ARGH! As if putting out the fire weren’t enough, matey, now yer telling me we have a blasted sea monster to worry about? Argh … I can’t say I’ll be surprised if me ship goes down after all. What do you say though, me hearty? Will ye help me crew gather the booty and get out? Remember, dead men tell no tales, so ye best not be betraying your fellow pirates now, savvy?

For those of you who clearly don’t speak pirate as well as I do, ready to check out the Dead Men Tell No Tales Kraken expansion and the miniature set? Let’s get to it!

What Is It?

Dead Men Tell No Tales: The Kraken is an expansion to Dead Men Tell No Tales (DMTNT) that introduces, well, the Kraken! It also introduces new ways to lose, new goals to accomplish, some new actions and mechanics, and more overall excitement and adventure! What more could a proper pirate want?

The pirate minis are a purely aesthetic addition to the game, to replace the wooden character pieces, but they’re a really nice addition and add to the look of the game. They also come with interchangeable colored bases!

Who Is It For?

If you’re already a fan of DMTNT, the expansion is a great addition to the game; I personally think it only adds to the experience, and so would highly recommend it to add into every play. It adds more action and adventure and even a new character!

As for the minis, while they aren’t a super necessary addition, I really like them because I think having proper pirate figures really enhances the look and experience; running around putting out fires never looked so cool! The minis are also a really nice quality so I’d say even if you want to pick up some pirate figures for something else, these are good ones to invest in.

Quality of Components

The kraken minis from the expansion, and the pirate miniatures are all really nice quality, very sturdy and also detailed. They’re really aesthetic appealing and enhance the table presence of the game. Everything else in the expansion – cardboard tokens, wooden deckhands, et cetera) match the quality of the base game (which was excellent), so everything really fits together seamlessly.

PROS

  • The expansion doesn’t add a lot of time to the game, just features, which is great
  • You get a lot more options for actions, and there’s more fighting with the expansion, which is definitely an improvement in my book
  • The deckhand leaders add some stress by making you draw more to add to the board, but I think the addition of being able to close trap doors balances that well – It’s clearly a well thought out expansion overall!
  • The expansion comes with exploding barrel tokens which we really appreciated; really helpful for those rooms
  • I love that the mini bases are swapable so you can be any character with any color – small but something that’s important to us
  • The package for the minis also holds them tightly at the base which is great to prevent any damage.

CONS

  • Both sets of minis were pretty tight in the package, so just be careful when getting them out
  • The kraken definitely adds to the difficulty so if you already thought it was a pretty hard game, keep that in mind

Difficulty

I’d probably give this a 4 out of 5 for difficulty; even on the easiest game settings, this is a tricky game. As someone who doesn’t tend to like co-op games often though, I think that’s what keeps this one a little more interesting. I like that the difficulty can vary though by setting the kraken strength/health differently.

Final Thoughts

I said it once, and I’ll say it again, mateys, I think this expansion is an excellent addition to DMTNT. It adds to the look, the feel, and the overall gameplay as well – hits the nail on the head all the way around!  And whether or not you’re getting the expansion, you should definitely invest in the minis for a much improved pirate feel! Highly recommend all of these components and hope you all enjoy them too!

Happy Gaming~

Additional Information:
Expansion Designer – Kane Klenko
Expansion Publisher – Minion Games
Expansion Artists – Fernando Armentano, Jason D. Kingsley, Chris Ostrowski
Expansion BGG
Mini Artists – Fernando Armentano, Chris Ostrowski
Mini Publisher – Minion Games
Mini BGG

*I was provided a copy of this expansion and these minis to do this review*

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