Captains log: Yaaarrrr - Date: May 30th 2025

We had the great pleasure of playing Man ’o’ Kent games ‘Boarders and Black Flags’ - Pulp Pirate Skirmish Wargame! - It pretty much ticks all our boxes just from the brief tagline! Ahoy thar! Pirate steev reporting for duty garh...

The Booty

We have a perfect bound, 65 page full colour A5 rulebook, enough miniatures to get us started - 5 pirates, 8 or so undead pirates - depending on how you count wraiths and piggy backing Skelliwags. In this edition we also got some super MDF scenery and tooling that helps the game along.

A tabletop scene featuring a partially open rulebook for the game "Boarders and Black Flags," displaying sections on Skelliwags and Rapskullions, with accompanying illustrations of pirate miniatures. In the foreground, a skeletal hand is positioned, adding a thematic touch to the pirate aesthetic. Behind the book, several pirate miniatures are arranged, showcasing their detailed sculpts, including a mix of human and undead figures.

The Setup

Starting with the miniatures; Great quality overall with really good sculpts. Maybe the test versions we received had slightly less detail in the faces than we’d like but painted up they’d look great. There’s a lot of character in there - we especially liked the Buccaneers parrot, the Skelliwags detachable head and the general stature of the undead pirates - part drunk, part lurching - all dead!

A collection of detailed miniatures from the game "Boarders and Black Flags" features a mix of human pirates and undead skeletons. The pirates are depicted in dynamic poses, some wielding swords and others holding various pirate-themed accessories, showcasing their character and personality. In the background, a wooden structure resembling a ship's deck adds context to the scene, enhancing the overall pirate theme.

Peg legs tho. Jaysus... hard to stick to the bases so we broke out the jewellers drill to get a good grip where needed. Overall though, easy to assemble and they want to be painted. Disappointed we didn’t have time.

The deck is around 18” by 36”, or for those of you watching in colour, 45 cm by 90cm. The scenery is very nice but the version we received needed some careful trimming on the larger pieces. For the masts we needed to trim off around 2mm on the interior slots, and on the captain's quarter’s we needed to remove around 3mm. Disappointing that this was such a uniform inaccuracy and won’t be delighting any first timers, but it’s a simple fix and a common complaint. Once the changes were made the pieces fit together nicely and provide a nice backdrop for the game if a little sparse.

Two pirate miniatures are prominently displayed on a wooden table: one is a skeletal figure with a sword, and the other is a pirate with a tricorn hat and a hook for a hand. Nearby, a compass rose and a game board section titled "Time O'Movement" are visible, featuring a map with a ship illustration. In the background, there are wooden crates and a book labeled "DANGER - EXPLOSIVE," adding to the thematic setting of a pirate adventure.

The lineup

We received human pirates and an undead bunch of Skelliwags.

The humans had special skills based around jumping from mast to mast - equivalent to teleporting around the field of play. The Skelliwags had a much more interesting mechanic in that it was much easier to sacrifice your player to get them to re-enter the game. You have a constant stream of new recruits as pieces are removed from play and returned so a starting position next turn can be more advantageous than having your bony henchmen rolling around the deck..

A collection of miniature pirate figures is displayed on a wooden surface, showcasing a variety of characters. In the foreground, a prominent pirate captain with a skull-adorned hat and a long beard holds a sword aloft, exuding a commanding presence. Beside him, a female pirate brandishes a cutlass, while other figures, including an undead pirate, are partially visible in the background, all rendered in a light-colored material that highlights their intricate details.

The action

Turns are quick when you get going and it’s easy to fall into the rhythm of play.

There’s an unusual approach to dice modifiers/chaos - lying! Like all good pirates y’er not to be trusted! You have multiple chances to lie to your opponent, and conversely to throw down the gauntlet of honour and demand satisfaction for the lies your opponent is spewing.

You Sir, Are a liar!

You can challenge the lies and if you’re correct the lying liar loses lying dice, if you’ve made an unfounded accusation then not only must you hang your head in shame like a Sunday newspaper gossip journalist, but you also lose lying dice! The modifiers come in handy as one false move could mean you’re pushed overboard by debris or exploded by a bomb or just shot off the boat with a shotgun. We found the actual ‘lying’ bit (when do we declare a lie?) quite hard to get the hang of but the underlying mechanic is sound.

A much more immediate mechanic that we totally loved was the shifting ground. Every turn the boat can shift and send debris and prone characters tumbling. This is a great way to bring the chaos and has huge potential.

A collection of detailed miniatures from the game "Boarders and Black Flags" is displayed on a wooden surface, featuring both human pirates and undead Skelliwags. The miniatures are unpainted and vary in poses, with some wielding swords and others appearing to engage in action. In the background, a vibrant pirate-themed backdrop showcases a skull and crossbones design, along with elements of a ship, enhancing the thematic atmosphere of the game.

The gameplay

6 phases make up the mainstay:

The lying phase
Reinforcement phase
Movement phase
Attack
Special
Pitch & Yaw!

The only phases that need explanation are the lying and the Pitch and Yaw.

A close-up view of a tabletop scene featuring two small, wooden treasure chests with metal accents, each adorned with pirate-themed symbols. In the background, a tall, wooden structure resembling a ship's mast is partially visible, along with a human hand resting on the table, suggesting engagement with the game. The warm wooden surface adds to the overall pirate aesthetic of the setup.

Lying

We played a few games, tried the lying rules and couldn't really get on with them. We couldn’t decide when to declare we were lying or if it mattered. We didn’t stick with the lying element, and used the lying dice just as a pool of modifiers which worked really well for us, and added some nice moments to the games.

Pitch and Yaw

This is fantastic. Although it’s all pitch and no yaw!* The boat only goes from port to starboard? although after playing a few rounds we can see why. As the assailant starts on one side of the board then a yaw moment (where dangerous scenery could potentially move across the length of the boat) could destroy an entire opponent's force in one turn... but we liked the idea of it. Next time we play we’re totally going with this mechanic.

*Technically it’s rolling, but no-one cares and don’t call me Shirley.

Combat is good and saving throws are easy to recall and play becomes quick once you get over the dense and weirdly organised manual - not that it impacts the game but I found myself leafing back and forth more than I'd have liked for such a simple game. We liked the non-lethal combat and took great pleasure in shoving each other off the boats - we’d have also enjoyed some multi round wrestling but boat pushing is good enough.

A detailed miniature of a skeleton pirate stands with one arm raised, holding a round object, possibly a cannonball or a drink. The figure is intricately sculpted, showcasing skeletal features and pirate attire, including tattered clothing. The background is slightly blurred, revealing stacks of game-related materials, suggesting a tabletop gaming environment.

Summary

This is a game with a heap of great ideas squashed into a tiny package. Maybe too many great ideas. The basic premise - pushing each other off a moving boat works really well - basically freeform Bloodbowl without the ball complication - once you’ve got your sealegs and understand the whole lying, and honest lying business then there’s serious potential for competitive and long term play with the campaign rules. Again, - loads of ideas in such a small package. Great stuff.

We’d have rather seen more focus on developing the strong mechanics - pitch and yaw, shove and impact and the character skills. But as a first edition it’s super. With a few adjustments and maybe some simplification this has the potential to be a great beer and pretzels game. We enjoyed it. will play again.

Check it out on the Man ‘O’ Kent Games website ←This is an affiliate link. Pirates gotta eat…

steev

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