Walk The Plank board game review
From all the stories we’ve read and movies we’ve watched, there’s a lot to being a good pirate. Navigating to vast oceans, conquering other ships, keeping your crew in line, and finding treasure to name a few.
And if you turn out to not be a very good pirate, the captain might make you walk the plank.
Yep, that’s what’s about to happen in this silly board game, Walk The Plank.
Lest you worry, even though the theme seems dire, Walk the Plank is a very light and silly game that can be enjoyed by players of all ages. Just take a look at the cartoony artwork and you’ll get a sense of the silliness.
In Walk the Plank, the Captain has rounded up the lazy crew members because they aren’t worth their share of treasure. Being a noble pirate however, the captain has also said he’s willing to keep 2 of his crew.
Those lazy crew members happen to be you and your opponents and you’re fighting to stay on board while pushing the others off the end of the plank.
How to play Walk The Plank
Each player gets 3 crew member pawns and a handful of action cards of their chosen color. The player pawns start on board the ship and the 3 plank tile pieces are placed to extend out from the ship.
Each round players will simultaneously select 3 of their cards to play and places them on the table in the order they want to play them. The first player then reveals their first card and does that action. The next player then does the same and so on around the table until all players have played all 3 cards. If more than two crew member pawns are still alive, then another round begins with the player who went last in the previous round going first this round.
Play continues until there are only two or fewer pirates left on the boat or plank tiles, or until pirates of only one color remain. When one of those conditions is met, the play continues through to the end of that round. Whoever has crew member pawns still on board wins the game! But, if after that round, all pawns have gone off the end of the plank, nobody wins!
Very simple, no?
So it all comes down to the cards.
The Action Cards – The Heart of the Game
This is where the heart of the game lies. It’s the action cards and when they’re played that will determine who survives.
- “Shove Left”, “Shove Right”, and “Shove Anyone” cards let you push the pawns of neighboring players.
- “Extend the Plank” or “Retract the Plank” cards either extend your potential life or drop the end plank piece out from under you (or hopefully an opponent).
- “Drag to Sea” and “Pull to Ship” cards let you move that direction and take someone along with you.
- “Run Around” lets you move either direction.
- “I don’t wanna die” lets you move up to 2 spaces back toward the ship.
- “Charge” lets you move toward sea one space and then push someone on that space out farther.
A few of the cards (the more powerful cards), have a skull symbol on them. These cards can’t be played in two consecutive rounds. But all the rest of the cards are fair game each round. So choose wisely when to play your cards.
The great thing is that because players select 3 cards at the start of each round, you really never know what position your pawns will be in when it comes time to play your cards. You can hope and plan, but the light nature of the game really shines because of that timing element.
You could plan a great “Charge” for your second card and then find when your turn comes around that the last plank in front of you has been removed. So instead of running forward to push another player’s pawn into Davy Jones’ Locker, you rush headstrong off the end of the plank. Oops.
Can the whole family enjoy Walk the Plank?
Walk the Plank can be enjoyed by everyone in the family. It’s also another great example of a game where the younger kids, that may not employ much strategy, can beat their parents – simply because parents can’t guess what cards their kids are likely to play. Unexpected things will happen.
While the cards do have text on them, they also have great icons indicating what action will occur. So even if they can’t read yet, kids can enjoy moving their pirate crew (and other crew) around.
The game also doesn’t last very long – which is great for younger players with shorter attention spans. Of course, those are also more likely to be the players who will take offense when dad or mom pushes their pawns off the end of the plank.
How does Walk the Plank score on the “Let’s Play Again” game meter?
Walk the Plank is an easy game to set up and play again. There’s really not any set up to worry about at all. Simply put the plank tiles down, the crew pawns on the ship, and give everyone their cards. There’s not even any shuffling to worry about.
It’s also very compact and can be played anywhere. We got a cool playing mat from Mayday Games, that creates a fun seafaring setting, but it’s not necessary. You can play anywhere.
Thanks Mayday Games for a fun and light pirate family board game!
Other light family games you might enjoy:
