Why is the rum always gone?
Alas, when the rum is gone, Captains resort to Teas and their sweet tooth.
In Pirates of the High Teas, players compete against each other as pirate crews, serving the Captain an array of Teas paired with delectable Dishes. Each Tea and Dish pays homage to the region it hails from, all wrapped in charming pirate-themed artwork. In multiplayer, the pirate with the most doubloons is crowned winner; in solo mode, you win by successfully serving 5 Teas within 9 rounds.
Solo Setup: Load yer cups and cannons
The solo mode board goes to port with the allocated spaces for both Tea Tin and Pantry. The Teas progress along the top track, moving left to right after each round to indicate cooling. The cooler the Tea, the lower the Bounty for fulfilling it. The final two slots even add doubloon penalties! Arr, we shan't want that, mateys! This can be countered by sending one of your Pirates to reheat a Tea as an action in the Smuggler's Hold, manipulating one Tea at a time.
Instead of using the full deck of 30 Tea cards, Pirates of the High Teas' solo mode uses 20 of them (10x Swords and 10x Skulls). The Swords Teas are recommended for your first game, meaning only 10 Teas will be in play. The 72 Dish cards are used normally in solo. The 5 slots for Dishes are fixed, and the Pantry is replenished during the cleanup phase of each round, or when the Cannon Gear is deployed.
You choose your Pirate colour and use both of your meeples, while the remaining unused meeples become the automa's Scallywags. These Scallywags don't collect Dishes, Gear, or doubloons, nor do they serve the Captain. They only occupy spaces on the ship to block your Pirates' actions. Initial staging for the Scallywags is indicated on the ship board as A, B, and C.
Each round, they shift to the next spot: when a Scallywag occupies the Smuggler's Hold, a Tea is poured into the leftmost spot of the Tea Track (multiple Teas can occupy the same space); when a Scallywag occupies the Galley, the corresponding Scallywag on the Pantry track discards one (or two) Dish(es). Unfortunately, you won't get the chance to serve the Captain twice in solo mode.
With "Take a Tea" and "Serve Twice" removed from the Bonus Tiles, the Bonus Track is randomly filled with the remaining tiles face up. Your player board must be set to the solo side, indicated by the single meeple, and you start with each Gear (a Monkey, a Parrot, and a Cannon), plus two Dishes.
Solo Gameplay: Smuggle and smash
When starting a new round, remove a Bonus Tile from the Bonus Track and receive its bonus, if any. Then move both Pirates to any available action space not occupied by a Scallywag. Resolve all actions from left to right, starting at the Smuggler's Hold and ending at the Captain's Quarters, for both your Pirates and the Scallywags.
You are allowed to use as many Gear tokens as you like during your turn. In solo mode, the Gear tokens function differently from multiplayer:
- Monkey: Draw the top 2 Dish cards from the deck, keep one, and place the other on top or bottom of the deck.
- Parrot: Retrieve the top 2 Dishes from the discard pile, keep one, and place the other on top or bottom of the discard pile.
- Cannon: Functions the same as in multiplayer. It clears the Pantry and refills it completely, even if the Pantry was only partially empty when played.
All Teas in solo mode must be served to match the Combo Bounty. This means you must pair both Flavour AND Fleet. The total of doubloons from Combo Bounties are then calculated with the temperature modifiers shown on the Tea Track, which range from +3 to −4.
The cleanup phase comes after each round ends. Teas cool down by sliding one space to the right; once a Tea passes the 4th space, it is discarded, and a new Tea is poured into the leftmost space (this step is skipped if there are no Teas left to pour). //Side note: After a Tea exits the Tea Track, there is no in-game impact attached beyond losing the Tea itself. For pirates so obsessed with rewards, that felt like a surprisingly consequence-free way to waste good Tea. A keelhaul of sorts might be in order?//
Empty Pantry slots are refreshed with new Dishes, and Scallywags move one space to the right, or cycle back to the Smuggler's Hold. As for players, you may hold a maximum of 7 cards and 5 Gear tokens; discard any excess. Note that Parrots cannot be used to sell Dishes in solo mode. No parlay.
The game ends after 9 rounds, and hopefully you've served 5 Teas by then. For added challenge, try mixing both Swords and Skulls cards, or attempt the Solo Achievements listed in the rulebook: serving more than 5 Teas, earning over 50 doubloons, or winning without certain Gears, to name a few. Whatever you attempt, the Scallywags of the High Teas will be there to thwart your success.
Replayability: Pinkies up, me hearties!
The timer mechanic of the cooling Tea Track, combined with the progression of Scallywags, gives the solo mode enough obstacles to feel robust. There's a lot of push-your-luck element in the card draws and discards alone. While I generally prefer playing with company, I found the automa in Pirates of the High Teas' solo mode is well thought out that I'd choose it over my usual go-to of playing a 2-player game on my own (I mean, who needs friends).
That said, the lack of an actual Captain to serve and receive Bounties from makes the solo mode feel slightly lacking but that's just my completist view talking. Don’t make me walk the plank for that.
Verdict: Bring us sugar and tea and rum
Personally, it's a real challenge for me to serve 5 Teas, because I'm a buccaneer for high rewards, as I’m always reheating Teas before serving them to get the most Bounty reward. This often costs me valuable actions. Come to think of it, even a cooled Tea served with Bounty penalties still counts as a Tea served. So perhaps I need to climb down from the crow's nest and serve them regardless of reduced Bounties.
You'll now find me ticking off records on the Solo Achievements list. As the shanty goes, One day, when the touguin’ is done we’ll take our leave and go.
Happy sailing with the Pirates of the High Teas, boardlubbers!
