YMMV / Pirates Constructible Strategy Game

• Game-Breaker: There are some pieces that are disproportionally powerful in the game:
  • Firepots. Requiring a simple shooting attack, firepots inflict Damage Over Time that will eventually burn a ship and force it to scuttle. What makes firepots stand out is how quickly the flames can spread- on a roll of a d6, fire spread on a 4+ while it can only be put out on a 1 or by arriving at a home island. Compared to cannons, firepots provide more consistent and rapid spread of damage, and do not require a large volume of shots in order to destroy even the strongest ships. The rapid spread means that any ship hit by firepots is usually doomed to a slow and painful death, burning down long before reaching safety. All this for the rather miniscule price of 2 points. Firepots were eventually nerfed in Set 12 to only burn on a 5+, reducing their lethality some, but it was the only time in the game's history that a unit ever had its rules completely rewritten.
  • Submarines. Introduced in Set 7, submarines on paper aren't that intimidating- none have more than 3 cannons and were just as vulnerable to shooting as any other ship. What really made them Game Breakers was their abilities while submerged- under the water, they could not be shot and could cross any terrain, and unlike Sea Monsters (who had similar submerging rules) when they rammed something they were not only not pinned (getting a free movement away from the enemy ship), they had a chance to inflict damage on the ship they had just rammed. There is no limit to how long a submarine can remain submerged, and with only a handful of ships being able to shoot at submerged submarines a player controlling one could just keep ramming enemy ships over and over again until they were rendered derelict. And lest a player get an idea about using their own submarines to ram other submarines, being made of metal submarines are immune to ram damage. Good luck winning against an unsinkable ship that inflicts Death by a Thousand Cuts and is often far more maneuverable than your own ships.