Clueless Captains
A board game where you sail the seven² seas in search for treasure!
What is it?
This is a board game concept I came up with where you and up to 5 other people sail across a board in search for treasure! But beware, as some of you pirate comrades might be a sea monster in disguise!
My initial inspiration behind the game was from the idea of a game where everyone controls the same character. From this idea I was then inspired by other hidden role games such as One Night Ultimate Werewolf and Coup and thus Clueless Captains was born!
How to play?
The aim of the game is to move the ship around the board to find the treasure, without taking too much damage and sinking. As a ship moves across a tile, that tile is flipped and revealed. If a tile is a rock the ship loses one health token, if it is a treasure, it is removed from the board and the pirates are one step closer to winning!
The game consists of three phases. The selection phase, the playing phase, and the discussion phase. First during the selection phase, each player is dealt 3 cards. Each player then selects a card and discards the other two without talking or showing anyone else!
Next, during the playing phase the cards that weren't discarded are shuffled together and then flipped over one by one. When a card is flipped, perform its action (for example, move north 2, reveal cards around the ship)
Lastly, during the discussion phase, player may discuss strategies to move the ship in a certain direction, or to cast suspicion on to players who's card choices seem to be hindering the expedition.
Role Cards
At the start of the game, one role card is given to each player. This card will tell them whether their goal is to find all of the treasure (pirate) or if their goal is to sink the ship (sea monster).
These cards should be kept hidden for the entire game.
Movement Cards
These are the most common cards in the game. When played these move the ship the specified amount in the specified direction. (Image above would move the ship west twice). When the ship moves to a new tile, the tile is revealed (the ship will reveal both tiles when moving twice, and will collect treasure / take damage when crossing both if there is a treasure or rock respectively)
Compass Cards
These cards reveal tiles around the ship in the pattern specified on the card. A rock card being revealed like this does not cause any damage, and a treasure revealed like this does not get collected (the ship must move to the treasure to collect it).
Voting Cards
When played, these cards will alter the discussion phase and turn it into a voting phase. Now, during this phase players are able to vote to jail / kill another player. For the vote to pass everyone minus the amount of sea monsters in play must agree or the vote fails and nothing happens. If you are playing with one sea monster and they are mutinied the game ends immediately with the pirates winning.