Leder Games

By Josh Yearsley, Editor & Game Developer

Ahoy is a pirate strategy game for two to four players, who play smugglers and soldiers on the high seas. Each round, you’ll roll and place dice to take the unique actions of your faction. Control regions and deliver cargo to gain Fame and win the game! It’s got a bit of area control, a bit of pick up and deliver, and a lot of asymmetry!

This may sound similar to our hit game Root, and you’re not wrong. Like in Root, you can play one of three unique factions: There’s the Bluefin Squadron, a company of sharks and their toothy friends, who keep order with shot and sword. Then there’s the Mollusk Union, an alliance of undersea creatures and their loyal comrades, who fight to reclaim their home. Finally, you can play one of two Smugglers, maverick captains who run blockades to deliver cargo, earning prestige and shiny doubloons.

With Ahoy, though, we wanted to make a faster asymmetric game that was even more welcoming. Ahoy is an easy sell to people who are familiar with Root but want to start with something easier and quicker, since Ahoy only takes about an hour to play. Ahoy is also great for people who already love Root but want an asymmetric strategy game that they can play with their family or friends who are less comfortable with complex games. Plus, in Ahoy you get to roll dice a lot, which is always fun.

Ahoy is quick to set up and learn. Setup literally takes seconds—just draw a couple tiles and plop down a few pieces, and you’re ready to go! Learning is a snap, since the game has a pocket guide for each player, which will teach them everything they need to start in a few tiny pages. We wanted to make sure that players could get going without even reading the rulebook, so we playtested Ahoy many times using just our aid materials. And there’s even an official how-to-play video!

Although it’s a popular genre, there are surprisingly few pirate strategy games. Ahoy only has only a few notable competitors, like Dead Reckoning and Merchants & Marauders, both of which take longer to learn and play, usually two or three hours. Likewise, Ahoy fills an untapped cost point with an MSRP at $40, while its peers typically run $60 to $80.

Even at such a low price, Ahoy doesn’t skimp on production quality. With bunches of custom wooden pieces, double-layer map tiles and player boards, and dozens of unique, colorful characters illustrated by Kyle Ferrin in his signature style, Ahoy is an eye-catcher both on the gaming table and in the store window. As you play the game and explore the world, you’ll build a bright, beautiful map full of islands, harbors, and the wreckage of unlucky ships. The sea-blue dice around the map even have sparkles in them, making it look like the sun is glinting off the water. We hope you’ll come play our beautiful, deep, and inviting pirate game!