Pirate Master: The Sword of Cortés

***Pirate Master: The Sword of Cortés*** is the third season of the *Pirate Master* mini series.

## Development

The game took place over the course of one night on TBC. Rob hosted the season.

### Story

The crew for the season will board the *Picton Castle* and head to Tenochtitlan in an effort to obtain the treasure of Hernán Cortés but among the treasure is the Sword of Cortés - an unstoppable weapon when wielded that can stop a Pirate from seeking their ultimate goal.

## Format

### Expeditions

Each cycle, the contestants are divided into two crews, Black and Red. For the first expedition only, crews are randomly assigned and will nominate one to be their Captain in the event their Crew wins the Expedition.

Should the Crew with the Captain from the previous round win the Expedition, the Captain can retain their position, and has the option to replace their Officers from their current crew or choose their successor who will pick their new Officers. Should the captainless Crew win, they will elect a new Captain who will draft in their Officers. In the event of an odd-umbered round if the Captain's Crew has more members, they will give the opposing crew members +1 majority.

When there are eight players remaining in the game, only a Captain position is selected, and any current Officers are demoted. The Black Crew (including the Captain) and Red Crew continue the expedition as before, with the winning team retaining or selecting a captain.

### Pirates' Court

At the end of each cycle, there is a Pirates' Court. Prior to this Court's proceedings, the Captain distributes letters, two of which contain a black ink blot (called a "black spot"). The two contestants marked with a "black spot" are the ones nominated to be voted off and cannot take part in the voting process that follows; the Captain and his officers are not allowed to vote either. The remaining crew members then cast their votes.

The contestant with the most votes is then "cut adrift" (i.e., eliminated). In case of a tie, the captain decides which of the tied players they will cast adrift. However, if a majority of crew band together and vote for a mutiny against the Captain, then the officers will have a chance to vote; if one officer agrees to the mutiny, the Captain is cut adrift in favor of those marked with the black spot. If both Officers disagree with the mutiny, the mutiny fails, and the Captain can then choose any player (including those that did not have the Black Spot but that voted for mutiny) to be set adrift.

If the vote ties with any player with a black spot and a mutiny, the Captain can opt to choose any player (including those that did not have the Black Spot but that voted for mutiny) to be set adrift.

When there are eight players remaining, only a unanimous vote for mutiny will result in the Captain being set adrift immediately.

### Bounty

When a crew wins an Expedition they will earn a cut of the winnings. The Captain will earn 100 doubloons, their Officers will earn 50 doubloons and the remaining members of the crew will earn 10 doubloons. When eight players remain the doubloon values still remain.

### End Game

When three contestants remain, the previously cut adrift players' share of the bounty is announced. The player with the highest amount of bounty is declared **Pirate Master**.

## Twists/Changes

* **Revised Officer Rules**: Instead of two Officers during the first phase of the game, only one officer will be chosen.
* **Sword of Cortés**: Earned by completing a challenge after the Expedition, the winner of will use the Sword to replace one of the current holders of the Black Spot if they choose.

## Game History

### Crew Assignments

Each cell contains the amount of doubloons the players have in that round.

 Pirate