Pirate Olympics

A recent post got me thinking again about the Pirate Olympics, what events might be in one, and how as a community we could pull one off!

I was inspired a long time ago to start this idea from the tavern talk which the development crew takes on another in a series of player created, on the spot, channellings.

As well do the hostile nature of this game I have only been able to test a few of these ideas. If you're interested in trying them out with our crew. Engage us (without cannons) on the sea and we will try an event! Try some out with your crew!

Without any more preamble the ‘draft’ list of events in the Pirate Olympics

Sailing Race
A race an be simply a race from A to B but really sailing races include different legs to test the sailor’s skills. As a race coordinator for MIDS (Mid Ontario Regatta), I know good course setup is a pain in the ***. The simplest way to handle this is to pick an island upwind and make a loop upwind around the island and back (and pray the wind does not change). The first team back wins the race!

Foot Race
Properly the closest to the real Olympics. A good old-fashioned foot race. To set up the event you need to set up a course on the island. Some islands work better for this than others. The inclusion of spotters works well if you worried about cheaters. (If they leave of the course kill them!) If the island is small then have them do laps of the course (three is a good rule of thumb) The first player to cross the finish line wins the race.

Sword Duel
This even comes in a solo and team format but other than the rules are same. Put them in a pit and fight to the death!
Solo: 1 on 1 duels with the win being the one the comes out alive.
Team: Team vs Team with the winner being the last man standing.

Dueling Pistols
Start back to back with your opponent. Us the compass and count 10 steps then turn and fire! Only one clip and for those that like more a challenge one shot to kill your opponent. The win is the whomever kills the other first. If no one is killed it is a draw. I prefer doing this on a dock so that limits the player's side to side movement. To that end, if someone falls off the dock they forfeit.

Blind Treasure Hunt
Get a member of the crew (even better if it is a 3rd party player) to hide a chest (for hard mode hide a skull) and have the players hunt down the treasure using only a few basic clues and their wits. This can be a simple as the treasure is hidden the base of the sea turtle painting or in the form of a riddle (my favourite so far is “The treasure be in plain sight, up high, but with no path to reach but the sky”). The first player to find and return the chest is a winner.

Map Trivia
Nothing like a good brain teaser. Ask each player 3 different questions about the map. I general phrase these in the form of “If I am standing on a dock on cannon cove looking north-west which island are you looking at?” The player with the most correct guesses wins.

Capture the Chicken
Set a chicken lose on an island has a dock. The bigger the island the hard the challenge. No killing the chicken, If the chicken dies both teams lose! The first team to herd the chicken back to the dock wins!

Pirate Cannon Golf™
A twist on golf. Agree on a course involving 3 islands for a small course or 9 islands for a large course that is connected in a series (one after another). This is your golf course. Each team vote one player to be the ball. The ball must be progressed by firing them out of a cannon then picking them up and repeating the process until you get to the island. The boat should not move (in fact I would say stays anchored when the ball is aboard) As with golf it is not about finishing faster it is about who gets there with the fewest “strokes” (times the ball was fired out of the cannon) The ball is allowed to swim. Each crew should wait for the next island log the strokes before moving on to the next.

Cannon Shotput
Park the ship next to the island. This is generally best-done form one ship. Pick a landmark on the island. Keep moving the boat father back until one team can no longer hit the target. Each team member has a chance to fire and hit the target. The winner is the last team who players’ can hit the target.

Ship Fencing
Place a crew member on the prow of each ship. The objective is to knock the other team member off the other prow using only the prow of our ship. You forfeit if you sink. The first team to knock the other player into the drink (the ocean) first wins.

Shark Riding
A twist on bull riding. first off attract a bunch of sharks the more the better. Walk the plank and jump on to a back of a shark. If you are eaten (killed) by a shark you are disqualified if not you can try again. The longest ride wins. Note after the ride is over you must make it back to the ship for your time to count.

Drunken Tightrope
Align the sails of the large ship from bow to stern. Start on the top most rigging. Drink some grog, walk along the rigging and jump to next, drinking after each successful jump. You get points based on how far you get and what rigging you end up on. 3 points for the top, 2 for the mid, and 1 point for the bottom rigging. The team with the most points wins.

Running The Gauntlet
Aquire an exploding barrel (the more the better) and have a member of the crew take the barrel on to an island and start of the top of an island with a BOOM BOOM. All other members try and shoot the BOOM BOOM before the player can make it to the water. If the player makes it to the water they win. If a member crew hits the BOOM BOOM they crew wins.

I thought it would be nice to have some planned actives in SoT that didn't involve being so hostile all the time!