Lifeboats: Plank of Carneades

About this board game

Lifeboats: Plank of Carneades is a 45-minute voting game for 3–7 players, set during a shipwreck where every decision can mean sinking, swimming, or reaching safety.

Players compete for seats on lifeboats while circumstances change and sailors face the brink of death. Each vote combines cooperation and betrayal: players secretly choose a card from their hands, then reveal their choices at the same time.

Every player has one card matching each boat color, corresponding to the player colors, along with three captain cards. If exactly one captain card is played, that player decides the result. If multiple captain cards appear, they are ignored; each captain card can be used only once.

The round follows a sequence of crucial decisions:

• Players vote on which ship springs a leak.
• They vote on which ship moves one space toward its island.
• They scramble to find better chances for survival.

When a ship reaches its island, all of its occupants are safe, and their player points are based on which island was reached. In some circumstances, ships move faster and more ships spring a leak, pushing the game forward at a quicker pace.

Compared with Lifeboats, Lifeboats: Plank of Carneades supports up to seven players and gives the captain card greater power: it can be used to keep any ship from springing a leak in a round. With votes deciding the fate of the fleet, every card played can reshape the struggle for survival.