Pirates of the Spanish Main

My kids have been after me for years, wanting to buy the latest and greatest collectible card whatever. I've reluctantly purchased Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh cards for my two oldest children. I still don't know if they've ever learned how to actual play either game. I found they often took their cards to friend's houses, where their much more knowledgable friends would trade their worthless cards for my kid's more valuable cards. I was a little less reluctant to buy the Pirates of the Spanish Main by WizKids, since I have a soft spot for pirates.

My son purchased his first tin of cards with delight and immeadiately took them home and made a big mess, punching out pieces and scattering them all over the dining room table. For months, he begged us to play the game with him. I just looked at the mess and shook my head. Finally, I got curious about it -- he was building things with the cards. I expressed my frustration with the game on another message board I frequent and someone mentioned there was a tutorial online. www.wizkidsgames.com/pirates/howtoplay.asp Ah-ha! I am a visual learner and it helped SO much more to be able to view the demonstration online.

It's really a cool little game. Everything you need is in the package, dice (though they seem to be the world's TINIEST dice), the ships, treasure, the monsters and the islands. The cards have all the information you need right on them, so you don't want to throw them away after you've built your ships. Two sides of the card help you measure how far your boat can sail. Other statistics on the card include points, nationality, number of masts, how much cargo your ship can carry, the number of cannons your ship has, and any special features of your ship.

I admit, I haven't sat down with my son to actually play it, but I plan to do so this week during his spring break. Of course, we may have to clean his room first to find all the pieces...