Captured by Pirates!

Captured by Pirates! is a video game in the strategy genre originally released in 1992. It is currently playable on DOS.

Captured by Pirates! is a fun turn-based board game of pirate ship combat on the high seas for 1-4 players, any one of which can be controlled by the computer.

Each player starts the game with a fleet of 20 Schooner ships, the smallest and fastest attack ships, a Sloop ship armed with a cannon, and $500,000 in stolen treasure. You must use your treasures to trade them for guns, cannons, and more ships for your fleet. If your Sloop ship is sunk or captured, the game ends, unless you have another Sloop in the water or enough treasure to buy another Sloop on the next turn.

The game revolves around placing your ships on the game board, and then you take turns firing cannons at other pirates' ships. If an opponent surrounds two of your ships, it's called a capture. If they do, they take those 2 ships and $300,000 in treasure. When ships are sunk by cannon or gunfire, you lose your ship and the attacker takes $100,000 in treasure. You cannot control which ship your ship shoots at. Rather, you find all the ships in range, and randomly select one to fire at. However, you can position your ships to fire at a certain ship the first time. But when there are many ships in range, it is a random selection of firing.

By placing more and more ships near your Sloop or the ship you are protecting, the less likely it is to be hit. When you run out of ships, buy more or move your ships already in the water. Sloops can only move one space, while schooners can move two. When all your Sloop ships have sunk, and you do not have enough treasure for another one, your game is over. The computer will automatically buy you another sloop if you have enough treasure. You can also search for the hidden treasure map that leads to the $2.5 million, although this is a laborious process.

Overall, Captured by Pirates! is a fun and enjoyable little game that provides a nice distraction from other games you may be playing. And in many ways, the game is a precursor to ImagiSoft's better known Redhook's Revenge, an excellent shareware title that still sells cheaply:)

It is possible that we have multiple downloads available when different versions exist.