Picture this: a catastrophic shipwreck and you're fighting for a spot in a lifeboat. In Lifeboats: Plank of Carneades, the difference between reaching dry land or becoming shark bait depends on one thing: politics. The game is a social tug-of-war where cooperation is merely a tool for betrayal. You must manage your officers and sailors, trying to place them on boats with the best chance of reaching the islands, while actively sabotaging your opponents.

The dynamics revolve around simultaneous voting. Each player holds color cards (representing the boats) and Captain cards. When everyone reveals their choices, the majority wins, but there's a twist: if only one player plays a Captain card, they dictate the result entirely. If two or more play it, the cards are ignored. It's a game of 'who blinks first.'

Each round follows a tense flow: first, players vote on which boat starts leaking. If the boat is full, the passengers must vote to decide who gets tossed overboard to lighten the load. Next, players vote on which boat moves forward toward its island. Finally, the movement phase begins, where you try to pull your characters out of sinking boats and jump into others. Be careful, though: if you jump and there's no space in the new boat, you end up in the water.

This 'Plank of Carneades' version expands the original experience, allowing up to seven players, which makes the politics far more chaotic. Additionally, the pace is faster, with more frequent leaks and ships that move more quickly. The Captain has also become more powerful, now able to prevent a boat from leaking. In the end, the winner is whoever saved the most valuable crew, proving that at sea, loyalty is the first thing to sink.