Intro
We’ve completed the first week of the 2024 Summer of Plunder Campaign and it was a big one! With 229 games entered, this is the largest first week of the campaign in any year ever!
If you’re just joining us in this campaign, or returning after participating in previous years, we have added some new elements this year, foremost being the campaign map. The map tracks the power, progress, and strategic skill of each nation and its commander. But we’ve also made changes to the way many of the prizes are awarded. The pig prizes are now going to be done by “raffle” so everyone has a better chance of winning and it’s not a runaway race among just a few of the most active players. You can check all the basic info and rules for the campaign here .
In this weekly update, we’re going to go over some participation stats, check the change in status on the campaign map, show off some pretty pictures of some players’ games, give away a prize or two, and check in with our national commanders who will be fearlessly leading their players through this campaign.
Numbers and Stats
Let’s look at some numbers on games played, nations and factions represented and player leaders.
Nation Report
After resolving week one on the campaign map, the Natives are winning! It’s very close with only 1pt between most of the nations, but the Natives managed to pull ahead of the rest of the pack with 8 points. Spain seemed to be a bit of a target and is behind at 4pts while the rest of the nations are at 7pts. Check out this map update article for more details.
The English played the most games and generated the most points with 48 games and 157 points. The Pirates and Dutch were close 2nd and 3rd, with French, Spanish, and Natives following in that order.
Faction Report
There are a LOT of factions to enjoy in Blood & Plunder. Between the Oak & Iron factions and all the Blood & Plunder factions, there are a few more than 100 factions people can use in this campaign and it’s always a goal to have all of them used by the end of the event! After 1 week of play, 65 have already been played! That’s a record for sure. Here are the most played factions so far.
- The Flying Gang – 16 games
- Dutch Caribbean Militia – 14 games
- Brethren of the Coast – 13 games
- French Buccaneers – 13 games
- Spanish Militia – 10 games
- English Caribbean Militia – 9 games
The Native Americans have the most factions played so far with 13 different factions represented.
Individual Player Report
Which player has accrued the most infamy so far? Erich Goebel, the British Privateer and Navy man! With 24pts, Erich has a good lead after week 1. Niguel Vega is in second place with 16 followed by Michael Paul, with 15, and then a 4-way tie at 14 points. Impressive for one week into the campaign!
Week 1 Player Report for Oak & Iron
Oak & Iron might be a smaller scale but it’s an important part of this campaign! There were over 20 Oak & Iron games logged, including the Spanish, Dutch, French, and Pirate factions most notably.
We even got a video battle report from Josh Shivak!
If you play Oak & Iron or are interested in trying it, now is a good time to open that box! OT os a a great game and Jason Klotz, one of the Summer of Plunder campaign organizers and the owner of Timber & Sail, has done a great job making sure there are fun objectives for Oak & Iron gamers every week.
Week 1 Objective – Play a 50-75 Point Game
This was a nice, easy objective to get the campaign rolling. It’s a good small game which is great for reviewing rules or teaching the game to new players. Most players followed the objective this week! Of the 229 games logged, 199 followed the objective (87%).
The objective was intended to serve as a demo game or opportunity for players to knock some rust off if they hadn’t played in a while, it was fun to see the different directions people went with this. Some groups did larger games with 3v3, bringing the point total up to past 200!
My group did 75 point games and it’s awesome how good of a game you still get on the very low end of things.
Week 2 Objective – There’s a Storm Brewin’
Time for some foul weather! This objective can be taken a couple of different ways as well with Land and Sea feeling significantly different, and the diverse Weather Tables in No Peace Beyond the Line providing more variety. Check the Week 1 Campaign Map & Objectives Update article for ideas on how to explore this objective this week.
Week 1 Campaign Map Update
In case you missed it, we’ve also put out an update for the campaign map and the battles that occurred at that level. Here is a quick link to the Week 1 Campaign Map Update article:
Weekly Campaign Prizes!
OK, it’s time to start handing out plunder! This is one of the best parts of the community event and what helps make the event so great. Don’t forget to check out the full list of prizes for the Summer of Plunder campaign.
Best Photo of the Week
Our first photo prize goes out to Marc Hardenack! With a great table with some fine water effects, all his pictures were great. We’ll be sending Marc a set of English Activated Tokens from the Pigment Shop! Congrats to Marc!
Activation tokens are a great visual reminder to know which units you have already used in a game. After you assign an activation card to a unit, place a token by them or on your record sheet to keep things sorted. We have a wide selection in the Blood & Pigment store for every faction in the game if you would like to get some for your own games.
Random Player who Accomplished the Weekly Objective
Each week a random player who accomplishes the weekly objective will be selected at random among qualifying entries. The winner will receive a fancy metal Fortune Coin. And the random winner here is Mark Stigter!
Mark’s Dutch force will be receiving a deluxe Fortune Coin in the form of an 8 reale coin. These historically accurate reproductions are made by the St. Augustine Mint.
We love “fancy coins” as Fortune Tokens and have several options in our shop. We recently added a new English coin, so be sure to check them out.
Random Entry for Week 1
Our random draw from the entire week’s worth of entries will receive some free minis! Either a pack of 4 Blood & Plunder minis of the nationality they are playing, or an Oak & Iron Ship.
This week’s random winner goes to James Clifton Monson, playing for the English this year.
James submitted games for both Blood & Plunder and Oak & Iron, so he’ll get to decide what his prize will be! Either a pack of the new English North American Militia models or one of the new English 3rd Rate Frigates for Oak & Iron.
Random Prize of the Week #2
In addition to our recurring prizes each week, we have a unique prize for each week. This week we’re giving away a “Box of Plunder Sprue” from the Raise the Black Kickstarter. This sprue has some great bits on it for customizing your plastic minis, in addition to a full Priest and alternate Blackbeard model.
This random drawing goes out to Norma Fakhouri down in Australia! She played one of the very first games of this year’s campaign, having the advantage of being in an “advanced time zone” in Australia.
And we can’t include this picture without the matching image:
Richard Naco is doing great work getting the Blood & Plunder introduced in Australia.
Commander Reports
Now, here are some important messages from your beloved commanders. Each week our 6 volunteers will donate a bit of time to add some narrative flavor to the game and pass on some information regarding their nation’s goals. If you haven’t yet joined, the best way to interact with the commanders and players in your nation is to join our Summer of Plunder Discord server. This is different than the main Firelock Games Discord server. It’s a fun community to hang out with and there is a lot of plotting and planning going on in secret channels that only players of a nation can see.
Spain – Week 1 Player Update
¡Saludos desde la Habana!
Disappointing results this week, but keep your heads held high. Our soldados are returning from battle and are giving me the reports. We defended well against some attacks, but unfortunately, the English dogs were alerted to our coming in Port Royal. Keep your spirits high, we are not out of this yet.
Next week it seems like a storm is coming. Use your experience with overcoming wet powder to your advantage. Challenge your enemy with our superior fighting ability.
Keep in mind the challenges that I have prepared for week 3. If you would like to join in on the conversation join the Spanish chat on the official Summer of Plunder Discord!
England – Week 1 Player Update
Fouleste Spanyiards Humiliated
Hudson Baye Companie Declaire Record Profitts
New Settlers Flockyng to Natches Colonie
The most jubilante tidyngs arrive daily from ye English colonies in America. A fleet under the commande of ye Admiral Ser J. Deanne McKyng has been dispatched to combat ye Pyracies against his Majesty’s subjects and possessions. The core of this red fleet makes porte in ye colonie of Jamaeca. It arrived in time to foil, with some ease, a great mismanaged armada of ye insidyous papists in those days only recently paste. The Spanyerd abandoned his ill-fated missions in a shambles not seene since ye days of Drake and Raleigh.
In the North of ye Americas, ye Hudson Baye Compane has begun operations with greate success. Ye noble Iroquois peoples strongley favor ye trade with ye honeste Englishman over those heretical French. Trade has begun in earniste for ye fine furs and the companie has alreade anounnct tremendous profits, as much as mighte be accrued from an entire colonies revenues. More tradyng ventures are expectted in future.
Ye grande red fleet carrys with it many score of ye regular soldiery to bolster the defenses of ye existing colonies and to make war against hostyles and savages. These new marityme regiments have been placed under the commande of ye Admiraltey and excel in the execution of affairs at sea and ashore. These regular marines were used in ye recent acquisition of ye territory of Natchez from an unaffiliated, hostyle and savage people. Theyr former usory of the place was wholly unproductive while ye new English colonists have already begun to clear the lande in earnest and establish a proper civilization on this fertile frontier.
Be vigilant of the weather!
With Hurycanne season approchyng ye Admiral MacKing has ordered his men oute on maneuvers where practicable. He expressed his intereste in “bloodyng” ye young, inexperienced officers in preparatione for fightes in foul wheather that may not be avoided. As suche, ye Admiral has encouraged all his young officeres to seek out manageable squalls that their men may be prepared to face in enemey properly in such conditions should ye need arise.
All ye goode Britons are invited to join his Majesty’s forces in ye colonys. Men of means or ambitionn may applie on Discord for a commissione of service in ye Royal Navy. Commissionned naval officers are considered in higher regarde for reward and compensation though all servants of the Crown are eligible.
France – Week 1 Player Update
We had a strong opening week! We gained a foothold with an unaligned location and did not lose any territory. Perhaps we were conservative in the first round but this is a marathon and not a race. We have set ourselves up for success.
Keep in mind the weekly objectives and always be ready to peer pressure friends to join the French campaign.
There were some truly fantastic pictures sent in but here’s a showcase of just a few of my favorites.
The Netherlands – Week 1 Player Update
Gentleman,
Reports are trickling in from the new world.
War has erupted and our rivals are again on the move!
I am happy to report, however, that we have emerged unscathed and even increased our holdings!
As the other nations faced off against each other and their forces clashed around the Caribbean, we were able to waltz into Trinidad virtually uncontested…. The local settlers only offering token resistance.
But not all was in our favor! France sent a force to St. Vincent as well, and outnumbered our brave men elected to strike the field to fight another day!
As always, our trade lanes remain open and continue to provide wealth to the nation.
The vigilant watch has served us well. But we must be wary…. Our success is bound to attract the envious looks of the other nations.
Our merchant fleets also bring word from Africa. They report strong storms crossing the Atlantic heading in our direction… so we must take heed!
Matthew “Salty” Doerr
The Native Americans – Week 1 Player Update
One arrow can be easily broken. But when five arrows are bound together, they become strong.
The war began. Thank you for joining the struggle. Thanks to you we are not to be taken lightly. Our enemies know we will not go down without a fight. And this is precisely what we want them to know. Scared as they are now, they will come at us even stronger; they will try to grab the land that we all live off. This is why we need to be focused on our future actions.
Go forward with courage and strike precisely. After the battle, reach out to our brothers and sisters who are not here with us today and explain the importance of what we do. If they join us, and survive their first battle, they could speak to those who live even further, and speak of a grand alliance of all tribes of all people. Those who will see the importance of what we do can come and talk to us in our sanctuary, where tentacles of our enemies can’t reach us and where we will discuss our strategy for week 2: https://discord.gg/BSeGuWV2
Next week a great storm is coming, so plan your attacks wisely. You know the land, better than any of our enemies. Use it to your strength.
The Pirates – Week 1 Player Update
Avast me hardies, we’re kicking off this year’s Summer of Plunder very nicely! As a Pirate, my motto is we always win ties, and with that being said, we’re looking at almost a full crew complement in our ranks; ranking the second most players listed this past week of 27. Plus we’re holding on to second place for points, which means we are logging in our games and meeting the objective(s)…if you’re adding your Oak & Iron objectives too.
This past week we had three double-digit point leaders which was pretty impressive…keep up the fight! Leading our fight was our point leader Jakub Karaś! Great job!
Also, players make sure to take some pics of your game…at least one and post. This gives me an opportunity to highlight your game each week of the campaign.
Weekly Objectives
How did you all fare in this week’s game objective? I ran two games of 65 points each with both being sea battles. This was nice introduction to get us back into the swing of things. With a crew of “cannon fodder”, the games ran fairly quick… less than an hour. Speaking of games, It’s good to see at least one Oak & Iron game logged in…Way to go Greg Flynn! Let’s capitalize on that and break out your O&I sets and get that Pirate fleet rolling up the Spanish! I hope to get two in…and even a few games of B&P as well. Share your crews and challenges in the Pirate Discord chat channel.
It would appear we have very good lines of communication as we managed to get defense and attack sites locked in. If you have any questions on what the hell is going on and what should I do…ask on the Discord Pirate chat channel.
It warms me heart to see the “Black” fly…if you have any ships in play…add a pirate-esk flag or two. If you don’t have any, check out the Firelock Games web page for some freebies: https://www.firelockgames.com/pages/downloads/#1583942497386-d6787fcb-bcca
This week’s Pirate winner was “John Pollock”! John was awarded a set of “Blood” dice along with a special 3D resin-printed model for his ship. Check your email from Dan with instructions. John, we need some pics of your games too.
Finally, raise the Black, get your games in, and most of all…have fun!
Summer of Plunder in Game Stores
We’ve seen a GREAT uptick in games happening at local gaming stores! If you have a game store close by that is able to host your game meetups, it’s great for publicity! It helps get the game in front of more eyes, and it lets your game store owner know that people are playing Blood & Plunder and Oak & Iron so they can stock the games and make them available to more people!
Talk to your game store owner or manager about ordering a copy of the organized play kit as well! It’s designed to facilitate 3 events at a game store or club.
More Pictures! So Many Pictures!
Final Thoughts on Summer of Plunder Week 1
Remember to use the same email address email AND name consistently between entries! Nicknames are fun, but pick one and stick to it. Every time there is a mismatch we manually have to fix your entries or send messages to confirm that it’s the same person. It will save your busy campaign organizers some work and keep their efforts focused on more important things than silly paperwork. Thanks in advance for your assistance!
Week 1 was awesome! Looking forward to the Storm of Week 2! Thanks everyone for participating in the campaign so far and happy gaming!
No one likes asking or being asked for money and we rarely do it… so we’ll keep it short and sweet. Even with prize sponsors, we send a VERY LARGE portion of our annual budget on prize support and promoting this event. Shipping the $3000+ in goodies is over $1000 alone! So if you are in a position to help, we’d be extremely thankful for a one-time or monthly gift on our Patreon. Thanks for helping us grow this great community we love. Enjoy your summer of plundering!
Pingback: Week 3 Bonus Prize Event - SHIPWRECKED! - Blood & Pigment