Pirates — Turn-Based Naval Combat

How to play Pirates

The board is a 10×10 ocean. Each turn you take one action — move or fire. Move one tile in any of eight directions and your ship turns to face the way it sails; islands, other ships and the edge block the move (a blocked move costs no turn). Fire a broadside and cannon fire erupts from both sides, perpendicular to your facing, flying straight until it hits an island, a ship, or the edge.

Currents sweep any ship an extra tile along their arrow — chaining through further currents — and can fling you into an island, off the edge, or into another ship. Shoals are shallows you can't enter and a current can run you aground on one, but shots pass straight over them. Every enemy you sink leaves a wreck on its tile for the rest of the level — debris that behaves like a shoal, closing the sea in as you clear the board. Once in a while a green sea serpent surfaces — invulnerable, blocking your cannon fire like an island and eating any ship it drifts into, so give it a wide berth. Clear every enemy to advance; one hit sinks you.

Strategy & tips

• Line up your facing so a broadside rakes an enemy along its row or column — you fire both sides at once.
• Use islands as cover: shots are blocked by islands but pass over shoals, so nothing hides behind a shoal.
• Watch the currents — bait reckless orange rammers into being swept into hazards while you stay clear.
• Tactical red ships hold fire when an ally blocks their line to you; break their formation to make them waste turns.
• Never sit in a current that points at a sea serpent — it drifts and eats like anything else in the water, and it can shield enemies from your broadside.