Port Royal, the new pirate skirmish game from Firelock Games is now live on Kickstarter AND it is funded! Choose your company or crew and dive into a 28mm skirmish game set in Port Royal which has been hit by the 1692 earthquake to see what plunder you can gain from its ruins.

Port Royal Kickstarter // Firelock Games

In games of Port Royal, you take control of a small crew of pirates, privateers, Native Americans, African Maroons or the local government forces who are scrapping over the ruins of Port Royal. The game features DNA from the likes of Blood & Plunder but with a fast-paced and quick-to-learn tweak to suit the skirmish setting.

At the core of the game experience for Port Royal is the fact that this is a campaign game where your company or crew expands and develops over time depending on how they do from game to game. If you're a fan of games like Mordheim or Frostgrave then you'll be in familiar territory here. Firelock has just made it all the better with the inclusion of pirates!

What Is Port Royal? // Firelock Games

As well as contending with the other crews that are wandering the ruined streets of Port Royal, you will also have to watch out for wildlife and distraught citizens who are going to be getting in your way as you enact your plundering. If you'd prefer to dive into your piratical skirmishes in a more friendly manner then you can play the game cooperatively OR you can go alone and play the game solo. I think that's perfect for these kinds of narrative-driven campaign games.

Port Royal uses the IGOUGO system for activating various characters from your crew but there is also a reaction system in place so that you'll never feel like you're sitting back and not taking part in the action. This means that you can intercept and activate your own characters to see if you can foil your opponent's plans.

Playing Port Royal // Firelock Games

Port Royal also makes use of Fortune Points which are generated at the start of the turn and are then used to bid for initiative, re-roll dice to change your fate and activate special abilities that your crew might have learned over the course of the campaign. With a little bit of "resource management" to get your head around, this adds more tactical depth to what you're doing at the tabletop.

The post-game sequence also allows you to go exploring Port Royal, check on the injuries of your crew, root out mutinies and of course upgrade those crew members who have done well over the course of the game. It all sounds ace and a great direction for Firelock to take their pirate antics.

You'll also have noted the contents of the core Starter Set above for Port Royal. You get the Rulebook and Dice of course but also fifteen plastic miniatures to make your crew and associated sprues to upgrade certain characters. All the tokens and gubbins are joined by a set of punchboard terrain and a paper mat so you can get playing right out of the box.

As you can see, the Kickstarter offers up a lot of different ways for you to get involved. You can start out entirely digital if you like or go for one of the physical sets alongside some bonus material.

Port Royal Pledges & Stretch Goals // Firelock Games

The Stretch Goals offer more variance for the set with more terrain options, ways to add female crew members to your company of miscreants and more. If you want to dive deep into the rest of the Firelock Games range from Blood & Plunder to help make your crews, you can also do that with the use of Add-Ons. Those various plastic sets are a great starting point for different crews and the character sprue is an awesome way to make a unique leader for your collection.

Are you going to be trying out Port Royal from Firelock Games?