That’s clearly a little exaggerated… but not by much. There were at least 6-7 factors that can be pointed to that could have flipped the winner.

• Trying to resolve Map combat
  • There were 3 ties. If any one of them had gone to a different victor, there would have been a different.
  • 3 different nations had their final locations decided by less than 3 votes.
• Resolve CEDE actions … Winner B.
• Resolve Tributes… back to Winner A.
• Resolving Raids…. and it flip-flopped between A and B literally 4 times as the results were being tallied
  • If one nation hadn’t critically failed their raid, it would have flipped.
  • If one nation had had 1 point higher in their raid roll, it would have flipped.
  • If one nation had had 1 point lower in their raid roll, it would have flipped.
• Resolving Trades… oof … if those had gone differently, A or B could have won.
• Throw in the Bonus event:
  • The winner’s choice was 1 point from flipping a raid to winner B.
  • If the winner was from one of 4 other Nations, the victory would have been guaranteed to flip.

So… many factors to consider, so many variable outcomes. Enough rambling, let’s get to it.

Campaign Announcements

We have just two announcements this week:

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

We selected a winner for the “SMUGGLERS!” bonus prize event. Kristen L’s entry for the Natives was selected as the winner.
Congrats To Kristin L!

Kristin has selected to use her strategic advantage bonus to give a +3 to the Natives Raid. More on that later!

She also won a $100 gift card to Firelock Games! Sounds like someone needs a shiny new Galleon…

#2) Post Campaign Feedback Survey – COMING SOON ™

Thanks for being part of this year’s Summer of Plunder! Your crew’s energy made the event truly unforgettable. We’re already plotting the next voyage, and we want to make sure it’s smoother, sharper, and even more fun.

We’re refining what worked, enhancing the best moments, and cutting loose the bits that weighed us down. Your insights are the compass—we’d love to hear your thoughts so we can craft an experience that’s leaner, richer, and even more immersive. Keep your eyes open for an announcement about the survey — COMING SOON ™

Campaign Map Combat Results

Here are the outcomes for the week:

• Antigua: Three factions—English forces, Native allies, and Spanish defenders—engaged in a contested battle for Antigua. Despite sustained fighting, no side achieved a clear victory. As the defending power, Spain retained control under tie rules. The engagement ended with heavy losses and no change in territorial control, highlighting the limits of coalition warfare and the resilience of entrenched defense. ( English 3 – Natives 3 – Spanish 3 )
• Bonaire: Following a period of instability and territorial collapse, due to ongoing conflict, Bonaire has been reclaimed by Native forces. Their campaign to reclaim their ancestral lands proved successful, overcoming fragmented resistance and securing the island without contest. With no other factions present to oppose their advance, the territory returns to Native stewardship. ( Natives 2 – Unaligned 1 )
• Boston: The Dutch mounted an offensive to remove the Pirates from Boston and expand their influence in New England. Despite strong planning and ample resources, they encountered stiff resistance from well-entrenched pirate factions with local support. After several clashes, the Dutch failed to gain ground and withdrew. Control of Boston remains with the Pirates, while Dutch ambitions in the region are temporarily halted. ( Dutch 3 – Pirates 3 )

• Costa de Mosquitos: Taking advantage of the coastline’s strategic isolation and scant defenses, the Pirates have begun establishing a base of operations further from colonial influence. Securing fresh water and establishing nearby access points for supply and retreat with no coordinated resistance, the transition occurred swiftly, extending pirate reach further into Central American waters. With so many warriors called to fight elsewhere, the Natives in the region were unwilling to put up a significant defense. ( Natives 1 – Pirates 4 )
• Curaçao: The French staged a determined assault on Curaçao, seeking to replicate their success at Tobago. But unlike that bitter defeat, the Dutch held fast. Their lines didn’t break, their resolve didn’t waver, and local support bolstered every street fight. After days of intense fighting, the French offensive collapsed. Curaçao remained in Dutch hands—scarred but unconquered. ( Dutch 5 – French 4 )
• Jamaica: As a fleet set sail for Curaçao, a second French flotilla surged toward Kingston, hoping to break the rising will of the English, perhaps in hopes of catching the English off guard. Their goal? Not just to rattle sabers and bang canes in the halls of bureaucracy, but to unseat the heart of British Caribbean command. By dusk, French frigates peppered the harbor, while landing parties swept through sugar, indigo, and cacao estates and hillside redoubts. Panic gripped the loyal citizen. But the attempt to intimidate and strike fear into the locals and force a surrender backfired. Instead, it allowed the British the moments they needed to build hasty defenses and rally support.
  Inland forces moved quickly—militia and maroons alike were called to stand in unity. By the time the drums of the French reached the capital, a fierce counter-offensive stood defiant under the sweltering sun. The battle was fierce and bloody. Britain, not wanting to bear the shame of loss, and France, unyielding in their resolve, unwilling to be intimidated, fought bravely but eventually retreated. In the end, the city remained under British control. ( English 5 – French 4 )

• Martinique: Uncharacteristically, something unexpected unfolded in Martinique. Rather than storming another blood-soaked beach, the English approached with terms, not gunpowder.
  Governor Desjardins, wearied by weeks of losses and wary of islandwide ruin, received emissaries under a white flag at Fort Saint-Louis. The English, keen to avoid overstretch, offered generous conditions: protection for civilians, preservation of local customs, and safe passage for officers.
  By sunset, the fleur-de-lis was lowered with dignity—not defeat. Word spread swiftly across the archipelago: one island spared fire, won by diplomacy. No doubt both nations would redeploy their forces elsewhere, sparking yet another border conflict. ( English 5 – French 3 )
• Nassau: The Dutch have had enough. Intelligence reports from pirate safe havens, hidden caches, and whispered alliances confirm that there is some organizing force pulling the strings from Nassau—the pulsing heart of Caribbean lawlessness. No more treaties, no more half-measures. Vice Admiral Zac De Kleine arrived, commanding a fleet meant not to negotiate—but to erase. Dutch artillery pounds coastal batteries. Sappers and Engineers target smuggling tunnels and the decaying fort with ruthless precision. Nassau erupts in fire, smoke, and screams as the assault begins. But the town holds fast. A multinational coalition of pirate captains—Wray, Koenen, Padilla, Flynn, and Vega—rallies their forces and unleashes hell from the harbor to the hills. Sharpshooters pick off invaders from rooftops. Half a dozen fire ships tear into the Dutch ranks. Makeshift defenses become killing grounds. As day turns to night, the Dutch falter. Their landing parties are shattered. Their longboards and supply barges lay smoldering in the bay. And their commanders, stunned by the ferocity of the resistance, reluctantly order a retreat. Nassau stands defiant, scarred but unbroken. Its defenders—rogues, privateers, and outlaws—have turned the tide, making it clear that the Caribbean belongs to no empire. ( Dutch 5 – Pirates 5 )
• Onondaga: Spanish forces sweep into Onondaga with banners raised and drums echoing through the forests. Commanders declare “liberation,” promising peace and order to a land marked by chaos. Emissaries offer protection, though behind them march musketeers and caravans.
  
  The native confederacy, strained and divided, reacts cautiously. Some leaders accept Spanish oversight, hoping to safeguard tradition. Others vanish, preparing for a time when the forest may choose its own fate. Fortifications rise. Markets reopen. Chapels are rebuilt. To Madrid, Onondaga is restored. But tension simmers—quiet for now, but never far from flame. Spain takes Onodaga. ( Natives 1 – Spanish 3 )

• Panama: Panama, caught between rival ambitions, falls once more into a quiet chaos. The ragtag militia guarding its perimeter—volunteers, discharged sailors, and fortune-seekers—holds firm against foreign influence but not against the rising tide from within.
  
  Local native forces, organized and driven, surge through the jungle trails and coastal defenses with precision. Watchposts fall silent. And in a single night, Panama’s last is overrun. As dawn approaches, the militia fractures. Some vanish into the jungle, others surrender. A few are said to have escaped south, wounded but burning with vengeance, whispering of reconquest. The Natives have again secured Panama. ( Natives 3 – Unaligned 1 )
• Petit Goave: The campaign for Petit Goave begins not with cannons, but with silence. Spanish ships form a wall across the bay, anchors taut, guns ready. No merchant passes, no signal escapes. English supply lines are choked. From the town’s rooftops, anxious eyes watch the blockade tighten like a noose.
  Days stretch into a week. Fear creeps deeper. Morale cracks as Spanish infantry lands under the cover of darkness, sweeping through weakened defenses with ruthless speed. By sunrise, the English surrender. Spanish banners rise, trade resumes under Iberian control, and Petit Goave is theirs. ( English 1 – Spanish 4 )

• St Thomas: St. Thomas, long a battleground between pirates and native factions, sees its tide shift once more. After weeks of ambushes, sabotage, and bitter skirmishes across jungle paths and coastal trails, the natives falter. Pirate forces, hardened and opportunistic, press the advantage with relentless strikes. For now, the realm is under the control of the sea rovers. ( Natives 1 – Pirates 3 )
• Tortuga: Dutch frigates close in on Tortuga’s coast, aiming to wrest it from the French. Their fleet, led by a squadron of heavily armed Fluyts, sails taut and guns primed.
  The French response is swift. Sleeker ships, hardened crews, and superior positioning turn the bay into a gauntlet. The wind shifts, and the favor swings to the defenders, and for hours, broadsides rip across the waves. Flames lick the rigging. Masts splinter. One Dutch vessel founders, then another, and soon they all limp away under battle-torn sails. No landfall is made. Tortuga remains in French hands—its defenses intact. ( Dutch 2 – French 3 )

Cede Actions During Week 9

We had not 1 but 2 different CEDE actions in Week 9. Diplomacy and backdoor dealings were held. The Dutch and the French both opted to cede a territory in the final week in a kingmaking effort.

Facing mounting resistance and shifting priorities, the Dutch relinquish control of Natchez to Native forces in a bold diplomatic maneuver. Rather than continue costly conflict, they offer the territory as a gesture of goodwill—hoping to foster stable trade routes and gain access to inland resources.

Native leaders accept the transfer with measured skepticism, wary of ulterior motives but intrigued by the opportunity. Market lanes reopen, emissaries are exchanged, and Dutch merchants arrive under guarded escort. Natchez is now under Native control.

The Dutch CEDE Natchez to the Natives.

Despite sinking coffers and scorched diplomacy, the French yield Tortuga—not to rivals, but to rogues. After fending off Dutch ambitions, their supplies dwindle. Fight a losing battle, they opt to curry favor with others and let their realms fall into t he hands of anyone but the English or Dutch.

Rather than let the Dutch take advantage, they cut their losses and strike an uneasy accord with the pirates, ceding the isle in return for guarantees: no raids on French shipping, shared intelligence on enemy movements, and shadow access to contraband markets. The pirates—half amused, half opportunistic—accept with swagger. Tortuga transforms overnight from embattled colony to autonomous haven. Its taverns hum with languages not found in diplomacy. Tortuga is now a new Pirate haven.

The French CEDE Tortuga to the Pirates.

Campaign Map Update At the End of Week 9

Current Location Ownership by Nation

Here is the snapshot of the before and after on ownership:

Raid Actions During Week 9

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 9

There were four Raids this week – everyone but the Natives and Pirates engaged in a raid.

	Nation	Target Nation	Location	Outcome
	Dutch	Pirates	Cayman Isles	Roll 2 -2 Defense = 0 = -2 Dutch, +2 Pirates
	English	French	Martinique	Roll 8 -2 Defend = 6 = +1 English, -1 French
	French	None	–	–
	Natives	Spanish	Antigua	Roll 8 – 2 Defense +3 Bonus Event = 9 = +1 Natives, -1 Spanish
	Pirates	Natives	St Thomas	Roll 7 = +1 Pirates, -1 Natives
	Spanish	Natives	Vera Cruz Campeche Costa de Mosquitos	Roll 4 = +1 Spanish -1 Natives Roll 6 = +1 Spanish -1 Natives Roll 6 = +1 Spanish -1 Natives

Raid Outcome Table

Trade Actions During Week 8

The shipping lanes in the Caribbean and Americas are in total disarray this week. With open war raging across all fronts, nearly every nation abandoned its long-term allies in a power grab for its own glory.

Only two nations engaged in trade this week, and neither of the trade deals was reciprocated.

Trading Partners

• Natives traded with the Pirates
• Pirates traded with the French

These two Nations will gain 1 Victory Point each.

TRIBUTE Actions During Week 9

For the first time in this campaign, we saw a Tribute Action taken by a Commander. A Commander can choose a TRIBUTE action to transfer up to 3 Victory Points (per week) from their nation to another nation.  This can be used as a way to facilitate diplomacy and alliances.  (e.g., Spain offers to give the French 2 Victory Points to not raid any of their Location for 3 weeks; The English offer the Pirates 2 VP to raid the Dutch for the next two weeks).

This final week, France, abandoning all hope of winning, opted to give 3 VP to the Natives in an attempt to push them over the finish line to their first-ever victory during the Summer of Plunde…but was it enough???

Final Standings at the End of Week 9

• The Dutch: Last year’s champions found themselves on the defensive from the outset. Whether it was lingering envy or just bad luck, they took heavy hits week after week. Despite the uphill battle, they rallied to finish with 6 territories and a solid 65 points. Without one ill-fated raid, they would have tied the English—a reminder of how razor-thin the margins can be.
• The English: Their opening weeks were rough—outmaneuvered, outplayed, and out of sync. The largest player base, coordinating the troops was difficult and it took a bit to come to a strategy that worked. Diplomatic overtures went cold, and multiple factions turned them into a convenient punching bag. Around Week 4 or 5, France’s actions tipped the scales, and with little left to lose, the English went all in, joining the Dutch in a relentless campaign against the French.
• France: It all started so well. Bolstered by an alliance with Spain and a commanding early position, France looked destined for a top-three finish. But then came the rupture—expectations clashed with reality, communication broke down, and momentum slipped away. The final weeks became a cascade of targeted raids and territorial losses, as Dutch and English forces focused their fury almost entirely on France. Still, French players held their heads high with grace and resilience, and diplomacy. Even in defeat, their narratives remained compelling. They engaged with the Unaligned repeatedly and made things interesting.

• The Natives and the Spanish: From the outset, these two seemed locked in a blood feud. What sparked the initial conflict remains unclear to me, but it was thematically fitting. Spain struggled to find a stable footing. Every time they gained ground, another nation launched a fringe attack that knocked them back down or their voting plans went sideways, sabotaging themselves from within. Despite their resilience and tenacity, they couldn’t reclaim their former glory and dominance of years past.
• The Natives, meanwhile, stayed laser-focused. They didn’t get drawn into political entanglements or distracted by shifting allegiances. Instead, they steadily advanced, grinding out victories with disciplined offense. Long regarded as underdogs in the Summer of Plunder, 2025 could be their year for a breakout victory. In a surprising twist, both the Dutch and the French threw their support behind them in the final week, offering tribute and ceding territory to aid their ascent.
• The Unaligned and Scottish: We struggled with how to integrate them into the campaign, and we almost pulled them as an option. I’m glad we didn’t. The Scottish mercenaries and unaligned players added a fun element to the campaign I hope I did their narratives justice in the storytelling. Special thank you to Josiah Huss for stepping up midway through the campaign and filling the role as commander.
• The Pirates: Always the wild card. Over the years, they’ve seen a parade of commanders, each with distinct strategies and styles. True to form, their campaign runs are always unpredictable—rising and falling like waves on the high seas. This year, they leaned even further into their democratic roots. Led by Commander Daniel, decision-making became a common effort, with objectives and targets put to a vote via Discord polls. Every crew member had a say in shaping the Pirate Republic’s course.
  That unity amid chaos proved powerful. They hovered in first or second place through most of the campaign, expanding strategically while avoiding prolonged conflict with any single rival. Their steady gains and political savvy paid off…
  
  The winner of the Summer of Plunder 2025 is … the PIRATES! Congrats to their crew for a hard-fought victory. They squeaked out a win by a single point in the last hours.

More to Come

Look for the Final Player update post

Final Thoughts on the Campaign

“This is the end…. Turn out the lights… the party’s over… You don’t have to go home, but you can’t stay here…”

The end of the Summer of Plunder is always bittersweet. On one hand, seeing the flood of photos, reading game reports, and watching the community come alive makes me want to keep the momentum rolling. On the other hand… my wife’s patience wears thin, and my eyes and brain weren’t exactly built for those 2–3 a.m. marathons—writing updates, managing bonus events, and keeping the local campaign afloat amidst the usual chaos of real life.

Still, it’s worth every bit of it. Now comes the time to wind things down, reflect, and start shaping what’s next. I’m looking forward to refining what worked, clearing out what didn’t, and bringing something fresh to the table next year.

As this year’s campaign draws to a close, I want to extend a heartfelt thank-you to everyone who took part. Whether you were a player, commander, sponsor, or a quiet observer from the sidelines—your involvement mattered. You brought strategy, creativity, and a healthy dose of chaos to every corner of the map. The continued growth and vibrant participation are proof that, even five years in, the winds of plunder still blow strong.

Thank you for your time, your energy, and your feedback. It’s the fuel behind everything we build next.

Let’s keep the spirit alive—keep playing, keep sharing, and keep growing your local crews into thriving communities of adventure. The game’s better because of the stories you tell together.

Until then—stay sharp, stay bold, and keep your powder dry. The next chapter is already on the horizon.

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