Stolen Treasure is a fast-paced game of skulduggery and booty hoarding. This game is a high-stakes, winner takes all scenario. Pirate players take turns to collect treasure, steal it from their matey’s, or perhaps wager it all away! The first pirate to collect enough treasure and bury it successfully wins the game.
As a pirate you live for treasure! Collecting and burying your treasure is how to score points in the game. The first pirate to score 1500 points is the winner!
Pirates can get creative with their treasure gathering methods. Pillage a treasure deck, steal other pirates buried booty, wager your own against another pirate's, or use piracy cards for other nefarious ways to gather in a haul.
Separate the treasure cards and pirate cards into two decks. Shuffle the separated decks then place the cards face down into the middle of the table easily reachable by all. For the treasure cards, cut the deck in half and use both decks for play.
During a turn a player can perform TWO actions. The actions that can be taken are DRAWING, BURYING, PIRACY or WAGERING. Only TWO actions can be taken per turn. Any combination of legal actions can be performed during a turn.
Starting with the youngest player, take turns in a clockwise direction. Play continues in such fashion until one player has reached the winning condition. If either the treasure cards or the piracy cards run out and the winning condition has not yet been met, shuffle any discarded cards back into the decks and resume play.
A player will win when they score 1500 points. Points are calculated as, the amount of treasure cards buried minus any negative treasure in a player's hand. Once a player reaches the winning condition, they reveal their hand to show that the have indeed scored the required 1500 points. This player then wins the game and gameplay is reset.
Treasure cards once collected can be buried or wagered. Treasure cards have value that contribute to your scoring the winning condition goal.
Silver coin x10, Gold Dubloons x8, Gold Bullion x5, Pirate’s Booty x3, Merchant’s Haul x 2, Noble’s Trove x1, Sapphire x4, Ruby x3, Emerald x2, Diamond x1, Hairy Chest x1, Peg Leg x2, Old Billy’s Boot x2, Barnacle x4, Bad Voodoo x2.
Piracy cards once collected can be played as an action. Pirate cards proc various effects that help you and hinder your opponents. Mostly ;)
Below are the four legal actions in depth.
When drawing, a player picks up one card from the top of any deck of their choice and places the card into their hand.
• Drawing 1 card from either the treasure or piracy decks is considered 1 singular action.
• When drawing a treasure card players MUST reveal the card to all players first, before putting it into their hand.
• When drawing a piracy card players MUST conceal the card while putting it into their hand.
Treasure can be buried after 1 round has passed after the acquisition of the treasure card. To bury a treasure card, a player places selected card from their hand FACE UP onto the table infront of them.
• Treasure cards can only contribute to winning points when they are buried.
• Treasure cards can only be buried on a player's next turn after acquiring a treasure card in anyway, 1 turn MUST elapse before the card can be buried.
• Buried treasure cannot be wagered or lost to a wager.
• Buried treasure cannot be returned to the hand of the player.
To play a piracy card, a player places one card from their hand face up onto the table in front of them. Declaring the card name and the targeted player(s).
• Effects of the played piracy card must be played out before another action can be taken by the player.
• Defensive/interrupt piracy cards can be played by other players out of their turn.
• A piracy card is sent to the discard pile once used.
• The Piracy card discard pile is shuffled and reinserted into game if the deck runs out.
To initiate a wager, a player places any number of treasure cards from their hand face up onto the table in front of them. The wagering player then declares a chosen opponent. The chosen opponent then MUST place treasure cards face up onto the table with equal or exceeding value to the wagering player. The winner of the wager then takes all treasure placed onto the table.
• Winner of a wager can be determined by rock paper scissors, coin toss or roll of a die.
• Treasure cards with negative valuations can be wagered!
• You can ONLY wager treasure cards.
• The chosen opponent of a wager cannot refuse a wager.
• Player's with no treasure cards cannot be targeted by a wager.
• If a chosen opponent cannot match the wagered amount, they must wager the highest closest value.
Player’s can only have 7 cards in their hand at a time. When a player’s hand exceeds 7 cards, cards must be discarded until 7 cards are reached.
• Discarding player chooses which cards to discard.
• The black spot and negative treasure can be discarded in this manner.
The condition of 1500 is a benchmark for a balanced game with 4 people. A different win condition can be set upon agreement by all players before gameplay starts.
The appendix section goes into detail how to play each of the 11 unique piracy cards. Targets and Timing icons are introduced below to quickly highlight the usage of a piracy card.
The targeting icon signals which players the piracy card affects.
Player chooses a single opponent that the card will taget.
The effect of the piracy card affects all opponent players.
The effect of the piracy card will apply to the player.
All players are affected by the piracy card’s effects. Including the player.
The timing icon signals when the player can play a piracy card.
This card is played as an action during the player’s turn. Piracy cards with this icon played count as 1 action.
This card can be played out-of-turn by a player or opponent. Interrupt cards do NOT count as an action.
The effects of this piracy card are applied throughout the entirety of play. Card does not have to be played for effects to be active.
This card is played out-of-turn as a response to an actioned in-turn piracy card. This does NOT count as an action.
Click on each card for more details!
The targeting icon signals which players the piracy card affects.
Plunder
Take two treasure cards.
Discard this card, draw 2 treasure cards from any available deck. Acquired treasure cannot be buried until your next turn. Playing Plunder and drawing two treasure cards from the effect ofPlunder is considered 1 action.
Spyglass
Swap hands with another player
Discard this card. Select one target opponent, swap all cards in your hand with the targeted opponent's cards in hand.
Skulduggery
Steal a random card, give a card
Discard this card. Select one target opponent, take one random pirate or treasure card from the targeted opponent's hand and put it in your hand. Take one chosen card from your hand and give it to the same targeted opponent. The card given cannot be the same card as the one the player takes.
X Marks The Spot
Steal 1 buried treasure card
Discard this card. Select one target opponent, take one buried treasure card from that opponent and put it in your hand. This treasure card cannot be buried until your next turn.
YO HO HO!
Steal 2 random treasure cards from each player
Discard this card. Take 2 random treasure cards from each opponent's hand and put it in your hand. Acquired treasure cards cannot be buried until your next turn. If an opponent has no treasure cards in hand, that player is not affected.
Hook
Steal a random card and skip player's next turn.
Discard this card. Select one target opponent. Take one random pirate or treasure card and add it to your hand. That targeted opponent's next turn is skipped. If taken card is a treasure card, it cannot be buried until your next turn.
Possible house rules:
• True randomness by not looking at the type when choosing from opponent's hand.
The Kraken
Shuffle all non-buried treasure back into the deck
Discard this card. ALL players (including the attacking player) put all treasure cards from their hand back into the treasure decks. Shuffle both treasure decks together, and split it back into two decks. This card is not affected by Pirate's Code, The Kraken has been released, The Kraken takes all. But The Kraken can be negated with Yarr.
Pirate's Code
Pass the effect of a card onto yer matey
When targeted or affected by a pirate card, discard this card and select one target opponent. The effect is applied to that targeted opponent instead, you are not affected.
Notes:
• The targeted opponent can play Pirate's Code again to further pass the effect to another player.
• Multiple Pirate's Code cards can be applied to a single player (e.g. player D plays a card that affects player A, B and C. Player A and B can play Pirate's Code to pass the effect to player C. Player C will then resolve the effect 3 times. If player C plays Pirate's Code as well, it will only pass ONE effect, and player C still needs to resolve the effect twice)
Bombs Away
Discard 2 pirate cards from each player's hand
Discard this card. All opponent players choose 2 pirate cards in their hand and discard them into the discard pile. If an opponent does not have any pirate cards in hand, that player does not get affected. If an opponent only has 1 or 2 pirate card(s), that player has to discard all cards.
The Black Spot
Ye Cannot win if this card be in your hand
This card cannot be played. Whenever this card is in a player's hand, that player cannot win even if that player has the required value of buried treasure to win.
Player must find a way to remove this card from their hand before they can win.
Notes:
• This card can be discarded with the effect of Bombs Away.
• This card can be given to another player with the effect of Skullduggery.
Yarr!
Prevent a card's effect
When a pirate card is being played, discard this card and nullify that card's effect completely.
Notes:
• A player can play a Yarr! card against another Yarr! card. Eg. player A plays Bombs Away. Player B can play Yarr! to nullify Bombs Away. Player A then plays Yarr! to nullify player B's Yarr!. Bombs Away then takes effect.
• Once you start resolving a pirate card's effect, a player is not allowed to negate it with Yarr!. E.g. player A plays The Kraken, player B has discarded 2 treasure cards from hand, player C then cannot play Yarr!, since the Kraken's effect has been resolved by player B.
• You can use Yarr! to target cards that are not affecting you. E.g. player A plays X marks the spot targeting player B, player C plays Yarr! nullifying X marks the spot's effect.
Parley
Surrender a wager
When you enter a wager, and both players have put down treasure(s) to be wagered, immediately discard this card and you instantly lose the wager.
Notes:
• A player cannot play a Parley card to affect a wager that they are not a part of.
• The opposing player receives all wagered treasures after this card's effect is resolved
• Any player can play Yarr! to nullify the effect
