AARGH!

AARGH! Ahoy me Hearties! All hands hoay for this exciting high seas adventure as you compete for the position of captain of your own seaworthy pirate ship. There's plenty of booty to plunder and the stakes are high! 

This game is, at its core, a memory/matching game, but it goes far beyond that simple two-card-match game that we are all familiar with.The goal of AARGH! is to plunder as much booty as you can, since the person with the most coins at the end of the game is the new captain. The more matching cards of a single treasure that you can turn over on your turn (up to 5!), the more coins you will collect. How good is your memory?

The cards are sturdy and measure 3" x 3". All cards have a treasure map on one side and a single object on the other. There are four cards with a skull and crossbones, and five cards each for each of these treasures: goblet, treasure chest, crown, silver bracelet, necklace. This means that it is possible to turn over a total of five matching treasure cards per turn and collect five coins.

The shiny plastic coins, marked .999% pure gold (wouldn't that be nice!), are about 1 5/16" in diameter. The wooden pirate ship is lightweight and mine looks a little different from the one in the image above.

Cards, coins and ship.

What are ye waiting for? Weigh anchor and hoist the mizzen!

Object:

Have the most coins at the end of the game to become captain of the pirate ship. 

Set up:

Shuffle all the cards together and then lay them face-down in a 5 x 5 grid on the playing surface (see image above). Return the last four cards, unseen, to the game box.

Play:

Players take turns. The first player turns two cards face-up for all to see. If they do not match, the player places the wooden ship on the last card that was turned up, leaving it face-up, and turns the other card face-down again. If the two cards do match, the player continues to turn over island cards until one is turned that does not match. When that happens:

• The player collects one gold coin for each matching treasure that was uncovered.
• Place the pirate ship on the last card (the one that does not match), leaving it face-up.
• Turn face-down all the remaining face-up cards (the matches).
• The players turn is over.

The next person to play must make matches to the card that is still face-up with the wooden pirate ship on it. Repeat the steps as above. 

If the skull and crossbones is ever turned over while attempting to turn over one of the treasure cards, the following will happen:

• The player's turn ends immediately.
• All cards but the skull and crossbones are turned face-down.
• The ship is placed on the face-up skull and crossbones.
• The player does not collect any coins and must return one of the coins he has previously collected. 

The skull and crossbones is now the card to match, so the next player is not penalized for turning over other skull and crossbones and receives gold tokens for any matches when his turn ends.

Keep playing until all the gold coins have been collected. Count coins and award the winner the honor of commanding his own pirate ship. It would be fun if the new captain would name his new ship. 

To read more about why memory games are so popular, read my post Memory Games. Why are They so Popular? This post also has links to the other memory games I have blogged about. 

Try this:

• Practice talking like a pirate to add some fun to the game.
• Play a regular game of memory match using two, three or four of each object. Players must turn over all of each object to make a match and then the player takes those cards off the table. Play until all cards have been collected.
• Keep in mind where all the skull and crossbones are as they are revealed. They will either end your turn or may be needed to make matches.
• Sort out four of each treasure card. Make a grid with all cards face down. Turn two to match and win a coin. See who gets the most coins.
• Place three, four or five of the cards in a line, face-up. Ask the player to memorize the cards and sequence. Turn them over and ask him to build the same line underneath. Flip them all, do they match?
• Play a game of memory. Each time a player makes a match, he gets the ship. Pass it back and forth and see who is the last person to hold it. 
• Mix the cards and place them in a grid, face up. Collect all of one image, then collect all of another image. Keep going until you have cleared them all. Time yourself and see how fast you went. Play again and try to beat your time. 
• Choose one of the images to be the focus of the game, say the treasure chest. Your goal is to be the first person to turn over all five of the treasure chest cards. Take turns turning over cards, ending your turn when you turn over a card that does not match. Don't take sets off the table as you go as you are looking for the treasure chest. Keep turning cards until someone can turn all five cards in one turn for the image you chose at the beginning. You could have a small treasure chest (not included) sitting off to the side with a small prize in it for the winner. Reload the treasure chest with a prize after one game and play again.  

In the box: 29 cards, 30 gold coins, 1 pirate ship

If you are interested in purchasing this this game or just want more information, go to the SimplyFun website, the only place it is sold retail.