Strategy commentary by VikingBear

This week on Pirate Master, I realized a game rule that I should have realized all along! Red Crew and Black Crew are evenly divided by gender. When composing the Black Crew and Red Crew, the pirates draw shot from a bag. Red shot means Red Crew and black shot means Black crew. Have you noticed that women draw from one bag and men draw from another bag?

Captain and officers, as always, form the core of Black Crew. Azmyth, Ben, and Jay took their black sashes to begin the choosing of the crews. Our host set out the two bags of shot - but he told us that, for the men, it was just a formality. I hadn’t realized that! But there you are: The men get divided between the two crews as evenly as possible. And therefore, of course, the women also get divided as evenly as possible.

With male captain and officers already on Black Crew, the other two men automatically became part of Red Crew. That fact shows us a way for the women to completely take over the ship! The five women, as of now, can put themselves in the final five, and there is nothing the men can do about it. I hope they’re listening! (more…)

Strategy commentary by VikingBear

This week on Pirate Master, Louie became Pirate Captain. It was payback time! Joe Don got the black spot, and in case he bought the Royal Pardon, Louie spotted Cheryl right next to him. Joe Don bought the Pardon, but by majority vote, Cheryl was cast adrift.

What does all this mean? How might we expect to see the pirates play each other? I’m constantly comparing Pirate Master to Big Brother and to Survivor, to see what insights I can see. Pirate Master is new, but there are similarities that can help us.

I see both Survivor and Big Brother as games of social chess. We have the opening moves, and then a distinct transition to the middle game. Late in the season there is usually a specific point we can see the remaining players step into the end game. The end game has strategies all of its own!

I expect that next week on Pirate Master, we will see the transition to middle game. Somebody will get a clue and begin thinking “outside the box.” Alliances may form for some strategic purpose. For some it will be “sail under the radar as long as I can,” and for others it will be Game On. Someone may figure out that Game On doesn’t necessarily mean winning the competition!

What of Louie? Louie will make somebody a good loyal ally. His vendetta with Joe Don may or may not be over. It started when Christian became the second pirate cut adrift. Louie has the entitlement mentality, and he is probably not the only one on the ship who thinks that way. They were told the pirates code says the captain gets half the treasure. Louie doesn’t see it that way. Share and share alike is the only thing he sees as fair. He’s entitled to every bit as much treasure as anyone else on the winning team. (more…)

Strategy commentary by VikingBear

This week Pirate Master brought another transfer of power. Azmyth, Jupiter, and Jay are out. Louie, Nessa, and Sean are in. Yo ho ho! Or is it ho hum? Let’s look at what’s missing, and look at how things could become very interesting as the season unfolds.

On Pirate Master, there are many things which don’t quite add up, as I’ll show in a moment. That means things are going to change or shift as the season progresses. It’s the first season, with brilliantly unique rules and setting. The pirate crew hasn’t really figured out what to do with themselves, except follow the host’s direction like sheep.

Pirate Master is more akin to Big Brother so far as the rules go, but looks more like Survivor. The Pirate Captain is the Head of Household, and does house guest nominations in the form of The Black Spot. We now have Survivor’s Hidden Immunity Idol which must be played without knowing how the votes have been cast. It’s a brilliant combination… so what’s missing?

What we’re missing is the one-on-one competitions. At this point in a Survivor season, the tribes compete against each other - but they generally compete one-on-one against an opposing tribe member. The individual performance and angst is more fun to watch than a horde of pirates jogging up the hill.

On Big Brother, of course, we have the “big brother” concept of listening in on everyone 24/7. I don’t expect that to be duplicated on another show. On the contrary, we’ll be giving you daily coverage, commentary, and evil suggestions for back stabbing the other house guests! Big Brother has endless (and usually silly) one-on-one competitions, and they are fun to watch. (more…)

Scoreboard by VikingBear
June 16, 2007

This week on Pirate Master, we saw a changing of the guard. Captain and officers always form the start of the black crew, and everyone else draws a red or black shot to determine their place in the next treasure competition. It’s starting to look like whoever makes it to shore first wins the competition, and basically controls the game.

Both crews follow identical maps along an identical route with identical challenges. The second crew can simply follow the first crew - but they have to individually find things and solve puzzles. The first crew to get to the sabotage point gets to slow down the second crew. All in all, the key seems to be in getting to the shore first. Alexis continued her realization that Dude, this is like work, always pulling ropes and stuff. She saw to it that her crew, the black crew, got to shore last. Red crew won!

When red crew wins, everything changes. Captain Joe Don was suddenly at risk for the Black Spot. However, his man Jay became one of Captain Azymuth’s officers, and Jay got Cheryl put up for the spot rather than Joe Don. Although Azymuth seems in a strong position short term, Jay’s protection of Joe Don puts Jay Number One. Jay’s in good with both of the power brokers.

Red crew seemed to fit together with each other quite well. For that reason, I’m ranking most of Red Crew above most of Black Crew. It’s a social game, and Red Crew seems to be winning that in addition to the treasure of the week.

Jay Hatkow
Current Ranking: 1 Previous Ranking: 6
Jay seems to have squirmed out of his difficulties of last week, and landed on top of the heap. Without his influence Joe Don would probably be gone. It may not have been wise for him to have told Cheryl at Pirates Council that he was responsible for her black spot. His ability may keep him on top, but his mouth may get him cut adrift far too soon. (more…)

Strategy commentary by VikingBear

This week on Pirate Master, the tides have shifted! Captain Joe Don and his officers have been turned before the mast. Azymuth is now the Pirate Captain with officers Jupiter and Jay. Has this made a difference? It sure has! Azymuth chose to divide the treasure equally rather than keeping half for himself.

Captain Joe Don kept half the treasure as his captain’s share, and his two officers split an additional quarter. The rest of the winning black crew divided up the final quarter. This happened twice, with $85,000 worth of actual take-it-home treasure. Joe Don kept the officers separate from the crew, set Jay as bosun over the crew, and kept the best of the food for captain and officers. This was great to see, because it was more or less historically accurate.

Historical accuracy isn’t everything! Pirates in bikinis? If that ever happened, it would be only for a moment! Captain Joe Don’s division of treasure did not set well with the American “share and share alike” entitlement mentality. Pirate Master, like Survivor and Big Brother, is a social game. It’s about winning, but it’s the other crew members that allow you to win.

Precisely seven years ago on the first season of Survivor, Richard Hatch created a strategy that was to become the goal for all future seasons, and variations have appeared in many other reality shows including Big Brother. This is the first season of Pirate Master. Azymuth is positioned to invent the Pirate Master strategy. Let me suggest what that strategy might be. I wonder if Azymuth is listening!

Remember that Pirate Master began the same day as the first season of Survivor did seven years ago. We are watching things unfold in lock step with that original season. Pirate Master is beginning a bit slow, in my opinion, but the potential is there. Shall we play a game? (more…)

Episode 3 recap by VikingBear

Previously on Pirate Master, sixteen ordinary Americans left their lives behind. The treasure they seek is of legendary pirate Captain Henry Steel. He and his crew hid the treasures in 1726. The secrets lie in the legendary Chest of Zanzibar. Each week the pirates who find the loot may keep what they find, or use it as they see fit.

When the pirates last set sail, resentment towards Captain Joe Don boiled over. How do you like sleeping in your gold bed on top of your gold treasure. The pirates were divided into two new crews. One crew will return with the treasure and one will not.

Christian is a big guy but a slow guy. He slowed the red crew down.

Azymuth, on the black crew, was the key to finding the treasure. He found the compass plate and the treasure chest itself, after the team as a whole braved the snake pit. Back on the ship, they counted out the treasure. It was $45,000. Captains share was half, $22,500. The two officers shared a quarter, that is, one eighth each. The rest of the black crew split the remaining quarter. This has been the split twice in a row, so is probably how every treasure will be split until the end.

Because the black crew won, Joe Don remained Pirate Captain. He hired Jay as his bosun in charge of the crew. Jay, he said it wasnt a bribe. It was a bribe. (more…)