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Forgotten Waters, the Crossroads pirate board game, is out in the UK next week

Followed by the US in a month.

Pirate board game Forgotten Waters, the next entry in the Crossroads series, has been given a release date for the UK and US - and it’s arriving as early as next week.

Despite being postponed indefinitely in April as the result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the new release dates for Forgotten Waters - which includes a UK release on May 18th and US launch on June 5th - are two weeks earlier than estimated, publisher Plaid Hat said.

According to a blog post by the publisher, the fast-tracked release dates are a result of “high interest and demand” for the semi co-op board game.

A narrative-driven board game for three to seven players, Forgotten Waters sees its players becoming ambitious pirates hungry for treasure and infamy on the high seas. Travelling a world of danger and mystery on their own pirate ship, players must work together to manage their precious supplies and keep the crew from revolting.

Cover image for YouTube video

However, there are plenty of opportunities for players to put their own interests above those of their fellow pirates, as everyone has their own goals and desires. Before the game starts, each player must create their own pirate with a unique backstory, ambitions and motivations to help drive their actions throughout the game. Depending on how players choose to react to certain Crossroads events - which are resolved via a free companion app - they can potentially improve their stats and skills, as well as gain rewards for themselves.

Should players make poor decisions during their adventures on the high seas, they could find themselves a penniless pirate with no stories worth sharing. Despite the co-op board game elements of Forgotten Waters, everyone is looking to come out on top as the richest and most infamous pirate ever known.

Forgotten Waters is part of the Crossroads series, which began with horror board game Dead of Winter - in which players must work together to survive a zombie outbreak whilst also pursuing their own secret goals - and continued with Gen 7, a co-op board game set in outer space. Despite the differing settings and mechanics, board games in the Crossroads series all share the same key aspect of narrative decisions that affect the game’s outcome.

The design team behind Forgotten Waters includes Dead of Winter co-creator Isaac Vega, J Arthur Ellis - designer of Dead of Winter spin-off Raxxon - and Mr. Bistro, who previously worked on expandable card game Summoner Wars.

Forgotten Waters board game characters

Forgotten Waters is being published by Plaid Hat Games, the company originally behind the entire Crossroads series, including Dead of Winter and Gen7. Earlier this year, the studio returned to independence, leaving several of its most popular series and games under the control of former parent firm Asmodee. Dead of Winter is now controlled by Fantasy Flight Games, creator of unique deck game Keyforge. Meanwhile, the studio’s co-op board game Mice and Mystics and family board game Stuffed Fables are both now owned by Pandemic publisher Z Man Games.

Since becoming an indie publisher once again, Plaid Hat has announced several upcoming board games, including a new edition of Summoner Wars, a new board game from Mice and Mystics designer Jerry Hawthorne and a possible revival of expandable card game Ashes: Rise of the Phoenixborn.

Forgotten Waters will release in the UK and Nordics on May 18th, in Australia and New Zealand on May 12th, and North America on June 5th.

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Forgotten Waters

Tabletop Game

About the Author
Alex Meehan avatar

Alex Meehan

Senior Staff Writer

After writing for Kotaku UK, Waypoint and Official Xbox Magazine, Alex became a member of the Dicebreaker editorial family. Having been producing news, features, previews and opinion pieces for Dicebreaker for the past three years, Alex has had plenty of opportunity to indulge in her love of meaty strategy board games and gothic RPGS. Besides writing, Alex appears in Dicebreaker’s D&D actual play series Storybreakers and haunts the occasional stream on the Dicebreaker YouTube channel.

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