Guest Author - Lynn Little

Loot

Needed: Deck of Loot playing cards

Ages: 10 and up

Players: 2-8

Set sail on the high seas in this fun and fast pace card game from Gamewright. Loot - The Plundering Pirate Card game- is an easy to learn card game and can be enjoyed by a kids and adults alike.

Players are dealt four cards. The object of the game is to be the player to collect the most gold, or in Pirate terminology, loot. You earn gold by winning merchant ships. On your turn you may play a merchant ship. If you are in control of that merchant ship by the time of your next turn then you win the ship. Place won ships face down in a pile in front of you. Other players may play a pirate ship on your merchant ship to steal the gold. You can fight for your merchant ship by playing a your own pirate ship on your merchant ship. The second played pirate ship must be a different color than the previously played one. The person with the highest ranking pirate ship or the last person to play either the Pirate Captain or the Admiral wins the merchant ship.

When another player plays a merchant ship you can try to take the ship by playing a pirate ship. Players may add a pirate ship to any battle for a merchant ship as long as the pirate ship is a different color than the ones that are currently played on the merchant ship. Each pirate ship color has a Pirate Captain that acts as a trump card and wins the merchant ship.

Play ends when there are no more cards that can be drawn from the deck, and one player cannot make any more plays. Players count up their gold in their pile and subtract any gold from merchant ships that are in their hand. This is their score for the game. The person with most loot -highest score- wins the game.

Loot is a fast paced, fun game. It takes just a few minutes to learn the rules. When we played, the adults had just as much fun as the kids. A bit of strategy takes place to know when it's most advantageous to play your Pirate Captain or to continue to fight for a merchant ship. Sometimes I would get into a battle for a ship only to really want the next merchant ship played that was worth more gold.

Loot has been honored by Mensa Select and Dr. Toy. Total playing time for a game is around 20 minutes.