Pirate Master - Ep. 1: "I Want That Treasure"

Cafe Society
41

Robot Arm, have you been on the actual boat for the show? I can’t seem to find the post where your familiarity with it is explained. Please indulge my curiosity.

Scuba_Ben, great job on the booty redistribution scheme. That’s exactly what I meant when I said that the captain needs to start spending if he wants to remain captain.

The problem with constant changing of captains is that the first captains have the benefit of being able to get away with keeping all the loot until the crew wisens up. If J-B gets replaced by some other random captain, then he just got away with keeping all his share. If he has to keep his position, it won’t be long until the crew figures he already got enough and has to go. Unless he starts to better distribute wealth, of course.

The player ranking table needs a “jumping the shark” title. Maybe a honorable mention to players who quickly drop through it.

42

I’m wondering: is the million dollar prize simply the total of the amounts in the treasure chest, or will someone get a million dollars on top of whatever booty he gets along the way?
As for alliances, I think that they will happen all the same. Yes, they will be reshuffled for each treasure hunt, but that’s a tiny part of the time. All the rest of the time (I’m assuming) everyone will be together on the boat. I can see a lot of “I’ll promise to not vote for you before the (some number) level if you promise not to vote for me.”

Which could get messy if you’ve made individual packs with a bunch of people (as you likely should) and three of them happen to be ‘spotted’ at the same time.

Hmm. Probably a good thing would be to make a smallish group alliance – a foursome or sixsome, and try to use it as a voting block.

43

Meh…the show was ok…entertaining if nothing else is on, but I don’t think I’ll be waiting for it with baited breath every week.

I thought John would have been better off asking the captain where the oh-so-important compass was and then point out his ineptness to the rest rather than trying to hold the entire crew ransom. The “keep me or I’ll screw you over” play has never really worked out.

I like the idea of constantly changing teams, and I wonder if the crew mutinied if they’d then all get to split the captains share?

The revelation that the captain gets so large a share of the loot means that the election of the ships captain at the end of each treasure hunt is going to be much more cut throat. That is where you’ll see alliances…“You vote for me for captain, and I’ll name you one of the officers”

I liked the little sabatoge aspect to the treasure hunt…and the fact that it didn’t really delay the other team all that much.

44

[QUOTE=silenus]
Don’t the officers have to go along with the mutiny? I think I heard that explained last night. So as long as the Captain makes sure the officers get their share of the booty, and doesn’t turn into a total asshole, he/she ought to be fairly safe.
[/QUOTE]
I thought they said that, too – it will be interesting to see what happens the first time a mutiny is attempted. It doesn’t seem fair to me that two people’s votes (the Officers’) would trump everyone else’s votes, but then again, I’m not a genius like Burnett, so who knows?

Kind of curious to see whether any of the usual sort of strategic politics will enter into anything once the Pirates get further into the game. How long will it take for players to realize that it might not necessarily be a bad idea to make a difficult opponent an Officer to keep them in line? It might not be a good idea, either, but at some point (maybe around Episode 5 or 6), the relative luxury of the Officers’ Quarters might be pretty tempting (especially if the loot is not being shared).

I have no objections, although I do humbly offer the following alternative categories:[ul]
[li]Walkin’ the Plank – those pirates who have been cut adrift[/li][li]Drinkin’ with the Bilge Rats – not yet thrown overboard, but only a matter of time[/li][li]Swabbin’ the Decks – not quite hopeless, but not officer material[/li][li]Riggin’ the Mizzenmast – middle of the lot players[/li][li]Mappin’ the Treasure – players who know where the bodies are hidden, and maybe trying to poison the captain’s parrot[/li][li]Takin’ the Helm – hoisting the Jolly Roger and sailing off towards the sunset[/li][/ul]But your list is good, too. I’m going a little bananas with the fake pirate terminology, here. Must be all the undead pirate monkeys.

45

rockle, I agree with your list, except I suggest using mainmast instead of mizzenmast. Perhaps we can use “Hoistin’ th’ Mainsail”?

Ye be developin’ th’ right attytude, rockle. Ever think about yieldin’ to th’ siren call o’ the sea (and skill based puzzles), and turning pirate? I could use a lassie like ye in me crew.

(Erk. Must keep pirate dialect on the pirate game board.)

46

[QUOTE=Scuba_Ben]
rockle, I agree with your list, except I suggest using mainmast instead of mizzenmast. Perhaps we can use “Hoistin’ th’ Mainsail”?

Ye be developin’ th’ right attytude, rockle. Ever think about yieldin’ to th’ siren call o’ the sea (and skill based puzzles), and turning pirate? I could use a lassie like ye in me crew.

(Erk. Must keep pirate dialect on the pirate game board.)
[/QUOTE]

Total hikjack based on believeing you are local to me:

Have you been to the Pirate themed restaurant in Silver Spring?

47

[QUOTE=brownie55]
Total hikjack based on believeing you are local to me:

Have you been to the Pirate themed restaurant in Silver Spring?
[/QUOTE]
Not yet. I found out about Piratz Tavern in last week’s Washington Post. Perhaps we should go into MPSIMS and discuss holding a DC Dopefest there?

48

I didn’t watch it. I have some of the same feelings as Rube E. Tewesday about the whole pirate thing, with the exception of the song “A Pirate Says Arrr” from The Backyardigans, but that’s mostly because you just haven’t seen cute until you’ve seen my kids dancing and singing to this.

Where was I? Oh, yeah. I wandered into this thread to see if the phrase “dirty pirate hooker” had been tossed about yet.

49

I had a random thought about show design: In the first episode, the teams were picked randomly. I’d set up the show so that in subsequent episodes, the Captain picks the teams, possibly with limits that the teams must be nearly even and that the Captain and both officers can’t all be on one team.

50

[QUOTE=StarvingButStrong]
I’m wondering: is the million dollar prize simply the total of the amounts in the treasure chest, or will someone get a million dollars on top of whatever booty he gets along the way?
[/QUOTE]
If I recall correctly from the TV Guide preview, there is a $500,000 prize for the winner. So, I’m betting it’s a million total, will half spread out and half to the winner.

For me, the only disappointment in the show was that it wasn’t wide screen and high definition. In the TVG special, Burnette made a point about his shows having a definable quality of being “big” because that’s what primetime demands. Things like broad panoramic shots of islands and boats and whatnot. And yet, when the technology is easily available and CBS can and does broadcast HD programming, he opts for the little box of standard definition. It frankly surprised me.

51

[QUOTE=Sapo]
Robot Arm, have you been on the actual boat for the show? I can’t seem to find the post where your familiarity with it is explained. Please indulge my curiosity.
[/QUOTE]
I was a trainee on the ship for about six weeks just this past winter. That’s kind of a short stay for this ship, some people sign on for 18-month, round-the-world trips. I was on board from Lunenburg, Nova Scotia (her home port) to Grenada. There were a couple threads on it; I’ll post links when I get home, or a search for “Picton Castle” will probably find them. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.

From what I’ve read, it’s one million, total over the course of the show, with half of that as the last treasure going to whoever finds it.

I suggested some rankings in another thread, but they did lack a certain poetry. My comments in red:

[quote=rockle]
[ul][li]Walkin’ the Plank – those pirates who have been cut adrift[/li][li]Drinkin’ with the Bilge Rats – not yet thrown overboard, but only a matter of time No rats on this ship; see my comments re: Chibley. And drinking with sailors at a beachfront bar is about as good as it gets.[/li][li]Swabbin’ the Decks – not quite hopeless, but not officer material[/li][li]Riggin’ the Mizzenmast – middle of the lot players Done that, too.[/li][li]Mappin’ the Treasure – players who know where the bodies are hidden, and maybe trying to poison the captain’s parrot Cat. The captain has a cat. And anybody who hurts Chibley gets his ass kicked in any port in the world.[/li][li]Takin’ the Helm – hoisting the Jolly Roger and sailing off towards the sunset[/ul][/li][/quote]
You don’t “hoist the mainsail” on this ship, may I suggest “setting the royals” instead. And the highest ranking, maybe reserved for the last episode, is “X marks the spot”.

Not yet, were you hoping to claim the title?

52

[QUOTE=Scuba_Ben]
rockle, I agree with your list, except I suggest using mainmast instead of mizzenmast. Perhaps we can use “Hoistin’ th’ Mainsail”?

Ye be developin’ th’ right attytude, rockle. Ever think about yieldin’ to th’ siren call o’ the sea (and skill based puzzles), and turning pirate? I could use a lassie like ye in me crew.

(Erk. Must keep pirate dialect on the pirate game board.)
[/QUOTE]
I’m agreeable to this. To all of it, actually. I’d rather like to be a pirate, I think. And “The Dread Pirate rockle” has rather a nice ring to it. Er … arrrrrrr.

Anyway, without further ado, here are this week’s

DREAD PIRATE ROBERTS RANKIN’s (captions updated slightly based on info provided by our resident swashbuckler, Robot Arm):

WALKIN’ THE PLANK - Cut adrift and left for dead in Davy Jones’s locker
John - Alas, this scurvy dog with a chin pointier than a pirate’s peg leg couldn’t even steal another day aboard the Picton Castle. And he deserved it, too, just for being ass enough to use the word “vainglorious” in his own bio (even if he did spell it correctly).

DRINKIN’ WITH THE BILGE CAT - Up all night, got into a fight, and now so broke up they just might go home
No one yet (I’ll be generous, since it’s the first week)

SWABBIN’ THE DECKS - Sleep well, they’ll most likely kill you in the morning
Joy - First one to puke is a lily-livered landlubber!
Louie - Looking like Rupert will win you some fans at home, but talking smack about your Captain won’t win you any bounty or breadfruit.

SETTIN’ THE ROYALS - Too sexy for the Poop Deck, but not quite ready for the Lido Deck
Everyone else except J.D., Ben, and Cheryl.

MAPPIN’ THE TREASURE - Knows where the bodies are buried and ready to take the wheel
J.D. - His team clearly liked and/or trusted him since they put him in charge, but may end up like Captain Bligh if he doesn’t treat the crew better.
Ben - Picked to be an Officer by J.D., so he has at least one ally … for now
Cheryl - Picked to be an Officer by J.D., so she has at least one ally … for now

TAKIN’ THE HELM - Hoisting the Jolly Roger and sailing off towards the sunset (will be changed to “X MARKS THE SPOT” when the eventual winner is determined - reserved for a maximum of two players until the final episode)
No one yet (no one was impressive enough this first week)
Props to mullinator, zut, et al.

53

[QUOTE=rockle]
I’m agreeable to this. To all of it, actually. I’d rather like to be a pirate, I think. And “The Dread Pirate rockle” has rather a nice ring to it. Er … arrrrrrr.
[/QUOTE]
Check your email.

54

It ws OK, the best part was real fucking gold coins, right there.

And yes, the Cap’t should have distributed some extra booty.
**
Robot Arm**: got a link how any of us could get on such a cruise or similar ship?

I do wish they would feed them period food- hardtack, saltbeef, etc.

55

[QUOTE=DrDeth]
Robot Arm: got a link how any of us could get on such a cruise or similar ship?
[/quote]
A good place to start would be the American Sail Training Association. They’ve got links to at least a hundred ships.

And the Picton Castle has their own web site, with upcoming schedules and how to apply. They’re sailing up the east coast now, then around Newfoundland (I think), and probably starting the fifth world voyage next spring. Be careful calling it a “cruise”, though; you will be expected to work. Sometimes that’s cool, like going into the rigging to unfurl the sails, and sometimes it’s cleaning the heads or washing dishes in cold saltwater.

You may get your wish. Maybe not hardtack, but I hear the crew is in for a lot of porridge while the officers eat pretty well.

56

[QUOTE=Robot Arm]
I was a trainee on the ship for about six weeks just this past winter. That’s kind of a short stay for this ship, some people sign on for 18-month, round-the-world trips. I was on board from Lunenburg, Nova Scotia (her home port) to Grenada. There were a couple threads on it; I’ll post links when I get home, or a search for “Picton Castle” will probably find them. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.
[/QUOTE]

Very cool.
DrDeth, right on with the gold coins. Are the real real? or just prop real?

57

[QUOTE=Robot Arm]
There were a couple threads on it; I’ll post links when I get home, or a search for “Picton Castle” will probably find them.
[/QUOTE]
Here’s me asking for advice about taking the trip.

Before, during, and after the trip itself.

And a heads-up about the show.

58

rockle , how did I know you would be at the bow of this particular ship?

Love the Roberts Rankings, even love your attempt at pirate-speak! You are the Queen of Reality!

Anyhoo–random observations:

The first second I saw Louie, I said to Mrs. Know, “Oh look, Rupert’s idiot brother!”

After John revealed that he stole the two compasses, I was really impressed with JD’s calm demeanor as he basically told John to stick them in his poopdeck. Apparently so was the rest of the crew.

Nobody else really stood out on the first show, but I see we have our requisite “person who has no business being on this type of show” in Joy. Why even apply for a show on a ship if you are prone to motion sickness?

Oh, one other question: Which one is supposed to be Calypso? :stuck_out_tongue:

59

[QUOTE=want2know]

After John revealed that he stole the two compasses, I was really impressed with JD’s calm demeanor as he basically told John to stick them in his poopdeck. Apparently so was the rest of the crew.

[/QUOTE]

It is odd he was allowed to do that.

60

[QUOTE=want2know]
rockle , how did I know you would be at the bow of this particular ship?
[/QUOTE]
Thanks! Although most of that stuff was borrowed from other sources, like the Beach Boys, “The Princess Bride,” “Mutiny on the Bounty,” what little I remember of John Louis Stevenson books, “The Love Boat,” and Popeye cartoons.