Intro

The first week of the 2025 Summer of Plunder has finished and we have some prizes to give away, some public updates from each nation’s commanders to share, some stats to share (upon popular request), and some pictures to share from pirate game tables around the world.

On the campaign map, the Native American players had the best opening week. You can read the details of the competitive results on the Week 1 Map Update blog post.

Commander Reports

First, here are some important messages from Nation (team) 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 and accomplishments. If you haven’t yet joined, the best way to interact with the commanders and players in your nation is to join our 2025 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 Commander Update

Esteemed Ambassadors and Dignitaries,

Let it be known to all present, and to posterity, that the Kingdoms of Spain and France, bound by ties of faith, kinship, and shared ambition, do hereby enter into a sacred alliance, dedicated to the mutual growth, prosperity, and security of our realms, both in Europe and in the burgeoning New World. 

Recognizing the immense opportunities and potential riches that lie beyond the ocean, we pledge to stand together against all who would seek to impede our rightful claims and endeavors. Let it be understood that an attack upon the territories, settlements, or interests of one nation in the Americas shall be considered an attack upon both, and we shall render unto each other all necessary aid and succor in our common defense. 

Furthermore, in the spirit of amity and cooperation, we shall encourage and facilitate trade, exploration, and the exchange of knowledge and resources between our respective colonies. We shall work in concert to uplift and enrich the lives of our subjects, both European and native, and to spread the light of our civilization and faith to the farthest corners of the New World. 

Let this declaration serve as a testament to our unwavering commitment to each other, and to our shared destiny as the preeminent powers of Christendom. So it is agreed, so it is sworn, and so it shall be. 

Sincerely,

Josué Shivak – Commander of Spanish Forces 

Kyle Arpke – Commander of French Forces

Proclamation from the Commander of Spanish forces,

Take heed!  Spread word across the breadth of our glorious dominion and among the nations of Christendom that the valiant forces of Spain and France did come together and assault the English settlements across the New World. Many brave soldados now lay at the walls of Jamaica and the fields of Boston and Antigua. Though this time we were unsuccessful in claiming their capital, do not let their blood go unavenged! The campaign has just started and we will have many more opportunities.  England now starts this season looking at shattered defenses, unusable docks, and the might of Spain on the horizon. 

Furthermore, we extend our highest commendation to our esteemed allies of France, whose relentless campaign against the English has further strengthened our common struggle. Their bravery and skill in battle are worthy of the highest honor, and Spain stands ever firm in solidarity with her gallant comrades-in-arms.

Let church bells toll in jubilation across our dominions! Let praises be sung in the grand halls of Madrid, Havana, and Cartegena! For Spain reigns supreme upon the waves, and our glory shall endure for generations to come!

By Royal Command,

Josué Shivak

Photos from Spanish Players

England – Week 1 Commander Update

The Jamaican sun rose this morning, beautiful as ever as countless Spanish dogs float in the Port Royal bay. Gloriously, I sipped my coffee as the morning report came across the desk. We have lost Boston and New York, my Leftenant reported as I leaned back in my chair. The modicum of defense we put forth inflicted heavy losses – the true win for England and the distraction for the taking of Santa Domingo and Natchez. Leftenant Riley loves the local cuisine from the region – a worthwhile victory. 

For the troops – I would encourage you to join the Discord server for the latest discussion in real-time. From our Paint Nights every Tuesday night at 10pm EST and with a new, European timezone paint night as well – we are as connected as ever. I adored seeing your fulfillment of the Leftenant Requests this last week and I look forward to seeing and discussing more of your antics and adventures over the coming week. For Blood, Plunder and Glory!

Your Admiral, Erich Goebel

Photos from English Players

France – Week 1 Commander Update

The sun shines on a bright day
The buccaneers will rise
For King, and God, and an alliance strong
The buccaneers will rise
For fur, for land, we sailed north
The buccaneers will rise
Our communication is strong, so hence forth
The buccaneers will rise

Raise a glass and toast yourselves! We have sailed to the New World, and thanks to everyone’s wonderful coordination on the French discord, we find ourselves with a host of riches to start off the summer. There is, as always, work to be done. We have borders to defend, new lands to bring to the crown, and alliances to cultivate. Yes, I’m sure we’ve made an enemy in the British. They were in our way of important trade routes between our Queen and her beloved Quebec. Thanks to your work, trade flows freely in the north, and we are honored to have our fellow Catholic brethren to trade with. We applaud Spain’s efforts to make a daring attack on the English capital, and while defeated, we hope our new furs find a good home in the halls of La Piel de Toro.

Speaking of furs and other riches, congratulations are in order for captain Brendan Kampwerth, who logged a massive 16 points for king and country. Please e-mail kylearpke@yahoo.com or message TheKarp on Discord to claim some French activation plunder, courtesy of Blood & Pigment!! We claim victory through game and you have set a high standard, Brendan. 

As a sun rises, a sun sets and rises again, bringing a new day that we must fill with battle and song. This week, write your own sea shanty and e-mail or message it to me through Discord to be entered into the week’s prize drawing. One randomly selected captain will win a set of Blood & Pigment reload markers! After all, come song, come gunpowder! If you do not win, your work will not go to waste! I plan on sharing sea shanties across the entire SoP campaign! The more shanties, the merrier, but you’ll only be put into the drawing once. Send your sea shanties to me by noon (Central Time), Sunday. 

Also, throughout the campaign, you can send me your battle reports in the style of a captain’s journal to be entered into a prize drawing for terrain. Write your reports as if you are a captain reporting to a regional governor or to your countrymen back home in France. I want to hear about your triumphs and tribulations, your love of countr,y and the daring efforts your forces give to bring glory across the Atlantic. They might just be used in a weekly report like the shanties! Terrain prize drawings will happen in weeks 3, 6, and 9, but you can send your reports to me throughout the campaign! 

Finally, continue to log games and rack up points by completing SoP’s weekly objectives! This week’s objective is a celebration of our week one success… at least that’s the way I’m interpreting it! Lady Fortune is on our side, so spend our good fortune out on the battlefield! Use more than 3 fortune points in a game or play the Men of Fortune scenario! May fortune continue to favor the French!

The buccaneers will rise,

Governor Kyle Arpke

Photos from French Players

The Netherlands – Week 1 Commander Update

Landgenoten, 

I come to you with grave news!

We looked to use the favorable weather to expand our wealth and standing but have been dealt a setback instead.

With the blessing of the nation and command, we sent fleets to campeche, caymans, and santo domingo with the intentions of planting the Dutch flag. However, at each location superior enemy forces were already present and our field commanders made the right move of disengaging to save our men for a later push.

THIS IS NOT A DEFEAT! Merely a strategic realignment of forces.

We had also been granted a letter or marque to target french holdings… and despite landing unopposed at Petite Goave, we learned the pitiful settlement had nothing worth taking!

We did manage to secure provisions from the English, however.

But the most devastating news was of a underhanded native raid against our frontier positions!

Many were killed and large swaths of sugar cane fields were destroyed… the cost is enormous. Apparently our friendship from years past means nothing!

But take heart gentleman… the season is long… and revenge sweet.

Stand by for marching orders!

Matthew “Salty” Doerr
Commander of the Dutch West Indies

Photos from Dutch Players

The Native Americans – Week 1 Commander update

Hokakey!  Today is a good day to die – Crazy Horse

We listend to the wind…the water… and the earth and attacked where our enemies had grown weak.  I commend the braves from all over Turtle island; you have all brought great honor on your tribes.  The war has just begun!!!

Photos from Native American Players

The Pirates – Week 1 Commander Update

Ahoy me hearties!  The first tides o’ this grand campaign be behind us, and the Jolly Roger’s flying high!   We had 31 Swashbucklers report games this week, with a handful of minor powers raises cutlass and joining the crew! 

The Cayman Isles now hoists the black – a fine prize to be sure.  But curses on the scheming Dutch!  They scuttled our assaults on Campeche and Vera Cruz.   Those English dogs made off with Natchez under our noses. 

Not all be Storm and Sorrow!   Our smuggling with the clever Natives bore fruit – bless their sharp eyes and swift canoes.   And we made raid on Jolly Old Boston, and had ourselves a Tea Party with English Coin.  Such Generosity!  Truly, the spoils o’ war never tasted so sweet.

Now to the Budgies in the Bilge – the Spanish and French – who hide behind papers and threaten all those who seek liberty and freedom in these waters.   Your brazen grandstanding will do you no good.  We shall see how long the bond between the gluttonous whale and the withering crab lasts.  

All you good Pirates – don’t forget to drop anchor in the Pirate Discord for a good dose of tomfoolery and strategery.   There’s always rum, tales, and maps a’plenty.  We will be working on our Charter and Pirate Code this week in the Discord  – be a part of Pirate history and have some say in our Chasse-Partie. 

A hearty Huzzah to all who sailed under the black flag in all three games – feast your eyes upon these brave corsairs!

 Raise yer mugs, sharpen yer blades, and ready the powder, mates- Week Two is upon us, and there be no rest for the Wicked!

Piratically yours,
–Rum Runner Wray
-Kraken Killer Padilla

More Photos from Pirate Players

Oak & Iron Update

We had 24 games of Oak & Iron logged this first week, including some new players trying it out, and some veteran players playing some awesome looking games. Check out some pics from the Oak & Iron sphere:

Oak & Iron was a little slower last year, but 24 games in week 1 is a great start!

Port Royal Update

Port Royal is the new hotness from Firelock Games and this is its first year as part of the campaign. Players logged 74 games of Port Royal this week! We some some hostile civilians, some crocodiles, large and small, and some great looking tables. Check out this Port Royal games from around the community.

Blood & Plunder Online! – Tabletop Simulator Update

Several hardworking community members have been adding resources to Tabletop Simulator so people can play Blood &Plunder online, defeating the age-old enemy of the lack of local players. This is a great development and you can read up on how to jump in for some online games of Blood & Plunder here.

Week 2 Objective – Lady Fortune

This week’s objective is all about fun with Fortune points. To complete this objective, you have a couple options depending on what game system your using.

• Blood & Plunder – Spend more than 3 Fortune Points in a game or play the Men of Fortune scenario.
• Oak & Iron – Play a game with 5 Fortune instead of 3 and spend it all before the end of the game
• Port Royal – Play the Valuable Ingots Scenario. Each turn, give each company 2 additional fortune points.

Fortune is a really cool game mechanic. You have several ways to complete this objective, but here’s some tips for Blood & Plunder players looking to spend more than 3 Fortune in a game.

• Use a Spiritual Leader Character. Instant extra fortune for any force!
• Check out historical commanders with rule like God’s Blessing or the Devil’s Luke, and Felicitous. These rules let you start the game with more Fortune, or regain Fortune throughout the game.

Historical Commanders that help with this goal include:

• Pirates
  • Benjamin Hornigold, Henry Jennings, Jack Rackham, Bartholomew Roberts, La Buse Levasseur, and Blackbeard
• Spanish
  • Father Angel Miranda, Amaro “Pargo”
• English
  • Read Elding, Sir William Phips , Henry Morgan, Benjamin Hornigold, and Henry Jennings
• French
  • Laurens de Graff and Francois L’Olonnais
• Dutch
  • Piet Heyn
• Native American
  • Modockawando and King Golden Cap

You can find an entire article on Fortune Points here.

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 – Melle Duim

You guys sent in a lot of great pictures this week. It’s always hard to pick one top image, and criteria is subjective, but it has to be done! This week Melle Duim wins with this image of a Dutch crew. Lots of points for those flags and creativity.

The prize for best image is a super deluxe Fortune coin from St. Augustine Mint.

Random Player who Accomplished the Weekly Objective –

Every week a random player who accomplished the weekly objective will receive a set of our national Activated Tokens from the Blood & Pigment shop. This week our winner is Brady Geesey!

Patrick is playing for the English this year and he will have a choice between our original English token, and our brand new, fresh design for an alternate English token.

Random Entry for Week 1 – Blister of Minis

One player each week will be randomly drawn to receive a pack of 4 Blood & Plunder miniatures. This week’s winner is Ethan (no last name given). It looks like Ethan has been enjoying the new Blood & Plunder setup on Tabletop Simulator! Ethan played the Brandenburg Privateers in this game on TTS.

Random Player for Week 1 – Scatter Terrain Mini Bundle

Each week we have a small bundle of scatter terrain from Stone Temple Studios to give away to a random player. This week’s winner is Adam Bortner playing for the English.

Scatter terrain is essential for a good game of Port Royal!

Nerdy Campaign Statistics

What’s getting played? How many games are getting played? Back by popular request, here are some nerdy stats from the campaign so far.

National Breakdown

The English have a huge team this year, and they logged the most games. But each team had a great showing.

Game Breakdown

Blood & Plunder is still dominant (as it should be according to this impartial writer), but Port Royal came out of the gate with a lot of support!

Factions Played So Far

Here are the factions played so far:

That image is super tiny so here’s the list of most popular factions for each nation so far:

• Pirates
  • Port Royal Jamaican Pirates (10), Golden Age Pirates (9) AND tHE fLYING gANG (8)
• Spanish
  • Spanish Militia (11), Port Royal Guarda Costas (*) and B&P Guarda Costas (6)
• English
  • Port Royal Forces of the Crown (17), British Army (12), and British Privateers and North American English Militia (7 each)
• French
  • French Buccaneers (17), Port Royal French Buccaneers (12) and Oak and Iron French (6)
• Dutch
  • Port Royal dutch Kapers (14), Dutch Navy (13), and NPBTL Dutch Caribbean Militia (12)
• Native Americans
  • Caribbean Tribes (6), Kalinago (4), and RtB Iroquois (3)
• Minor Powers
  • Scottish Militia (5), Black Caribs (4) and Maroons (3)

As we get further into the campaign, we will highlight factions that haven’t been played yet in an effort to make sure everythingin the game gets played during the campaign.

Final Thoughts on Summer of Plunder Week 1

Thank you everyone for kicking off 2025’s Summer of Plunder campaign in a big way! Enjoy spending that Fortune in Week 2! Make sure to participate in the planning and discussion going on in the 2025 SoP Discord channel this week. Happy gaming in week 2 of the Summer of Plunder.

Additional Recommended Reading

• Week 1 Map Results Update
• 2025 Summer of Plunder Updates Hub – all of the updates from previous weeks.
• Rules and Info for the 2025 Summer of Plunder Event
• 2025 Summer of Plunder Entry Form
• 2025 Summer of Plunder – Campaign Map
• Weekly Objective List for 2025 Summer of Plunder
• Prize List for 2025 Summer of Plunder