Pirate and Traveler

Lore & Background

Pirate and Traveler was first released in 1911 by Milton Bradley. The game board, travel cards, spinner, pawns, and box art varied across editions. The game is no longer in production and is now a vintage collectible.

Reader's Guide

The game is designed for 2 to 4 players aged 7 and up, with an average playing time of 60 minutes. It falls under the categories of geography, pirate, and adventure. Gameplay involves drawing secret travel cards that dictate journeys, with movement determined by a patented Milton Bradley spinner yielding numbers from 2 to 30. Players move colored pieces called 'travelers' along routes based on railroad and steamship lines, visiting major world cities and ports. Travel cards list destination continent, country, city, and goods to collect (e.g., cotton, uranium) with point values from 10 to 100. The map includes dangers like 'Shipwrecked' or 'Eaten by Wolves' that delay travelers. After one traveler reaches 10 destinations, that player declares 'Pirates All!', initiating a piracy phase where players try to deposit goods in the Pirates Goal in Greenland while potentially robbing others. The game ends when one player safely reaches the Pirates Goal twice, and the player with the highest point total of deposited goods wins. Its significance lies in combining educational geography with competitive piracy strategy, making it a notable early 20th-century board game.

Did You Know?

• The game includes a patented Milton Bradley spinner typical of the era, with a smaller range of numbers.
• Travel cards list goods to collect, such as cotton and other period-appropriate commodities.
• The game map features dangers such as 'Shipwrecked' that can delay travelers.
• The piracy phase is initiated under specific game conditions, though the exact trigger varies by edition.