Old Salt
A naval strategy with no reinforcements on the way. Command a fleet across a hex-grid ocean — seize six islands or be the last ship sailing.
A fleet, a handful of gold, and three safe harbors. That's all you begin with. No one is sending help.
Control six islands and the map is yours. Or outlast every rival banner on the water. Two paths to victory, neither easy.
Every faction plays its own game — three unique abilities, a signature fleet, a flag nobody mistakes. Pick one. Commit.
“A naval strategy with no reinforcements on the way.”
Pick a banner.
Play its game.
Every match starts with a choice. Six factions, each with three signature abilities, a distinct fleet, and a colour nobody else flies. Your faction is your strategy — commit to it.
Crash in. Grapple on. Refuse to die last.
Every coin is a weapon. Some of them are cursed.
Line up. Dress ranks. Negotiate from position.
Build, pierce, scavenge. What breaks feeds the next shot.
Some ships sink. Some are only borrowing the water.
Trade range for survival. Hold a grudge for years.
Abilities cost gold · Some trigger on your turn, some when you're fired upon
Four systems.
One clean turn.
Hex-grid sailing with real turns
Move up to three ships per turn, up to three tiles each. Rotate your bow any direction — drop anchor and U-turn if the wind betrays you. Known Tradewinds let a ship travel further if you read the board right.
Dice-roll cannon combat
Count the tiles to the target. That distance is the minimum you need to roll to hit. Pay one coin per shot. Land the hit, place a damage token. Every exchange is a cost-benefit question — every miss is a coin that doesn't come back.
Seize islands, build a war chest
Be adjacent, pay two coins, place a mast of whoever you're taking the island from. Defenders within two tiles raise the price — one coin per enemy ship in range. Take six islands and the map is yours.
Faction abilities with real cost
Each faction has three unique abilities with gold costs and access rules — on your turn, when you're fired upon, the moment you seize an island. Some trigger once per turn, some have no limit. Knowing when to burn a coin is half the skill.
Play against other captains. Every player picks a faction, the map is set, and only one banner leaves flying.
A solo run through a faction's story. Learn the banner, press the abilities, earn the right to fly its colors online.
Picked up by players who keep notebooks.
“Engineers main. Piercing Shot into a Fortified island is just chef's kiss. Every turn is a spreadsheet I enjoy filling out.”
“Range Expertise Forgotten is the purest tempo faction I've played in a board-to-digital port. Retreat is a mercy I rarely grant.”
“Dice + distance-as-minimum-to-hit is such a tight combat rule. Feels like a real board game that respects every coin I spend.”
Paraphrased player feedback · Real Steam reviews once the storefront catches up
Before you sail
Old Salt is a turn-based naval strategy. You captain one of six factions on a hex-grid ocean map, moving a fleet of ships, firing cannons via dice rolls, and seizing islands until either you control six islands or you're the last banner still sailing.
Two paths: control 6 islands, or be the last player with any ship still afloat. Both reward different strategies — island rush versus attrition — and most matches come down to the last few turns.
Up to 6 players, matching the six factions. You can also play solo against the game's AI via Faction Campaigns.
Yes — Faction Campaigns let you play through each of the six banners' stories against AI opponents. Campaigns are how most players learn the abilities and pacing before stepping into multiplayer.
Anywhere from 30 minutes for a quick skirmish to a couple of hours for a full six-player free-for-all. Turns are snappy — you're moving ships, firing, and spending coins, not waiting on long animations.
Each faction has three unique abilities that change how you play: Barbarians (Battle Cry, Grappling Hook, Last Stand) brawl in close, Engineers (Piercing Shot, Fortify, Salvage) build and crack defenses, Forgotten (Retreat, Range Expertise, Debris) trade range for survival, and so on. No faction plays like another.
Both. The roll decides the shot, but positioning, timing, which ship you fire, and which ability you burn decide the match. Good captains lose individual rolls every game — they just don't lose the turns that matter.
Windows, macOS, and Linux via Steam. It's also being prepared for Steam Deck Verified — the UI and controller mapping are built with the Deck in mind.
Yes — a built-in tutorial walks you through sailing, firing, seizing islands, and using faction abilities. Most players are comfortable by their second match.
Six islands.
Or the last ship.
Available on Steam — Windows, macOS, Linux, and Steam Deck. Solo Faction Campaigns and up to 6-player multiplayer. One purchase, the whole map.