How to Play: Curses

Index -> Board Game -> Curses

When exploring an island, if you choose a curse token, Davy Jones curses your ships! A description of each curse and its specific rules appears on the deckplate of your cursed ships.

While your ships are cursed, you can't unload treasure at your home island, you can't explore any wild island, and you can't choose any tokens from a wild island after defeating a sea monster. You can, however, still gain gold tokens from parley.

General Cursed Zone Rules

When you choose a token for a cursed zone, both your ships are placed in that cursed zone. There are four cursed zones, each located in one corner of the playmat: Fog Bank, Reef, Sargasso Sea, and Storm.

Escaping a Cursed Zone

At the beginning of your turn, each of your ships in a cursed zone will attempt to escape. A die roll will be made for that ship, and if you succeed, you'll be able to move that ship 1L from the cursed zone's exit point. If both of your ships escape the cursed zone without one of them being defeated, you'll receive the curse token face up on your home island; it is worth 5 gold.

Each time your ship fails a die roll to escape a cursed zone, she loses a mast. If one of your ships is defeated in a cursed zone, remove that curse token from the game (no one gains gold for it). Any treasure that ship had aboard is placed face down on the wild island nearest to that cursed zone. If your other ship is still in the cursed zone, she automatically escapes, as described above.

If you have only one of your ships in a cursed zone, you can give the other ship actions as allowed by the curse.

General Sea Monster Curse Rules

When you choose a "defeat" Kraken or Sea Serpent curse token, follow the standard rules for placing the sea monster and fighting it, as described above, and consult the specific curse rules for that monster. Your ships must move to the sea monster; they are not automatically sent to fight it.

If a sea monster is already on the board when the curse to defeat it is chosen, replace all parts it might have lost.

If you defeat a sea monster because of a curse, you don't get to choose two tokens (see above). You get the "Defeat Kraken" or "Defeat Sea Serpent" token instead, and each one is worth 5 gold on your home island at the end of the game.

Curse Descriptions

• Defeat Kraken
  Until you defeat the Kraken, you can't explore wild islands and no other player can attack the Kraken. If you defeat the Kraken because of this curse, don't choose two tokens from a wild island.
  
• Defeat Sea Serpent
  Until you defeat the Sea Serpent, you can't explore wild islands and no other player can attack the Sea Serpent. If you defeat the Sea Serpent because of this curse, don't choose two tokens from a wild island.
  
• Fog Bank
  Place your ships in the Fog Bank. On each of your turns that you have ships in the Fog Bank, two dice are rolled. If the result is doubles, you can move both ships out of the Fog Bank this turn.
  
• Reef
  Place your ships in the Reef. On your turn, a die is rolled for each of your ships in the Reef, one at a time. If the result is EQUAL TO or GREATER THAN the current number of masts on that ship, you can move that ship out of the Reef this turn.
  
• Sargasso Sea
  Place your ships in the Sargasso Sea. On your turn, a die is rolled for each of your ships in the Sargasso Sea, one at a time. If the result is EQUAL TO or LESS THAN the current number of masts on that ship, you can move that ship out of the Sargasso Sea this turn.
  
• Storm
  Place your ships in the Storm. On your turn, a die is rolled for each of your ships in the Storm, one at a time. If the result is a 6, you can move that ship out of the Storm this turn.