An Adventure So Real It Took MicroProse To create!

Grab your cutless and take the helm of a 17th Century sailing ship in PIRATES!. This dramatic Caribbean adventure is a unique blend of simulation and role-playing. The game recreates the politics, economics, maritime technology and excitement of the free-wheeling era of the buccaneer.

Navigate reef-strewn waters, fire cannonades in ship-to-ship battles and duel enemy captains in your pursuit of fame and fortune. Lead an overland attack. Search for buried treasure or rescue a kidnapped relative. It’s all in PIRATES! and historically and geographically, it’s very accurate.

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Unknown Source

**INTRODUCING The Adventure-Simulation... Action, Role Play, Drama And Intrigue... MicroProse PRESENTS

Sid Meier's PIRATES!**’

From the award-winning creator of SILENT SERVICE and F-15 STRIKE EAGLE

Join us, mate, for an expedition into one of the most fascinating eras of this millenium! PIRATES!’ is an exciting new adventure-simulation that will challenge your skills while it captures your imagination!

You are cast in the leading role as privateer captain, criss-crossing the Spanish Main, slipping into ports as needs or opportunities require but always relishing your return to the freedom of the open seas!

PIRATES!’ is a unique blend of your favorite software gaming features all in one package. It weaves together the excitement of arcade-style action, the challenge of simulation adventure. And, in the standard of all MicroProse software, PIRATES!’ is designed to give you hundreds of hours of stimulating game play!

PIRATES!’ features include: * ACTION... ship battles, land conquests, fencing and sailing * STRATEGY... plundering, trading, negotiating and forging alliances * GOALS... treasures, romance, status, power and prestige * NEW EXPERIENCES... explore across a map of the entire Caribbean * EXTENSIVE GRAPHICS... over 70 different scenes and pictures * EXCITEMENT... triumphs and tragedies, victories and defeats

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Advertisement in Family Computing, October 1987

Adventure Gamers Applaud PIRATES!

"PIRATES! is excellent...a great swashbuckling game, *enormously good fun...it should keep you playing for months." (Popular Computing Weekly, U.K.) "...your game has exceeded my wildest expectations...I have run up more game time on the computer in 3 days than in the entire month previous."* (C.M.J., Buffalo, N.Y.) "This is one of the most magnificent games I have ever had the pleasure of playing! It has exactly the balance of realism, playability and silliness that I most adore." (J.P.S., San Diego, CA)

"PIRATES! is a big hit in the Dallas area. This game is one of your best efforts. The graphics on all screens are excellent! You have done it again, MicroProse." (Larry Medlin, DallasGamers, in Game News)

PIRATES!** It's another winner from Sid Meier, author and designer of the award-winning F-15 STRIKE EAGLE and SILENT SERVICE. His creative genius has combined the best of simulation, role-playing and strategy games in this high seas adventure.

You're a 17th century privateer captain in the thick of the action on the Spanish Main. PIRATES! challenges your reflexes in simulated sailing, sea and land battles and swordfights. It tests your cunning in bargaining with merchants and negotiating with government officials. From the romance and intrigue of more than 50 foreign ports to the thrill and excitement of buried treasure, PIRATES! takes you on an exhilarating quest for power and prestige.

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Advertisement in Family Computing, January 1988

Sid Meier's Pirates!(TM)

The Action-Adventure Simulation From Sid Meier, Award-Winning Creator of RED STORM RISING and F-19 STEALTH FIGHTER

The year is 1671. After a lifetime of building your fortune on countless expeditions across the Spanish Main, the crown jewel lies before you: Panama... the largest and richest city in the New World! Today, you will risk all your wealth and prestige in a bold effort to seize your rightful place in history. Nestled out of sight in nearby coastal waters is a fleet of captured pirate raiders awaiting your orders to attack. At your side, hundreds of brave buccaneers. All is ready. Soon the fabled treasures of the Spanish Empire shall be yours!

... And so the story unfolds against a backdrop of history, adventure and intrigue. You play the leading role as a privateer captain, criss-crossing the Caribbean Sea, slipping into harbor towns as needs require and opportunities allow, but always relishing your return to the exhilarating freedom of the open seas!

Pirates! weaves the excitement of arcade-style action, the decision-making challenge of simulation, and the interactive storyline of text adventures into one magnificently rich and satisfying game.

PIRATES! features include: - ship battles, land conquests, fencing and sailing - political maneuvering, negotiations and forging alliances - treasure-hunting, rescues, mysteries and clues - historical and fictional expeditions from 1560 to 1700

PIRATES! is a winner!- Action Game of the Year, Computer Gaming World Magazine - Historical Game of the Year, Compute! Magazine - Best Screen Graphics, Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts and Design - Best Fantasy/Role-playing Game, Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts and Design

"...destined to become a classic."

• Home Office Computing Magazine

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Box Cover (Second Edition)

PIRATES! -- Swashbuckling Adventure on the High Seas

In PIRATES! you become a 17th-century privateer captain searching the Caribbean for new ships and cities to plunder. Using your sills as a sailor, swordsman, merchant and captain, you must navigate reef-strewn waters to seize the fabled treasures of the Spanish Empire. From the excitement of attacking Spanish galleons to the romance and intrigue of foreign ports, PIRATES! lets you relive the era of the buccaneer.

This is not just a game of sea battles, but a unique program combining the realism of simulation, the fun of the arcade and the interaction of adventure and role-playing games. In the tradition of all MicroProse software, PIRATES! offers hundreds of hours of stimulating game play, using multiple scenarios to ensure a continuing challenge. Varied difficulty levels provide fun for beginners and experienced players.

Pirates! is another creation by Sid Meier, designer of the best-selling simulations, F-15 STRIKE EAGLE and SILENT SERVICE. He has reproduced the ships, waters, prevailing winds and ports of the Caribbean to provide a realistic look at the pirate era. So grab your cutlass before you embark on this exciting voyage through history.

Including these PIRATES! features:

ACTION--sea and land battles, fencing, sailing adventures

STRATEGY--plan battle tactics, forge alliances, negotiate trading settlements

GOALS--treasures, status, prestige, power, romance

NEW EXPERIENCES--explore the Spanish Main using a detailed map of the Caribbean

EXTENSIVE GRAPHICS--more than 70 different scenes and pictures

EXCITEMENT--triumphs and tragedies, victories and defeat

Design: Sid Meier

Screen Graphics: Michael Haire

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MicroProse product catalog "Face To Face With Excitement"

Ahoy, you swarthy gold swiping, ship sinking sea dog!

Modern warfare is no match for the fierce realism of six historically accurate seventeenth century pirate raids along the Spanish Main. Aye, matey! That's why plundering and pillaging are back in style, as you command the role of high seas high-jacker. Either an English Buccaneer, Dutch Adventurer, Spanish Renegade or French Explorer, each with a different skill level and strategic impact.

As a swashbuckling scoundrel, you'll barter with enemy merchants, trade for hidden treasure maps, negotiate with unscrupulous governors and forge alliances with monarchs who'd just as soon stab you in the back than float you a loan for new ships. But that's only half the battle! You'll alos assault towns, sword fight with garrison commanders, lay siege to forts, and fire your cannons broadside at an armada of naval foes, including Spanish War Galleons, Dutch Frigates, French Merchantmen and English Sloops.

Arrrrg, me swabby! Don't think it's all fun and destruction. Because if your bloodthirsty crew isn't kept happy boarding and burning enemy vessels, or if your navigation skills leave them shipwrecked on a jagged Caribbean reef, they won't think twice about using you for shark bait. Fortunately, if events do take a nasty turn, you can save the statistical loot you've captured and return with a vengeance on another day.

So keep your eye (the one that doesn't have a patch over it!) on your ultimate objectives--power, fame, prestige, gold, land, and the hand of a beautiful maiden--and you'll find the sailing smooth and your "red beard" scraggly!

For 1 player. Included with Pirates! is a historically accurate map of the Spanish Main to help you through your adventures.

Battery saves all key information and current location.

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Back cover of the NES box

Une Simulation d'Aventure et d'Action

PIRATES!

A LA RECHERCHE DE LA RENOMMEE ET DE LA FORTUNE SUR LES MERS!

Pirates! est une extraordinaire simulation de l'Armada Espagnole au 17ème siècle et vous avez le rôle important d'un capitaine au long cours. Plongez-vous dans une ère de turbulences, à une époque ou de fabuleuses fortunes pouvaient être gagnées ou perdues. Des graphismes considérables vous permettent de naviguer à travers les Caraïbes, rentrant ou sortant de ports selon les opportunités. Vous décidez quand opérer des raids sur les galions chargés de trésors et quand débarquer votre équipage à terre pour piller des villes. Apprenez à vous battre à l'épée, avec une rapière ou au coutelas. Et, maintenez à tous prix la morale sur vôtre bateau pour éviter une mutinerie.
Pour réussir dans cette aventure, vous devez choisir les expéditions les plus lucratives, forger les alliances les plus fructueuses et négocier les meilleurs profits. Si vous possédez l'adresse et la force de caractère pour cela, vos atteindrez vos buts: prospérité - pouvoir - prestige - et même de la romance.

Pirates! Une combinaison d'histoires, d'aventures et d'intrigues exceptionnelle.

**PIRATES

❑ Une simulation de la vie du 17ème siècle

❑ De l'action non-stop et des décisions stratégiques à prendre

❑ Des graphismes considérables avec 70 scènes différentes

❑ Des niveaux de difficultés variés

❑ Un manuel des commandes compréhensif

❑ Une centaine d'heures de distraction excitante.**

CONTENU

Une disquette ou une cassette Pirates — Une carte des Caraïbes — Un manuel d'instruction en français — Un catalogue Microprose — Une Garantie.

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Back of Box - PC Booter (FR)

Pirates!™

An Adventure So RealIt Took MicroProse To create!

Grab your cutless and take the helm of a 17th Century sailing ship in PIRATES!. This dramatic Caribbean adventure is a unique blend of simulation and role-playing. The game recreates the politics, economics, maritime technology and excitement of the free-wheeling era of the buccaneer.

Navigate reef-strewn waters, fire cannonades in ship-to-ship battles and duel enemy captains in your pursuit of fame and fortune. Lead an overland attack. Search for buried treasure or rescue a kidnapped relative. It’s all in PIRATES! and historically and geographically, it’s very accurate.

(screenshots)

Pirates! The Award Winner:

• 1988 Action Game of the Year (Computer Gaming World)
• Best Screen Graphics (1988 Origins Awards)
• Best Fantasy/Role Playing Game (1988 Origins Awards)

Pirates! Packed with Features: * Ship battles, land conquests, fencing and sailing * Plundering, trading, negotiating and forging alliances * Treasure-hunts, romantic encounters * More than 70 different scenes and pictures

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Back of Box - PC Booter (US)