Calico Jack Rackham

Speed and evasion: pick your fights and outsail the rest.

History in brief

John Rackham’s nickname, “Calico Jack,” is usually explained by a taste for clothes of calico, a bright printed cotton. He was quartermaster to Charles Vane, and in November 1718, when Vane’s crew voted their captain out, they elected Rackham in his place. In 1719 he returned to Nassau and accepted the King’s pardon from Woodes Rogers.

In August 1720 he took the sloop William from Nassau harbour and went back to sea with a small crew that included Anne Bonny and Mary Read. They were captured off Negril Point, Jamaica, in late October, and Rackham was hanged at Port Royal on 18 November 1720.

Full history: Calico Jack, Anne Bonny & Mary Read.

In the game

• Captain HP: 68
• Crew: 34
• Style: Speed and evasion (unlock)
• Passive: Fast raider: Sail cards +3 Block; can flee normal fights on turn 1.
• Captain’s order, Fast Getaway: gain 10 Block, draw 1, take the Weather Gauge at sea. (every 4 turns)

Starting deck (10 cards)

• 2× Swivel Gun (Gun, 1 energy): Light gun: 3 damage to the hull. No powder.
• 1× Broadside (Gun, 2 energy): Fire the guns: 6 damage to the hull.
• 1× Crowd Sail (Sail, 1 energy): Gain 4 Block. Draw 1.
• 1× Pistol Volley (Crew, 1 energy): Kill 4 enemy crew. Enemy Weak 1.
• 1× Tack Hard (Sail, 1 energy): Gain 7 Block.
• 2× Cutlasses (Crew, 1 energy): Your boarders kill 6 enemy crew.
• 1× Hold the Rail (Crew, 1 energy): Gain 6 Block.
• 1× Fast Getaway (Signature, 1 energy): Rackham: gain 8 Block, draw 1. At sea, also take the Weather Gauge.

Card values are the base, unupgraded numbers before ship upgrades and captain bonuses.

Tips

• Unlock him first. Rackham becomes playable after you extract or win a voyage once with any captain.
• Sails are armour. Sail cards such as Tack Hard gain +3 Block, so his defence comes from seamanship rather than a thick hull.
• Choose your fights. He can flee normal fights on turn 1. Use it on a fight that looks bad for your hull or crew, knowing you leave without the prize. The Fast Getaway order also takes the Weather Gauge: your first cannon card each turn deals +3.

Other captains: Blackbeard · Bellamy · Vane · Bonny & Read. New to the game? See How to Play and the glossary.

More from the wiki

• Characters & Historical Figures – Pirate captains, Crown officials and the people of Nassau’s waterfront.
• Places & Sea Lanes – Nassau and New Providence, the Bahamas, and the wider Caribbean.
• Factions & Politics – The balance of power, Nassau’s pressures, and the history of 1716–18.
• Ships, Stores & Crew – Vessels, cargo, provisions and shipboard roles.
• Nassau City Ledger – Buildings, civic projects, resources and threats.
• World Threads – Historical pressures, expeditions and trade ventures.
• The Windward Passage – A naval briefing on the passage between Cuba and Hispaniola.
• Period Glossary – Over thirty period words for ships, ship work, officers, money, shot and pirate life.
• Charts – The New Providence harbour chart and the Bahamas & Florida Straits chart.
• Benjamin Hornigold – The founding captain of the Nassau pirate haven who became its hunter.
• Edward Teach (Blackbeard) – The most notorious captain of the age, from Hornigold’s sloop to Ocracoke.
• Charles Vane – The hard-liner who refused the pardon and fired his way out of Nassau.
• Calico Jack, Anne Bonny & Mary Read – Rackham’s short command and the two women tried for piracy in Jamaica in 1720.
• Woodes Rogers – Circumnavigator, privateer and the governor sent to end the pirate republic.
• The King’s Pardon of 1717 – The proclamation that split Nassau’s captains between a clean slate and the gallows.
• The 1715 Treasure Fleet – The hurricane that wrecked Spain’s silver fleet and filled Nassau with pirates.
• Ship Types of the Pirate Era – Periaguas, sloops, brigantines, snows and frigates: what pirates sailed and why.
• Pirate Articles & Life at Sea – Elected captains, written articles, shares of plunder and daily life aboard.
• Nassau’s Trade & Economy – How plunder became provisions: fences, smugglers, salt, wrecking and coin.
• Golden Age Timeline – Key dates from 1713 to 1726, from the treasure-fleet wreck to the last great hangings.
• Playing Blackbeard – Terror and boarding: thin the enemy crew, then take the ship.
• Playing Black Sam Bellamy – Crew and plunder: the toughest start and the richest voyages.
• Playing Charles Vane – Aggressive gunnery: the hardest-hitting and most fragile captain.
• Playing Anne Bonny & Mary Read – Hand-to-hand and duels: win the fight on the enemy deck.

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