The rulebook is well written and illustrated and there are great player aids in the base game plus additional ones in the expansion for the new actions etc. However, running is more strenuous and adds two Fatigue in addition to normal Fatigue movement rules. We played on the easy and normal difficulties and it was always a tense game where every decision could mean failure so no decisions is ever without consequence. These ideas are evocative and generally come across quite well, with just a bit of abstractness along the way.

Today we are going to be looking at Dead Men Tell No Tales, a cooperative board game published by Minion Games.The Kraken phase is added to the end of a player’s turn where a card is drawn from its deck, indicating how the Kraken will move or attack. It’s probably worth noting that The Kraken expansion does increase the play time a little and add slightly more to the set-up, taking it from 60 – 75 minutes to 60 – 120 minutes according to the publishers description.

Moving around the ship can cause fatigue; whenever a pirate moves to a more fiery location he takes fatigue based on the increase. After giving Dead Men Tell No Tales a few plays, I could definitely see an influence from some older cooperative games. Both games feature a spreading threat that needs to kept under a certain value or risk explosive growth.If the players can recover all treasure before one of the games many end conditions happen, they can retire as rich buccaneers. No two games ever feel the same and the strong player interaction really promotes the feeling of a true co-operative experience, something that isn’t always guaranteed. There’s little room for alpha gamers as all hands are needed on deck, and the generous five-action turns and special abilities mean every player is involved.

The pirate players use five action points (and any special abilities) to move around the ship to fight fires, swap items, fight the skeletons and more. The room tile will have a red or yellow die showing a side with a number of pips, a matching die is then drawn and placed on the square on the tile with the image of the die. Something to be aware of when you get your pirate because if you don’t enjoy fighting fires, you probably don’t want to be playing Crimson Flynn.The fires obviously remind players of the fires of Flash Point, while the deckhands feel a bit like the diseases of Pandemic — though in both cases the Dead Men simulations are simpler, which makes sense because of the multiplicity of systems. For the most part, the rule book did a good job explaining the nuances of the mechanics and made learning the game easy. The artwork was not only visually pleasing to look at, but also done in a way where it doesn’t interfere with actually playing the game. At higher levels of difficulty settings, it can be an absolutely savage challenge fit for the most veteran of players.

Having said that, with adult guidance there is no reason why this can’t be equally fun for a family with slightly younger children. Each player starts their turn by revealing a new room, which must be placed somewhere on the ship where there can be a connecting doorway.Every turn requires players evaluate where they move, the impact on Fatigue, and have to plan in anticipation that the board state will grow significantly worse with each Skelit’s Revenge. From fighting guards for treasure to keeping the deckhands in check, you will never lack for things to do on your turn. Captain Fromm’s (literal) skeleton crew has other ideas, however, and is rather rudely blocking the way. I might have liked to see a bit more polishing and development, but it works well and will be enjoyable for experienced co-op groups who are interested in the piratical theming. Final Score: 4 Stars – A fun romp through a burning ship that combines a lot of solid mechanics with some challenging gameplay.