Pirate Twist

Pirate Twist is a campaign about taking a sloop through three hostile seas and defeating a named pirate captain at the end of each one. You begin with one gun on each side of the ship; everything else must be taken from your enemies. Capture a captain’s colours after sinking them, and defeat the third captain to sail home in a victory lap.

Build your ship

The ship has fourteen berths for nineteen modules. As you progress, you can turn your sloop into a floating battery, a heavily armoured hull or a ram capable of opening a brigantine. Light cannons favour speed, heavy cannons punch holes, and a mortar rains fire continuously. You can also fit iron-shod beakheads taken from dead boss captains. After sinking your first marked Elite, you choose a Figurehead that stays on the bow for the rest of the voyage. Your ship depends on what you find, what you can afford and where you choose to sail.

Fight by broadside

Combat uses firing arcs rather than cursor aiming: swing your broadside toward a target, and the guns fire when it enters range. Chain shot shreds sails, grape shot cuts down crew and fire shot continues burning after you have sailed away. A shot through an enemy’s stern, along the length of its deck, deals more than double damage. Pirates use these tactics against you, and every captain speaks throughout the encounter, including exchanges with boss captains from first sighting to final broadside.

Sail by the wind

You set your sails rather than holding a thrust key. Each stretch of the chart has its own wind, which your captain calls out as you enter. Some waters are dead calm, but the calm always breaks with distant thunder, the ship’s bell and lightning choosing its targets. Storm cells also cross battles: sailing through one gives you a burst of speed but exposes your hull to lightning, while sailing around it avoids both effects.

Choose your route

Each sea branches through seven to ten columns of choices. You do not know which of six boss captains awaits until the chart reveals it. Routes can include a port under siege, where you face wave after wave, or a trader selling a sealed crate whose contents you discover later. Other possibilities include a sea cave where your torch lasts less than a minute, and uncharted water that may hold a timed Treasure Hunt, a clue-hidden cache, a lucky wreck, a Cursed Wreck or the Devil’s Bargain. Each chart also has two marked Elites for anyone seeking the hardest fight before the boss.

Lose and sail again

Losing a fight does not end the campaign. You return to Port, pay the shipwright and try that sea again. Gold does not carry over between runs, but your captain does. There are five captains, each with a signature crew and a buff that shapes the run, along with nine skills that remain learned whether you win or sink. After completing a campaign, you can sail again with that captain at a harder Ascension tier.

A campaign is designed to fit in one sitting, and you can save and quit anywhere, including during a broadside.