Days of Sky Pirates with Libertalia: Winds of Galecrest
Sail across the open skies on journeys to collect loot and outwit the other pirates in Libertalia: Winds of Galecrest.
While I was sick recently, I spent some time unboxing a few solo board games that have been sitting around for ages. I found Libertalia: Winds of Galecrest hiding, almost forgotten! This is an interesting multiplayer game, yet I was curious to see what the new edition would offer with the solo mode. Time to gather some valuable loot with animals!
Game Overview
Game Name: Libertalia: Winds of Galecrest
Publication Year: 2022
Designer: Paolo Mori
Artist: Lamaro Smith
Publisher: Stonemaier Games
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game
Voyages are undertaken to collect different sorts of loot. A set of pirates head out each day with unique abilities and activation orders. There are all sorts of combinations, while the solo opponent also adds a pilferer to throw a wrench in the plans. Sky pirating never knew such fun!
First Play
June 10, 2023
Complexity
2
Latest Play
June 11, 2023
Expansions
0
Setup Time
5 Minutes
Lifetime Plays
4
Play Time
35 Minutes
High Score
107
Game Area
28" x 24"
Low Score
90
To Floating Islands
The play area is pretty compact, with the solo opponent needing more space to arrange pirates in a row. Everything here is either for reference or active use.
Loot tokens provide the options available for each day. A total of 3 voyages encompass a play. Random loot tokens make a day interesting, yet every day must be considered.
There are also different sides of the board and loot token definitions, which add a lot of possibilities!
I started off avoiding the stormy options to get a handle on how the solo opponent and pilferer worked.
Fancy Rabbit Pirates
Did someone mention animal artwork?! My Calico Critters rushed over to do their best in terms of matching. Ha ha!
Actually, I think this smartly dressed pair was a little upset at the depiction of the only rabbit in the game. This merchant was clearly overloaded with stuff. Goodness!
I wasn’t as taken with the artwork as I thought I might be, although that’s a matter of personal opinion. There were simply some pirates I liked a lot better than others.
Ready to set sail, albeit on the clouds, this pirate party was prepared to collect all of the good kinds of loot tokens!
Lots of Loot Choices
The first voyage lasts just 4 days, while each successive voyage adds on another day for more decisions.
At a glance, it’s easy to figure out the ideal choices for every day. However, some loot tokens are worth more in sets… Or might not be worth anything on their own!
For instance, the maps only award doubloons in sets of 2 or 3. So I either had to try to collect both of them, or focus on other options for days 2 and 4.
I liked this decision space! It provided enough options without overloading information. But onto the pirates…
Island Orders
As seen on every card, pirates have a specific order they activate in. Lower numbers activate their powers first, but higher numbers choose loot tokens before the others.
The solo opponent deck is used to choose the 6 pirates available during each voyage. In this way, it’s possible to have a pretty good idea of the general island order.
Ah, but not so fast! The pilferer is a random pirate who comes out each day to throw off the order just a bit.
This means that the puzzle of choosing loot tokens doesn’t have a set solution each day… Oh, pilferer!
An Interesting Dilemma of Theme and Art
I was actually quite surprised by how I sort of bounced off of this artwork. Anything with animals is almost a surefire win for me, yet I thought a lot of the pirates looked a little too flat. Looking carefully at the cards, it might also have to do with the identical scene in the background of every single card, which doesn’t help them stand out.
Anyone with brighter colors, including hints of aqua or purple, popped a lot more than some of the characters that were either brown or grey. Perhaps I would have liked them a little more if they had names to go along with their roles, too. Not the end of the world! Just threw me for a loop since I assumed I would adore the artwork.
There’s also the possibility that these animals are more humanized, or anthropomorphic, than I might have thought. In a sense, I might have felt more aligned with the characters if each player color focused on a species across the board. I know my rabbits would have approved. Ha ha! Again, nothing to really complain about… Only an observation!
Daily Loot Discussions
The rest of these finely dressed Calico Critter rabbits were also in attendance! This duo focused a lot more on talking about the pros and cons of choosing different loot.
Since the pirate order matters each day, it’s typically impossible to choose first. It comes down to figuring out which days might be OK to choose a loot token last.
Relics are cursed and wretched things, so getting stuck with any of those can be costly. Do not accept relics!
It might also come down to the voyage: Hooks can be more versatile earlier on, allowing pirates to remain in play.
A Successful Voyage
As I learned the rules and strategies, I was pretty pleased with some of the combinations I pulled off!
For instance, this first voyage saw a lot of lucrative loot tokens. The Witch ended up on board the ship, yet as the only one with an anchor ability, it joined the next voyage.
Each pirate functions very differently, and that’s not only in regards to the order! Only 18 of 40 are used with each play, too, leading to lots of unique combinations.
I won’t pretend I did well at all, but I had some exciting days among the floating islands and loot tokens!
Session Overview
Play Number: 1-4
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game
Play Details: Calm at the Very Easy to Difficult Difficulty
Outcome: 90-79, 107-101, 104-102, 101-94 (4 Wins)
I’m not the biggest fan of how the difficulty levels are handled here, so although I might look like I’m winning, it’s merely an adjustment to my final score. Still, I managed to pull off a pretty excellent victory! Playing the Brute at the same time as the solo opponent resulted in me actually picking a loot token first. It was a decent enough experience of pirating on the high… Skies. Ha ha!
%
1 Play
Affordability
Price & Value
7
Functionality
Challenges & Mechanics
9
Originality
Design & Theme
5
Quality
Components & Rules
8
Reusability
Achievement & Enjoyment
6
Variability
Distinctness & Randomness
7
+ Pros (Positives)
- The loot tokens are made out of thick acrylic to give them a very distinct appearance and wonderful weight.
- Managing the pirates on each voyage takes some planning and can be influenced by what loot tokens are available.
- Almost all of the instructions are printed on the game board, which makes referencing the rulebook minimal.
- Each day presents a small puzzle to optimize for, yet the random pilferer card never makes this guaranteed.
- Most of the solo opponent’s actions and decisions are simple to understand with very little downtime to manage.
- Daytime and dusk activate in opposite directions to provide thoughtful decision points about abilities and loot.
– Cons (Negatives)
- Although different combinations of pirates can be interesting, the majority have been seen after a few plays.
- The theme doesn’t come through, and gameplay mostly boils down to looking at numbers and odds.
- Play time moves along with little downtime, yet for what the solo experience offers, it feels just a little too long.
- Achieving high scores is heavily influenced by the luck of the draw and which pirates are in play each voyage.
Victory Conditions
Score the Most Points
- Overall Goal Progress 100%
Goals and Milestones
Win at least 1 game at the very easy difficulty level.
Win at least 1 game at the easy difficulty level.
Win at least 1 game at the difficult difficulty level.
Continue the Conversation
Have you played the solo mode of Libertalia: Winds of Galecrest? What has been your most memorable voyage? The different pirates add a lot of variety, and the puzzle can be an interesting one. I don’t know if this will be a solo mode I regularly want to play, yet I thoroughly enjoyed my time during this first session… As did my Calico Critters!
Great review. I think this is a great solo game. The mechanisms and decisions, plus the variety of cards and the random loot which both improve replayability, are just perfect for the kind of solo games I like. When it was on my table, it definitely had the ‘let’s play just one more time’ feeling, I played the original Libertalia with our gaming group, and it is very popular.
I’m not a fan of the creature characters and the subsequent card art, and while I appreciate it for its art, it does not enhance the game for me. However, the game is so good I am happy to overlook it!
Thanks, Dave! Nice to hear your perspective on the solo mode. There is a lot to like here, and it’s awesome to hear that you enjoy this one so much. Best of luck picking up the best loot tokens next time… Here’s to no relics! Ha ha!