User Guide

How to Play
During a battle the units in the game - yours and your enemy’s - are
“activated” one at a time. When a unit is activated its commander
gives it orders to move, fire, attack and so forth. Once a unit has
completed its orders another unit is activated. Only one unit is active
at a time.
At the start of a battle you can choose between three starting locations
by hitting the Tab key. Once you have selected a starting location, hit
Enter to continue. Battles are played out in a turn-based format with
each side moving in turn.
Orders
When one of your units is active, you can give it one of the following
orders. (See the Game Controls sheet for specifics.)
Move: You can order a unit to move into an empty adjacent space on
the map but not into a space occupied by another friendly unit. You
order a unit to move by right-clicking on the space you want them to
move to, or by pushing one of the Move buttons (on the number pad;
see the Game Control section for details).
Turn: You can order a unit to turn to face any direction (see “flank
attacks,” below). You order a unit to turn by pressing one of the Turn
buttons (shift-number pad; see Game Control section).
Attack in Close Combat: If you order a unit to move into a space
occupied by an enemy unit, your unit will attack that unit in hand-to-
hand combat and try to drive it away so it can move into the enemy’s
vacated space.
Make a Ranged Attack: You can order a unit with ranged combat abil-
ity to fire at any enemy unit it can see and that is within range of its
weapons. Potential targets are highlighted with a red circle, and the
target your unit is currently aiming at is flashing. Press the Change
Ta r get button (TAB) to aim at another available target. Press the Fire
button (number pad 5) to fire.
Hold: Do nothing. (In effect, the unit skips its move.) Press the Hold
button (space bar) to order a unit to hold.
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Book Three Sid Meier’s Pirates!
®
Unit Types
Your Forces
You have three different kinds of units at your command.
Pirates: Armed with cutlasses and boarding axes, pirates are very good
at close (hand-to-hand) combat. They cannot make ranged attacks,
however.
Buccaneers: Armed with muskets, buccaneers are very good at ranged
attacks and can fire at enemy units within 4 paces. They are not good
at close combat, however.
Officers: These elite pirates excel at close combat, but they cannot
make ranged attacks.
Enemy Forces
There are five different kinds of units you may face during land combat.
Infantry: These are local militia armed with muskets and swords.
They can make both ranged and close combat attacks, but they’re not
especially powerful at either. Infantry can fire at enemy units within
three paces.
Guards: These are professional soldiers armed with light muskets and
swords. They are good at close combat, and they can make ranged
attacks against enemies within 2 paces.
Cavalry: These are professional soldiers on horseback, armed with
lances and swords. They move quickly and are particularly dangerous
when “charging” an enemy unit in clear terrain. They are not effective
against targets in trees, however, and cannot make ranged attacks.
Artillery: These cannon can make devastating ranged attacks against
targets within 8 paces. However, they are automatically destroyed if
attacked in close combat. Artillery are very rarely used for town
defense but larger, better defended towns may have some.
Neutral Forces
These units may appear as your allies or enemies.
Native Bowmen: Armed with bows and arrows, these warriors are
very good at ranged combat and can attack an enemy within two
paces. They are vulnerable in close combat.
Native Spearmen: Fierce fighters armed with spears and stone axes,
spearmen are extremely proficient at close combat, but unable to per-
form ranged attacks.
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Sid Meier’s Pirates!
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Book Three
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