Objective of the Game

Ahoy, mateys! Welcome to the high seas of **Libertalia**, where every pirate dreams of a peaceful retirement in a utopian colony. But first, you've got to earn it! In this game, you and your fellow buccaneers are nearing the end of your swashbuckling careers, and it's time to amass as much treasure as possible. Over **3 campaigns**, you'll be looting ships, outsmarting rivals, and building your fortune. The ultimate goal? To be the **richest player** at the end of the game, proving you're worthy of bringing the legendary Libertalia to life!

Preparation (Setup)

Time to set sail! Here’s how to get your pirate adventure started:

1. Place the **game board** in the middle of your table. This is where all the action will happen!
2. Each player randomly draws a face-down **crew marker card** to determine their color. Then, grab your matching **pirate den**, **score token**, and all **30 character cards** of that color.
3. Place your **den** in front of you and your **character cards** next to it.
4. Set the **score track** to the side of the board. Each player places their **score token** on the "0" space.
5. Distribute **doubloons** to each player: 10 doubloons (specifically, 1 of value 5 and 5 of value 1). The rest of the doubloons form the **bank**.
6. Take all the **booty tokens** and toss them into a bag. Give that bag a good shake to shuffle them up!
7. Now, for the loot! Draw **1 booty token per player per day of the campaign** and place them on the spaces under the ship. For example, in a 4-player game, you'd draw 24 booty tokens (4 players x 6 days) and place 4 tokens on each space under the ship.
8. The youngest player takes their **30 character cards**, shuffles them, and draws 9. They then read the **rank** and name of each of these 9 cards out loud. All other players must then find and take these exact same 9 cards into their hand.
9. The remaining **character cards** (your unused ones) are set aside for later campaigns. Place your **crew marker card** face-up on top of them to avoid confusion.

And just like that, you're ready to plunder! Remember, at the start of the first campaign, everyone has the exact same 9 characters in hand.

The Turn of Play

A game of Libertalia unfolds over **3 campaigns**, each consisting of **6 days of looting** and **1 day of rest**. Let's break down a typical day of looting:

Game Overview

During the 6 days of a campaign, players will secretly play **character cards** from their hand to try and snag shares of the **booty**. The **character cards** are the heart of the game, each with a **rank** (1-30, higher is better) and an **influence** value (in the silver mark, used to break ties). Many characters also have **special actions** tied to specific phases of the day.

The First Six Days of Looting (Per Campaign)

Each day of looting follows these four phases:

Phase 1: Sunrise

• Each player secretly chooses one **character card** from their hand and places it face-down in front of them.
• Once everyone has chosen, all players reveal their cards simultaneously!
• The youngest player then arranges all played characters in **increasing order of rank** on the spaces on the ship.
• Tie-breaker: If multiple players played characters with the same rank, the character with the highest **influence** (the value in the silver mark) is considered to have the higher rank.

Phase 2: Day

• Starting with the character of the lowest rank (from left to right on the ship), each player resolves their played character's "Day" **special action**.
• **Day actions** are resolved only once, when the character is played.

Phase 3: Dusk

• It's time to divvy up the loot! In **decreasing order of rank** (from right to left on the ship), each player chooses **one booty token** from the space under the ship corresponding to the current day. For example, on the 3rd day, players loot the third space from the left.
• "Dusk" **special actions** are resolved at the same time and in the same order as players choose booty.
• Spanish Officer / Saber: If you choose a **Spanish Officer** or a **Saber** token, you must immediately resolve its effect:
  • Saber: You must choose a character in the den of a player directly to your right or left and **discard** it (place it face-down in their graveyard). If neither neighbor has characters in their den, nothing happens. The **Saber** token is then placed face-down in your den.
  • Spanish Officer: Your played character is immediately **discarded** instead of being added to your den. The **Spanish Officer** token is then placed face-down in your den.
• Otherwise, place your chosen **booty token** face-down in your den. Your played character is then placed face-up in your den.
• Any **booty tokens** that remain on the board at the end of this phase stay there until the end of the campaign.

Phase 4: Night

• All players resolve this phase simultaneously.
• All characters currently present in your **den** (from previous turns) use their "Night" **special actions**.
• **Night actions** are resolved during the Night phase of each turn as long as the character is in your den. If an order is needed, resolve them in decreasing order of the characters' ranks.

Preparation for the Next Campaign

After the Scoring Phase (Day of Rest), you'll prepare for the next campaign:

1. All characters in players' **graveyards** or **dens** are removed from the game. They won't be used again!
2. All **booty tokens** are returned to the bag.
3. All **doubloons** are returned to the bank.
4. Players should now only have the **3 character cards** they didn't play in the previous campaign (unless other character abilities modified this).
5. Each player receives 10 **doubloons** again (1x value 5, 5x value 1). The rest go to the bank.
6. The youngest player shuffles the *remainder* of their deck of cards and draws 6 new cards. They read the **rank** and name of these 6 cards aloud, and all other players select the same 6 cards from their own unused decks.
7. Each player adds these 6 new cards to their hand. You will now have 9 cards in hand again (6 new, plus the 3 you kept).

End of Game and Scoring

The game concludes after the **3rd campaign**.

Scoring Phase: The Day of Rest

This phase happens at the end of each campaign:

• All players resolve this phase simultaneously.
• All characters currently present in your **den** use their "End of the Campaign" **special actions**. These actions are resolved only once, at the end of the campaign in which the character was played, and only if they are still in your den.
• Calculate your **fortune**:
  • Count the **doubloons** you currently have.
  • Add 5 doubloons for each **Chest** token.
  • Add 3 doubloons for each **Jewel** token.
  • Add 1 doubloon for each **Goods** token.
  • Each set of 3 **Treasure Maps** is worth 12 doubloons. Incomplete sets (1 or 2 maps) are worthless.
  • Lose 3 doubloons for each **Cursed Relic**.
  • **Sabers** and **Spanish Officers** are worth nothing at the end of the game.
• Move your **score token** on the **score track** a number of spaces equal to your total fortune in doubloons. Your final score is the sum of all doubloons won across the three campaigns.

End of the Game

After the scoring for the third campaign, the player whose **score token** has reached the highest value on the **score track** is crowned the winner! If there's a tie, the player with the most doubloons in hand wins.

Tips for Winning

Want to be the richest pirate on the seas? Keep these tactical nuggets in mind:

1. Character Ranks and Timing are Key: Remember that "Day" actions resolve in increasing rank order, while "Dusk" actions (and booty selection!) resolve in decreasing rank order. This means playing a low-rank character might let you trigger a powerful "Day" ability early, but a high-rank character gives you first pick of the best loot during "Dusk." Plan your plays to maximize both!
2. Manage Your Den: Characters with "Night" and "End of the Campaign" actions are incredibly valuable, but only if they remain in your den! Be wary of playing characters that might get discarded by a **Spanish Officer** or removed by a rival's **Saber**. Protecting these long-term assets can lead to a significant boost in your fortune.
3. Booty Sets and Curses: While individual **booty tokens** like Chests and Jewels are good, don't underestimate the power of **Treasure Map** sets. 12 doubloons for three maps is a huge score! Conversely, avoid **Cursed Relics** like the plague, as they actively reduce your score. Sometimes it's better to let a less desirable token sit on the board than to take a curse.