The gimmick in this game is a symmetrical box with two compartments. Move around the board, collect gems, and hide them in one compartment, but try to remember which compartment so that when the pirate shows up, you can show him the empty compartment so that your gems won't be stolen. Various events cause your box to be rotated, giving the game a bit of a "shell game" feel. Depending on the roll of the die, sometimes players take the role of a sailor trying to collect gems, and sometimes players take the role of Pirate Pete, out to inspect the compartments of other sailors.

As you would expect from a Haba game, the game components are all top-notch. The game really succeeds on a thematic level. My kids enjoy the game as a pirate role-playing game. It's fun to control Pirate Pete, and to land on another player, saying in a low voice, "Hey sailor, are you trying to steal my booty?". The main flaw with the game is that if you have the memory capacity to remember which compartment your treasure is in, the game is pretty trivial; on the other hand, if you don't have that memory ability, then the game goes on forever and gets quite frustrating as your treasures keep getting stolen by the pirate. There doesn't seem to be much in between.

If your kids are really into pirates, this game definitely has merit; otherwise, there are better game choices out there.

Yes, indeed. The bits for Piraten-Pitt (Pete the Pirate) are delightful and are up to the high standards of all the Haba games I have. Move your sailor around the board collecting treasure and return to the ship any time to unload. Your treasure chest has a sliding cover that reveals one of two sections in the chest.

When you get the treasure, you slide the cover and insert the treasure in the revealed compartment (no changing your mind). Gather and unload all your treasure first and you win. Movement is dictated by the die. If you roll the pirate symbol on the die, you move Pete one, two, or three spaces. No player can move through Pete.

If you move Pete to another player's piece, rotate his or her treasure chest one, two, or three 90 degree turns. Then demand to see the treasure ('Hey sailor, have you stolen my treasure?'). The other player reveals one section. If any treasure is in that section, it is placed back on any hiding place where the player has no treasure. So the idea of the game is keep the location of where you put your treasures in your treasure chest in mind so you can avoid revealing it to Pete.

This sounds easy. But in practice, in the heat of the game, it's very easy to forget. 'Advanced rules' allow you to rotate someone else's treasure chest when you land on an arrowed space. You cannot peek into your box to remind yourself where you stowed the treasure. If you forget, make a dash back to the ship to stow what you have. Adults can handicap themselves if they want (how about closing your eyes when your child moves your treasure chest?). A surprisingly fun game with subtle strategy and wonderful game pieces. Way to go Haba!

My 4 and 7 yr old discovered Haba games in a toy store in Finland. We had very few toys with us and spent many hours playing Pirate Pete. We probably made up some rules over the hours but just playing with the game pieces is fun! It is a beautiful game.