Merchants and Marauders: Seas of Glory Review

All else being equal I will always take a modular expansion over the all-or-nothing variety. Offering new mechanisms and experiences in bite size, pick-and-choose pieces allows for easier digestion and a wider berth for dictating the experience you want the game to give you. Play becomes more about adding pieces to taste or simply trying something new in chunks to keep everything fresh and the sense of content discovery high.

What's surprising in Seas of Glory, Christian Marcussen’s expansion to the now-classic pirate game Merchants & Marauders, is that every damn module is pretty interesting. Of course some choices are more desirable than others but hey- even "Kill 'Em All" can't have 10 cuts all on the same wavelength as "Whiplash" and "Four Horsemen." For the most part Mr. Marcussen has hit the nail so hard on the head that it's been driven through the deck and into the galley below. You won’t find any flotsam like what the Battlestar Galactica expansions offered drifting sluggishly in this Caribbean.

This release can really be broken down into three main descriptors of how often I want to play with them. "Every day of the week", "most of the time" and "depending on the mood". The first category is easy to spot as the expansion comes absolutely jammed to the brim with additional options for all of the major decks in Merchants & Marauders. You get excellent new Rumors, Missions, Events, Captains, and Glory cards. Quality is consistent and some of the new ideas are fresh and enthusiastic as if Mr. Marcussen has once again captured the spark of the original design. In addition to the huge swath of added variety are utility tokens to mark stuff like home ports and mission locations. These aren't completely necessary but they're easy to toss in and you'll find yourself appreciating the additional markers that cut down on analysis and raise the presence of visual cues. You also get the added benefit of being able to flick your buddy's flag over in youthful punk defiance as you pass through his home port, signifying your pillaging of his seaman's childhood memories and terrorizing of his family members. You may have sunk my Frigate last turn but I just defecated on Santo Domingo, you cur.

That next tier of items that you will want to throw in early and often is where the value is most readily discovered. Exceptional additions include the jack-of-all-trades Brig and a foxed Galleon. The former is a ship that doesn't award glory but can serve admirably in both key roles, and the latter lowers the ship’s maneuverability to one, placing it more in line with the Frigate's power and restoring the balance of Pirates and Merchants in a much needed way. I'm a fan of both of these and have found myself deliciously contemplating the tough decision of going for a cheaper, immediate upgrade in the Brig or saving up a little bit more and hitting the Frigate/Galleon for the glory award. The correct path is not obvious and the development of this new ship is solid.

The next thing you'll be dying to throw in is the main expansion board that slots next to your player mat and will hold the new Contraband cards as well as ammo and ship upgrades. We have several new types of weapons that can set ships on fire or let loose with double shot. These are important not only because of additional combat decisions afforded but because with six total special weapons Pirates can now stay at sea longer while raiding. This is expertly counterbalanced with the new Contraband cards that award higher money sums and a glory for Merchants willing to take some risk and possibly draw attention from the authorities. This tandem is integrated well with the core mechanisms of the base game and really shines as an element you'll rarely leave home without.

Locations are the final aspect serving as a mainstay of the expansion and an item you will want to run with often. They add a new place to visit in each sea location independent of the port. As a Merchant you can pick up new items or rumors and as a Pirate you can unleash fury and burn them to the ground. This increased interaction with the board and further expansion of player choice via thematic and dynamic inclusions makes for a thoroughly satisfying play experience. I can't remember the last time I hollered as loud as when I burnt that damn mission to the ground and stole a vast sum of wealth from the holy father himself. The buccaneer life is hard and it's even harder on its victims.

The final category is a collection of modules you will find yourself messing with from time to time. Kind of like trying a new dish at your favorite restaurant, they rarely disappoint but you often discover you'd rather just hit up your mainstay and your go-to. The wind direction, determined purely by a cheap Milton Bradley-esque spinner, is a favorite of mine when I'm in the mood for a touch of stupid fun. Arguing over who gets to ineffectually spin the little arrow is almost as fun as sailing headfirst into the wind and having a soft turn of piddling at sea. Still, it can be enjoyable to add an element of fate where the game itself dictates perhaps your best options and path while crossing it comes at a cost.

The next two elements which I am quietly fond of are the Spanish treasure galleon that sails the board collecting wealth to be plundered, as well as the storm cloud which jams up avenues of sail debilitating travel. The treasure galleon is great because it brings up memories of the fantastic Black Sails TV series and adds another interactive opportunity with associated risk. The storm cloud is a little less interesting but it is quite neat and I love the little cardboard cloud propped up on a stand as if it fell out of a discount copy of Duel in the Dark.

The final two modules of this overflowing and affordable expansion are Favors and Loyalty. Purchasing Favors at a port are an abstract representation of making deals which can be called in down the line for special benefits. They're almost like mulligans at a cheaply hosted trivia night with watered down beer and poor conversation. Loyalty allows you to track your crew's morale in a more direct fashion, allowing for benefits and penalties depending on which way the metaphorical wind's blowing. Both of these are very neat inclusions and you will definitely want to give them a shot, however, they can often feel like just one step too far; managing these new tracks and counters can sometimes detract from the grand swashbuckling proceeding above your board. They make the game a little more heads down and less interactive. For that reason, you will tend to leave them in the box and only pull them out on special occasions.

Merchants & Marauders was a wild critical success because it took the popular concept of pirating and framed the whole simulation up within a fantastic adventure game context. Seas of Glory doubles down on the setting and themes with a robust, raucous suite of additions that are essential for fans of the base game. It’s been a few years since the game was originally released but this expansion should ensure that it continues to hit tables for years to come.