If you’re a Blood & Plunder gamer, you’d likely enjoy getting some gaming plunder for Christmas, but like as not, your friends and family don’t have a clue as to what you might enjoy or need! Blood & Pigment is here to help! If you “accidentally” leave this webpage open on your computer or iPad, you may increase the likelihood of getting something piratey and nerdy under your tree this year.
I’ll address the rest of this article to wife/significant other/loved one that is looking to purchase plunder for the gamer.
Here’s a good list of useful and helpful items that pretty much any Plunder player can use and appreciate!
DISCLAIMER: The Raise the Black products would be great gift purchase but preorders aren’t guaranteed to deliver before Christmas. All the new plastic miniatures and the starter set would be great, but know that it might be late. I won’t be including any of that material in the following list for that reason.
Blood & Plunder Products
You might think “I have no idea what minis to get because I don’t know what they already have”. If they’re just starting out and you know what nation they like to play, pretty much any pack of miniatures from that nation is a great option. The Firelock Games website is organized by nation and you can find minis for Spanish, English, French, Dutch, Pirate, and Native American player using these links.
If you have no idea what minis they need, these options are useful to ANY Blood & Plunder player — regardless of collection size or nation they may play.
Multipurpose Sailor Models
Every Blood & Plunder player can use more sailor/pirate models! This European Sailor 4pk of models are generic sailors that can be used as pirates, English, Spanish, or Dutch sailors. They prove a great addition to any collection, no matter the size and focus.
The same is true of European Sailors with Muskets, the Sailor Weapon Upgrade pack. and the Cannon Crew pack. Every player can use lots of these great multipurpose models in their collection
Multipurpose Soldier Models
If your Plunder player likes to play games on land, the European Soldiers and Pikemen sets are very safe purchases.
These packs of minis come in sets of 4 models and cost $18.
Ships
I can’t make a definitive suggestion for a Ship you could buy for your Plunder player, but I can make an educated guess. Most player start out with a Sloop or a Bark, so I would avoid those two ships. (A second Sloop can be pretty useful in your fleet though)
Tartana
The top ship I’d recommend would be the Tartana. This is a smaller ship and a newer model that hasn’t been available long, so it’s less likely a player already owns it. The Tartana cost $70.
Piragua
The Piragua is always a great addition to a fleet as well. Its a bit smaller and more affordable at $48.
Books for Blood & Plunder Players
Here are a few easy to read history books and one newer Blood & Plunder rulebook that would make great Christmas presents.
Republic of Pirates
This is a very accessible account of the most famous of the Golden Age pirates which is exactly what Blood & Plunder is focusing on! Currently on sale on Amazon for only $10, this great value!
The Sea Rover’s Practice
This is the best book there is when it comes to looking at the daily lives of Buccaneers and Pirates. Written by Benerson Little (a historical consultant for Blood & Plunder), this book is a great read for anyone interested in pirates! The paperback version costs $21 and the Kindle edition is $10.
Benerson Little’s other titles would also be great gifts, most notably The Golden Age of Piracy and Pirate Hunting.
Fire on the Frontier Rulebook
Released in 2022, this is the latest expansion to Blood & Plunder game. It focuses on the Native/Colonial conflicts and some of the privateering happening in the late 17th century. This ruleset had a smaller release and it’s likely your favorite Blood & Plunder player doesn’t have it yet. This softcover rulebook costs $35.
Including many new army lists, commanders, characters, and scenarios, this is a great gift for a Blood & Plunder player.
Game Accessories for Blood & Plunder Players
These little extras can make gaming just a little more enjoyable!
Fancy Fortune Coins
Fortune plays a large part in a game about piracy. Players each need a way to track how many “Fortune Points” they have left. Replica coins from the period are a really fun and thematic way to track the “Fortune Points” you’ve spent or have on hand.
You can find basic metal pirate coins on Amazon for around $12 or you can dig deeper and find really nice replicas on Etsy for a little more. Historically accurate pirate coins are a very impressive gift and very useful for the game!
Usually players need 3 Fortune Points for the game. This $15 set of 4 replica coins would be a perfect gift!
Custom Blood & Plunder Accessory Box
These custom boxes were made specifically for Blood & Plunder players. In the box you can store cards, dice, markers, measuring tape and your Fortune Points all in one spot, easy to grab for a quick game. You can choose boxes with the various nations’ flags on the top, or a more generic Blood & Plunder logo.
These come in unfinished wood and you could even put some more love and effort into painting and staining them to make them every more stunning!
You can buy these from the Things in the Basement website for $10.50 for the nation boxes and $35 for the fancy Plunder Box with dividers.
Plunder Dice
Firelock Games makes really beautiful dice for Blood & Plunder with an antique look with the Skulls and Bones on one face. They aren’t cheap but they’re an awesome game accessory and most players use standard “boring” dice. And you can always use more dice!
The “Bone Dice” are a favorite for playing Blood and Plunder and the Blood Dice are awesome as well. Sets of 6 dice cost $16.
Miniature Cases
Those nice minis need to be taken care of! A nice storage case can keep those nicely painted miniatures safe in storage and transport. I highly recommend the Chessex miniature case that holds 80 minis.
You can get these cases on Amazon for $24.
There are more deluxe options that carry more miniatures in greater style as well. Check out this Enhance case or these Feldherr cases.
Fort Dice Tray
This fort-shaped dice tray is a great accessory for Blood & Plunder! You can buy this fully painted for $70 or in grey plastic for $30.
Blood & Plunder Game Mats
The difference between playing Blood & Plunder on a wood tabletop and playing on a beautifully printed ocean gaming mat is huge! Every gamer wants their game to look good and an Ocean or Caribbean style land mat can make a huge difference!
Tablewar has a great line of Caribbean game mats, covering land, sea and even amphibious settings.
From experience, I know the 6×4 Caribbean Shallows mat and the 4×3 Caribbean Tropics mat are perfect for sea and land games and the 4×4 Caribbean Shores mat makes a stunning amphibious board!
Hobby Accessories for Blood & Plunder Players
A big part of the Blood & Plunder hobby is painting miniatures, building ships, and creating terrain to make those games look great on the table. Here’s some nice hobby accessories that will be useful to most people in the hobby.
Winsor & Newton Series 7 Paint Brush
Painting miniatures takes a lot of work and its much more fun when you have good equipment! The Series 7 set of brushes from Winsor & Newton is every painters dream brush. They may seem kind of expensive $20 for a single small brush, but the time you save and the enjoyment that is added is well worth it!
The Size 0 brush is great for most miniature painting. The larger Size 1 brush is also great for larger models and the Size 00 is great for the smallest details like eyes.
Wet Pallet
Using a wet palette can make painting easier and keep paint active and useful for days instead of minutes.
There are lots of good options out there for wet palettes. This Army Painter wet palette is made specifically for painting miniatures and it costs about $28.
Army Painter Speed Paints
This is a new line of paints that is really easy to use, provides good results with less time investment, and is cheaper than similar products on the market. This set of 24 paints would be everything a new painter would need to paint up an army or two right away. Highly recommended line of paints! If that $80 price tag is a little steep, you can buy individuals or a smaller set.
Flush Cutter Clippers
With multipart plastic miniatures coming for Blood & Plunder, a nice set of flush cutting clippers is a great hobby gift! You can get decent sets of clippers for $10 or less. If you really want to get the best of the best you can go for the overpriced, but oh-so-nice Games Workshop set for $30.
Hobby Tools Set
This is a great set of tools for gamers new to the hobby. Including a set of clippers, a hobby knife, some files, tweezers in a case for only $12. The quality won’t be the same as the spiffy GW clippers above, but this price really can’t be beat! These tools will be very useful for assembling plastic models.
Bonus Item
Oak & Iron Starter Box
If your loved one enjoys Blood & Plunder and the pirate universe, they will probably like Oak & Iron. In Oak & Iron, players get to play out the larger fleet battles with frigates, galleons and Ships of the Line in 1/600 scale. This game is smaller in scope, easier to get into, but offers great game play and satisfying battles in the age of piracy. The core box for Oak & Iron contains 6 ships, a game mat, dice, tons of cards and everything you need to sit down and play.
This core box costs $69 and there are a few more boxed sets of more ships to expand the game as well. If the person you’re shopping for already plays Oak & Iron, make sure to check out the Christmas Shopping Guide for Oak & Iron over on Timber & Sail.
Merry Christmas and Happy Plundering!
If you’re a Blood & Plunder player and have more great gift ideas, drop a comment it can be added to this post!
If you’re OK with Christmas coming a little late, there’s a whole new line of Blood & Plunder products you can preorder right now, so make sure to check out all the Raise the Black products on preorder right now. Firelock games is just gearing up to fulfill Kickstarter pledges, then they’ll start filling preorders late in December or early in January.
If you’re shopping for a Blood & Plunder player in your life, I hope this list was helpful. Feel free to contact us with any questions you may have!