, 2005 *''Pirates of the South China Seas'' - released February 22, 2006 *''Pirates of Davy Jones' Curse'' - released May 31, 2006 *''Pirates of the Mysterious Islands'' - released November 15, 2006 *''Pirates of the Frozen North'' - released February 14, 2007 *''Pirates at Ocean's Edge'' - ninth expansion in the series, released April 18, 2007 *''Pirates of the Caribbean PocketModel Game'' - released November 6, 2007 as a tie-in to the

Pirates of the Caribbean ''Pirates of the Caribbean'' is a Disney media franchise encompassing numerous theme park rides, a series of films, and spin-off novels, as well as a number of related video games and other media publications. The franchise originated with Wa ...

movies *''Rise of the Fiends'' - released January 30, 2008 *''Fire and Steel'' - released April 9, 2008 *''Savage Shores'' - final expansion, released November 5, 2008 *''Return to Savage Shores'' - scheduled for release in early 2009, but never released

References

External links

* {{Bgg, 10653, Pirates of the Spanish Main General Pirates info, with user uploaded files and resources.
''Pirates of the Crimson Coast'' Press Kit Announcement
WizKid Games official website Collectible card games Collectible miniatures games Naval games Origins Award winners