AAAAAAAAAAAARGH!

[Rhydderch Hael]

Have you played Sid Meier's "Pirates" for the PC?

Occhi
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Played? As in the past tense? ;) Right now, I' playing as a Dutch captain who will not seek any promotion from other nations, thus will have to pay for repair and unpgrades in foreign ports (and being Dutch, that means most ports on the map are foreign).

Largest bounty the Spanish have ever put on my head: 380,000 gold pieces (and this was after I ranked in as a Spanish Duke). It's what you get when you roll over every port of call on the Spanish Main— two or three times. I sacked Havana four times in a row before the plunder dropped below 5,000 gold pieces in an attack.

The best hunting ground for French treasure ships is the Windward Passage, the west coast of Hispaniola. The Port de Paix—Tortuga—Leogane—Petit Goave trade chain sets that up pretty well. One time I nailed four French treasure ships in the course of a week, right in those grounds.

My favorite boat— the Brigs (which means I opt for the biggest version, the 32-gun Brig of War). More cargo space and guns than the Sloops, more manueverable rigging than the Men-o'-War (Frigate, Large Frigate, Ship-of-the-Line). Her weakness is her inability to withstand damge, especially when raked. But the ability to haul close to the eye of the wind, coupled with some impressive firepower, rewards the cap'n who can keep his distance and evade incoming fire while sniping the enemy at range.

And on a final note, the French daughters are the most beautiful (even the plain daughters could beat some of the other nations' attarctive daughters) but there's something to be said about that one Dutch gal who doesn't dress like a milkmaid.