How To Win Every Tavern Game – Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag Resynced

The Grandmaster trophy does not ask you to clear every tavern table in Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag. You only need one win in each different board game type, so the fastest route is to pick low-difficulty tables where you can and move on after each win.

Grandmaster only needs three board-game wins

For Grandmaster, think in terms of game types, not locations. Winning Checkers at one tavern counts for Checkers; you do not need to hunt down and beat another Checkers table elsewhere.

Recommended taverns for the three game types

This route keeps the trophy focused: win Checkers once, win Nine Men’s Morris once, then win Fanorona once. If a tavern is still locked, trigger the tavern scene first, win the fistfight, and then return to the table.

Andreas Island Checkers route

Use Andreas Island as your Checkers stop, then play a steady capture-focused game instead of rushing pieces forward.

Unlock the tavern

Start the tavern encounter if needed, win the brawl, and sit at the board once the minigame is available.

Move one piece at a time

Advance diagonally while keeping your formation tight enough that the opponent cannot crown easily.

Prioritize jumps

Take captures whenever they improve your position, especially when one jump opens a second jump.

Reach the far side

Push one piece safely to the opponent’s back edge so it becomes a king.

Use the king to finish

Once crowned, use the king’s extra movement to chase captures and close out the match.

Video help

Checkers tactics that work

Checkers is the most familiar tavern game for most players, and it is usually the easiest Grandmaster win. Move diagonally, jump enemy pieces when the board gives you a clean capture, and keep watching for double jumps because they can swing the match quickly.

Do not empty your back row too early. Keeping those pieces in place makes it harder for the opponent to reach your far side and crown a king. When you do advance, favor the center of the board because it gives your pieces more capture routes and makes it harder for the opponent to pin you to an edge.

Your main goal is to crown at least one piece. A king gives you much more freedom to move and clean up loose enemy pieces, so once you have a safe path to the far side, protect that piece and build the rest of the game around it.

Nine Men’s Morris winning plan

Nine Men’s Morris looks odd at first, but the win condition is simple: make a line of three of your pieces, called a mill, and each completed mill lets you remove one enemy piece. The match starts with both players placing pieces on empty points. After placement ends, the game shifts into sliding pieces along the board lines.

The best repeatable tactic is to build a mill you can break and remake. Once you have three in a row, slide one piece out on your turn, then slide it back in on your next turn to recreate the same mill. Every time the mill reforms, remove another enemy piece.

While doing this, watch the opponent’s possible mills. Blocking their third piece matters almost as much as making your own, because one unchecked mill can start removing your pieces and break your setup. If the opponent blocks your first loop, look for the same pattern somewhere else on the board: one nearly completed line, one movable piece, and enough space to slide it back and forth.

Keep repeating the mill cycle until the opponent is reduced too far to continue. Once they drop to only a couple of pieces, the match can end by forfeit, giving you the Nine Men’s Morris win for Grandmaster.

Fanorona winning plan

Fanorona is the hardest of the three because it is not normal Checkers. Captures happen by approach or withdrawal: moving toward enemy pieces can capture a row, and moving away from enemy pieces can also capture depending on the line. After a capture, you can often chain into another capture with the same piece.

If the opening goes badly, restart or keep trying until you get a favorable first move. The strongest opening idea is to attack rows packed near the enemy corners. When you move into the right line, you can wipe out several pieces at once, then continue the chain into another capture. Always choose the row with the most enemy pieces when a chain gives you that option.

After the large corner rows are cleared, slow down. Fanorona can turn even when the opponent has only a few pieces left because one bad move can hand them a combo. Use your closest useful pieces first, move them near the remaining enemies, and avoid moves that leave an obvious approach or withdrawal capture for the opponent.

Near the end, it is fine to spend a quiet move with a spare piece if attacking would bait your own pieces into a chain. The goal is not to look elegant; it is to deny the opponent a comeback and finish the last captures cleanly.

Mistakes that slow down Grandmaster

The biggest mistake is assuming you need wins at all eight taverns. You do not. Those taverns matter for other completion goals, but Grandmaster only checks the three different board-game types.

Another common delay is choosing tougher tables or higher wagers too early. Start low, get the win, and leave. Also make sure you have actually unlocked the tavern through its brawl; if the board is not available yet, the tavern itself probably still needs to be opened.

Finally, do not play Fanorona like ordinary Checkers. Its approach and withdrawal captures are the whole game, and treating every move like a jump will leave you open to the opponent’s chains.

Other tavern trophies to chase later

After Grandmaster, the related tavern goals are Barfly and Hungover. Barfly is about unlocking all eight hidden taverns, which means finding each tavern and clearing its brawl.

Hungover is much simpler: keep drinking at a tavern until Edward passes out. Those are separate goals, so do not mix them into the Grandmaster route unless you are already cleaning up tavern-related trophies in one session.