War on the High Seas (2nd Edition)

The game is set in a time that world trade is plagued by piracy, dangerous ocean voyages and fierce wars. Can you a small time merchant battle the stormy oceans and avoid the scourge of piracy trading goods for profit and becoming a Master Merchant, or will you build a superior fleet of ships and become to become a recognised Admiral of the Seas or perhaps you will find wealth in war and plunder your riches conquering ports around the world and become a Lord Governor. The game is played over a number of rounds until one player scores one of the three victory conditions and is declared the winner. In the standard game players are aiming to excel at one of three objectives. Master Merchant, Lord of Maritime or Lord Governor. Master Merchant requires a player to have 150g and dock at a port owned by their nationality. Admiral of the Seas requires a player to have 3 ship cards in his fleet and capture or buy a forth. Lord Governor requires a player to place his last nations port marker on the board. For a more challenging and longer game the number of objectives a player needs to win can be raised to 2 or all 3. Once a player has met an objective their turn immediately ends, however the round is not over and continues giving other player the opportunity to complete an objective. At the end of the round if more than one player has managed to complete all objectives needed to win, victory points are awarded (see below) to decide a winner, the highest scorer ultimately wins the game, if in the rare circumstances there is a draw, they can decide to accept a draw or both fleets can combat until one side loses a ship giving victory to the winner. —description from the designer