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A Tale of Pirates

#3584BGG ↗

2017 · 2-4 players · 30min · weight 1.82 · 1,012 ratings

port: no port
BGGv4 widev4v4 deep5Sources1Rules cardCandidateDeep dive
Bayes
5.94
Users rated
1,012
Owned
2,372
Wishing
614

At a glance — v4 wide

Controlled-vocabulary primitives + 8-axis MDA aesthetic vector. Vocab v1.

Core loop (micro)

Place your sand timer on ship locations as a worker, wait for sand to run out, perform action then reposition for next task.

MDA aesthetic vector (0–3)
Sensation
2
Fantasy
2
Narrative
2
Challenge
2
Fellowship
3
Discovery
2
Expression
1
Submission
1
Mechanic-interaction primitives (4)
  • [3]time_pressure_realtime— “player uses their own 30-second sand timer as a character placed on ship to perform actions
  • [3]forced_table_talk— “goal is to complete dangerous scenarios; cooperative real-time game requiring coordination
  • [3]worker_recall_phase— “each time player places their own sand timer they wait for the sand to run out to perform action
  • [2]escalating_threat— “app leads players along missions with random events, multiple paths, upgrades, gamestate
discovery_score: 0.635

Archetype fits — v4 deep

How well this game shape maps to mobile archetype templates. Composite is a weighted sum of the 10 fit dimensions.

ArchetypeCompositeLTFSessionComboArcShare5inOnboard
Coop
20-min Cooperative Game with time_pressure_realtime + forced_table_talk + escalating_threat is a near-perfect coop shape; 10 scenarios + app give content_extensibility, but bluff/info-asymmetry is open-information so the load-bearing coop signal is moderate rather than Hanabi-strong.
6.308.0968456
Balatro
Real-time placement loop is dexterous, not combo-multiplicative; no engine_growth or joker-stacking; arc is scenario-driven not run-driven.
4.506.0636355
Snap
No async-PvP shape, no factional decks, no hidden-card reveal drama; coop real-time is orthogonal to Snap.
3.905.0535344
Cozy
Coop-or-Solo trigger (Cooperative Game) → no cap, BUT time_pressure_realtime + escalating_threat are explicitly anti-cozy primitives; tone is frantic, not unhurried, so loss_tolerance scored against tone lands at 4.
3.904.0625355
Wordle
20-min real-time coop scenario doesn't compress to a 90-sec daily; no compact-share output.
3.204.0224344

Sources (1)

Inputs to rules-card synthesis. Click any pill with ↗ to open the original source.

LLM memory0.65