Game Synopsis

It seems we have gotten pirates all wrong. They are not the crude barbarians many landlubbers make them out to be. Pirates of the High Teas clues players into a very well kept secret: every captain is a foodie! The biggest challenge a crew faces is assembling delicious dishes and pairing them with a tasty beverage at tea time. 

Over the course of nine rounds you will assign your crew to various parts of the ship to gather recipes and ingredients and serve your captain a combination of treats and tea to earn doubloons. The closer you are to matching the captain’s tastes or the fleet bounty on a recipe, the more you’ll earn. You’ll also have help from monkeys, parrots and the ship’s cannon, each providing bonus actions that could tilt the balance of booty in your favor!

Why We Love Pirates of the High Teas

Most modern games offer their own sort of pairing: mechanisms married to a theme. How well these two mesh often dictate whether a game sticks the landing with a wide audience of players. Pirates of the High Teas serves up a deliciously fun balance of strategic decisions tied to eclectic culinary constraints. 

Will your captain devour a plate of samosas, chocolate covered figs and caviARRR buns paired with a Moroccan mint tea? Or maybe you should wait another round to get your hands on some sticky toffee pudding to make the plate a perfect match and earn even more doubloons?

The tricksy twist in the game is assigning your pirate crew in one step but resolving crew actions from stem to stern on the ship game board in another. You may be the first player, but because you choose to serve your captain at the aft of the ship, you’ll have to wait until the end of the round to go. Each ship location offers a variety of actions and the space you choose to claim with your pirate will determine how many actions you get. This means where your pirate goes in the ship and when they go are both meaningful decisions!

We most commonly think of strategic or thoughtful games as games that are serious. They deal with serious subjects and demand our attention and brains in a way that (to some) could seem more like work than fun. Pirates of the High Teas raises a flag to celebrate how strategy and sillier subject matter can be an equally compelling pairing. The best decision before serving your captain could be to smash several foods together creating a hilariously weird combo that somehow hits all the right tasting notes. Your optimal scoring move could involve smushing Bakewell tarts with an egg salad sandwich and a sticky pork bao. The ridiculous and the sublime, not just coexisting, but creating a gestalt that makes both elements more fun. Pirates of the High Teas is a lovely introduction to modern strategy games while celebrating an unapologetic devotion to whimsy.

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Congratulations to designer Emily Vincent

More information on Pirates of the High Teas at Pink Hawk Games.

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