Thoughts on Blackbeard?

I have never played either version and thinking about trying to find a copy.

What are your thoughts on either edition? Which edition is better? Are these games too old and clunky at this point?

I played the '91 edition once, back in the mid-'90s. A friend of mine bought it on impulse, then realized that the rules heavy, dense, and poorly organized. He loaned Blackbeard to me and asked if I could try to figure it out. A couple of chaotic years later, I gave it back to him after realizing that I was possibly never going to get around to it. So he struggled again with the rules and eventually invited me over to play it with him and his roommate, who was more of a light social gamer. We struggled with the game for a few hours and then finally gave up about halfway through the game. There might be an okay game in the box, but I think you need a couple of serious wargamers who are really wanting to play a pirate game. For everybody else, this is a definite shelf toad.

I think it is a fine game — nothing that will change your life. The AH version is a bit better than the GMT version, but that could just be my gaming tastes changing over time. I can’t imagine an overall opinion being swayed by the version.

I played the solo version of GMT quite a bit in the early 2000s when I was traveling and teaching workshops. Tons of chrome...definitely from a bygone era.

From my cow-orker.

"Recall it being a great game but WAY too long. Excellent flavor but it takes forever. The reprinted edition supposedly helps a lot with that but it's still too much. As far as historical pirate games, though, it definitely nails a properly historical feel. And it's fun, except for the 'everyone watches while one guy takes his turn' problem (that most games of the era have). My reprint is still in shrink. Nobody's willing to risk playing it."

There is no reason in the world to play this tired ass, completely obsolete game in a world where you can choose from Merchant & Marauders or Black Fleet.

I own the Avalon Hill version. It is clunky, rules-dense, and not very user-friendly out of the box. I purchased it during graduate school in the early '90's and learned how to play. The mechanic that allows a card draw to determine player turn did not go over well with my gaming crowd at the time. One player could have multiple turns, while everybody else sits becalmed.

Where I got the most enjoyment out of it was the solo game. You play as Captain Blood and it is you against the world, both A.I. pirates and the navies of the time period. Lots of chrome, as was mentioned above, and quite a narrative can come out of it. That being said, I have not played it in over 2 decades. If you can track down an article from The General at the time, there was an excellent write up on the solo game. I have the copy at home in the box and can get issue information for you later today. It is an enjoyable read and gives a feel for how the AH game played.

Today, I would prefer Black Fleet as was mentioned by Michael, but Black Fleet is a very different type of game. He also mentioned Merchants & Marauders, which I used to own, but I prefer BF for my pirate fix. Black Fleet also gets kudos for being something my Dad will play, and he doesn't play many games!

The issue was Volume 27, Number 6.
A pdf exists that can be explored, if you are interested.

What Mantidman said. I also used to enjoy the solo game a long time ago, it is not a great game but stuffed with great historical detail. That Article is probably here: archive.org/details/GeneralMagazineVol27i6 .
Also, the literature list in the back of the rules is quite something. This might be one of the first successful tries to bridge the gap between scholarship and entertainment in cardboard.