Ahoy there me hearties!

Come with me on the high seas and the world can be ours . . . . aarrgh!

Pirate's Cove allows 3-5 players to captain ships in the days of the pirate age.

The aim is simple enough - amass enough gold and treasure to become the most famous (or should that be infamous) pirate of your time.

Pirate's Cove is a beautifully presented game with a wonderfully illustrated board, depicting six major islands and the smaller Pirate's Cove.

Each player begins with a ship which has four features - sails, crew, cannons and hull-rating.

The sails affect speed in combat, the crew and cannons are linked to determine a player's attack rating and the hull size determines how much cargo a ship can carry.

On each turn, players must decide which island they will travel to.
This is done secretly using a spinner in the form of a ship's wheel.

Each of the islands relates to a feature of the player's ships - for example the hull, cannons or crew - and traveling to them allows a player to pay for upgrades to make that area of their ship more powerful.

A card is also drawn for each island on each island on each round and these cards display an amount of fame, gold, treasure and events and are also earned when a player lands at an island.

Gold is used to pay for upgrades and the treasure is stored in the hull of the ships.
When a player travels to Treasure Island, they can bury the treasure and earn one fame point for each box buried.

This is the basic, but captivating play of Pirate's Cove.
Of course there are still a few more twists.

If any two players ever travel to the same island they must fight it out to earn that island's rewards.
This is where the speed and combat strength of the ship's becomes critical.

The game is also very well balanced for any number of players as it includes Legendary Pirates.

These black vessels roam the Carribean and, if encountered by a player, they prove hard to beat, although the rewards are great.

Their pirates include Black Beard and Captain Hook to name a few.

Pirate's Cove has a great theme, looks great and plays with speed and excitement.

It is highly recommended for families, and anyone with a secret pirate obsession!