19) Port Royale 3 (2012)

Your voyage begins in the prosperous New World of the 17th century.

Developer: Gaming Minds

Genre: Action/Strategy/Simulation

Theme: Adventure & Trade

You are a young man of Spanish descent when you wash up at Port Royale in the Caribbean. You are lost until you meet the love of your life, the daughter of the Viceroy, Elena. In order to show your love you must either impress her through trade or war.

If you choose to be a trader, your goal is to create a large city from nothing. Make trade agreements with other towns, set up businesses around the world, and buy as many permits as possible. Your small community must turn into a successful, and busy, outpost for trade and all things economical. Now, if you choose to impress fair Elena through battle you shall become a deadly adventurer. Sadly, Elena has been taken hostage by pirates. These pirates were paid a rich sum from a wealthy Frenchman with intent to marry Elena. You must now start a war against the French to free her and begin your happily ever after. You will have to pirate other ships after tactical naval battles, invade and raid towns for supplies and goods, and possible become a recognized bounty hunter. 

Slowly build an economic powerhouse of a city in Port Royale 3. Trade routes will need managed, and don’t forget to always keep an eye on the ever changing market.

Some of us are overachievers and want to be a glorified adventurer and trader. Well Port Royale 3 offers a free play mode that allows you to mix the two aspects of the game in any way you choose. If you start and find out it’s too much to do by yourself, you can always play with up to 4 friends in multiplayer mode! Whether you play solo, or with others, Port Royale 3 has enough adventures to keep you distracted on a rainy weekend.

In the distance you see the ship you’ve been chasing... no hunting. You want the crew, the treasures, and above all the destruction of their ship. Hold on to your cannons because a ferocious battle awaits you in Port Royale 3.

18) Dead Man’s Draw (2014)

A card game of risk and reward, meant for those who can take a chance.

Developer: Stardock Entertainment

Genre: Casual Strategy

Theme: Pirate Themed Card Game

Dead Man’s Draw is a popular card game, which released an online version currently available on Steam. Like most card games this one is all about strategy. If you risk it all you could win great treasures or lose everything. The graphics are pleasing to the eye but not demanding on your PC (which is a major plus). But let’s explore the gameplay a little.

Who will you be when you win it all in a match of extreme strategy and risk? Will you be beautiful, scary, intimidating, or someone funny?

Each player pulls cards one a time in hopes of gaining the upper hand by the point values assigned to each card. However, it isn’t as straightforward as it seems. Cards also have special effects that if aligned properly can result in major plays. If you can set up enough cards you could start a Killer Combo, turning the game into your favor instantly. Once you’ve practiced enough against other players, you can enter tournaments. These tournaments have different sets of rules that keep the players on their toes when deciding on game winning strategies. All of this is themed around the Pirates glorious treasure seeking life.

You’ll have to place your cards based on value and special effects at the right time or risk losing everything you’ve gained. Are you a risk taker?

17) Swords & Crossbones: An Epic Pirate Story (2015)

Explore the grand adventure on sea and land in this turn-based RPG, Swords & Crossbones: An Epic Pirate Story.

Developer: Epic Devs LLC

Genre: RPG

Theme: Humorous Pirate Adventure

Swords and Crossbones: An Epic Pirate Story starts you as a pirate whose friends have been kidnapped by the most famed, and treacherous, pirate Duke A. Blizzardo. You must now quest through the starting island to free your past pirate crew to help you again on your new adventure. Bosses will stand in your way, weapon in hand and ready to turn you into pulp! Good thing each of your crew members have helpful unique abilities that can basically level up as you fight devious creatures like alligators, sea monsters, killer parrots, and more. The action is turn-based and once you adjust to it you’ll notice how fun it can be.

Look out for your enemies and decide how to strategically place your crew in order to ensure a successful battle.

Another aspect of the game is what we know as simulation. You have your own island that you build up into a tourist attraction (though you don’t have to!). Your crew will need a house to stay at, and shops to help work in. Funding you and your brethren is an expensive business, so you need to make money. Hire NPC’s to collect resources and build up your town to a new state of glory. However, you can’t solely work on your trading empire because in order to be successful you’ll have to explore.

The start of your town begins with your house and then ends with an extremely profitable tourist spot, allowing you to continue exploring the islands known as Antipodal Archipelago.

Exploring in Swords & Crossbones is a major part of the gameplay. You unlock vision on maps as you complete quests, as well as plots on your island to build on. While you can quest and kill bosses as you explore on land, exploring on the three sea’s is harder. If you don’t have enough food and supplies on your ship you are forced to return to land. As your crew grows larger, you will need to build a better and bigger ship. So many rewarding opportunities await you, but most of all, the defeat of Duke A. Blizzardo.

16) Pirates of the Burning Sea (2008)

Will you be an established trader or an intimidating pirate? In both cases, power and control are inevitable.

Developer: Flying Lab Software

Genre: MMORPG

Theme: Optional Pirate Play

You must choose a nationality and a career as soon as you start playing Pirates of the Burning Sea. Your options aren’t extremely diverse, but it does have a nice simplicity to it. You can either be British, Spanish, French, or Pirate. The three possible careers for the known nations are Naval Officer, Freetrader, and Privateer. Now if you choose to be a non-landlubber, the careers you can choose from are Buccaneer or Cutthroat.  Each career offers a unique variances and ways to perform in the game. From trading, to pvp, to conquering fallen ships are just some of the ways to entertain yourself in Pirates of the Burning Sea.

One of the more interesting aspects of this mmorpg is their Swashbuckling system. Basically, it’s a hands one character battle with different ways to try and win. You can fight dirty (pistol and cutlass), use the Florentine method (using dagger like weapons), brawl (hands only), or Fence (typical sword fight). When you win these swashbuckling battles you rank up and earn skill points. These skill points progress your character past others, as well as aid you with difficult encounters and battles. Either way, you can enjoy the pvp, pve, and market strategy in this pirate themed mmorpg whenever you want to. It’s time to decide where you fit in, in the world of Pirates of the Burning Sea.

You are under heavy fire, and must return heavy blows or fear being abandoned to the vast sea. There’s no time for hesitation in the life of a Pirate.

Prepare to battle for your honor, riches, and above all your life. Prove who the real scallywag is in some epic hands on battles.

15) Sea of Thieves (2017)

Wait with us for this fantastic open world journey in the life of a true pirate.

Developer: Rare

Genre: Adventure Game / MMO

Theme: Open World Adventure as Pirates

The best thing about being a pirate is getting super drunk and singing tunes on your grand ship. We’ve all wanted a flagon of rum in one hand, a steering wheel in the other, and treasure on the horizon. Well in Sea of Thieves you are going to get all that and much more. Sea of Thieves is an open world multiplayer adventure that should cater to all types of players. 

Man the sails, and steer forward…because we’ve got treasure to find…and steal.

You are a pirate with free reign to move as you please when playing Sea of Thieves. If you want to play a social game, you can drink merrily with your comrades and sing songs of bravery and glorious riches. If you want to place yourself in the hall of fame then go out with your 4 other crewmen (actual players) and hunt down other 5 manned ships. If blasting cannons isn’t enough to take down the enemy ship, ram your own vessel into theirs. All of this is so you can steal their loot and make it your own. If you just aren’t ready to steal treasure, don’t worry. There are ancient treasure maps ready to be found leading to great riches. While you explore you can always complete quests for special items and gold. 

The only way to find out what lies inside this hidden cave is to move forward and take a chance. There could be great treasures, or a deadly trap. It’s your choice.

We have big hopes for this first person open adventure pirate world. We’ll be sitting, rum in hand, waiting for the anticipated release of Sea of Thieves next year.