The Pirate Republic: Africa Gambit

About this board game

The Pirate Republic: Africa Gambit is a thematic deck-building sandbox adventure for 1–5 players, with games lasting around 180 minutes. Set in 1713 at the dawn of the Golden Age of Piracy, it sends famous pirate captains across the West Indies, the Atlantic, and West Africa.

After a decade of war, demobilized sailors have helped piracy explode across the seas. The Flying Gang seeks to build a self-governed Pirate Republic beyond the control of kings, queens, and imperial powers. Work together toward that ambition—or betray your fellow pirates while pursuing greater riches.

Each captain begins with a 12-card deck containing two cards unique to their pirate and ten shared cards. As you acquire new cards, your choices shape your pirate’s personality and strengthen your approach to life on the high seas.

• Sail across the map and plunder lucrative targets.
• Recruit crew, attack enemies, and defend your interests.
• Build a pirate haven, sack forts, and complete global missions.
• Build Infamy to gain access to stronger cards.
• Pursue individual Swagger while contributing to the shared objective.

On each turn, draw a hand and use its cards to take actions. When your deck is exhausted, play passes to the next pirate, continuing until everyone has played through their cards.

The second edition adds West Africa riches, new pirates, the Portuguese, and a campaign mode to the original game. The game ends when the players complete their chosen global mission, or when a pirate reaches 120 Swagger first. In The Pirate Republic: Africa Gambit, daring feats, treasure galleons, pirate utopias, and watery graves await.