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The Goonies (1985)
The Goonies (1985)
1985 | Adventure, Comedy
Sums up all my childhood movies
Awesome adventurous kids, a daring quest, and being set in 1980s America, pretty much sums up all childhood movies into one. The Goonies is an absolute classic coming of age movie of kids trying to stop a rich developer buying up property and splitting up the young friends. Their way is to find mythical treasure via a map from a so-called legend. Along the way are some good old fashioned villains, some challenges and a pirate ship. Still watch it every Christmas.
  
The Princess Bride (1987)
The Princess Bride (1987)
1987 | Adventure, Fantasy, Romance
Phenomenal Casting (2 more)
Terrific writing
Great scenery
Nothing (0 more)
Epic Adventure Awaits!
My favorite movie of all time. I have seen this movie over a million times it seems. I can never get enough. The chemistry between Mandy Patinkin, Andre the Giant and Shawn Wallace is amazing. Billy Crystal is Miracle Max, adlibbing his way through the movie is total genius. Who wouldn't love an adorable blonde pirate played by Cary Elwes and Buttercup played by Robin Wright, in her first movie role. This is a not to be missed movie. Fun for all ages.
  
Jamaica: The Crew
Jamaica: The Crew
2017 | Nautical, Pirates, Racing
In the expansion review series, we take a look at a game expansion to discuss whether it is a necessary purchase/addition to one’s collection.

This breakdown is for the expansion for the popular pirate game Jamaica called The Crew. It is sold in a box in similar size to Jamaica’s main box, just a bit thinner.


This expansion will add a bevvy of new pirate characters to the game that can be recruited once a player pays the full amount at a port town (if you are unaware of the Jamaica base rules, read our review here). The red bottle of rum token in The Crew’s box acts as the main recruitment pawn by allowing any pirate adjacent to it to be recruited. The bottle may also be moved by paying one gold doubloon per space moved. Once recruited the pirate will command a space on one of the recruiting player’s ship’s hold and be treated like any other resource. Each recruited crewperson, however, will also furnish the player with special abilities and bonus points at the end of the game (more bonus points for crossing the finish line, less otherwise).
Should all owners of Jamaica run out and also grab The Crew in order to enjoy Jamaica? Maybe. Jamaica may evolve into a game that can become “samey” with many plays. Adding The Crew will inject a whole new aspect of play and various levels of new strategies to be applied. Having another resource to manage during the game may become more stressful, but those same resources, this time in the form of crewpersons, provide bonuses that range from helpful to immediate victory after special conditions are met.

Official recommendation: I love the base game of Jamaica. I never really thought I would NEED an expansion for it. In fact, I only picked this up because it was on sale and I saw many players enjoyed it. When I added it to my game my eyes were opened, and Jamaica became a new beast altogether for us. I say that if your games of Jamaica are becoming less and less enjoyable, then you should definitely grab a copy of The Crew. My only gripe is the box art. Why is it a book now instead of continuing with the treasure chest theme? It’s brown and has the Jamaica logo on it, but that’s where the similarities end. I wish they looked better together, that’s all I am saying.
  
Siege and Storm
Siege and Storm
Leigh Bardugo | 2013 | Young Adult (YA)
My only regret is not reading it sooner!
The second outing of mine into the Grishaverse and things have only gotten better. Alina is now seen as a saint and finds herself torn between all that she needs to do and the life and love she truly wants for herself.
The Darkling is coming and she needs to find the strength to stop him however she may get that strength.
With wonderful new characters introduced to us including my favourite Pirate (Privateer) Siege and Storm is an excellent novel to while away these cold winter days.
  
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Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Libertalia in Tabletop Games

Sep 5, 2019 (Updated Dec 2, 2019)  
Libertalia
Libertalia
2012 | Card Game, Pirates
(Sung to the tune of “Rainbow Connection”) Why are there so many games about pirates? Why do I love them so much? (end music) Well I will tell you. Libertalia is one of the first pirate games I ever collected and played. I was finally able to introduce it to Laura recently and you can see by the ratings graphic that she really enjoyed it too. But why? It’s just another pirate game, right?

Libertalia pits the players against each other to become the wealthiest pirate captain by manipulating crew members and using their strengths to secure the almighty booty. The game takes place over three weeks, and each round of play is equal to one week. There are six playable days where captains will be selecting crew members to contribute their special abilities for gain and treachery to other captains.

DISCLAIMER: I do not intend to cover every single rule included in the rule book, but will describe the overall game flow and major rule set so that our readers may get a sense of how the game plays. For more in depth rules, you may purchase a copy from the publisher directly or from your FLGS. -T

To setup the game lay out all boards in the center of the table, choose which color pirate you would like to represent and take all corresponding color components, fill the booty spaces on the bottom of the ship board with enough booty tokens for one per player per box, and give each player ten doubloons worth of starting money. The youngest player now shuffles their deck thoroughly and deals themselves nine random cards. They player then reads out the numbers of cards they have drawn so that all players will have a matching hand of cards of the same numbers. Example: the youngest player draws 9 – 12 – 16 – 19 – 20 – 21 – 22 – 25 – 29. Each player will remove those exact cards from their decks to form the matching starting hand. You are now ready to play!

All captains will simultaneously choose one card from their hand to play for the “day.” The youngest player collects all played cards and arranges them numerically from lowest to highest (with numbers in the gray box area breaking ties). The Day now begins with any Day time specific abilities triggering on cards that show the matching Day symbol beginning with the lowest numbered card and ending with the highest (we will call it “initiative” for the purposes of this review). It could be taking doubloons, or otherwise affecting other cards. Once complete, the booty tokens for that Day are claimed in reverse initiative order (highest to lowest) and Dusk abilities are triggered. When all captains are satisfied with their booty (or oftentimes NOT satisfied) any Night special abilities are triggered and performed as well as the Cutlass and Spanish General token abilities. Those that have been discarded (slain) are placed under the play mat on the left side (where one can find the graveyard), and all surviving pirates retire to the “Den” where they may still be of service at the end of the week or even end of the game. At the end of the sixth Day/Night any pirates alive in the Den with a Day of Rest anchor icon will trigger their special abilities. The youngest player then draws and relays the next six cards to setup the next round and you are off for week #2. Play continues in this way for six Days over three Weeks.

Components. The game has a fair amount of different components, but they are all quite good. The punchboard components (boards, booty tokens, doubloons) are all a good thickness and quality. They look so good that my 3-year-old son wanted to play with them and add them to his gold doubloon collection. Yes, he has a gold doubloon collection in a treasure box. The cards and play mats are of good quality too. The art on this game is absolutely stellar. It is so realistic and wonderful that you actually get caught up in the piratey theme and wanting to score that sweet booty. (I’m done with the booty jokes I think)

So this was my first pirate board game I ever purchased, and I obviously still have it in my collection, so it’s good right? Absolutely! This is one of the best pirate-themed games I have ever played and I am certainly not alone. As of today Libertalia is ranked #2 in pirate themed games on BGG by rank (I believe Friday is disqualified because that’s not really a pirate game to me). The interplay between the pirates you can choose in your limited hand each round, but captains may choose different combinations of pirates to use each hand and each round that you sometimes forget that they had not yet used their Surgeon, and this is such a great time for them to use it. Bloody sneaky powder monkey!

Libertalia is that rare game that you instantly fall in love with, and when you try to share your love of it with others, you can see their eyes light up over the brilliance of design and deep appreciation of the art and components. If I ever get into seriously blinging out my games, you better believe Libertalia will be one of the first I treat. Purple Phoenix Games gives Libertalia a buccaneer’s loot of 21 / 24.
  
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006)
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006)
2006 | Action, Comedy, Sci-Fi
8
7.2 (50 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Drunk Johnny Part 2
Yo-Ho, what do you get when you based you movie off of a disney ride, a great movie. Yes you read the correctly, this movie is based off of the ride at disney. So how does a 20-30 minute ride turn into a 2h and 40min movie, well you ride the ride a bunch of times, than evently you get to the 2h and 40min mark. Im kidding, dont do that, instead watch this movie. Plus you get more drunking Johnny Depp or Johnny Depp playing pirate Keith Richards, so thats always good.

This movie is great and is better from the first one, coming off the first one, this one has more action, comedy, adventure and overall a better plot and a excellent villian.

The Plot: When ghostly pirate Davy Jones (Bill Nighy) comes to collect a blood debt, Capt. Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) must find a way to avoid his fate lest his soul be damned for all time. Nevertheless, the wily ghost manages to interrupt the wedding plans of Jack's friends Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) and Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley).

Bill Nighy is excellent as Davy Jones, i love the charcter and his haterd against Jack Sparrow.

This film was shot back-to-back with the third film of the series, At World's End.

Its a excellent movie and highly reccordmend it.
  
Disclaimer: I received a copy in exchange for an honest review.

I was so excited to read this story just from the cover and blurb. Although it's "middle-grade", I found it immensely enjoyable, and I laughed myself silly quite a bit. Who wouldn't want to read a young boy exploring a zombie cave and trying to find pirate treasure? I definitely wouldn't want to BE said explorer, but Mick's story is awesome, and I couldn't put the book down until I'd finished it (and made notes right along with him as to what I'd need should I ever decide to pursue this adventure...).

5 stars!
  
CC
Chesapeake Crimes: Homicidal Holidays
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
This collection of short stories focuses on various holidays. Yes, the majority are Halloween and Christmas, but you also get a few fun days like Groundhog Day and Talk Like a Pirate Day.

There were several stories about a woman getting revenge on a man, and those really bothered me since that kind of justice doesn’t appeal to me. However, the majority of the stories were fun with decent characters and good plots. The variety in stories and holidays makes this a book worth checking out.

NOTE: I was sent an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2014/10/book-review-chesapeake-crimes-homicidal.html">Carstairs Considers</>.
  
The Bob-Whites go with Miss Trask to visit her brother only to learn a legend of a vanishing pirate and that the family inn has become the victim of some vicious sabotage. Can Trixie figure out what is happening?

Another fun book in the series. Trixie and Mart’s fighting is worse than normal, and that does bother me. However, all seven of the Bob-Whites get to go, and the mystery is decent with some fun twists and clues along the way. A definitely must read for fans of the series.

Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2014/10/book-review-mystery-of-ghostly-galleon.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
  
One Piece, Volume 01: Romance Dawn (One Piece, #1)
One Piece, Volume 01: Romance Dawn (One Piece, #1)
Eiichiro Oda | 1997 | Comics & Graphic Novels
9
9.2 (5 Ratings)
Book Rating
Before I finally started reading One Piece, I knew it was wildly popular. The books and merchandise are all over, and have been for years. I guess I can see why it's popular now. The story is silly and hilarious! Such a fun break from reality. Luffy is a young man that has the simple goal of becoming the king of pirates. He's clueless, has no sensible fear, is randomly looking for a pirate crew to call his own, and oh yeah. He ate some magical fruit as a child and is now a rubber man! The premise makes sense, but the situations and characters along the way in his journey make it all funny!