Avast, ye scallywags! What’s that on the horizon (you would possibly name it a brand new horizon)? Expansions, ho! Shiv– oh, wait, I did this similar bit once I reviewed Ahoy. I suppose I want new materials…
After a prolonged delay from the crowdfunding marketing campaign in 2023, the expansions to Ahoy are right here. In my unique evaluation, I had some good issues to say concerning the recreation, and I’ve at all times been a fan of uneven video games, so I used to be to see what the expansions had in retailer and whether or not or not they’d reply my points with the bottom recreation. The expansions don’t alter the participant rely. It’s nonetheless a recreation for 2-4 gamers and performs in 60 minutes or much less (generally, a lot much less). Whereas one of the best expertise within the base recreation was with 2 gamers, with these expansions, the perfect participant rely is much less clear (spoilers!).
Expansions Overview:
Initially mixed in a single field as Ahoy: New Horizons, the growth content material’s last launch was cut up into two. Fang & Fortune contains new factions for gamers 3 and 4, whereas Rivals & Renegades has factions for any participant rely, together with 2-player video games. Beginning with Fang & Fortune, because it is a little more easy, the 2 new factions (Leviathan and Coral Cap Pirates) can be utilized instead of one or each of the Smugglers from the bottom recreation. They can be utilized in any mixture in 4-player video games. Both each of the brand new factions, or one of many new factions and one of many Smugglers. Your alternative!
The second field, Rivals & Renegades, gives further “yellow” and “blue” factions, the identical colours because the Mollusk Union and the Bluefin Squadron from the bottom recreation. In most growth video games, the Shellfire Riot and the Blackfish Brigade are supposed to interchange their base set counterparts. In all 2-player video games, you might be supposed to solely use one yellow faction and one blue faction, not two of the identical colour. That is additionally true for 4-player video games, apart from the brand new crew variant during which the Shellfire Riot and Mollusk Union can face off in opposition to their mutual everlasting foes, the Bluefin Squadron and Blackfish Brigade. The rationale for this is able to appear to be that whereas they do have distinctive mechanics, there’s a level of overlap with how the factions of the identical colour perform.
Every field comes with all playing cards, picket tokens, and participant boards for every included faction. Integration of the brand new factions into the sport is so simple as following the brand new faction’s directions as an alternative of the previous ones with regards to the participant setup step. As you might need guessed from the previous description, the number of completely different matchups you’ll be able to have is sort of a bit larger now. If my math is appropriate, there are 33 distinct participant combos throughout all three recreation sizes.
Recreation Expertise with the Expansions:
The yellow and blue factions from Rivals & Renegades do have plenty of mechanical overlap with their base set counterparts, as I discussed. The Shellfire Riot continues to be making an attempt to disperse their Comrade tokens across the islands to broaden their management with a extra restricted naval presence and motion playing cards boosting their capacity to proliferate, whereas the Blackfish Brigade has a big fleet of smaller ships supporting their flagship.
At a primary stage, that is much like their predecessors. However past this primary stage, they do diverge fairly a bit. Reasonably than devoting cube actions to putting Comrades just like the Mollusk Union, lots of the Shellfire Riot’s Comrades are positioned much more hilariously: by being launched throughout the ocean. They’ve a small secondary participant board particularly for his or her Launchers (a secondary ship they’ll construct). Firstly of each spherical, you roll a variety die that has numbers 1, 2, and three on it and place the die on this secondary board. Every time you’ll be able to launch Comrades that spherical, they go precisely that variety of areas. This creates some completely different motion selections. You must be fascinated by tips on how to transfer your loaded Launchers and Flagship into positions that shall be advantageous for launching on the finish of that spherical.
The Blackfish Brigade differs from the Bluefin Squadron in that, as an alternative of constructing Strongholds on islands to manage the market and keep space management, they’ve a movable Whale Pod, which fulfills a few of the similar capabilities. As your Flagship strikes across the board, you place further Patrols onto a Whale Pod tile. Once you transfer the Whale Pod with Migrate, you’ll be able to place Patrols from the pod onto the board, letting you unfold your space management strategically. Just like the Shellfire Riot, this causes you to plan issues out a bit extra to take full benefit of your tokens. The themes of each compared to the bottom recreation factions are related, however a bit extra complicated, rewarding you with an excellent payoff in the event you plan properly.
Whereas the factions in Rivals & Renegades are an evolution of the concepts of the bottom recreation factions, the factions in Fang & Fortune are completely new. The Leviathan is totally completely different than something that’s come earlier than. Your “faction” is actually one huge many-headed serpent spreading itself all through the ocean. You spend the sport trying to develop extra physique segments, which get positioned after an compulsory motion firstly of the flip. As an alternative of worrying with management, your actions disrupt the opposite factions (generally consuming them!), enhance your velocity and assault capacity, and achieve Evolution playing cards to achieve further skills. Whereas your goal continues to be to achieve Fame, you achieve this by having lengthy contiguous stretches of your physique and a excessive variety of Evolutions. Taking part in the Leviathan was in contrast to any of the opposite factions up to now. You’re enjoying the identical recreation, however generally it doesn’t really feel prefer it.
Lastly, the Coral Cap Pirates are all about constructing a fleet—a fleet of frigates. Along with their flagship, they’ve 6 smaller frigates they’ll “outfit.” Every has their very own tarot playing cards with completely different jobs—mainly, little mini-quests that you must go round to finish, which on the finish of the sport award hidden quantities of Fame. The frigates work together with the islands and the crew market greater than lots of the different factions, with Crew being recruitable as every frigate’s captain, and the roles requiring sure fits of Crew to finish. You need to shortly construct up your fleet, and island-hop with them as a way to get the roles completed, although, since many roles improve the area’s wealth die, you do need to be a bit of cautious later within the recreation the place you’re finishing jobs.
A few years in the past, in my evaluation of Ahoy’s base recreation, I stated, “The Smugglers don’t add as a lot to the sport as the opposite factions, and the sport simply performs higher at 2 gamers.” It appears like that suggestions was heard instantly by the designers, because the Fang & Fortune field is the reply. It’s a good reply at that. The Smugglers being a let down in 3-4 gamers was my major difficulty with the sport beforehand, and this growth solves it, and does so in a extra enjoyable approach than I might have anticipated. Moreover, Rivals & Renegades does assist in that vein as properly. The crew recreation of Yellow vs. Blue was a model new dynamic to 4-player video games that was beforehand not doable. The similarities of the 2 for each side enable them to work together and use one another’s items. A Comrade on the board is a Comrade when it’s talked about on a capability, no matter being from the Shellfire Riot or the Mollusk Union.
Remaining Ideas:
General, I discover that every one 4 of the brand new factions add one thing to the sport. The Leviathan and the Coral Cap Pirates are actually completely new play types and let the third and 4th gamers really feel like they’re doing one thing all their very own. Even simply utilizing the Smugglers and one of many two helps the video games asymmetry, as with 4 gamers earlier than, utilizing two Smugglers was undoubtedly successful in opposition to the sport. As for the Shellfire Riot and Blackfish Brigade, they’ve a same-but-different really feel to them.
Regardless of the similarities to the Mollusk Union and Bluefin Squadron, respectively, the variations felt like they had been sufficient to warrant their existence. The Whale Pod for Blackfish was a enjoyable mechanic, and the token’s implementation sitting round every areas’ wealth die was neat. The Leviathan was the one I had probably the most enjoyable with finally, although that’s to not promote the opposite three quick. I used to be a bit skeptical what room there was for growth within the recreation, however the Leviathan specifically actually opened up my eyes as to what was doable with the system.
I did actually benefit from the base recreation, significantly at 2 gamers. Within the final couple of years although, I’m undecided we have now performed it at 3 or 4 gamers once more till now. These units appear to be they’re more likely to change that. If you’re like me and felt the upper participant counts had been missing, however beloved the sport in any other case, Fang & Fortune is a particular pick-up. For those who primarily play 2-player video games, Rivals & Renegades is well worth the time for the extra selection it gives. My love for the Mollusk Union stays unchallenged, however launching turtles with catapults is its personal model of enjoyable—and I consider the blue factions up to now, I’ve ended up preferring the Blackfish Brigade. All-in-all, good units!
Hits:
• The Leviathan and Coral Cap Pirates present a much-needed enhance to three and 4 participant video games.
• Elevated number of faction combos extends the lifetime of the sport, and retains it from ever getting stale.
• The crew variant for 4 participant has a really completely different really feel to the essential recreation, and is a good addition.
Misses:
• Like the bottom recreation (and most uneven video games), there’s a studying curve that’s a bit of sudden from such a small recreation.
• The Shellfire Riot and Blackfish Brigade are a step up in complexity from their predecessors.
• This can be a small factor, however I’d forgotten what a ache placing the stickers on all 20 of the Comrade tokens was!
