This game was a classic that I used to play when I was 16 years old, way back in 1993. Before we were able to get our pirate fix in Pirates of the Caribbean there was Pirates Gold. It all began by recruiting a crew of scary dogs from local taverns to assemble a crew to plunder Spanish shipping in the Caribbean Sea. The object was to defeat those ships and add them to you own fleet, thereby increasing your own strength.
There are several different classes of ships ranging from sloops all the way through galleons.
Obviously ships like a Man-o' War, frigates, or galleon are more difficult to defeat, however once added to your own fleet your chances of plundering a greater amount of loot would increase dramatically. If you are brave enough you can attempt to take on a whole town, though this is not advised as the land lubbers defence is formidable and you and your crew may wind up in prison which is certainly no place to wind up for a pirate. However, if you are brave enough, savvy enough, and have the spirit of Edward Teach, a.k.a. "Blackbeard" with you, you just might be able to retire as a wealthy land baron, and marry the governor's daughter, not bad for a pirate.
The
game play is simple enough, and the graphics are pretty cool as well. Since you are a pirate based in the Caribbean the large map is of that region, and you sail around until you can find suitable opponents to try to defeat.
In one of the coolest features of any games from this era, if the two ships engaging one another could not resolve their issues from the sea, than the two crews would drop a gang plank and duke it out with swords. Ultimately it would come down to a showdown between the two captains (you, and your opponent), you are also allowed to choose your sword of choicer, with the Rapier always being my favourite.
Another highlight of this game was the fact that whenever you encountered another pirate crew it would show that crew's standard, each having a different one. I can't say I ever played another game similar to this one, and it was always one of my absolute favourite games. For any of you, who secretly long to be a member of a pirate crew, enjoy game play involving maps, or just feel like it is time to re-visit the early 1990's consider this game.
