The next project of legendary game designer Jordan Weisman is an open-world deck-building tactical RPG with a pirate romance.

If you are anything like me, then you probably spent many hours of your childhood playing BattleTech at the kitchen table while listening to the MechWarrior 2 music soundtrack on your Discman. No? No? If you are a sicko, like me, then you probably keep an eye on Jordan Weisman. He's the designer behind BattleTech, Shadowrun, Earthdawn and Crimson Skies. He has a Kickstarter campaign running until November 14th, to fund a PC game called Sea of Legends. It's based on a crowd-funded tabletop game also by Zach Weisman.

Sea of Legends is a genre mash-up. It's described as an "open-world deck-building RPG" on Kickstarter, but it also boasts a romantic system where you can woo local governors' daughters or sons to build allies and curry favor. Maybe we can win their heart in sexy bladefights?

The gameplay is centered on tactical deck-to-deck battles in an isometric grid. You use a deck card to take action with your rascally team (y'know deck to Deck deck to Deck battles). Your deck will be made up of cards for your characters. Each character has quests that you can complete in order to collect more cards and improve your card collection.

Pirates are always looking for other ships to plunder. There are many of them: troop ships, trade ships, pirates and the infamous Spanish Black Ships full of stolen gold. You can spend your loot on upgrading your ship, hiring a new crew, and buying magical items to aid you in your quest to become a Pirate King or Queen.

You might wonder how magical items fit in a pirate game, but there is a fantasy element to it. Undead conquistadors that have drunk from the fountains of youth, and a secret Kraken-worshipping cult add some spice to the rum. And honestly, if I play a pirate game without being attacked by the Kraken once or twice I am a little disappointed.

Weisman's track record is good. He funded Shadowrun Returns, a game that we thought was solid but not spectacular. He's had successful campaigns for Golem Arcana and their follow-up Shadowrun game, Shadowrun: Hong Kong. Alexis Ong wrote an excellent piece about the game in 2022, which you should definitely check out.

Sea of Legends' success will be determined by the tides of time. No, I won't be taking any questions). I will definitely check it out, assuming it is funded.