Intro
We’re three weeks into the worldwide 2025 Summer of Plunder campaign! We’ve pushed past 800 games of Blood & Plunder, Oak & Iron and Port Royal logged so far. The conflict is heating up on the campaign map with alliances and vendettas forming! The Native team is currently in the lead with 29 campaign points with the Pirates and French close on their heels!
You can find all the details on the team competition in this Week 3 Campaign Map Update post. In this post, we will hear from each nation’s commander, award some prizes, and share some pictures from around the community.
Commander Reports
Now, here are some important messages from your brave 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 3 Commander Update
To the Valiant Soldados of His Most Catholic Majesty’s Forces,
In this moment of solemn triumph, I set quill to parchment to extend my deepest congratulations. By your steel and steadfastness, the banners of España now fly high above Costa de Mosquitos and the formidable bastion of Fort Noorhooka. What was once a hold of despair following the loss of Cartagena to the native insurgents has, through your valor, become a renewed testament to Spanish resolve.
Though the road was treacherous and the price of glory steep, you have reclaimed what was taken, not with vengeance, but with honor. You have restored faith where doubt had crept in. The Crown, and I, swell with pride at your deeds.
Know this, hermanos de sangre y fuego: when the drums of war summoned you, you answered with the cry of our forefathers—“¡Santiago y cierra, España!” With the spirit of St. James thundering at your side, you reminded the world that the soul of Spain is not so easily extinguished.
March on, Soldados. Let this be not the last letter I write in your praise, but merely the first of many.With honor and fervent loyalty,
Commander Josué Shivak
In service to His Majesty and to God
Photos from Spanish Players During Week 3
England – Week 3 Commander Update
COMING SOON – DISPATCHED INTERCEPTED BY GUARDACOSTAS
Pictures from English Players during Week 3
France – Week 3 Commander Update
A letter from the New World:
Bonjour monsieur le gouverneur de la Nouvelle-France.
As per your orders I took my men to find the stolen supplies belonging to les allies de notre roi, the Jacobite Scotts. Having located them, our milice pushed forward to provide protection while we got them ready to move. However, the Caribs were ready for us, and our milice came under a heavy assault of arrows. Too many of the wounded men succumbed to their wounds. As a man of ledgers, these losses worry me. We have a limited number of people in Nouvelle-France. I pray I have no more Pyyhric victories such as this. We proceeded onward with the secured supplies to meet up with the colonists and the corsairs who we had employed to take the settlers to their new home. As per your desire we also boarded the sloop to help ensure safe passage.
The wisdom of your orders, monsieur, was shown when a pair of piraguas intercepted us. They were surely surprised when the marins rolled out their medium cannons… I am sure the fear of God was put into those dirty chien. After a quick running skirmish, we were able to get by, leaving their noses bloodied and our Scottish friends unharmed. Having seen them to safety, our vessel met with that of Capitaine Laurent. He requested I pass on the report of his Lieutenant Dubois, with recommendation for promotion. Seizing l’opportunité on the coast, Dubois succeeded in capturing an enemy capitaine and his men. They have been handed over to me and brought back to Quebec to be tried at your pleasure.
I pray this letter finds you well and brings some good news in these dark times. Your loyal servant,
Henri Le Roux, l’intendant de la Nouvelle-France.
Vive le roi.
Countryman, our grip on territories across the Atlantic hangs in a dangerous balance moment by moment. We have lost most of our northern gains because the English are jealous of our fur-forward fashion. Our fight with the English has allowed other nations to spread their new world influence ever wider. Our allies, the Spanish, have felt the pang of arrows from people more accustomed to this terrain. They have gained ground, but so have the pirates, who took dear Piet Goave from us two weeks ago and continue to scour the seas for riches. Our raid on the Dutch was unsuccessful, as was an attack on English Antigua. Enemies grow ever wiser.
In other words, now is the time to fight. That is why this week’s prize objective is simple – play a game and log it in the French strategy discord! Each game logged is an additional entry into the prize drawing.
As for our Week 3 prize winner, congratulations to raffle winner Capitan Jacques Lemere for last week’s rousing battle report. Remember, you can e-mail or Discord message battle reports to me all campaign long for a chance to win Stone Temple Studios terrain.
Finally, to rouse your spirits I leave you with another French sea shanty. Thank you to Discord’s Dred le dragon d’amethyste for your national pride!
(based on the USA army cadence “I hear the choppers hovering”)
I hear the crew a shoutin
They’re shoutin sails ahead
They’ve come to get our Plunder
Soon they’ll be dead.
La Marine (hoist the main, load the guns, shoot the blaggard)
L’Imperiale française set sail! (Hoist! Haul! Let’s set SAIL!)
Mon ami is in the row
Shrapnel in his head
The crew says he’s wounded
He’s been killed by our foe
La Marine (hoist the main, load the guns, shoot the blaggard)
L’Imperiale française set sail! (Hoist! Haul! Let’s set SAIL!)
I’m sittin in the gundeck
Sharpening my knife
On boards the enemy
I had to take his life
La Marine (hoist the main, load the guns, shoot the blaggard)
L’Imperiale française set sail! (Hoist! Haul! Let’s set SAIL!)
Photos from French Players During Week 3
The Netherlands – Week 3 Commander Update
Landgenoten,
Dark clouds continue to follow our mighty forces.
We had suffered a bitter attack at the hands of the pirates, made worse by their taunts to “sell” back Bonaire… as if it was a great gesture of humility! Never have we been so offended! But… the pirates got what was coming to them.
On the Saturday past, I met the pirate delegation to pay the ransom they so desired… but it was not to their liking! Instead of gold, their delegation was met by cold steel and harsh rope! And Bonaire was returned to us without a fight. But the pirates shouldn’t feel bad, their brethren happily swing, with a beautiful view of the sea, at the mouth of the harbor!
We Dutch will not and cannot stand for such blatant offenses!
As such, we vowed to crush the pirates and dispatched mighty fleet to subdue them!
However, our efforts were met with unfortunate circumstance.
With the mighty help from a group of Scottish privateers and Jacobite mercenaries… accompanied by a crack unit of our finest soldiers, we landed in Rhode Island and claimed it for the republic. Any pirate not willing to lay down their arms, was immediately cut down!
However, our other efforts were less than successful.
A mighty fleet was sent against the pirate home port of Nassau, but despite fierce and brutal fighting, the pirate scourge held.
The same was true of a smaller expedition to St. Thomas… where we met a stronger than anticipated force.
To make matters worse the natives in Florida… whom we had peacefully live in coexistence, decided to stab us in the back and claim St. Augustine for themselves!
Men… it is apparent these heathens will not rest until Civil society is destroyed! We must and will get our revenge!
Stand to for marching orders…
- Matthew “salty” Doerr
Commander of the Dutch West Indies
Dutch Prizes
We are a third of the way through the campaign… So how about some loot! Congratulations to the following winners!
Blood and Plunder:
Luke Seigfried – a blister of Zeelieden
Eli Jarrett – a blister of Kapers
Kenneth Boone – a blister of Militie
Oak and Iron:
Sam Leamer – an English 3rd rate blister
Port Royal:
Tyler M Carlson – a blister of resin dangerous animals!
Congrats to all! And I have plenty more plunder… so keep the entries coming!
Pictures from Dutch Players during Week 3
The Native Americans – Week 3 Commander Update
My lands are where my dead lie buried» – Crazy Horse
Braves of Turtle Island, you have fought well and protected our ancestorial lands. While some minor holdings were temporarily lost to the Europeans we will return with vengeance.
Another strong week my friends, I praise the unity of our tribes in working together to push the Europeans from Turtle Island. This war is still in its infancy, so we must stay united and work together.
Honestly the best part of having privilege to be a commander is handing out plunder to reward you all for your efforts.
A few prizes to aware this week; the first is a unit of 4 Young Braves – these go to Kristin Low, a newer player from the Great Plains. These will be a great addition to your army new army.
The second prize this week, for completing “The Old Ways are Best” objective a set of four arrowhead tokens to be used as command points, or fortune – go to Daniel Liswood.
I must now get back to the war council to discuss the results of the week. Please check the discord for updates.
Fight well my braves!
Pictures from native Players during Week 3
The Pirates – Week 3 Commander Update
Avast me Hearties, it be week 3 of this adventure and it appears we’re still holding strong to third place for total points earned so far…Aaaargh! Fear not, as we’re still playing a lot of games, but the English faction has taken a leap ahead in games played, while the Dutch are not too far behind. Time to start putting the pressure on, as we don’t want these factions to take a bigger lead, which can become really tough to catch by the end of the campaign.
Our top three Pirate point leaders were, Christopher Regan, Greg Flynn and yours truly…Kraken Killer Padilla!; which they have done well representing the “Black”!
This week’s objective was driven by us, the Pirate command and we wanted you to “Show us your Aaaaaargh Face”! This would include a photo of yourself playing your game of choice to be entered into a random drawing for a prize. Costumes were encouraged, but not required. I know it’s tough to go out and buy something…but what about making something? Years ago, I had an old wicker hat for doing yard work…and then it occurred to me…aaaarh, if I were to pin up three sides, I would have me a tricorn hat. Nice! Then I spray painted it black. Mmmm it was missing something…decorative stuff. So I went to Michaels craft store, got a string of furry stuff and hot-glued it to the brim of the tricorn. Still missing something…aaaah…if I’m a captain of sorts, then I need to show my status with some gold trim. I found some cool Metallic Gold Dimensional Fabric Paint and gave my tricorn the golden touch! Too easy to do and a super fun project!
This week’s Summer of Plunder campaign added a bonus Prize Event #1 called, “New Settlement”. You may have received an email from Blood & Pigment or seen their post on Face Book. If not, here is the link for all the details.
This is an additional objective running for two weeks. These are really fun to do which yield two prizes up for grabs. Essentially this calls for the “Escort” scenario from the No Peace Beyond the Line expansion book. Okay, so you don’t own the book…well the web page has a picture of the scenario for you use. A few years back, the crew from Firelock Games play this scenario, amphibious style with the guys over at “On Table Top”…called, “Saving the Governors Daughter”…well worth a look for inspiration.
As an extra bonus for Pirates and Unaligned who complete the Bonus Objective – we have extra Prizes. Native Allies are arriving to support the pirate cause – a blister each of Pnesies, Braves, and Young Braves are up for grabs. Complete the Bonus Objective at least once to be entered into a drawing for these reinforcements!
Keep those lines of communication open and flowing as our Captain Rum Runner Wray, post updates and additional information in the Discord Pirate channel. This is a very active channel which discusses strategy and voting for raids…so make you vote count for the next raid!
As we head into week four of the campaign, let’s see some good pictures of your games. A tip for good pictures is always lighting and of course focus. I want to place your picture in the weekly reports. So get me your pictures…with the black flying on your ship or fort.
Week 4’s Objective is going to be a blast…a blast of a bunch of Veteran units…oh my! So you have to have a Veteran Crew which is all models in your force must be 5 points or more. That should run up your game points for earning more points when you enter your game for the week. I’ve been averaging 185 points for each game of Blood & Plunder. That’s enough for a ship, guns, swivels and decent captain, characters and crew.
Now lets talk about Oak & Iron, which also calls for a Veteran crew, which I do all the time to max out my crew and guns for a bigger broadside and boarding action.
Now for our Port Royal players, it’s the same thing for fielding a Veteran Crew. I’m waiting in a few weeks to start playing Port Royal…yup bought the Kickstarter, but haven’t played it yet. I’m still repurposing my destroyed game board for the game.
Speaking of factions…well veteran ones for this week, it would appear the Port Royal – Jamaican Pirates was the most played followed by the Golden Age of Pirates.
Yarrr!!! Kraken Killer and I are impressed with the Vicious photos of you Sea Dogs. As a reward – we will be splittin’ the plunder from our most recent raid. One Lucky Winner will receive a Medium Terrain Bundle. Other plunder up for grabs are 4 Reaper Donkeys loaded with Spanish Silver, and two small terrain bundles. We will reach out to the winners in the coming days for their share of the Spoils!
As an early announcement – prepare your drink recipes for week 6 of the Campaign. You have plenty of time yet to hone your craft. We are reviving one of last years Pirate Objectives- “Drink Up Me Hearties Yo Ho!” We want y’all to send us pictures of your piracy-inspired drinks! They can be non-alcoholic, and must come with an ingredient list! We will choose 3 winners- giving away a Promotional “Drunk Pirate”, a “Bosun” character, and an Unaligned Pirate Commander.
Finally, get your games in, raise the Black and most of all…have fun!
Pictures from Pirate Players during Week 3
Unaligned Announcement
Josiah Huss has stepped up as the Commander for the Unaligned players who like to keep their options open and play for the highest bidders. Keep an eye out for an announcement regarding Unaligned objectives and prizes coming up this week.
Numbers and Stats
Let’s look at some numbers on games played, nations and factions represented and player leaders.
Nation Report
Who’s winning? The Natives have kept a slight lead since Week 1, but the Pirates and French are gaining ground. All nations are within just a few points.
Which team has been playing the most games? The English crew is huge this year and they have logged the most games.
Faction Report
Were getting pretty close to having logged games for all the factions in Blood & Plunder, Oak & Iron and Port Royal.
Here are some factions that haven’t been played yet, if you want to help knock them out:
- Los Corsarios de Pardal (Spanish)
- Kidd’s Privateers (English)
- New England Privateers (English)
- Flibustiers de Graff (French)
- French Caribbean Militia (RtB)
- Heyn’s Commissievaarders (Dutch)
- Cherokee, Chickasaw and Choctaw (Natives)
- Swedish Militia (Unaligned)
This isn’t the complete list, (there are more French and Native factions that haven’t been played), but there are some good ones to try!
Individual Player Report
Which player has accrued the most infamy so far? David Z and Tyler C are currently tied for the top players in the campaign right now with 51 points each!
Week 3 Player Report for Oak & Iron
There were some big Oak & Iron games submitted this week. And some beautiful ships!
Port Royal Week 3 Update
Port Royal continues to be a big part of this campaign with a total of 188 games played so far.
Games on Tabletop Simulator
Here are some great captures from Blood & Plunder and Oak & Iron being played on Tabletop Simulator.
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
This week’s prize for best photo goes out to Jake Farris! What an epic table!
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 Paul Pickles playing for the Natives this year!
Paul 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 in Eugene, OR.
Random Entry for Week 3
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 Jessica Knap playing for the French!
Jessica has logged games as Pirates, French, and English so far, making her quite the mercenary!
Second Random Prize of the Week 3
This week’s winner of a Small Terrain Bundle is Kirk Busta who has been busting out the Port Royal games!
Best Table So Far – Terrain from Dexter Heide
Dexter Heide, the almighty Lord of Tables and Terrain from The Plunder Den was sent three of our picks for the best tables for this week. After careful, painstaking deliberation, Dexter has chosen Charlton Mason as the winner for one of his terrain pieces!
New Player Bundle prize Winner
During weeks 3, 6, and 9 we will be awarding some new player bundles to players who just started playing Blood and Plunder, Oak and iron, or port Royal in 2025. The first winner for this campaign is Graham Lyon!
Graham has won $110 worth of product straight from Firelock Games’ webstore! We will be giving away more goodies to new players at the end of weeks 6 and 9 as well!
Week 4 Prize: Trivia Time!
Week 4 will feature a Trivia question taken from this article by the renowned Sea Rover historian Benerson Little! Please answer the trivia question on your Summer of Plunder Game Entries in the Comments section!
The question is:
In one of the illustrations in this article, three X’s are listed as significant. What do they indicate?
Good luck sailors!
More Pictures! So Many Pictures!
Final Thoughts on Summer of Plunder Week 3
Game on! It’s great to see so many Port Royal games happening. We hope to see some reports on Port Royal campaigns before the end of the campaign.
This week’s objective is using the “elite models,” or at least abstaining from using the cheap spammy units. Let’s hope to see some soldiers and higher cost models in the pictures this coming week.
We hope you’re all having a great time gaming with friends and participating in the greater community online.
