Hunt for Blackbeard

Hunt for Blackbeard is an asymmetric two-player historical wargame designed by Volko Ruhnke, best known as the designer of the COIN and Levy & Campaign series. The game recreates the efforts of the colony of Virginia and the Royal Navy to track down Edward Teach, better known as Blackbeard, in late 1718, as the pirate sought refuge in colonial North Carolina.

One player takes the role of Blackbeard, while the other commands the pirate hunters. Blackbeard must exploit opportunities, carry out acts of piracy or enjoy the pirate's life while remaining free. The Hunters must gather intelligence, follow the pirate's trail and determine his whereabouts before he can achieve his objectives.

The game is essentially a strategic cat-and-mouse contest, with both sides operating with incomplete information and constantly trying to determine how much their opponent really knows.

Intelligence, deception and deduction

A game lasts for up to four turns. Each turn introduces new secret tiles representing opportunities, informants, defenses and capabilities. Players then commit their actions behind their individual screens.

Blackbeard must:

• secretly move his sloop, the Adventure;
• plan and carry out acts of piracy;
• pursue Pirate's Life opportunities;
• prepare defenses against a possible attack;
• carefully manage his purse of gold.

The Hunters have seven action pawns per turn, compared with five for Blackbeard. They use informants to secretly inspect locations on the map, gathering clues before moving their forces to progressively narrow down Blackbeard's possible whereabouts.

The shared map therefore becomes an information battlefield. The Hunters can observe their own forces, while clues concerning Blackbeard's location and movements are gradually uncovered.

When the hunters finally catch him...

If the Hunters catch up with Blackbeard's sloop, combat takes place immediately. Both sides can have secretly prepared defenses or acquired capabilities that influence the confrontation.

Yet Blackbeard is far from helpless. He may even attempt to lure the Hunters into an engagement on his own terms.

If no battle occurs, Blackbeard can continue his piratical activities and accumulate the resources required for victory. The game therefore constantly balances stealth, intelligence gathering, mobility and risk-taking.

A lesser-known episode of Blackbeard's career

Rather than presenting the usual Caribbean pirate adventure, Hunt for Blackbeard focuses on the final months of Blackbeard's career in colonial North Carolina.

The game incorporates the historical events, locations and personalities involved in the 1718 hunt, and includes a dedicated historical background booklet to provide additional context.

Highlights

• Asymmetric two-player game
• Cat-and-mouse pursuit
• Hidden information and deduction
• Secret action planning
• Hidden movement for Blackbeard
• Resource management
• Naval combat
• Variable tile-driven situations
• Historically grounded 1718 setting
• Fast-playing design with a maximum of four turns

COMPONENTS

The game includes:

• 1 mounted 11 × 17-inch map board;
• 2 player mats;
• 2 player aid sheets;
• 2 three-panel player screens;
• 48 tiles;
• marker sheets;
• 30 wooden cubes;
• 16 wooden pieces and pawns;
• 8 dice;
• 1 Rules of Play booklet;
• 1 historical background booklet.

GAME INFORMATION