Throwback Postday: Pirates CSG and How I got into the Tabletop Gaming Hobby

I am once again starting another series here on the Space Dinosaur Minis blog: Throwback Postday. On any given day that strikes my fancy (don't want to limit myself to only Thursdays here), I will take a look back at the games that I used to play, or those that only get played occasionally. For the first installment of the series, we will take a trip down memory lane to the game that started it all for me: Pirates CSG. 

My old friend Ben has covered Pirates CSG on his own blog, much better than I ever could, so instead I will cover the basics and the influence it had on me as a whole. The game came packaged in booster packs of two ships, crew, treasure, an island and the rules, meaning that for $4 you could hypothetically play a game right out of the gate. The ships were punched from styrene cards and built into 3D ships, hence the CSG - constructable strategy game. 

I recieved a single pack on Thanksgiving many moons ago, and from that moment forward I was hooked. I rapidly gained a sizeable fleet, and introduced my brothers and friends to the game. Soon, pirates was the major game that we played, and I became enamoured with all things piratical, so much so that the Pirates of the Caribbean movies are still some of my favorites to this day. 

I think the 3D aspect really appealed to me, which is definitely apparent in how much I like Warhammer now. Pirates CSG served as a very good intro to tabletop wargaming, as it had all of the basics - miniatures (however simple) free movement without the shackles of a board, terrain, and battlefield objectives. So it makes sense as to why I like the hobby so much.

Sadly, like all things, Pirates CSG came to an end. The original manufacturers ceased production due to costs, and as much as we all try to hold onto things, without the constant flow of new expansions excitement tends to die down. Friends stopped playing, and with me moving off to college, I no longer had anyone to play with. I still have all of my old ships sitting in a box, and they will definitely be coming out from time to time to scratch that piratey itch.

And who knows, in the future with kids, I can introduce a whole new generation to the game...