Best Pirate Rules

[VonAkers]

Hi Guys
I was wondering what pirate rules to use and in 28mm .
I dont want a 6 figure game , rather 30/40 a side perhaps ??
I have no idea , your thoughts please?
Cheers .
I

[Ragnar]

We have had a few games using Donnybrook and Donnybrook At Sea.  Not specifically 'pirate rules' but absolutely suitable.

[SteveBurt]

Yes, Donnybrook works very well for pirate games.
We have also used:
Legends of the High Seas (uses the Lord of the Rings combat system), which is ok but we found it a bit bland.
Blood & Plunder. This looked very promising, but in play it is quite fiddly; there are a lot of special rules to remember, the activation system requires you to track how many activations each unit has had (because you can give extra ones using command actions), and the combat system is odd (only the attacker causes casualties). We also found the rules for ships a bit of a mess; they don’t integrate smoothly with the land rules.

These days I use my own set based on Congo, but with more emphasis on characters, borrowing some ideas from Donnybrook

[Hitman]

I sunk a small fortune into Blood and Plunder and was horribly dismayed with the game on the first couple of games with a friend. Fortunately my friend took an extra copy of the rules home with him and both of us went over the rules and watched several videos on YouTube to figure out how to play this game. It took me a couple more games of Blood and Plunder to get used to the idea of the game mechanics, but now it is my go to Pirate rule set. It works best with the unit and figure cards which I highly recommend you get. Also, we use little pirate-themed markers to indicate which unit or leader has gone. The plastic unit sprues include little boxes, barrels, etc. Painted up and put on small bases they blend in with the game but help remind everyone whose units or leaders gave gone. We have really enjoyed this game a lot now but my friend isn't happy with my duce rolling...😁

[mikedemana]

The plastic unit sprues include little boxes, barrels, etc. Painted up and put on small bases they blend in with the game but help remind everyone whose units or leaders gave gone.

This is the way to go with games that require markers on the tabletop! I have vegetation, small scenic bases, and other stuff to mark those things. To me, nothing is worse than a rectangle of MDF with "Suppressed," "Wounded," etc., on the tabletop. We spend so much time on our miniatures and terrain, the least we can do is dress up our markers, too. Most will be usable for other games, too, so it is not like the effort is wasted.

Mike Demana

[Inkpaduta]

I go to the site freewargamerules and find ones I like.

[SteveBurt]

We used the unit cards with Blood & Plunder. It's still fiddly. You need to track not just who has gone, but how many activations they have had (because you can't have more than 3). You also need to track fatigue and reloads, and the way the ship and unit activations interact is counter-intuitive to say the least. Some nice ideas, but just too many special rules which get forgotten.

[leadfool]

You might try "Pikeman's Lament".  6 or 12 figure units.  For Pirates on land, they are a good set.  We have had Pirates fight local "Natives", other pirates, Japanese, Cossack River Pirates etc.  If the locals have horses, the Pirates better get to rough terrain. 
We label the pirates forlorn hope aggressive, commanded shot, clansman or clubman.  They can bring a gun on land as well. 

[Cat]

Donnybrook will fit the bill very nicely.

[Patrice]

Argad is intended for RPG-minded skirmishes, 20-30 characters on each side, or sometimes smaller groups of adventurers.

Large gaming tables are often preferred. It doesn't include a naval rule (ships are often shown at anchor near the coast, or players select a naval rule of their choice to use with it).