You are a pirate commander staked with $50,000 from local tribal leaders and other investors. Your job is to guide your pirate crew through raids in and around the Gulf of Aden, attack and capture a ship, and successfully negotiate a ransom.

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Game design: Smallbore Webworks
Visual design: Dennis Crothers

How to Play Cutthroat Capitalism: The Game

The attack:

Your goal is to leave the port of Eyl with your pirate crew, attack and capture a ship as it exits the Gulf of Aden.

How to play:

• Target: Click on a ship to target it.
• Intercept: Click in the gulf or open sea to attack the ship. Your pirate crew will start moving away from the port of Eyl toward the ship. Click as many times as needed to adjust your course.

Key:

• Pirate: You are the pirate commander.
• Set course: Click anywhere in the gulf or sea to intercept your targeted ship. You can click again and again to adjust your course.
• Ship: Choose from seven ship classes. Each ship has advantages and disadvantages to capture. A tugboat may be easy to chase down, but the ransom you’ll receive for its crew and cargo may not be worth the effort.
• Targeted ship: Once a ship is targeted, attempt to intercept it. If it slips by, select a different ship and try again.

The result:

Depending on the class of ship attacked and the tenacity of its crew pitted against your pirate crew’s size and firepower, you may or may not be thwarted. Failure? Try again. Success? Go on to the negotiation screen.

The negotiation:

Your goal is to increase your profit with tactics that keep the ransom high and lead to a quick resolution.

How to play:

• Demand your ransom: Remember the largest ransom ever paid was $3 million for the Sirius Star. Bid high, but be prepared for disappointment.
• Handle hostages: You can feed, threaten, beat or kill hostages. Watch the Hostage Health meter carefully. Very few hostages are ever killed, so be prepared for harsh action if you go that far.
• Call negotiator: You can be cordial, erratic or aggressive with your negotiator. If you’re too aggressive, the naval forces may arrive. If you’re too soft, your pirate crew may lose confidence in you and jump ship. Feel like the negotiations are going nowhere? Then walk out.
• Negotiate: Once you’ve set your demand, and decided how to handle your hostages and conduct your negotiation, click Negotiate. Pay attention to advice from your elders! They’ll offer helpful tips throughout the negotiations.
• Settle: Ready to accept the negotiator’s counteroffer? Click Settle.

Failure? Evaluate your negotiation tactics and try again. You’ll go bankrupt if you lose too many times, and then it’s Game Over. Success? Distribute your earnings to your crew, welcome your new pirate crew member and keep playing!