Piratical charity event set to deliver the booty

Four friends have banded together to produce a unique and modern charity event that is sure to capture the attention of many online enthusiasts.

Triple J radio host and TV presenter Paul Verhoeven will be joined by a number of guests in a piratical-themed day of gaming on February 8 named Pieces of 8th.

Specifically, Verhoeven and his motley crew will be Pirate Fluxx - a wildly unpredictable card game designed for ages eight and up.

While the rules are simple, the play time can vary from five minutes with a small group of friends to over half an hour - it depends on the number of cards drawn and the scenarios encountered.

Described by Wired magazine as "mutinous fun", Pirate Fluxx has 100 cards which makes for some interesting variations - as there are a number of special combinations that allow players to change the rules as they go.

The organisers have pledged to play this ever-changing game for a minimum of eight hours - live-streaming the proceedings through their dedicated website.

To make the day more challenging the generous blaggards will have to listen to a certain pirate-themed YouTube clip that has achieved cult status with over 1.2 million views since its release in 2009.

While some may enjoy the unique theme of the video - or perhaps just find it fun to watch the players as they struggle with hours of complex card-play - this particular edition is ten hours long.

What makes this charity event so different is that the scurvy crew - which includes design enthusiast TJ Lefebvre, writer Tully Hansen and textile print specialist Tully Hansen - will be playing an hour of the card game for every hundred dollars raised by members of the public giving up their pieces o' eight.

The division of the booty will take place any time after the eight hours have passed when no more donations are received - up to a maximum of 24 hours.

Each of the crew have picked their preferred Australian charity to receive their portion of the funds - including the Australian Literacy and Numeracy Foundation, Save the Tasmanian Devil Program, Kids Under Cover and Kids Helpline.

The overall winner out of the four team members will be able to allocate 50 per cent of the money raised for their preferred organisation - with the remainder being split between second place (25 per cent)  third and fourth (12.5 per cent each).

While the Pieces of 8th event is closed to public participation, the streaming session will also have a PayPal donation button for generous patrons to express their schadenfreude appreciation for the day-long suffering of the participants.