Review

Ahoy, mateys! The world's first constructible strategy game advances into a new age with the release of Pirates of the Revolution, the newest expansion for WizKids' Pirates game line. Pirates of the Revolution is a standalone set that takes the madcap search for treasure and high-seas hijinks into the age of tall ships on the Atlantic coast - the American Revolution!

As a fledgling nation, the United States had no naval prowess. So to combat British naval superiority, the United States issued letters of marquee (papers authorizing a pirate to attack another nation's ships) to all sea dogs who applied. This resulted in the United States creating more pirates than any other nation before or since! It is this spirit of adventure and freedom that WizKids captured in Pirates of the Revolution. As with previous Pirates releases, Pirates of the Revolution Game Packs contain everything one person needs to play, including complete rules, a die, a crew or treasure card, an island/terrain card, and two ships or one ship and one fort. Players can expand their collections by purchasing new Game Packs and trading with their friends.

As the name implies, Pirates of the Revolution introduces the Americans to the Pirates game. But the other nations - Spain, England, France, and Pirates - boost their ranks as well. Americans are a hardy bunch of privateers, so they make an excellent addition to any fleet, or they make a mighty fleet on their own! But what would the historical American fleet be without historical American personalities?

Characters from history mingle with the scurviest dogs ever to sail the seas, including famous Americans like John Paul Jones. Pirates of the Revolution features two new game mechanics: fire and events. On a wooden sailing ship, fire was one of the most-feared calamities. Now you don't have to destroy all of your opponent's masts to cripple his or her ships - fire will take care of that for you!

Events are cards you can play to have a cool effect on the game. You "buy" an event as part of the cost of your fleet at the beginning of the game, and you play it on your opponent (or yourself) at any time. Events include mysterious things like mermaids, a becalmed section of the ocean, or a native attack on an island.

Pirates of the Revolution is another winning entry into WizKids' Pirates roll call. The combination of exciting historical figures and ships, new game effects, and the American fleet will make the race for treasure even more exciting. So strap on your cutlass, lace up your boots, and prepare your parrot for the greatest pirate game of the summer: Pirates of the Revolution!