Board Game Arena

All Hand on deck! Batten down the hatches and embark on a dicey adventure. Ye start with 5 Doubloons and 10 Lives. Savvy? In this fast-paced pirate dice game, ye will attack and steal from yer sworn enemies while defending yerself and looting the buried treasure! Argghhh!
 
Pirate mode off…
 
There are 6 Booty Dice. On your turn, you may roll up to 3 times. You may roll all or some of the dice each time. Once you are done rolling, you must resolve all the actions, in the order shown, on the Booty Dice.
 
To win, you must amass 25 gold doubloons or be the last remaining pirate. But beware! Mutiny and shipwrecks abound on the high seas. Will you walk the plank and feed the fish? Will you plunder another pirate and steal his doubloons? Only time will tell.
 
Pirate mode back on…
 
Hoist the Jolly Roger, weigh anchor and set sail for adventure! Call each other scallywags and scurvy dogs. Shiver me timbers! Run a tutorial! Whatever you decide, your fate lies in the roll of the Booty Dice: https://boardgamearena.com/gamepanel?game=bootydice
 
We would like to thank Eric Olsen, the game designer, as well as Messy Table Games, the publisher, for giving us the opportunity to play Booty Dice on BGA. And also, a big thank you to BanBan who developed the BGA version.
 
This was your Monday release.
Whether you choose to speak like a pirate or not, keep one thing in mind: take care and play fair…

It’s not Savvy? It’s Sabe? Spanish for Do you understand?

Infinitum3D wrote: ↑13 January 2026, 00:28 It’s not Savvy? It’s Sabe? Spanish for Do you understand?

Only if you speak Spanish. Maybe. To the English-speaking pirates of the world, it's "saavy"!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEYoe7MuFUE

Infinitum3D wrote: ↑13 January 2026, 00:28 It’s not Savvy? It’s Sabe? Spanish for Do you understand?

I’ve consulted several dictionaries and they all have “savvy” as a verb meaning “to understand” and none of them list “sabe” as a word at all. Merriam-Webster even includes a usage note beginning:

Merriam Webster wrote: While the noun savvy, meaning "practical know-how" (as in "her political savvy"), and the adjective use (as in "a savvy investor") are more common, the verb savvy is the oldest of the trio. (If you associate it with Captain Jack Sparrow of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, you'll be pleased to know his use—as in, "I'm Captain Jack Sparrow. Savvy?"—is not anachronistic; the verb was the only savvy option extant in the movies' early 18th-century setting.)

You’re mostly right about its origins (though it comes from Portuguese “sabe” rather than Spanish), but as an English word it is definitely “savvy”.

well that was productive. i get no idea about game quality but the literary lesson was good. (says the guy who uses NO capitals or good grammer./spelling)

BarnardsStar wrote: ↑13 January 2026, 08:15 You’re mostly right about its origins (though it comes from Portuguese “sabe” rather than Spanish), but as an English word it is definitely “savvy”.

I'm guessing they both have the same underlying etymology because the infinitive in Spanish is "saber," and "sabe" is also the Spanish third-person singular form.

Meeplelowda wrote: ↑04 February 2026, 20:52

BarnardsStar wrote: ↑13 January 2026, 08:15 You’re mostly right about its origins (though it comes from Portuguese “sabe” rather than Spanish), but as an English word it is definitely “savvy”.

I'm guessing they both have the same underlying etymology because the infinitive in Spanish is "saber," and "sabe" is also the Spanish third-person singular form.

As they are closely-related Romance languages, I have no doubts you are right.