UMS "Agram" : PIRATE'S COVE GAMING BOARD – pt.1 < Articles < Hobby

PIRATE'S COVE GAMING BOARD – pt.1

Marko Paunović, 22nd August 2020

Over the course of the next two articles, I'll follow the building process of a gaming board for a board game called Pirate's Cove that my club's terrain workshop did a couple of years ago.

About The Game:

Pirate's Cove is a board game originally published in Germany in 2002 by Amigo Spiele. In 2003, Days of Wonder republished it with a new graphic design. During the game, players play pirate ship captains seeking treasure from islands and bragging rights by defeating other pirates in naval combat. The game takes place over 12 turns (months) and the goal is to be the pirate with the most fame. Each player has a ship token and a card showing four aspects of the ship (crew, cannon, sail, and hull). At the beginning of each turn, a card is turned over at each island to reveal the potential booty from plunder. Each island (except Pirate's Cove and Treasure Island) offer various amounts of Fame, Gold, Treasure or Tavern cards.

Captains choose an island to plunder based on the potential rewards of that island and then fight if they show up at the same island. Certain islands offer the opportunity to upgrade an aspect of the ship and the available plunder at each island changes with each turn. A player can use this information to predict where other players' ships will turn up and thus move his ship accordingly to either do battle or avoid it. The bounty of each island is skewed so that some Islands are clearly better choices than others, so it can force you to decide (or bluff) if you think you can take the island should other pirates go after the same bounty. Ships that survive combat then plunder the islands, gain fame, and pay gold to upgrade their ships based on the qualities of the islands. The Legendary Pirate, a black ship token, moves clockwise around the board, forcing captains to steer out of his path unless they think that they can defeat the powerful ship. At Treasure Island, no battle can take place and it is where ships can safely discharge cargo from their ship and bury any plundered treasure (a ship's capacity to hold treasure is based on its hull rating). Burying treasure and money adds to the player's accumulated fame points.

The Design:

After playing a couple of games on the cardboard board provided in the game itself, my mate, Andrija Jurišić, and I decided we were going to make a proper board with little model ships to navigate the islands with. We decided to use a 90 x 90 cm plywood board that was 23mm thick. The first job to do was to draw the map onto the board, making sure that there is plenty of room for the scoring tiles around the entire board. Once we had our basic shape and measurements, we could continue with the design.

Immediately, we agreed to use LEDs inside all (or most) of the small buildings and huts scattered throughout the islands. Having a power source present made us think how cool it would be to have a proper smoking volcano so we started doing some research into various fog machines.

Foggers

The easiest way to obtain a fogger is going to your local pet store and getting a fogger for a terrarium. Apart from that, any DIY store should have a section with lamps. There are some lamps that come with a dish of some sorts and make fog that is then coloured by LEDs. I bought mine on ebay for about 8,00 USD with shipping. It uses a ceramic diaphragm vibrating at an ultrasonic frequency to create water droplets that silently exit the machine in the form of cool fog. They use a piezoelectric transducer to create a high frequency mechanical oscillation in a film of water. This forms an extremely fine mist of droplets about one micron in diameter, that quickly. However, these water droplets will contain any impurities that are in the reservoir, including minerals from hard water (which then forms a difficult-to-remove sticky white dust on nearby objects, in this case our scenery). Any pathogens growing in the stagnant tank will also be dispersed in the air. Therefore, they should be cleaned regularly to prevent bacterial contamination from being spread throughout the air. The amount of minerals and other materials can be greatly reduced by using distilled water, though no water is absolutely pure.

Science behind foggers

As noted earlier, the fogger consists of a piezoelectric ceramic disc which is provided with current through two nickel electrodes. Since the ceramic is piezoelectric, it oscillates in the presence of electric current at ultrasonic frequency (Ultrasonic means that you don't hear the sound waves generated in water).

With the increase of the frequency of oscillation of the plate, the water tries to follow the frequency of oscillation. However, due to its inertia and weight the water fails to match this frequency creating the water wave lags behind the wave of the disc. This creates an area of low pressure between them and this in turn forms a cavity - an occurance known as cavitation. The cavity can be a void or it can be filled with air since there is air dissolved in water and with the formation of low pressure, air moves into the cavity. When this cavity implodes, the imploding jet has a lot of energy. The vibrating disc also causes capillary waves at the surface of water (ripples). The capillary waves keep oscillating up and down due to surface tension and gravity. As the cavity implodes, a crossed capillary wave is formed at the surface. As a result at the crest of the wave, very small droplets of water have enough energy to break off the surface tension and get out of water. As soon as these minute drops of water exit the surface they are absorbed into the air and leave the machine as mist. The size of the aerosols gets smaller with increased frequency.

After deciding what electric and electronic gadgets to use on the board, we could make preliminar sketches of the entire table with the sizes of each individual island, and from there we could extrapolate the sizes not only of the houses/huts but also of the boats and ships. Slowly, our gaming board was begining to take shape. But before starting the work, we still needed to work how big all the electronics would be. For that, we needed to make a short calculation.

The Begining of the Build

With the basics of the electronics given above, I'll continue the practical application of it in the next issue. This article, I'll conclude with basic work done to the board itself. As mentioned, tha basic design was drawn first on the board itself. Then, a large hole for the wires was cut in the middle of the board, as well as a number of smaller ones, carefully distributed around the islands.

Andrija also made model ships out of balsa wood. Ahe first drew the basic outline of the waterline of the ship on a piece of paper. Then he cut it to make a template which he then used to draw the shapes of the ships onto a piece of balsa. Once cut and assembled, the ships were sanded and consequently painted with some basic rigging added.

While Andrija was busy with our armada, I was trying to run the wires to each of the islands. I decided that the wires would go underneath the table and would be fixed to the board using a staplegun.

This ends the begining part of the project. In the next issue, I'll describe how we built the islands, all the houses and the rest of the scenery as well as describe the electric circuits built in the gaming board.

Latest articles

SFRJ 1986 v2 Diorama part 5

          array(2) {
  ["Article"]=>
  array(10) {
    ["id"]=>
    string(3) "492"
    ["member_id"]=>
    string(2) "35"
    ["title_eng"]=>
    string(27) "SFRJ 1986 v2 Diorama part 5"
    ["title_hrv"]=>
    string(29) "Diorama SFRJ 1986 v2– dio 5"
    ["mask_eng"]=>
    string(27) "sfrj_1986_v2_diorama_part_5"
    ["mask_hrv"]=>
    string(26) "diorama_sfrj_1986_v2_dio_5"
    ["content_eng"]=>
    string(3653) "
	In this series of articles, we will follow my work on a new diorama, another in the 1986 series. This time I have again decided to use a former country. Another version of the SFRY 1986.

	  

	So far I have finished making the base, painting the base, painting the interior of the vehicle and painting the figures. Now it's time to add the vegetation

	  

	The pines/trees were already fixed to the base before painting, so the first vegetation I added was tall shrubs that filled the volume of the base.

	  

	Then I added lower vegetation like tall grass and lower bushes.

	  

	Finally, I added some short grass, making sure when I was making the parking lot and path that there was no vegetation in the places where the wheels pass.

	  

	The paint on the base has just dried up, so next time I'll add the vegetation.

	  

	When the diorama is turned to the back, the volume of the forest is visible.

	  

	Before placing the vehicles and miniatures on the base, the diorama looks like this.

	  
"
    ["content_hrv"]=>
    string(3186) "
	U ovoj seriji članaka pratit ćemo moj rad na novoj diorami, još jednoj u nizu serijala 1986. Ovaj put sam se opet odlučio za bivšu državu. Druga verzija SFRJ 1986..

	  

	Do sada sam završio s izradom baze, bojanjem baze, bojanjem interijera vozila i bojanjem figura. Sada je došlo vrijeme za dodavanje vegetacije

	  

	Borovi/drveće je već bilo fiksirano na bazu prije bojanja pa je prva sljedeća vegetacija bila visoko žbunje kojim sam popunio volumen baze.

	  

	Potom sam dodao niže raslinje poput visoke trave i nižeg grmlja.

	  

	Na kraju sam dodao i nisku travu pri čemu sam pazio kad sam radio ugibalište i puteljak da vegetacije ne bude na mjestima gdje prolaze kotači.

	  

	Kada se dioramu okrene, vidi se volumen vegetacije u šumi. 

	

	Prije postavljanja vozila i minijatura, diorama izgleda ovako:

	
"
    ["created"]=>
    string(19) "2026-01-19 10:46:08"
    ["modified"]=>
    string(19) "2026-01-19 11:00:21"
  }
  ["Member"]=>
  array(10) {
    ["id"]=>
    string(2) "35"
    ["group_id"]=>
    string(1) "1"
    ["first_name"]=>
    string(5) "Marko"
    ["last_name"]=>
    string(9) "Paunović"
    ["first_name_mask"]=>
    string(5) "marko"
    ["last_name_mask"]=>
    string(8) "paunovic"
    ["username"]=>
    string(5) "marko"
    ["password"]=>
    string(40) "3bd37b326d19d1880d3b93a4b32e8fb3a90fa122"
    ["born"]=>
    string(19) "2033-03-07 20:35:00"
    ["created"]=>
    string(19) "2009-06-02 20:37:03"
  }
}

Marko Paunović, 19th January 2026

SFRJ 1986 v2 Diorama part 4

          array(2) {
  ["Article"]=>
  array(10) {
    ["id"]=>
    string(3) "491"
    ["member_id"]=>
    string(2) "35"
    ["title_eng"]=>
    string(27) "SFRJ 1986 v2 Diorama part 4"
    ["title_hrv"]=>
    string(29) "Diorama SFRJ 1986 v2– dio 4"
    ["mask_eng"]=>
    string(27) "sfrj_1986_v2_diorama_part_4"
    ["mask_hrv"]=>
    string(26) "diorama_sfrj_1986_v2_dio_4"
    ["content_eng"]=>
    string(2405) "
	In this series of articles, we will follow my work on a new diorama, another in the 1986 series. This time I have again decided to use a former country. Another version of the SFRY 1986.

	  

	After the base and the vehicles, I started painting the miniatures. Two policemen and a truck driver. The first step was the base color – black and then white..

	  

	After that, I started with the basic colors, concentrating a little more on the truck driver..

	  

	Considering the year and location of the action, I decided that his jacket should have the logo from the 1984 Sarajevo Winter Olympics..

	  

	Then I threw myself at the policemen..

	  

	The paint on the base has just dried up, so next time I'll add the vegetation.
"
    ["content_hrv"]=>
    string(2360) "
	U ovoj seriji članaka pratit ćemo moj rad na novoj diorami, još jednoj u nizu serijala 1986. Ovaj put sam se opet odlučio za bivšu državu. Druga verzija SFRJ 1986..

	  

	Nakon baze i vozila, bacio sam se na bojanje minijatura. Dva milicajca i vozač kamiona. Prvi korak je bila temeljna boja – crna pa bijela.

	  

	Nakon toga, krenuo sam s osnovnim bojama, malo više se koncentrirajući na vozača kamiona.

	  

	S obzirom na godinu i mjesto radnje, odlučio sam se da mu jakna ima logo od ZOI Sarajevo 1984.

	  

	Zatim sam se bacio na milicajce.

	  

	Taman se tako nekako osušila i boja na bazi pa ću sljedeći puta obraditi i dodavanje vegetacije.
"
    ["created"]=>
    string(19) "2026-01-19 10:35:45"
    ["modified"]=>
    string(19) "2026-01-19 10:35:45"
  }
  ["Member"]=>
  array(10) {
    ["id"]=>
    string(2) "35"
    ["group_id"]=>
    string(1) "1"
    ["first_name"]=>
    string(5) "Marko"
    ["last_name"]=>
    string(9) "Paunović"
    ["first_name_mask"]=>
    string(5) "marko"
    ["last_name_mask"]=>
    string(8) "paunovic"
    ["username"]=>
    string(5) "marko"
    ["password"]=>
    string(40) "3bd37b326d19d1880d3b93a4b32e8fb3a90fa122"
    ["born"]=>
    string(19) "2033-03-07 20:35:00"
    ["created"]=>
    string(19) "2009-06-02 20:37:03"
  }
}

Marko Paunović, 19th January 2026

SFRJ 1986 v2 Diorama part 3

          array(2) {
  ["Article"]=>
  array(10) {
    ["id"]=>
    string(3) "490"
    ["member_id"]=>
    string(2) "35"
    ["title_eng"]=>
    string(27) "SFRJ 1986 v2 Diorama part 3"
    ["title_hrv"]=>
    string(29) "Diorama SFRJ 1986 v2– dio 3"
    ["mask_eng"]=>
    string(27) "sfrj_1986_v2_diorama_part_3"
    ["mask_hrv"]=>
    string(26) "diorama_sfrj_1986_v2_dio_3"
    ["content_eng"]=>
    string(3113) "
	In this series of articles, we will follow my work on a new diorama, another in the 1986 series. This time I have again decided to use a former country. Another version of the SFRY 1986.

	  

	As I announced last time, it's time to get down to the vehicles. The first thing I did was disassemble the models and take out the interiors of all three vehicles.

	  

	As you can see in the picture, the interior of the vehicle is poorly or not at all painted, so a lot of attention and time was spent there. I painted the upholstery in shades of gray, or brown on the Tristač. I brought out the details on the dashboard and around the gearbox.

	  

	There was something missing from the start on the Fićo, but I couldn't figure out what it was until Kruno pointed out to me that the flashing lights were missing. I fixed that with a small 3mm clear LED that I painted in Tamiya Clear Blue with a silver edge.

	  

	This completes the painting of the vehicles’ interior.

	  

	The finishing touches are the decorations in the truck's cabin.

	  

	Next time we will continue with painting the figures.
"
    ["content_hrv"]=>
    string(3080) "
	U ovoj seriji članaka pratit ćemo moj rad na novoj diorami, još jednoj u nizu serijala 1986. Ovaj put sam se opet odlučio za bivšu državu. Druga verzija SFRJ 1986..

	  

	Kao što sam najavio prošli put, vrijeme je da se bacim na vozila. Prvo što sam napravio jest da sam rastavio modele i izvadio unutrašnjost sva tri vozila

	  

	Kako je vidljivo na slici, unutrašnjost vozila je slabo ili nikako obojana stoga je tu otišlo mnogo pažnje i vremena. Tapecirunge sam obojao u sive nijanse, odnosno u smeđe na tristaču. Izvukao sam detalje na komandnim pločama te oko mjenjača.

	  

	Na fićeku mi je otpočetka nešto falilo, ali nisam mogao skužiti što dok mi Kruno nije skrenuo pažnju da fali rotirka. Nju sam sredio pomoću jedne male 3mm prozirne LED koju sam obojao u Tamiya Clear Blue sa srebrnim rubom.

	  

	Time je završeno bojanje unutrašnjosti vozila.

	  

	Završni detalji su ukrasi u kabini kamiona.

	  

	Sljedeći put nastavljamo sa bojanjem figura.

	 
"
    ["created"]=>
    string(19) "2026-01-19 10:28:32"
    ["modified"]=>
    string(19) "2026-01-19 10:28:32"
  }
  ["Member"]=>
  array(10) {
    ["id"]=>
    string(2) "35"
    ["group_id"]=>
    string(1) "1"
    ["first_name"]=>
    string(5) "Marko"
    ["last_name"]=>
    string(9) "Paunović"
    ["first_name_mask"]=>
    string(5) "marko"
    ["last_name_mask"]=>
    string(8) "paunovic"
    ["username"]=>
    string(5) "marko"
    ["password"]=>
    string(40) "3bd37b326d19d1880d3b93a4b32e8fb3a90fa122"
    ["born"]=>
    string(19) "2033-03-07 20:35:00"
    ["created"]=>
    string(19) "2009-06-02 20:37:03"
  }
}

Marko Paunović, 19th January 2026

SFRJ 1986 v2 Diorama part 2

          array(2) {
  ["Article"]=>
  array(10) {
    ["id"]=>
    string(3) "489"
    ["member_id"]=>
    string(2) "35"
    ["title_eng"]=>
    string(27) "SFRJ 1986 v2 Diorama part 2"
    ["title_hrv"]=>
    string(29) "Diorama SFRJ 1986 v2– dio 2"
    ["mask_eng"]=>
    string(27) "sfrj_1986_v2_diorama_part_2"
    ["mask_hrv"]=>
    string(26) "diorama_sfrj_1986_v2_dio_2"
    ["content_eng"]=>
    string(3226) "
	In this series of articles, we will follow my work on a new diorama, another in the 1986 series. This time I have again decided to use a former country. Another version of the SFRY 1986.

	  

	Last time I explained how I created the terrain, and this time I'll be painting the terrain. The terrain itself consists of several parts: an asphalt road, a turnoff and path, and the terrain in the forest.

	  

	Since I wanted all the surfaces to have similar tones, I decided to paint without a base color, applying the main color immediately. The paint I applied was very thin so it stayed wet for a long time, which allowed me to mix the base colors and get a uniform tone.

	  

	After applying the basic tones, I started shading. I also used the same principle, using quite diluted tones to create unevenness in certain parts of the surface.

	  

	Then I added a layer that I could most simply call wash. A very diluted darker shade of color.

	  

	I applied the final shades using another technique, the simplest one – dry brush.

	  

	While these paints were drying, I was simultaneously disassembling and painting the interior of the car and truck, as well as the figures, which will be the subject of future articles.
"
    ["content_hrv"]=>
    string(3277) "
	U ovoj seriji članaka pratit ćemo moj rad na novoj diorami, još jednoj u nizu serijala 1986. Ovaj put sam se opet odlučio za bivšu državu. Druga verzija SFRJ 1986..

	  

	Prošli put sam objasnio kako sam izradio teren, a ovaj put ću se baviti bojanjem terena. Sami teren se sastoji od nekoliko dijelova: asfaltna cesta, ugibalište i puteljak te teren u šumi.

	  

	S obzirom da sam htio da sve površine imaju slične tonove, odlučio sam se bojati bez temeljne boje, nanoseći odmah glavni ton. Boju koju sam nanosio bila je jako razvodnjena tako da je dugo bila mokra i to mi je omogućavalo miješanje osnovnih tonova i dobivanje ujednačene tonove.

	  

	Nakon nanošenja osnovnih tonova, krenuo sam sa nijansiranjem. Također sam radio istim principom, dosta razvodnjene tonove kako bih dobio neujednačenost pojedinih dijelova površine.

	  

	Potom sam dodao sloj koji bih najjednostavnije mogao nazvati wash. Jako razvodnjenu tamniju nijansu boje.

	  

	Završne nijanse sam nanio drugom tehnikom, najjednostavnijom – dry brush.

	  

	Dok su se ove boje sušile, paralelno sam rastavio i bojao unutrašnjost automobila i kamiona te figura što će biti tema sljedećih članaka.
"
    ["created"]=>
    string(19) "2026-01-19 09:32:11"
    ["modified"]=>
    string(19) "2026-01-19 09:32:11"
  }
  ["Member"]=>
  array(10) {
    ["id"]=>
    string(2) "35"
    ["group_id"]=>
    string(1) "1"
    ["first_name"]=>
    string(5) "Marko"
    ["last_name"]=>
    string(9) "Paunović"
    ["first_name_mask"]=>
    string(5) "marko"
    ["last_name_mask"]=>
    string(8) "paunovic"
    ["username"]=>
    string(5) "marko"
    ["password"]=>
    string(40) "3bd37b326d19d1880d3b93a4b32e8fb3a90fa122"
    ["born"]=>
    string(19) "2033-03-07 20:35:00"
    ["created"]=>
    string(19) "2009-06-02 20:37:03"
  }
}

Marko Paunović, 19th January 2026

SFRJ 1986 v2 Diorama part 1

          array(2) {
  ["Article"]=>
  array(10) {
    ["id"]=>
    string(3) "488"
    ["member_id"]=>
    string(2) "35"
    ["title_eng"]=>
    string(27) "SFRJ 1986 v2 Diorama part 1"
    ["title_hrv"]=>
    string(29) "Diorama SFRJ 1986 v2– dio 1"
    ["mask_eng"]=>
    string(27) "sfrj_1986_v2_diorama_part_1"
    ["mask_hrv"]=>
    string(26) "diorama_sfrj_1986_v2_dio_1"
    ["content_eng"]=>
    string(3178) "
	In this series of articles, we will follow my work on a new diorama, another in the 1986 series. This time I have again decided to use a former country. Another version of the SFRY 1986.

	  

	As always, everything starts with an idea. This time, the idea came from a model of an Agrokomerc truck that Bojan brought me from Serbia (where it was published as part of a magazine). The design itself changed a bit over time (the first few months of planning). Initially, it was supposed to be just a truck at a roadside stop. Then the idea came to include the Police. And then I got two police vehicles. Fić and Tristač. Basically, this is the first drawing that started it all.

	  

	The base for the diorama came from Moson, from Buco. A fantastic combination of MDF and Styrodur that allows you to remove the diorama itself, but also to lower the terrain below the base level. I removed the Styrodur base, modeled it a little to get different terrain height levels. I modeled the road from a cork board, and assembled the rest of the terrain from DAS clay and wooden bark.

	  

	Once everything was dry I added texture. Two or three sizes of sand and that was it.

	  

	And when that layer was dry, I used a drill to fix the trees to the back of the base. Since all the trees had tall trunks, I decided to leave them as is and not move them during the painting process.

	  

	That's it for this week. We already have a nice outline of the diorama, and next time we'll continue with painting the base.
"
    ["content_hrv"]=>
    string(3151) "
	U ovoj seriji članaka pratit ćemo moj rad na novoj diorami, još jednoj u nizu serijala 1986. Ovaj put sam se opet odlučio za bivšu državu. Druga verzija SFRJ 1986..

	  

	Kao i uvijek, sve počinje idejom. Ovoga puta, ideja se izrodila iz makete Agrokomercovog kamiona kojeg mi je Bojan dofurao iz Srbije (gdje je izašao u sklopu nekog časopisa). Sami dizajn se malo mijenjao tijekom vremena (prvih par mjeseci planiranja). Otpočetka, trebao je to biti samo kamion na nekom ugibalištu pored ceste. Onda se rodila ideja da stavim i Miliciju. A onda sam nabavio i dva milicijska vozila. Fiću i Tristača. Uglavnom, ovo je prvi crtež od kojeg je sve krenulo.

	  

	Baza za dioramu je došla s Mosona, od Buce. Fantastičan spoj MDFa i stirodura koji omogućava vađenje same diorame, ali i upuštanje terena ispod razine baze. Izvadio sam stirodurnu podlogu, malo je izmodelirao da dobijem razne razine visine terena. Cestu sam izmodelirao iz ploče pluta, a ostatak terena složio od DAS glinamola i drvenih kora.

	  

	Kada se sve osušilo dodao sam teksturu. Dvije ili tri veličine pijeska i to je to.

	  

	A kada se i taj sloj osušio, bušilicom sam fiksirao drveće na stražnji dio baze. S obzirom da su sva stable imala visoka debla, odlučio sam ih ostaviti tako i ne micati ih za process bojanja.

	  

	To je to za ovaj tjedan. Imamo već lijepe obrise diorame, a sljedeći puta nastavljamo sa bojanjem baze.
"
    ["created"]=>
    string(19) "2026-01-19 09:18:40"
    ["modified"]=>
    string(19) "2026-01-19 09:18:40"
  }
  ["Member"]=>
  array(10) {
    ["id"]=>
    string(2) "35"
    ["group_id"]=>
    string(1) "1"
    ["first_name"]=>
    string(5) "Marko"
    ["last_name"]=>
    string(9) "Paunović"
    ["first_name_mask"]=>
    string(5) "marko"
    ["last_name_mask"]=>
    string(8) "paunovic"
    ["username"]=>
    string(5) "marko"
    ["password"]=>
    string(40) "3bd37b326d19d1880d3b93a4b32e8fb3a90fa122"
    ["born"]=>
    string(19) "2033-03-07 20:35:00"
    ["created"]=>
    string(19) "2009-06-02 20:37:03"
  }
}

Marko Paunović, 19th January 2026

Latest battle-reports

Kill Team - Blooded vs. Vespid Stingwings 28th February 2025, GW - Warhammer 40.000, and Antoni Pastuović (Imperial Guard)

22nd April 2022, GW - Warhammer 40.000, Borna Pleše (Space Marines) and Kristijan Kliska (Tau Empire)

17th November 2021, GW - Warhammer 40.000, and Nino Marasović (Space Marines)

Association of miniature collectors, modellers and tabletop wargamers "Agram"

PIRATE'S COVE GAMING BOARD – pt.1

Latest articles

Latest battle-reports