Puzzle Pirates (PC)

For anyone who expects to find a game where you fight in either 1st or 3rd person view, this isn't the game for you. For those of you who are looking for a game where it's all about strategies, this game isn't for you. This game is all about the puzzles and relaxed environments.

Beginnings go first

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To start with the beginning some of my first thoughts when starting this game, were that it reminded me of something (and it still does by the way!). At first I couldn't really put my finger on what it was, but as I played a bit it came to me: Playmobil. The toy from when I was a small kid. Everything from the game reminded me of playmobil, when I took a closer look.
After this surprise, I tried to figure out how to actually play the game (missions and such). Though there isn't any real instructions on how to solve the puzzles (sucha as how you play them) many of them are easy to understand, yet they still challenge you. And the fact that some puzzles (mostly duels and drinking-games) are played against other real players only makes it more fun.

Getting started

Getting started doesn't take much time since the character creation screen doesn't allow that much customisation, but getting used to playing the game does. Thankfully, the people behind Puzzle Pirates made some ships where you can join and simply try the different tasks that are available onboard. The only task you won't be able to play is navigation, as this is a task that requires you buy a ship yourself.
To help with the customisation you have the possibility of buying clothes, weapons, scarfs and more in shops on different islands.

puzzle pirates online

Many times I've been in doubt if the ship was actually sailing. You don't even see the water splashing against the ship when you walk around, between the choir-posts. Thankfully, this isn't a game where you focus on the graphics, but more on the puzzles. Currently you can only see if a ship is sailing by looking at the upper right corner where there is a small map, showing your location (if you're onboard a ship it shows the ship) and by the fact that you can only do choirs such as "Sailing", "Carpentry" and "Bilging", while the ship is actually at sea.

But what happens when you're not at sea?

Even if the game is called Puzzle Pirates it doesn't mean that you're at sea all the time. And furthermore you're not necessarily boarding others ships when you are sailing. So what do you do when you're not sailing? That depends. You could go to the local bar and play bar games with other players like you, you could train your fighting skills or you could even go shopping for clothes for your character.
Furthermore, if you have enough money (and possibly materials such as wood and iron) you could build/buy your own shop and spend time managing the shop. This is also an important part of the game as you can settle on small islands and help build up the next big harbour.

Advancing, but how?

As in most rpg games you advance in different ways with your character. In puzzle pirate it depends on what puzzles you solve and how well you solve them. The skills you advance in have two states. The first shows your general level, in that particular skill, while the second shows what your latest crew thought about you.
You will also during your trips at sea, see a status-page which shows how all of the crew is doing in their current activities. Most of the time I found it annoying as it would interrupt a puzzle, or I simply couldn't disable or close it.

Fighting at sea

It isn't all that different from fighting at land. Actually, one of the few differences is that if your ship wins it gets a booty which the captain (usually) shares among the crew members, while if you fight against an individual you decide on the prize before playing. Another difference is that if you loose your "part" of the battle, you're not allowed to play the puzzle again. You're simply put on hold until the fight is over.
And just to make sure you don't expect any action packed fights, I can tell you that the swordfights are modified versions of the old classic puzzle: Tetris.

Now, you may be asking why I haven't commented on the music in depth. Well, the reason is: there isn't any music in the game. All you hear are a few waves bashing against the ship or the occasional "ship o-hoy". This is a real let-down, since some music to get you into "the mood" would have been a great addition to the entire game.

When puzzles become your friend

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Now, you may be asking why I haven't commented on the music in depth. Well, the reason is: there isn't any music in the game. All you hear are a few waves bashing against the ship or the occasional "ship o-hoy". This is a real let-down, since some music to get you into "the mood" would have been a great addition to the entire game.

If you have read all the way to here, you may already have decided wether or not you want to try this game, but I still want to say: try it. It may not be the worlds greatest game but it still brings a lot of funny perspectives into the world of massive multiplayer online games. The game offers a great way of relaxing, making it the more ideal game for a quit sunday (or evening for that matter) where you simply want to relax in front of the computer. It's also one of the easiest games to learn how to play, making it possible for people of any age to play it.