Ahoy: Fang & Fortune
Does fortune stretch like a snake?
Fang & Fortune, the second expansion for “the maritime, lighter version of Root,” is so powerful that I had to review it separately. After all, a game for 3 to 4 players is no joke! It’s like trying to fit an entire naval fleet into one review — it’s simply impossible, and we don’t want anyone to fall overboard, do we?
Snakes on a sea
It’s really one long snake, but with several heads. A hydra whose heads cannot be cut off. Playing this reptile involves spreading out across the map and trying to create an endless chain with our limbs. The sea snake also has a bird-like compulsion to move, after which it places new parts of its body. During the game, it evolves and is quickly able to strengthen its abilities. It’s also good at attacking and eating crew members from the market. That’s why you have to control its size all the time and cut it down wherever possible. I had a great time playing with it, and it may be one of my favorite factions for multiplayer gameplay. Definitely S-tier.
The coral pirates bought Queen Coraline’s colorful ship
Now try saying that a little faster. That’s how the coral pirates work. Playing them involves building a huge fleet of ships and flooding the ahoy waters with your abilities. Each type of ship they can build provides a different skill, and we will combine this with the abilities of the crew from the market. In addition, we will perform various tasks to earn extra points. This faction can be strong, and it all depends on what ship we build first. A lot also depends on luck, how our islands are arranged, and recruitment opportunities. At the moment, I’m not a fan of this faction, but I’d like to play with them more. They are a more demanding faction, considering all the abilities and proper management of your fleet. However, once they get going, they are hard to stop.
Summary
In my opinion, Fang & Fortune fixes the problem with smugglers from the basic version of “Ahoy.” They were too powerful for their gameplay and practically unstoppable in terms of scoring. However, these new factions balance everything out and make the gameplay more exciting, keeping you guessing who will win until the very end.
I have divided my review of the expansions into two parts, because AHOY plays completely differently with two players than with a larger group. With two players, it’s a duel in which we pull the scoring rope in a strong area control style. On the other hand, playing with 3 or 4 players is a simpler Vast-style game, in which the factions influence each other in interesting ways, but do not overwhelm the players with the level of possibilities.
Final verdict: I definitely can’t get enough of these awesome snakes in this awesome game!
