The year is 1667 and you are a pirate sailing the waters of the Caribbean. A Spanish Galleon floats nearby, and you’ve talked your crewmates into working together to steal all of its treasure. What you haven’t told your fellow pirates is that you have no intentions on sharing the treasure once you have it. Your crewmates have told you that they share your loyalty and that they’ll help you maroon the greedy pirates on your ship to the rocky island of Tortuga. But you’ve seen your friends’ loaded pistols and heard their whisperings of a mutiny. You know that nobody can be trusted.
Tortuga is all about the interactions you have with the other players. In some cases, such as when you and your shipmates are attacking the Spanish Galleon, you need to rely on your enemies in order to succeed. In the very next turn, however, your shipmates might stab you in the back with a mutiny in order to keep all the treasure for themselves.
Since nobody holds a "hand" of cards, this game is also about knowledge and communication regarding the community Event cards. Unless you are in desperation mode, it is not wise to reveal Event cards at random. Almost half of the Event cards can hurt your team drastically. It's often in your best interest to use an action to view the cards first, or to rely on the knowledge of a trusted ally. Knowing where harmful Event cards are located allows you to force an enemy to reveal those cards and suffer the consequences. The most successful players are the ones who are able to discern who is on their team and then share vital information with them at opportune moments.
Vote cards also play a key role in the game. Each Vote card has three sections - one each for Attacks, Mutinies, and Brawls. Players must put themselves in the best position to use their Vote cards, since their hand of Vote cards may not always be ideal based on their pawn location. For example, sometimes it may be worth putting in Water, causing an attack to fail, in order to save a Crossbones card for when you want to Mutiny against your captain.
For 2-9 Players. 20-40 minutes. Ages 12+.
Volume 2 in the Dark Cities Series by Facade Games.
- High tension from hidden loyalties and bluffing creates lively interpersonal drama
- Asymmetric roles (captain, first mate, cabin boy, governor) grant distinct strategic choices
- Narrative flavor is strong with pirates, ships, mutinies, and island politics
- Event card interactions and endgame timing offer memorable, chaotic moments
- Downtime can be lengthy due to multi-step voting and player discussion
- Albatross/black spot mechanics can create abrupt penalties that feel punishing
- Endgame Armada trigger can feel abrupt or swingy if dead-end conditions accumulate
- hidden loyalties, bluffing, mutiny, treasure race between colonial powers
- Caribbean piracy era, mid-17th century, aboard three ships and the port of Tortuga
- secret roles with asymmetric powers, vote-based intrigue, salty seafaring flavor
- Bristol
- Salem 1693
- Hollywood 1947
- El Dorado
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- action_selection_and_card_interaction — On a turn a player may view event cards, reveal cards, nominate others to reveal, or transfer to a rowboat or Tortuga, creating tactical information flow.
- albatross_and_penalties — Albatross and other event cards impose lasting effects on ships, shifting loyalties or forcing rank changes mid-game.
- endgame_trigger_armada — The Armada event ends the game when drawn, immediately ending play and tallying gold to determine the winner.
- hidden_roles — Players carry secret loyalty cards and powers that influence team alignment and voting outcomes, driving suspicion and negotiation.
- mutiny_and_marooning — Mutiny or marooning events are triggered through votes or powers, potentially removing a player from play or reshuffling alliance possibilities.
- ship_and_rowboat_movement — Movement between ships and rowboats is possible but time-consuming, creating pacing that rewards planning and risk assessment.
- token_management_and_area_control — Gold tokens are placed into holds and moves among ships and ports depending on votes and combat outcomes, driving endgame scoring.
- vote-based_attacks — Attacks and major actions are resolved via multi-card voting that combines captains, mates, and other crew with top-row symbol requirements (torch and cannon) to succeed.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- there's going to be secret teams there's gonna be Shenanigans in this time it is pirate flavored
- we'll all be Pirates or Sailors on the seven seas
- attack the Spanish Galleon
- I am the captain now
- the Spanish Galleon will be loaded with four of these treasure tokens
- we're having a bloody lovely time
- the final card in the game the Spanish Armada comes out and the game instantly ends
References (from this video)
- beautiful box and component presentation
- neoprene map is a standout feature (even if not perfect)
- interesting social deduction twist on a classic hidden-traitor premise
- binary role structure can limit strategic variety
- not as much depth or replay value for some groups
- hidden team, bluffing, ship-based resource control
- Caribbean pirate era with ships on a neoprene map
- thematic pirates with social deduction elements
- The Resistance
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- event cards and voting — Event cards introduce twists; players vote to influence gold allocation and tactics.
- hidden roles and bluffing — Players are on teams (British vs. French) with limited information; bluffing and role-shifting drive tension.
- movement and ship management — Tokens and cards move ships around the board; the cabin boy and captain roles influence distribution of gold.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- it's a great gateway game and it plays quickly
- the artwork is really nice and the sheep are cute
- I found Covert interesting but it requires careful discussion and can be long
- Near & Far is a big pass for me due to its disconnect between theme and gameplay
- the map book in Near & Far is gorgeous and adds a lot, even if the rest doesn't land for me