Let’s take a deeper dive into the Week 8 results and see who emerged as the new leader.

Campaign Announcements

We have just a single announcement this week:

#1) Bonus Prize Event 3 – “SMUGGLERS!”

We have just a few days left to play the final bonus event. Don’t miss the Smugglers Bonus Prize Event over at Blood & Pigment—entries are live, and the treasure chest includes a $100 gift card for the winner!
If you’ve got a scheme brewing or just want a shot at the loot, get your entry in before the deadline sails past:

Campaign Map Combat Results

Here are the outcomes for the week:

• Antigua: The Pirates sank two aging ships in Antigua’s harbor, crafting a deadly reef that snared a portion of the incoming Dutch flotilla. Sailing in familar waters, the trap was unexpected. The left flank aground and trapped, pirates launched their counter assault, driving the Zeelanders back. Two Dutch brigs were left burning while pirate cheers filled the island.
  The island rang with celebration—rum flowed, cannon salutes cracked the sky. But on the third day, jubilation soured: Spanish galleons loomed on the horizon, sails fat with ambition. The party was over. Antigua fell to the Spanish Empire as the pirates scrambled like rats fleeing into open water. ( Dutch 2 – Pirates 2 – Spanish 4 )
• Aruba: The Dutch stormed Aruba, driving the French from their final stronghold near the northern cliffs. The smoldering banner of the French was hauled down, replaced by crisp Dutch standards fluttering over shell-infused coquina ramparts. The French defenders were allowed a gentlemanly retreat, leaving the island firmly in Dutch hands. With Aruba captured, the Netherlands tightened its grip in the southern Caribbean ( Dutch 4 – French 3 )
• Bonaire: “Bonaire, once under firm English rule, erupted into chaos as Pirate and Spanish forces launched simultaneous assaults. Their attacks—equal in strength, but divided in purpose—overwhelmed the British garrison. The dual offensive resulted in a stalemate of give and take. Cannons and muskets boomed from reef to ridge, and while the island fell into chaos, no flag rose in triumph.
  With neither attacker securing control, Bonaire slips into Unaligned status, its harbors haunted by smoke and failed opportunity. Now, smugglers, spies, and mercenaries drift in, sensing a lawless haven reborn. Power is up for grabs.” ( English 1 – Pirates 2 – Spanish 2 )

• Boston: Boston’s cobbled streets ran red again as Dutch forces stormed the city, but the Pirates held firm. Undeterred, the PIrates turned every alley into a trap and every rooftop into a firing line. The assault was repelled, leaving Boston battered …again… but still under pirate rule. ( Dutch 4 – Pirates 5 )
• Campeche: Campeche’s colonial grip has slipped from the Spanish. Once more, Native forces surge through the jungles, toppling Spanish control. ( Natives 3 – Spanish 1 )
• Cartegena: At dawn, Native warbands encircled Cartagena. The undersupplied Spanish, weary and battle-weary, fell after a push from the north. By midday, the city changed hands for the fourth time. No fanfare—just drums echoing through the plaza and native leaders reclaiming their ground. ( Natives 2 – Spanish 1 )
• Curaçao: “A sizable native scouting party has been moving through the region near Willemstad. Dutch pickets sighted them multiple times, but each engagement was met with silence—the Native scouts melted away without firing a shot.
  Some say they’re mapping the land. Others believe they’re testing Dutch response times. But one thing’s clear: Curaçao is being watched, and the watchers know the terrain better than the defenders. The jungle holds its breath. The Dutch hold their capital for now.” ( Dutch 5 – Natives 2 )

• Martinique: In Martinique, the pirates fought hard—but the French pressed in with discipline and force. Fires lit the docks, sabers clashed in streets, and by dusk, the tricolor flew over Martinique. The black flags vanished into the sea. The island is French once more. ( French 2 – Pirates 1 )
• Norridgewock: The quiet French hold on Norridgewock shattered beneath the weight of an English assault of vengeance. The attackers struck with fury, cutting through the defenses like a hot blade through butter. Smoke rose from the mission grounds as the chapel bell fell silent—its final toll drowned by musket fire. Any building bearing a French banner was set alight. This wasn’t a raid. It was a reckoning. The French defenders, caught off guard, faltered under the onslaught. By nightfall, Norridgewock lay broken, its fate sealed by English steel and bitter memory. ( English 4 – French 1 )
• Panama: Panama’s Native defenders faced a double assault—English forces were spotted marching in from the north, while Pirate crews from the coast. The clash was fierce, chaotic, and evenly matched. The native warbands withdrew from the cities, burning supply caches on their way out. By nightfall, echoes of battle faded. The English and Pirates fell back to plan for a new day of fighting.
  The citizens of Panama had long grown weary of the conflicts and invaders. Local farmers, merchants, and craftsmen, under the direction of some retired buccaneers, organized an impromptu militia. Standing defiantly, both attackers knew it would be a hard-fought battle to break the will of such a people. They both opted to withdraw. The region shifts to the Unaligned. ( English 3 – Natives 1 – Spanish 3 )

• Rhode Island: The English came in force—three ships to one—cutting across Narragansett Bay with thunder in their sails. French defenders clung to the harbor, praying for wind or providence. They received neither. A long-range cannon duel in the doldrums led to English gunnery winning the day. Rhode Island fell to the English ( English 3 – French 1 )
• Tortuga: It was meant to be a night of revelry like so many others—tankards raised, shanties echoing through the crooked alleys and taverns of Tortuga. But just past midnight, boots hit the cobbles with intent. Jacobite mercenaries, driven by coin and promises of favor from the agents of the Sun King, surged into the pirate haven like hell unleashed.
  The streets ran slick—blood mixed with rum, curses, and screams of agony filled the air. Cutlasses clashed beneath the moonlight. The Pirate crews, drunken and ineffective, were shaken and driven back from the wharf, to warehouses, to the hovels on the edge of town. The Jacobites were grim men hardened by exile and the dream of a crown lost. By dawn, dozens of dead men lined the docks, their loyalties buried beneath blood-stained cloth. The message was clear: the Scots are not to be trifled with.
  Under the noonday sun came the measured gait of a French officer—polished boots, powdered wig, coat gleaming, expression unreadable. He nodded curtly to the Jacobite commander, produced a sizeable velvet purse heavy with gems, and said in clipped tones: “France thanks you for your service…” Without flourish, he turned, leaving the mercenaries richer and the pirates licking their wounds. The island now lies under French control. ( French 4 – Pirates 3 )

Campaign Map Update At the End of Week 8

The updated map following the fighting:

Current Location Ownership by Nation

This week was extremely chaotic. I’m dealing with the chaos of this past week by simply posting the tables of the ownership from the start of Week 8 and the incoming state for Week 9 below.

Raid Actions During Week 8

Raids are a unique dynamic available to National commanders. While they pose some risk of danger to the attacker, they have a different benefit from a standard attack. Rather than transfer ownership of a territory, they transfer victory points between nations. While conquering a region gains 1 VP it leaves the location at risk for attack. A Raid can net a positive return, but it also reduces the current VP of the target nation. This results in a typical result of a 2 point swing in position between the target and attacker.

Raid Results for Week 8

As the push for the end facilitates the need to pull the leaders down, the change from attacks to Raids has increased. There were 10 Raids this week – everyone but the Pirates engaged in a raid!

	Nation	Target Nation	Location	Outcome
	Dutch	French	Aruba Rhode Island	Roll 7 – 2 Defense = 5 = +1 Dutch, -1 French Roll 9 = +1 Dutch, -1 French
	English	French	Norridgewock Rhode Island	Roll 8 = +1 English, -1 French Roll 2 = No Change
	French	Pirates	Tortuga Boston	Roll 10 – 2 Defense = 8 = +1 French, -1 Pirates Roll 3 -2 Defense = -1 French, +1 Pirates
	Natives	Spain	Campeche Cartegena	Roll 2 = No Change Roll 10 = +2 Natives, -2 Spanish
	Pirates	None	–	–
	Spanish	Natives	Costa de Mosquitos Santo Domingo	Roll 7 = +1 Spanish -1 Natives Roll 8 = +1 Spanish -1 Natives

Raid Outcome Table

Trade Actions During Week 8

As they did last week, the Dutch and English have redirected their trade efforts and redirected all funding towards their war effort against the French. (Both nations focused 2 of their 3 Commander actions on Raiding the French.)

The remaining 4 Nations have chosen to maintain their current Trade arrangements. Each nation earns 2 Victory Points.

Trading Partners

• French – Spanish
• Natives – Pirates

Current Standings at the End of Week 8

• The Dutch have risen from fhe ashes and are now tied with the French.
• The English have  alsoclawed their way back to being… Uh… competitive!  Well competive for 3rd anyway.  They are 1 pt behind France and the Dutch.
• The French have sunk to a new low. Being unable to stand against the combined might of the English and Dutch they had another dismal week of 3pts. Two of their raids being blocked by the Pirates cost them a 3 pts swing, denying them a 6pt week. ( I swear I’m not rigging dice!).
• After a successful week of full defense, the Pirates held off all raids and a few attacks. They jad so mucb territory however they couldn’t defend it all and lost 3 locations. Will holding on to the scraps they have left be enough to win or will theg have to go on offense?  That depends on the Natives!  We shall see.
• The Natives have gone on an utter rampage of conquest and are up to 9 territories – nearly 30% of the map! Only a single point separates them from the leaders.   They are within prime striking distance of winning their first-ever Summer of Plunder!  
• Spain did not fare well in the blood feud with the Natives this week. They lost ground and their border raids with the Natives were a wash.

Week 9 Weekly Objectives – “National Objective“

For the Final Week of the campaign 7/29-8/4/25 the weekly objectives were selected by each Nation’s commander. That means that each Nation’s Weekly Objectives vary by specific challenge as determined by loyalty.

Blood & Plunder Week 9 Objectives

Logo	Nation	Objective
	Dutch	Play a game using any custom scenario from Blood & Pigment.
	English	“Blood and Bombs” : Play a game where you have each of the three explosive types fielded.
	French	Use a commander with the Careful Planning ability
	Natives	“The Mountain lion is silent, patient, and deadly.“ Use the Lay in Wait setup rule to bring our opponents down ,or use a Commander with the Expert Ambushers Special Rule.
	Pirates	“Flag of Defiance”: send in a picture of your personalized flag, banner, ship, or sails on a figure or ship to represent your pirate force. Alternatively – send a picture of your self-designed pirate flag.
	Spanish	La fuerza de las armas españolas: Initiate a charge using a Hidalgo

Oak & Iron Week 9 Objectives

Logo	Nation	Objective
	Dutch	Play a game using a Timber & Sail scenario.
	English	“Blood and Bombs” : Take the Buccaneer Crew Upgrade Card on a ship within your squadron and another ship as a Fire Ship.
	French	Use an Admiral with the Clever ability
	Natives	“The Mountain lion is silent, patient, and deadly”: Use a level 2 or 3 admiral from the homebrew Native Faction shared on Timber & Sail PR – Play a scenario using the AMBUSH deployment model (#4 on pg. 68)
	Pirates	“Flag of Defiance”: Send in a picture of your personalized flag, banner, ship, or sails on a figure or ship to represent your pirate force. Alternatively, send a picture of your self-designed pirate flag.
	Spanish	La fuerza de las armas españolas:Fight a round of Close Combat using Repel Boarders Initiative Card

Port Royal Week 9 Objectives

Logo	Nation	Objective
	Dutch	Play a game using the Dangerous Territory scenario (pg 66)
	English	“Blood and Bombs”: Play a game where each player distributes 3x free grenadoes to their company before play begins
	French	Use as many officers as crew in a game.
	Natives	“The Mountain lion is silent, patient, and deadly”: Play a scenario using the AMBUSH deployment model (#4 on pg. 68)
	Pirates	“Flag of Defiance”: Send in a picture featuring a figure customized with tattoos, peg-leg, eye patch, parrot, monkey, or other unique pirate-y features. Alternatively – send a picture of your self-designed pirate flag.
	Spanish	“Flag of Defiance”: Send in a picture featuring a figure customized with tattoos, peg-leg, eye patch, parrot, monkey, or other unique pirate-y features. Alternatively, send a picture of your self-designed pirate flag.

Conclusion for the Week 8 Campaign Update

We saw a bit of a dip in participation this week with 155 entries. With fewer voters weighing in, individual entries carried significantly more influence. In several nations, the competition for the bottom slots was razor-thin—decided by margins as small as 1 to 3 points. It’s a telling reminder of how much consistent engagement and team organization can shape the final standings!

We say it every year—but this finale is truly shaping up to be a nail-biter. The campaign’s had its fair share of highs and lows, and we’ve learned plenty along the way. As organizers, we’re always taking notes to refine the experience, and we’ll be sharing a post-campaign survey to gather feedback from our players and commanders.

While we know the event hasn’t been perfect, we hope it’s brought you some fun, a deeper grasp of the rules, a few painted minis, maybe some terrain—and hopefully some new friends… or at least not too many sworn enemies.

Thanks for making it this far. Let’s finish strong, my friends!

Happy Plundering!

Article by Jason Klotz

Additional Recommended Reading

• 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
• Newly announced Objectives and Prizes for Unaligned players