OVERVIEW
(Tripoli, Benghazi, Derne and Alexandria).
The First Barbary War (1801-1805) saw the
United States and Sweden fight the four
North African states -- Tripoli, Algiers, Tunis
and Morocco -- known collectively as the
“Barbary States.” In The Shores of Tripoli,
one player takes control of the United States
and the other player takes control of Tripoli.
The American player can achieve a
diplomatic victory by forcing the Tripolitan
player into signing the Treaty of Peace and
Amity or achieve a military victory by
conquering Tripoli. The Tripolitan player
can achieve an economic victory by
acquiring twelve Gold Coins or achieve a
military victory by either eliminating the
Arab/American army or by sinking and/or
capturing four American frigates.
COMPONENTS
A complete game of The Shores of Tripoli
includes the following:
• One Rules Booklet
• One Historical Booklet
• One 11” by 34” Game Map
• One Set of Wooden Ships and Cubes
• Twelve Gold Coins
• Two Decks of Cards
• Two Turn Track Pawns
• Twenty-Four Dice
THE GAME MAP
The game map shows nine harbors (Gibraltar,
Malta, Alexandria, Tangier, Algiers, Tunis,
Tripoli, Benghazi and Derne) and five naval
patrol zones (the lighter colored sea
surrounding the harbors of Gibraltar,
Tangier, Algiers, Tunis and Tripoli). Four
harbors also double as cities for infantry units
The game map also shows two turn tracks –
the Year Turn Track and the Season Turn
Track.
THE WOODEN SHIPS AND CUBES
There are three types of units – frigates,
corsairs and infantry units. The larger ships
are the frigates, the smaller ships are the
corsairs and the cubes represent infantry
units.
The American forces are blue. Their forces
consist of eight frigates, two gunboats (same
piece as the corsairs) and four infantry
(Marines).
The Swedish forces are yellow. Their forces
consist of two frigates. The Swedes are early
allies of the United States and may only
patrol the Tripoli naval patrol zone.
The Arab forces are white. Their forces
consist of eight infantry cubes. These forces
represent the forces loyal to Hamet
Karamanli, brother of Yusuf Karamanli, the
Tripolitan Bashaw. The blue and white
infantry cubes together represent the
Arab/American army.
The Tripolitan forces are red. Their forces
consist of two frigates, nine corsairs and
twenty infantry.
The allies of Tripoli -- Morocco, Algiers,
Tunis – are orange. Their forces consist of
nine corsairs (three corsairs each). A
Tripolitan ally is considered “active” or “at
war” if there are any corsairs in their harbor.
A Tripolitan ally is considered “inactive” or
“at peace” if there are no corsairs in their
harbor.
The twelve Gold Coins represent tribute
being paid and/or collected and successful
Pirate Raids by Tripoli and/or her allies.
CARD DECKS
There are two decks of cards – the American
card deck is blue-backed with a picture of
Thomas Jefferson, the Tripolitan card deck is
red-backed with a picture of Yusuf
Karamanli.
Each deck consists of three “core event”
cards, six “unique event” cards, twelve
“generic event” cards and six “battle” cards.
The three core event cards for each player
begin face-up in front of each player.
When a core event card, a unique event or a
battle card is played for its event, the card is
removed from the game. If a unique event or
battle card is discarded, it is placed in the
discard pile and may return to play through
the reshuffle or play of Bainbridge Supplies
Intel. Core event cards may never be
discarded, only played for the event and then
removed from play.
Some event cards have requirements that
must be met before they can be played. For
example, Hamet’s Army Created may not be
played prior to Spring of 1804.
Battle cards are not played for a player’s
seasonal turn. They are played “out of turn”
in response to certain conditions, such as a
land battle or a successful Pirate Raid.
GAME SETUP
Place three American frigates in the harbor of
Gibraltar. Place an American frigate on each
of the 1802, 1803 and 1804 spaces on the
Year Turn Track. Take the Thomas
Jefferson, Swedish Frigates Arrive and
Hamet’s Army Created cards and place them
face-up in front of the American player.
Shuffle the remaining cards to create the
American draw pile.
Place four Tripolitan corsairs in the harbor of
Tripoli and two Tripolitan corsairs in the
harbor of Gibraltar. Place four Tripolitan
infantry in the city of Tripoli, two Tripolitan
infantry in the city of Benghazi and two
Tripolitan infantry in the city of Derne. Take
the Yusuf Karamanli, Admiral Rais Breaks
Out and Constantinople Sends Aid cards and
place them face-up in front of the Tripolitan
player. Shuffle the remaining cards to create
the Tripolitan draw pile.
SEQUENCE OF PLAY
The Shores of Tripoli is played over six years.
At the start of 1801-1805, each player draws
six cards from their draw deck. At the start
of 1806, each player draws the remaining
cards in the draw deck, regardless of number
left.
Each player has a hand limit of eight cards –
if the card draw takes the player over that
limit, the player should discard cards until
down to eight cards. Any of the face-up core
event cards do not count against this eight-
card limit.
Any American frigates on the Year Turn
Track of the current year are placed in the
harbor of Gibraltar. Any Tripolitan frigates
on the Year Turn Track of the current year are
placed in the harbor of Tripoli.
Each player then takes four seasonal turns –
Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter, with the
American player always going first. These
turns are detailed below. After the Tripolitan
player’s Winter turn, there is a brief end of
year phase.
AMERICAN TURN
Each seasonal turn, the American player may
do one of the following:
A. Play Event
B. Frigate Movement
C. Pass
PLAY EVENT
When a card is played as an event, its event
text is read and resolved. This card is
considered the “active event” card for the
American turn. Event cards may direct the
American player to move ships and/or
infantry, place reinforcements or a myriad of
other actions. Certain events require that the
card be removed from play (core event cards
and unique event cards).
If the American player has met ALL of the
conditions to play Treaty of Peace and Amity
then the American player plays that card and
wins immediately. If the American player
plays Assault on Tripoli, see that section
below.
FRIGATE MOVEMENT
The American player may discard a card to
move one or two frigates. The card is placed
in the American discard pile and is NOT
removed from the game. “Core cards” that
are face up in front of the American player
may NOT be discarded. Movement of
American frigates is discussed below.
PASS
The American player may pass. There is no
benefit to passing.
AMERICAN NAVAL MOVEMENT
The board consists of fourteen locations –
nine harbors and five patrol zones. A frigate
may move to any of the fourteen locations,
with the exception that a frigate may only
move to the harbor of Tripoli if Naval
Operations, Thomas Jefferson or Assault on
Tripoli have been played.
For example, if the American player plays
Naval Movement, the player could move one
frigate from the harbor of Gibraltar to the
harbor of Alexandria, one frigate from the
harbor of Gibraltar to the Tunis naval patrol
zone and two frigates from the harbor of
Malta to the Tripoli naval patrol zone.
What happens when the American player
moves depends on the destination(s).
Movement to a naval patrol zone means the
frigates take up a blockade of that harbor and
there is no further action. The harbors of
Gibraltar, Malta and Alexandria are all
always friendly harbors, so after movement
there is no further action. (Note, in 1801
there are two Tripolitan corsairs in Gibraltar,
but there are under British protection in the
harbor.)
The harbors of Tangier, Algiers and Tunis are
all potential allies of Tripoli. If the ally is
“inactive” – meaning there are no (orange)
corsairs in the harbor – then there is no
further action after movement there. If the
ally is “active” – meaning there are (orange)
corsairs in the harbor – but the American
player has played A Show of Force or Tribute
Paid then follow the directions on the card.
If the ally is “active” and the American
played moved frigates there by any other
means then a one round battle occurs. See the
section on NAVAL COMBAT below.
The harbors of Derne and Benghazi are part
of the Tripolitan kingdom. If Derne and
Benghazi have been captured by the
Arab/American army, then the harbors are
considered friendly and there is no further
action after moving there. If the American
player has played General Eaton Attacks
Derne or General Eaton Attacks Benghazi,
the American frigates support the ground
attack. See the section on GROUND
COMBAT below. If there are Tripolitan
ground troops in the city of the harbor and the
American played moved frigates there by any
other means then there is a round of
bombardment – see the section on NAVAL
BOMBARDMENT below.
The harbor of Tripoli is always hostile to
American frigates. Because Tripoli held a
number of Americans hostage, the American
player may only move frigates to the harbor
of Tripoli by playing one of three cards:
Naval Operations, Thomas Jefferson or
Assault on Tripoli. If the American player
has moved frigates to Tripoli by playing
Naval Operations or Thomas Jefferson then a
one round battle occurs. See the section on
NAVAL COMBAT below. If the American
player has played Assault on Tripoli, then see
the section ASSAULT ON TRIPOLI below.
Remember that if there are any American
gunboats in the harbor of Malta, they join the
battle in the harbor of Tripoli.
NAVAL BOMBARDMENT
To engage in Naval Bombardment, the
American player rolls three dice for each
frigate in the harbor of Derne or Benghazi.
Each 6 rolled is a hit and a Tripolitan infantry
cube is removed from the city. Then move
all of the bombarding frigates to the harbor of
Malta.
NAVAL COMBAT
Naval combat occurs when there are
opposing forces in the Tripoli naval patrol
zone or in the harbor of Tripoli, Tunis,
Algiers or Tangier. (Note that Swedish
frigates never take part in combat, only in
Interception rolls.) In naval combat, frigates
roll two dice and can take two hits while
corsairs and gunboats roll one die and can
take one hit. A frigate that takes one hit is
considered damaged. Naval combat follows
the following sequence:
1. Prepare for Battle
2. Attack (roll dice simultaneously)
3. Remove Casualties
4. Break Off
1. Prepare for Battle
Each player counts the number of dice they
will be rolling – two dice for each frigate and
one die for each corsair or gunboat. If the
battle is in the harbor of Tripoli and the
American player has any gunboats in the
harbor of Malta, move the gunboats to the
battle. The American player may play
Preble’s Boys Take Aim if the battle is a
harbor and the Tripolitan player may play
The Guns of Tripoli if the battle is in the
harbor of Tripoli.
2. Attack
Each player rolls their dice simultaneously
with each 6 counting as a hit. Also take note
of each American roll of 1.
3. Remove Casualties
Each player allocates the hits on their own
fleet. For example, if the American player
has four frigates and one gunboat and the
Tripolitan player inflicted three hits, the
American player could choose to:
(a) Sink the gunboat and one frigate
(b) Sink the gunboat and damage two
frigates
(c) Sink one frigate and damage one
frigate
(d) Damage three frigates
American frigates that are sunk are collected
by the Tripolitan player. If four American
frigates have been sunk, the Tripolitan player
immediately wins the game. Frigates that are
damaged (one hit) are put on the following
year on the Year Turn Track. Corsairs and
gunboats that are sunk are returned to the
Supply.
4. Break Off
For each 1 rolled by the American player,
move an American frigate to Malta. Then, if
the battle took place in a harbor, move the
remaining American frigates to the naval
patrol zone. If the battle took place in the
Tripoli naval patrol zone, move the
remaining Tripolitan ships to the harbor of
Tripoli. The Tripolitan player may now play
Barbary Unity or US Signal Books
Overboard.
NAVAL MOVEMENT & COMBAT EXAMPLE
In 1804, the American player plays Naval
Operations to move one frigate to the harbor
of Alexandria and to move five frigates to the
harbor of Tripoli. No further action is
necessary for the frigate that moved to
Alexandria, but the five frigates in the harbor
of Tripoli are faced by six Tripolitan corsairs.
Because the American player has two
gunboats in the harbor of Malta, they are
moved to the harbor of Tripoli for the battle.
Step 1, the American player takes twelve dice
– ten for the five frigates and two for the two
gunboats while the Tripolitan player takes six
dice for the six corsairs. The Tripolitan
player decides to also play The Guns of
Tripoli, so takes an extra twelve dice for a
total of eighteen dice.
Step 2, both players roll the dice. The
American player rolls only a single 6 and two
1’s while the Tripolitan player rolls five 6’s.
Disaster for the Americans!
Step 3, the Tripolitan player loses a single
corsair, while the American player chooses to
lose both gunboats (two hits), a frigate (two
hits) and damages a frigate (one hit) for a
total of five hits. The corsair and gunboats
are returned to the Supply, the damaged
frigate is put on the following year of 1805
space on the Year Turn Track, and the sunk
frigate is taken by the Tripolitan player to
mark that an American frigate has been sunk.
If the Tripolitan player sinks four American
frigates, the game ends immediately in a
Tripolitan victory.
Step 4, the American player has three frigates
remaining in the harbor of Tripoli. Because
of the two 1’s rolled by the American player,
two frigates must be sent to Malta and the
final frigate takes up position in the Tripoli
naval patrol zone. To add insult to injury, the
Tripolitan player plays Barbary Unity (since
a corsair was sunk, meeting the requirement
of the card) and declares war on the United
States with Tunis and places three orange
corsairs in Tunis.
GROUND COMBAT
Ground combat occurs when the American
player moves the Arab/American army to
Derne, Benghazi or Tripoli. (Note, the
ground battle in Tripoli occurs after the naval
battle is complete.) Unlike naval combat
which is only one round, ground combat is to
the death. In ground combat, all infantry
cubes roll one die (unless the American
player plays Lieutenant O’Bannon Leads the
Charge), hit on a roll of a 6 (except if the
American player plays Marine
Sharpshooters) and can take one hit. Each
American frigate in the harbor of the combat
city may also roll one die but frigates may
never be taken as casualties. Ground combat
follows the following sequence:
1. Prepare for Battle
2. Attack (roll dice simultaneously)
3. Remove Casualties
4. End Battle
1. Prepare for Battle
Each player counts the number of dice they
will be rolling – one for each infantry cube
and one for each supporting American
frigate. The American player may play
Lieutenant O’Bannon Leads the Charge or
Marine Sharpshooters, but not both in the
same battle. The Tripolitan player may play
Mercenaries Desert as long as there are at
least two Arab infantry cubes in the attack.
2. Attack
Each player rolls their dice simultaneously
with each 6 counting as a hit. If Marine
Sharpshooters has been played, the Marines
hit on a 5 or 6, but the supporting frigates and
Arab infantry hit on only a 6.
3. Remove Casualties
Each player removes a cube for each hit the
other player rolled. The American player
may choose whether to lose an Arab or a
Marine cube for each Tripolitan hit.
4. End Battle
If the both sides have infantry cubes
remaining, the battle continues back at Step
1. If the American player’s infantry cubes
have been eliminated, the game ends
immediately in a Tripolitan victory. If the
Tripolitan player’s infantry cubes have been
eliminated (and the American player still has
at least one infantry cube), then the city is
captured and the American player’s turn is
complete.
GROUND MOVE & COMBAT EXAMPLE
The American player plays General Eaton
Attacks Derne and moves the entire
Arab/American army of one Marine and five
Arab infantry cubes to Derne. The American
player also decides to move just one
American frigate to the harbor of Derne. The
Tripolitan player has four infantry cubes in
Derne.
1. Prepare for Battle (first round)
The American player decides to also play
Lieutenant O’Bannon Leads the Charge, so
the Marine infantry cube will roll 3 dice
instead of 1. The Tripolitan player decides to
play Mercenaries Desert and immediately
removes one Arab infantry cube. The
American player then takes a total of eight
dice – four for the four remaining Arab
infantry cubes, three for the Marine infantry
cube (being led by Lieutenant O’Bannon)
and one for the supporting American frigate.
The Tripolitan player takes four dice for the
four Tripolitan infantry cubes.
2. Attack (first round)
The American player rolls eight dice and
scores three 6’s – fantastic! The Tripolitan
player rolls four dice and only scores one 6 –
even better for the US!
3. Remove Casualties (first round)
The American player removes one Arab
infantry cube. The American player may
NOT assign the hit to his supporting frigate.
The Tripolitan player removes three
Tripolitan infantry cubes. Since both sides
have infantry cubes remaining, the battle
continues.
1. Prepare for Battle (second round)
The American player takes seven dice – three
for the three remaining Arab infantry cubes,
three for the O’Bannon led Marine infantry
cube and one for the American frigate. The
Tripolitan player takes a single die for the
remaining Tripolitan infantry cube.
2. Attack (second round)
The American player rolls a pair of 6’s – one
is enough to eliminate the final Tripolitan
infantry cube. The Tripolitan player rolls a 6
with the single die – a last heroic stand.
3. Remove Casualties (second round)
The American player removes another Arab
infantry cube and the Tripolitan player
removes the final Tripolitan infantry cube.
4. End of Battle
As the Tripolitan forces in Derne have been
eliminated, the American player captures
Derne. The American player has a remaining
force of two Arab infantry cubes and one
Marine infantry cube. The American frigate
remains in the harbor of Derne, available to
be moved on a future turn. Important – if the
Arab/American army is eliminated, the game
ends immediately in a Tripolitan victory.
ASSAULT ON TRIPOLI
The play of Assault on Tripoli represents an
attempt by the American player to conquer
Tripoli and install a pro-American leader on
the throne. If the American player succeeds,
the game ends immediately in an American
victory. If the American player fails, the
game ends immediately in a Tripolitan
victory. There are three unique rules for the
naval combat when Assault on Tripoli is
played.
First, the naval combat is to the death. After
casualties have been removed, if both players
have remaining ships, the battle continues for
another round of combat. Frigates that have
been damaged are put on their side to reflect
they have taken a hit, but stay in the battle and
continue to roll two dice.
Second, the American player ignores any 1’s
rolled – no frigates are retreating to Malta
from this epic battle.
Third, if the Americans win the naval battle,
then any damaged American frigates are
removed from the battle and any full-strength
frigates may remain and provide support in
the ground battle for Tripoli. Once the naval
battle is complete, the ground battle begins
and either player may play appropriate battle
cards. This is the only time that the American
player may play Send in the Marines.
Victory or Death!
TRIPOLITAN TURN
Each seasonal turn, the Tripolitan player may
do one of the following:
A. Play Event
B. Tripolitan Pirate Raid
C. Tripolitan Recruitment
D. Pass
PLAY EVENT
When a card is played as an event, its event
text is read and resolved. This card is
considered the “active event” card for the
Tripolitan turn. Event cards may direct the
Tripolitan player to declare war or pirate raid
with an ally, place reinforcements, or a
myriad of other actions. Certain events
require that the card be removed from play
(core event cards and unique event cards).
TRIPOLITAN PIRATE RAID
The Tripolitan player may discard a card to
Pirate Raid with the corsairs from Tripoli.
The card is placed in the Tripolitan discard
pile and is NOT removed from the game.
“Core cards” that are face up in front of the
Tripolitan player may NOT be discarded.
The procedure for Pirate Raids is discussed
below.
TRIPOLITAN RECRUITMENT
If the Tripolitan fleet has three corsairs or
less, the Tripolitan player may discard a card
to add one corsair to the harbor of Tripoli.
The card is placed in the Tripolitan discard
pile and is NOT removed from the game.
“Core cards” that are face up in front of the
Tripolitan player may NOT be discarded.
PASS
The Tripolitan player may pass. There is no
benefit to passing.
PIRATE RAIDS
A pirate raid follows the following sequence:
1. American Interception Roll
2. Remove Casualties
3. Pirate Raid Roll
4. Return Home
1. American Interception Roll
If there are American and/or Swedish
frigates in the naval patrol zone outside of
the harbor of the raiding corsairs, there is
an Interception Roll. (If the Tripolitan
player plays Corsairs Evade Blockade,
this phase is skipped.) The American
player takes two dice for each frigate in
the naval patrol zone (using different
colored dice for any Swedish frigates).
The American player rolls the dice with
each 6 counting as a hit. Also take note
of each American frigate roll of 1.
2. Remove Casualties
For each hit, remove a corsair. For each
1 rolled by the American frigates, move
an American frigate to Malta. The
Tripolitan player may now play US
Signal Books Overboard or Barbary
Unity at this time.
3. Pirate Raid Roll
For each surviving corsair, the Tripolitan
player rolls a dice. For each 5 or 6, a
merchant ship is captured and the
Tripolitan player receives a Gold Coin. If
the Tripolitan player receives the twelfth
Gold Coin, the game ends immediately in
a Tripolitan victory. The Tripolitan
player may now play Merchant Ship
Converted.
4. Return Home
The surviving corsairs now return home.
END OF SEASON / END OF YEAR
Once the Tripolitan player finishes their
seasonal turn, they move the seasonal marker
ahead one season. If it is Winter the
following checks are made:
1801: Any Tripolitan corsairs in the harbor of
Gibraltar are seized by the British and return
to the Supply
1804: Both players shuffle their discard piles
and create new draw decks.
1806: The game ends in a draw.

Then the seasonal marker is moved by to

Spring and the Year marker is advanced to
the following year.

SOLITAIRE RULES
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