1) Sid Meier’s Pirates! (2005)

Sic semper pirata. Thus always to pirates… that aren’t you.

Developer: 2k Games

Genre: Action/Adventure

Theme: Total Piracy

No list of pirate games could ever be complete without Sid Meier’s Pirates. It is possibly the most complete pirating game of them all, not content to simply allow one to buckle swashes and engage in daring high battles on the high seas, you can also find and dig up buried treasure, engage in land warfare to take over settlements, and even engage in the most serious battle of them all, love, by wooing the various governor’s daughters spread throughout the settlements of the Caribbean. This remake of the 1987 classic is a surprisingly deep collection of mini-games that flow fluidly together.

Purple in a pirate bar? Bad choice, my friend.

The storyline is fairly cliché and simple, as a young boy your family is stolen by the dastardly Spaniard Baron Raymundo, and your initial goal is to track them down. This is of course, if you don’t get distracted laying waste to your opponents, stealing massive quantities of gold and accumulating rank and land. There’s no pushing here, the game is pure and free pirate action. Do what you want, become the heroic privateer or backstabbing buccaneer you’ve always wanted to be.

Pirates! has one glaring and obvious flaw in its theme that prevents it from being the perfect simulation of a life of piracy… a distinct and utter lack of parrots.

Yo Ho Ho! So if you haven’t had enough of the sea by reading this article, hop in one of these games for a great adventure. We all want to be three sheets in the wind while sailing our own customizable ship. Finding treasure is in our blood, and thank god we all have our sea legs. So before you turn into a salty seadog, grab a cutlass and a crew to aid you in the conquering of all other worlds. Take a nap in the crow’s nest, because with all this exploring to be done you’ll need more energy. Just remember, once a pirate…always a pirate.

Arrrr! You might also be interested in the following:

• Want to record your own pirate adventures? Try 6 Best Game Recording Software
• Interested in going a little further back? Try 15 Best Medieval Games for PC
• If you enjoy blowing things up in the sea, try 15 Best Warship Games