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Sid Meier's Pirates! was originally released in 1987 and ported to the Commodore Amiga in 1990.
Fleeing your debt-ridden situation, you find refuge on a pirate ship, becoming its captain.
Towns offer a variety of options.
Taverns are the best way to recruit a crew of scurvy sea-dogs.
When navigating the Caribbean, you must take into account the prevailing winds and the capabilities of your ships. Seen here, the Dread Pirate Codex's fleet descends on Guadeloupe.
When attacking (or being attacked by) another ship, or when attacking a port by sea, naval combat plays out, combining navigation with gunnery.
A sword-fight ensues when naval combat ends with one ship ramming the other or when you storm a the fort of an enemy city, as well as certain other situations. Your men fight the enemy in the background, and the progress of that struggle affects the difficulty of your 1-on-1 fight.
Ships encountered at sea can sometimes be pirates or pirate-hunters, seeking your defeat.
When an enemy ship is captured, you can take it into your fleet or sink it. Either way, you plunder its gold and resources.
Governors grant you new ranks after you have obtained a sufficient number of points from defeating enemy ships and sacking enemy cities. Excess points result in the addition of grants of land.
Each governor has a daughter, who can be wooed if you have attained sufficient rank.
The plainer of the governors' daughters will become overawed after you reach higher ranks, thus agreeing to gather information for you.
The treasure fleet and the silver train advance between cities in the Caribbean at certain times of the year, offering opportunities to capture them.
Attacking a city by land results in a land battle different from the system for naval battles. Your men are divided into groups, and you have opportunities to whittle away the enemy's forces before storming the forts.
Sacking a town earns you a booty of gold and goods, similar to capturing a ship, but more lucrative.
Sometimes sacking an enemy city results in its capture, which offers you the choice of installing a governor of a different allegiance.
Your long-lost relatives can be rescued, if you obtain maps revealing their locations.
When dividing the plunder, you can retire completely, leading to an assessment of your career.
A premature retirement would result in an outcome of becoming a merchant captain, but there are more adventures in store for Count Codex.
The Amiga version of Pirates not only offers improved graphics but also improved sound, including ten Baroque musical tracks, which can also be accessed from the main menu.
