Pirates! Gold Plus

There are few titles that define an entire genre of games as well as Pirates! Gold-- that having been said it's aged surprisingly well against its remake Sid Meier's Pirates! It's fairly easy to sit down to it for an hour or two, walk away, and want to fall in love with it all over again. Plus, in this version, you get to marry the merchant's daughter and live without being forced to dance for the game's amusement!

Played it over and over and over again in it first issue. Still remember the joy once I achieved rank of "King's advisor" in the game. Did not have the manual so used an Atlas to figure out whereabouts. The game has it all and is one of Sid Meier's greatest creations to this day. Even in its first issue the basic graphics were counterbalanced by the great gameplay as were the early games on C64. I am getting this!!

I remember loving this game, playing endless hours and many days at it back in the late 80's. It was such fun that my sister, brother, and even mother soon began playing and were hooked on it too! The map and sailing the caribbean taught me the geography there which I recall to this day. Although some of the graphics were primitive back then, the game was still great and provided awesome role playing for that time. I managed after many many fun times to bring my pirate to the highest level at his retirement. Sure miss those times.

I spend hours playing this game with my father on his old DOS computer when I was about seven years old. Definitely brings back memories. The game itself is a sophisticated port which runs flawelessly on my mac late 2011. It just feels like playing in the old days. There is even a numpad simulator... Under the line: absolutely great.

This game is in the class of game that made me join GOG in the first place (or would have been had it been available when I joined). Short version: It's a classic - play it! At it's core, Pirates! Gold is making 3 choices starting with an era (most choices being 20-30 year chunks from the late 16th to early 18th centuries) one of four nationalities (Dutch, English, Spanish or French - though Dutch is not available in the earliest scenario). Finally you round out your "character" with a skill (swashbuckling swordsmen, competent navigator, etc). From these choices the game then gives you a background-suitable ship and plonks you into the Caribbean within a day or so's sail of a port owned by the same nation your character hails from (again in the very early era's when Spain owns basically everything this may not be the case). However it's now completely up to you. You can sail into the port, immediately go looking for a ship to attack or set off into the blue - basically whatever you like. It was one of the first games I can remember that gave me that Elder-scrolls like feeling of "well, you're on your own kiddo!". It is almost sand-box like in that while the "goal" is to retire with as much gold, loot and land as you can get your grubby little hands on, the fun is in how you choose to get there. You can be a Bloodthirsty scourge upon all shipping, or on the other hand you could even try and simply try your hand at legitimate trade. You can align with all or none of the nations, or play them off turning your coat and purchasing pardons as it suits. Each area of the game is essentially a minigame from duels to land and sea battles searching for treasure. There is a risk/reward mechanic in that the easiest paths to gold are also usually the most likely to endanger the longevity of your pirate, so you must constantly weigh up the price of failure. It is a fun blend of sim, strategy, management and light rpg. Now, play it or walk the plank, Sah!