User Guide

The Main Menu
The main menu contains the following entries,. You can select an
entry using your mouse or keyboard.
Play Sid Meier’s Pirates!
Pick this if you want to begin a new game of Pirates! from scratch.
Load a Game
Resume a game that you began earlier. You can access games that you
saved manually as well as auto-saved games.
Change Your System Options
Change the game’s default audio and video settings, and game con-
trols. See ”option Screen “ on pages 7 details.
Visit the Firaxis Web Site
Visit Atari’s Pirates! web site, where you can register your copy of
Pirates! You will also find an exciting community of fellow pirates as
well as player-generated content, game hints and tips, and other cool
Pirates! stuff.
Visit the Hall of Champions
View the Pirates! Hall of Fame, where your top game scores are
recorded.
Quit the Game
Exit Pirates! and return to your Windows desktop.
Starting the Game
1. First install the Sid Meier’s Pirates! program and the correct version
of DirectX
®
as described in Book One.
2. Make sure that the Sid Meier’s Pirates! 1 CD-ROM is in your CD-
ROM drive.
3. If you have a Sid Meier’s Pirates! icon on your desktop, double-click
on it. If not, click on the Start button on the Windows
®
taskbar and
choose Program Files/Firaxis/Sid Meier’s Pirates! to start the game.
4. The introductory movie and title screens will appear. Watch them
through, or press any keyboard button or click a mouse button to
skip ahead to the main menu.


Sid Meier’s Pirates!
®
Book Two
Book Two Sid Meier’s Pirates!
®
A Word About Your Goals
Sid Meier’s Pirates! is an open-ended game, which means
you can pretty much do what you want. If you want to be a peace-
ful trader and not fight with anyone, you can do so. If you want
to be a reckless pirate and take on everybody, you can do that too.
Or you can be a romantic hero, seeking to sweep every governor’s
daughter off of her feet. And so on. You control your own destiny.
Do what you will with it.
Your pirate is not immortal, however. Eventually the pas-
sage of years will take their toll and he will grow older. And as he
ages, some of his skills will begin to diminish. At some point he’ll
find it harder to recruit crewmen, who are interested in a young,
healthy captain to lead them. Eventually you’ll need to consider
retiring this pirate and starting anew with another captain.
When your pirate retires, the game examines his piratical
career, and, based upon what he has accomplished, assigns him a
final ranking. If he’s been extremely successful, he’ll earn himself a
place in the Hall of Fame, and he may retire to become a Governor
himself. If he’s less successful, he may end his days as a lowly bar-
keep or street-cleaner.
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