Ring Side Report: RPG Review of PIRATE BORG Starter Set

~ fineyoungmisanthrope ~ Leave a comment

Product–  PIRATE BORG Starter Set

System– PIRATE BORG

Producer– Free League

Price– $19.99 here https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/555993/pirate-borg-starter-set?affiliate_id=658618  

Basics:  Welcome to the Dark Caribbean! This box set has a ton of stuff and enough to help you get playing quickly.  Check out our unboxing video here: https://youtu.be/FgXEPdMvink .  Let’s dig into this game and box set.

Mechanics or Crunch: How much crunch do you need?  This box set has a small rulebook and enough tokens, player sheets, and maps to get you playing in all of 10 minutes.  This ruleset is d20+ a number between -3 and +6 to hit a 12.  That’s most of the actions.  The rules explain that well and get you building characters in about 10 minutes.  I love the Borg mechanics and simplicity.  And this box set teaches that well and quickly.  5/5

Theme or Fluff–  I love all the stuff in the story here, but I the story has a small plot hole.  The basics of the story are: you are hired to find a thing, get marooned, find half the map, learn the rest is in a British anti-pirate port, and then go find the thing.  It’s fun and teaches the basic rules well, but I think the link to the British is a bit light.  That said, I love what’s here.  Sure, its a bit of a knockoff of Pirates of the Caribbean, but I DON’T CARE!  It’s just fun, especially when you mix in the fact that there is magic dead guy drugs that can make you a god running around. 4.9/5

Execution: I do love me some intro boxes, and honestly I think this might be my favorite.  Why?  Sure, this, like any other good intro box, has dice, maps, tokens, a small intro book, character sheets, and an adventure, but it’s also got DRY ERASE MARKERS!  You build a character in about 10 minutes, and they can die fast.  This gives you dry erase markers and laminated character sheets.  That right there in this kind of game is a godsend. 5/5

Summary: You want some crazy Pirate fun in the Caribbean?  Here you go.  The system is fast, fun, and low rules.  The story is good.  And the box itself is my ABSOLUTE favorite.  And the physical box is about 40 bucks.  The PDFs are a solid value at 20 bucks too.  This is something you need to get and have fun with.  99%