Review
Letter of Marque (like most of Fantasy Flight’s Silver Line range of games) is affordable, portable, easy to learn and quick to play. Best of all, due to the nautical-nature of the game, it can provide serious bouts of piratical laughter as you sink your mates’ ships and make off with all of their booty.
Each player (there is room for up to 6 to take part) has a fleet of 5 model ships and 5 treasure cards of differing value. You must send your ships out to sea one-by-one and hope that they make it to their destination without being plundered by one of the lousy sea-dogs you used to call friends.
What makes things really interesting is that there are a small number of ships within your fleet that are invulnerable to attack. These ships (or galleons as they termed in-game) are indistinguishable from the weaker ships (corsairs) save for a small cannon marked on the model’s base which remains hidden. You must use all your Captain’s intuition to discern which of your scurvy-ridden opponents are ripe for the picking, and all your guile to put off any would-be bearded-assassin aiming his cannons at you. If you read the game right you’ll make off with the treasure and leave nought but death and destruction in your wake. Get it wrong and you’ll end up as dinner for the bottom-feeders.
Our Top Tip: After a couple of games, try sending your ships to sea without knowing if they are a galleon or a corsair. If no one knows what ships are out at sea it adds a Russian Roulette-style tension to the game, which we find leads to many an incendiary accusation of skulduggery
by Chris 27/01/2010
