PUZZLE PIRATES (online multiplayer)
This is an excellent game. There is so much to do in this game I think it's best that I describe a pirate's typical journey through the world. But first I'll mention that there are two different ways to play. First you can play by subscription. This is free to play, but in order to get access to every part of the game you'll need to pay a regular fee. But best of all is the "doubloon ocean" option. This is also free to play, but the player has the option of purchasing money within the game for extra benefits. This isn't necessary however, and it's quite an interesting challenge to make your way through the world earning the money for yourself for everything you need. But still if you can afford it, it's sometimes nice to make things a bit easier for yourself by using your real world money to increase your wealth within the game.
The game contains a complete pirate-themed world. Many of the people there act and even talk like pirates, saying things like, "Arrrrr! Avast from yer whinin' ye scurvy dogs and get back to work, so we can get our cargo o' vast booty safely back to shore." And everything that exists there is manufactured or run by other players. For example a sailing vessel can either be bought ready-made from another player, or else has to be built in a shipyard. This will require workers, as well as all the materials, which in turn require manufacturing from other basic materials, which can be bought or foraged from islands. A vessel will stay active until it gets sunk in battle, but other items such as weapons and clothes, unless put in storage, will gradually wear out and require replacing over time. This keeps the economy going, and requires the players to constantly need to be earning money not only for new things, but also to replace their old things. Many activities also require badges to enable them to be done, and these badges also need to be bought, and also wear out over time. However, things only wear out while the player actually plays the game, except for labour badges, which still get used even while the player is offline.
As a new pirate you'll be dressed in rags with a basic sword, very little money and no reputation, ready to start your adventure. The first thing to do is join the navy, where you can practice the jobs required to run a vessel, while also getting paid for your work. Every activity on deck requires performing a puzzle, and how well you do in the puzzle reflects how well you do the job, and the puzzles resemble the job you are doing. For example sailing requires you to fill the sails with wind, or rigging, an alternative to sailing involves pulling ropes. Sailing will speed up the vessel, or keep her at full speed. Navigating is optional and requires lining up stars, which will increase the efficiency of the sailors. Carpentry requires efficiently filling in holes in the vessel with wooden pieces, to prevent water filling up the vessel. Bilging pumps water out of the vessel, as the bilge water will slow down the vessel so the sailors have to work harder. Loading cannons requires cleaning and filling the cannons with powder, wadding and a cannonball in the right order, ready for shooting in battle.
You may find the puzzles fun, but they can be also quite tedious sometimes, especially if you are required to do a job you don't like for a long time. Most activities throughout the world require an equivalent puzzle, and as you improve your skills your reputation also increases. Likewise, the more you work for the navy and do good work, the quicker you will advance through the ranks and get rewards. You can even get command of your own vessel after a while, and get into battles, with computer controlled players called 'swabbies' working for you. The navy swabbies are quite good, but the regular swabbies you can get to work for you outside the navy, though reliable, will only ever do average work. These swabbies can be found on land as well as at sea, and can be challenged to games, and if your abilities are fairly even will also accept a little wager on the outcome.
After you've learned a bit of sailing in the navy next you'll be advised to practice your fighting. This is either a swordfight or a rumble, and you can practice with the swabbies before getting into fights with other pirates. The fights are also in the form of puzzles, and weapons are used. If you have no weapon you just use a stick for swordfighting and your fists for rumbling. In these puzzles you send swords or blows to your opponent, while blocking the ones they send. Once you know how to fight it's time to get a job working on board a player vessel, which is usually far more profitable than working for the navy. This is usually a pillage - attacking other vessels at sea and stealing their booty, though there is also much more to do.
First the crew will get the vessel up to a nice speed, get the cannons loaded and keep her shipshape. Then the captain or officer in charge will search along their charted course and try to engage a suitable enemy vessel (or avoid being engaged by an unsuitable one). This then results in a sea battle in which the sailors produce moves, and the vessels fight with cannonballs on a board, which includes strong winds, whirlpools and rocks, which need to be avoided or used to your advantage. Though you can attack other player vessels, the majority of sea battles are against computer controlled vessels, with the players all working together against the computer. The battle goes on until one of the vessels gets the chance to disengage and escape from the battle, or else grapples the enemy vessel, boards it and a fight starts. This will either be a swordfight or a rumble, but with multiple players at once. These team fights are fought tactically, attacking whichever individual you want, and each individual can be attacked by several enemies at once. And with rumble you also have the option of defending one of your own crew instead of attacking one of the enemy crew.
During battle any damage received through cannonballs and collisions will injure the crew and make it more difficult for them to win the final battle on deck, and whichever crew wins then steals a portion of the enemy booty and cargo. The crew gets a share of the money plundered straight away, and the rest is put in a booty chest, to be divided accordingly at the end of the voyage - or whatever is left if enemy pirates have attacked and successfully robbed a portion of it. In addition the crew can sometimes plunder treasure maps to small islands and shipwrecks at sea, where additional wealth can be found through digging and hauling puzzles.
As well as pillaging, crews can run several other types of voyages. Some crews will pay pirates to staff their vessels carrying needed cargo between islands for profit, and will usually try to avoid battles, as they risk losing some of their precious cargo. Others will pay workers to forage on desert islands for raw materials, which can then be sold at inhabited islands. For example plants of different colours could be used in the manufacture of coloured paint for vessels and builings, as well dye for clothing for all the different colours people want. Or they could sail to strange places, fight ghost ships, sea monsters or whatever, while hauling up great treasure from other vessels sunk in these dangerous places. Or They could either attack or defend an outpost, attack an armada or several other things. New things are sometimes added to the game, increasing its variety even more.
After a long voyage the pirate is worn out and decides to take a break. He goes to the local inn, where pirates gather to play various games or compete in tournaments, usually involving gambling. The games are accessed by using game tables, which are manufactured, and can also be bought for private use on vessels, or in homes and other properties owned. Playing the games requires buying a parlour badge, however every day a couple of them are free for everyone, so you get to play every one on certain days. Of course if you were good at certain games and wanted to play them whenever you wanted, you could easily win enough money by betting in the games, or at least get enough additional income from going on pillages or wherever else you might do to pay for your badge. There is a nice selection available. There are some good card games, including Poker, as well as others such as a drinking game and team swordfights or rumbles. The tables connect everyone together who is currently on the same ocean in the same part of the world as you are, so everyone has a chance to join a game against people who are using their own tables miles away.
There are other things to do on land, such as buy a shop to manufacture and sell whatever people need, or get a labour badge and work for other people's shops, or buy a house, where furniture can be stored, including useful items like the game tables or storage devices, such as a wardrobe so your spare clothes don't get worn out by always being carried around with you. Pirates like to show off their fine vessels, houses, furniture, clothes and other wealth and achievements, and can have parties and pay to advertise them to the whole ocean.
After a bit of experience in various things the pirate chooses his path. He might like to join a good crew full time, and rise up the ranks, getting more control of the vessel, rather than taking whatever temporary job he can find. Being in a crew gives you the rank privileges in your own crew, but you're still free to work for other crews as a temporary jobber if your own crew isn't at sailing. Pillages are the most fun part of the game, and are also very profitable. It's very enjoyable being part of a team defeating an enemy at sea and stealing their booty and cargo, which can be vast and worth a lot. Even if the crew is entirely swabbies, since you can only get 3 or 4 at once in place of pirates, it's a nice challenge to successfully sail the smaller vessels singlehanded, helped only by a few swabbies and their low skill performances, and still win battles against larger vessels with more crew.
He might want to start his own crew, or become a trader, gem smuggler, navy commander, Poker player, Blacksmith, etc. Or whatever combination of activities that are enjoyable and profitable. You just do whatever you want in this game. The only problem is the voyages require commitment, and can sometimes last a lot longer than expected. Especially if you are the lone officer on a vessel capable of commanding it and you've got to get the vessel safely back to shore before you can leave. But overall, it's this wonderful world of real pirates with lots to explore and do. It's living the life of a pirate, and everything is a game!
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