Sid Meier's Pirates!

aka: Pirates!, Sid Meier's Pirates!: Action and Adventure on the Spanish Main, Xide Meier de Haidao
Moby ID: 214
PC Booter Specs
Buy on Commodore 64
$249.99 used on eBay
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Description official descriptions

Take on the life of a buccaneer in the golden age of Caribbean Piracy! This game lets you choose from 6 different "ages" (for example, "The Silver Empire" from 1560-1600, "War For Profit" from 1640-1660, etc.), one of 4 nationalities (English, French, Dutch, Spanish), 4 difficulty levels, and one of 5 special abilities (skill at fencing, skill at navigation, etc.). Nine different types of ships were represented.

The goal of the game is to retire with as much gold and land as possible, as many ranks/titles as possible (Colonel, Admiral, Marquis, Duke), and a wife. Finding long lost relatives helps too. You accomplish these goals by plundering cities, capturing and sinking enemy ships, getting in good with governors to receive titles, learn news of "evil Spaniards" holding your relatives, capturing evil pirates, etc.

The game is educational, as you will learn about piracy through the thoroughly researched manual. You'll smell the sea salt as you participate in wild sword fights, desperate sea battles, and daring attacks by land.

Spellings

  • 席德梅尔的海盗 - Simplified Chinese spelling

Groups +

Screenshots

Promos

Credits (PC Booter version)

24 People · View all

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 82% (based on 39 ratings)

Players

Average score: 3.8 out of 5 (based on 208 ratings with 9 reviews)

The most timeless game I have ever found

The Good
For me, even the 8 bit version of this game is pretty flawless. From the ability to choose a combination of a historical period and nationality, to the freedom of choice in in-game actions, the scope of this game is only just being reached by far more sophisticated modern releases (Operation Flashpoint for example) I first played this game aged about 9 on a commodore 64, and it held me captivated for months, if not years. I have now downloaded it for a 64 emmulator, and am once again spending most of my gaming hours (limited, as a married man of 26 with 2 kids) playing it once again. This game has educational importance as well. Other have said that this game taught them more about the period than schooling, and I can only agree. My interest in the period has endured, so much so that I am hopefully to soon join an expedition to St Kitts to explore the maritime archaeology in the area.

The Bad
In all honesty, I cannot fault the C64 version of the game.....except that Bach and Handel (major musical contributors to the game) were of a later period... Bach wasnt born 'till March 1685!!!!!! Having said this, I wont deny that the choice of scores set the scene! :-)

The Bottom Line
Pure freedom to loot, pillage and cause as much havoc as you care to wreak!

Commodore 64 · by Peter Brady (3) · 2003

ABsolutely awesome game, even in 2004

The Good
It is INFINITELY play-able. But, this game is NOT about graphics, tho, for it's DAY, it was an awesome game. You can only TRY to 'master' certain levels of play (within certain time periods) and THEN, you can go about your business in an entirely DIFFERENT time period... Try it... You'll LIKE IT... You'll find yourself running your career well into the wee hours of the morning... Only to try it all again the NEXT DAY!!! Back in 87-89 I was stationed in Germany, and one of my roommates bought a small computer and it came with some games... GUESS which game is the one I STILL enjoy playing??? ...Uh HUH!!! You GUESSED it...

The Bad
What's not to like? (if ya want big 'realistic' explosions) go buy a cd of some New Thing....

The Bottom Line
It is without doubt, a classic. This game is NOT about the visual effects... it is about THE GAME...

Commodore 64 · by stvrich (2) · 2004

An example of what a PC should strive to be.

The Good

Some of my earliest and fondest memories of PC gaming are of the game 'Pirates!'. Everything about this game is golden. The naval combat is exciting and intense, the sword fighting is thrilling, and few things beat the rush of successfully capturing a well-defended city.

This game has it all. You choose a nation to privateer for and set forth to the Caribbean. Throughout the game you attain fame and fortune, search for your long lost family, and even woo the beautiful (and not-so-beautiful) governors' daughters. Everything about this title is top notch.

**The Bad**

The worst thing I can say about 'Pirates!' is that Sid Meier has never made an updated version.

**The Bottom Line**
This is a true classic of PC gaming, certainly a title to be remembered.

PC Booter · by Entorphane (337) · 2002

[ View all 9 player reviews ]

Discussion

Subject By Date
Is the listed DOS CD-ROM version really Pirates? Silvano Ciccioli (151) Oct 28, 2017

Trivia

1001 Video Games

Sid Meier's Pirates! appears in the book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die by General Editor Tony Mott.

Development

Amazingly, the original Commodore 64 version is written in large part in BASIC with certain parts written in assembler for speed, such as the sailing around the map.

Extras

The original box came with a map of the entire Caribbean, with each of the cities noted with their founding date (so you'd know when not to visit them!)

Game Art Beyond

In 2018, Pirates! was selected as one of the biggest classics on the Commodore 64 by the creators of the C64 graphics collection Game Art Beyond. Pirates! was honoured with a high resolution title picture (based on the title screen made for the Amiga version) in a special C64 graphics format called NUFLI. While all other game screens in Game Art Beyond featured a remix of their respective title music, there really was no compelling theme in the original C64 version except for a few jingles, so instead you'll hear a C64 SID remix of Bach Prelude C Minor, which later suddenly turns into Pirates of the Carribbean.

Historical Accuracy

Sid Meier on his design philosophy and how he applied it to his favorite game (from the May 2001 issue of Computer Gaming World):

We have a joke that we only do the research after the game is finished. If I read too many books, I will create a game based on the books.
(...)
Pirates! was about pirate movies, not the period.

However, each of the six "ages" you could choose from were historically accurate. Some examples: Some ages featured cities that others didn't (the cities historically hadn't been settled yet), the four different European powers gained and lost power as they did in history, and different types of ships were more common in different eras.

Missions

Unlike the early versions such as the C64 and Apple II, some following versions often lets governors offer the player special missions to accept or reject in return for potential rewards.

Music

If the player runs Sid Meier's Pirates! on a Tandy machine, the player will find snippets of 3-voice music throughout the game.

Amstrad CPC version

Amstrad CPC version of the game was advertised as "The World's First Swashbuckling Simulation" and was only for CPC 6128.

NES version

Unlike other versions of Pirates!, the NES port lacks "tobacco" as a trade item for the 1600-1640 time period. In its place there is an item simply labelled "crops".

Awards

  • Amiga Joker
    • Issue 01/1991 – Best Adventure Game in 1990
  • Computer Gaming World
    • Hall of Fame member
    • October 1988 (Issue #52) - Action Game of the Year
    • November 1996 (15th anniversary issue) - #18 overall among the “150 Best Games of All Time”
    • November 1996 (15th anniversary issue) – #6 Most Rewarding Ending of All Time
  • GameStar (Germany)
    • Issue 03/2013 – One of the "Ten Best C64 Games“
  • Retro Gamer
    • September 2004 (Issue #8) – #84 Best Game Of All Time (Readers' Vote)

Information also contributed by Andrew Grasmeder, Indra was here, JubalHarshaw, Kasey Chang, Nathan Jedinak and PCGamer77

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  • MobyGames ID: 214
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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by Raphael.

PC-88 added by Trypticon. NES, Commodore 64, Apple II added by PCGamer77. Atari ST, Amiga added by Rebound Boy. Amstrad CPC added by Martin Smith. PC-98 added by Terok Nor. Apple IIgs added by Scaryfun. DOS added by formercontrib. Macintosh added by Garcia.

Additional contributors: Trixter, Unicorn Lynx, Sergio Brinkhuis, BdR, formercontrib, Patrick Bregger, mailmanppa, S Olafsson, Malte Mundt, FatherJack, ZeTomes.

Game added August 14, 1999. Last modified January 29, 2024.