Tortuga 2199 Standard Edition

Wasn't sure how the pirate theme would land but the whole table got into it by round two. The back-and-forth over who controls which planet keeps every game tense right to the end.

Played this with three friends and the pirate captain race got vicious fast, which is exactly what I wanted. The card art is gorgeous and turns flow quickly once everyone understands the influence track.

First time playing and the pirate captain bidding already had our whole table arguing in the best way. Turns move fast enough that nobody's stuck waiting, even with four of us learning the rules as we went. Grabbed the standard edition and it's plenty of game.