by VinegarBob
entwife wrote:
...I've played it 30 times, and never once bought a ship with silver...
I've also played this over 30 times and I've only bought a ship with silver one time, and it was when I started with the Refugee Helper card and abused it for almost the whole game. That was also the highest score I ever got.
As for islands I find them pretty essential as I normally don't fill in my home board, so I need at least one for the income. Otherwise I don't see why you couldn't do very well without using them.