Rules Summary

At the beginning of the game the players choose which side of the playing board to use. Two different islands are available. The smaller island is suitable for 2-4 players, and provides a game that will last about 45 minutes. The larger island can be used for 2-6 players, and the game on this board will last about an hour and a half. Next, the treasure cards are dealt out onto the relevant spaces on the Treasure Trove card. The different types of treasures available can be seen in the chart below. As well as cards depicting treasure items, there are also Cannon cards and Jolly Roger cards within the treasure card deck. Cards are placed on each of the ‘treasure chest’ spaces on the Treasure Trove card. The number of cards required is printed on each ‘treasure chest’ space.

Players take turns to throw two dice. Each player selects one of the numbers thrown and places a counter on the Playing Board on a square marked with this number. The square chosen must be an orange ‘anchorage’ square, or a square next to another square that already contains one of that player’s counters. Rivers may not be crossed. A player throwing ‘doubles’ gets another turn.

If a player ‘cuts off’ an area of the board, then that player places one of his counters in every square within that area. If a player captures a ‘treasure’ square by placing a counter on it (either by advancing on to it or enclosing it), then that player takes the treasure cards from the corresponding ‘treasure chest’ space on the ‘Treasure Trove’. A player taking treasure from a chest now ‘owns’ this treasure and it must be stacked in front of him, with similar types together, so that they are visible to all the other players.

If a player finds Cannon cards within a treasure chest, then these can be used to steal an opponent’s treasure or to protect the player’s own treasure. Purple Cannons allow players to protect individual treasure types. Purple Cannons or Gold Cannons can be used to steal unprotected treasure types from other players. Gold Cannons can be used to attempt to steal a protected treasure type, by fighting a ‘Skirmish’. Gold Cannons can be used to steal Jolly Roger cards from other players. (Jolly Roger cards permit a player to collect more treasure types than are usually allowed). Any cannons that have been used to steal treasure, or to unsuccessfully protect treasure in a Skirmish, are discarded to a ‘fired cannon’ stack on the Treasure Trove card.

A player may only collect a certain number of treasure types, as indicated on the Davy Jones’ Locker card. Any surplus types must be deposited in Davy Jones’ Locker. Cannons that cannot be used must be placed in Davy Jones’ Locker. On a player’s turn, that player may retrieve treasure types from Davy Jones’ Locker, provided that he already owns at least one treasure of that type. A player may also, on his turn, retrieve cannons from Davy Jones’ Locker, provided that he is able to use them immediately in some way. Jolly Roger cards allow a player to collect one extra treasure type. During the game, Skirmishes are fought to resolve ‘tie-break’ situations.

When all the squares on the board are filled with counters, the player who placed the most counters takes the treasure cards from the Davy Jones’ Legacy treasure chest, on the Treasure Trove card. Scoring then takes place. For each treasure type, the player with the most of that type scores the points for it, including any bonuses for having collected a large number of that type. A table of the treasures and their values is provided on the Final Reckoning board. Points are recorded by moving the players’ Pirate Captain markers around the scoring track, which is also incorporated in the Final Reckoning board. When the scoring has been completed for all the different treasure types, the player whose marker has moved the furthest round the spiral scoring track is the winner.