During the early years of video games, Sid Meier, the game designer behind the Civilization franchise, created a title by the name of Sid Meier’s Pirates! With several iterations over the years, and re-releasing on a myriad of different platforms, the long running title has now made its way to the iPad. At $3.99, the open-ended pirate sim has already risen to #2 on the top paid iPad app charts, and in turn, is rising up the top grossing list as well, currently sitting at #11.

Considering the game was originally released back in 1987, many of the early design choices are still present, in that when compared to modern games, player direction and instruction is a bit minimal. Nevertheless, 2K Games has still done an astounding job of porting Pirates! to Apple devices, and discrepancies are quickly forgiven because of incredibly deep and addicting game play as players plunder, loot and sail the Caribbean sea.

Set in the 1600’s, players take on the role of a boy whose family’s reputation and finances were lost due to unfortunate and suggestively treacherous circumstances. Taken from him, the boy returns 10 years later to seek vengeance on those that wronged him by any means necessary. This tenuous plot line is about all there is for direction, as once players join one of four European fleets (England, Spain, France, or the Netherlands), they are immediately whisked into a mutiny and take over their first ship.

Floating out in the middle of the Caribbean, players are left with zero guidance on what to do or where to go. It’s like game design from yesteryear — users are left milling about and tapping on whatever looks interesting or interactive. There is a small tutorial on the menu screen, but it is worth noting that it isn’t really brought to the player’s attention from the get-go, although instruction screens do thankfully appear when users engage in new game features.

Thankfully, aside from a minute or two of wondering what to do, players will likely find themselves within a town or settlement owned by one of the four major European powers in the game. While in town, users can interact with the tavern, the governor, repair ships, or make trades. While this makes little sense at first, it does begin to come together quickly.

The thing is, Sid Meier’s Pirates! is a game where players can do virtually anything they want. Within each town, they can garner themselves side-quests in order to earn rewards, accept jobs from city leaders in order to gain reputation with that country, or sail about as a merchant buying cheap goods and selling them in other ports. Additionally, they can pursue the game’s main goal of reuniting with and redeeming their family by accomplishing quest objectives.

In order to do any of this, however, there are various things the user must do first. For starters, their ship must be stocked with weapons and food, with the latter being consumed as months pass. Once stocked, they can find taverns and often recruit non-player characters to serve as their crew. Once all supplies are ready, then the real choices for play begin.

There is no set way for users to accomplish their goals. They can opt to be a mere merchant, trading goods. They can be a pirate, attacking anything and everything in their way and plundering the riches of others. They can ally with European nations, gain rank, prestige, and rewards. They can sail about the Caribbean hunting other pirates or searching for lost cities and buried treasure. Every option is a viable means to play the game, with the only end being when the player’s character ages to a point where they must retire.

In each of these play choices, players will also engage in a number of mini-games such as bombarding port town, engaging in ship-to-ship battles, or even a bit of swashbuckling. Bombardment is a contest of destroying enemy defenses (or doing enough damage to the city itself), via tapping targets, to force it to surrender. Ship battles, on the other hand, task players with sailing circles around the enemy, firing volleys of cannonballs at their broadside. Here, users can choose from various armaments in order to try and take out as many enemy crew members as possible, or the sails of the ship itself so it cannot maneuver.

Once weakened, players can careen into chips and board them, which leads to the swashbuckling mini-game. With this, players square off against the enemy captain and using various finger swipes, are able to attack or dodge in different manors. The trick is to time each well enough so that the enemy is pushed back, and eventually overboard, leaving the option to take over or sink their ship — after taking all the loot, of course. There is some added complexity though. Not only can the player be pushed back enough to fail, but their crew fights as well, and once their numbers are depleted, the battle is over.

Should the player lose, they can find themselves marooned or imprisoned, and must spend either time or gold in order to become free again. Should they win, however, they can grow their fame and fleet, unlocking new piracy opportunities later in the game.

Fact of the matter is, that while 2K Games doesn’t do a tremendous job of giving the player initial direction, Sid Meier’s Pirates! is still as fun as it ever was. The sheer volume of options and potential things to do is a bit overwhelming at first glance, but as players experiment with all their choices, it is easy enough to get the hang of. Moreover, considering the title has been remade time and time again over the past two-and-a-half decades or so is testament to its lasting appeal and design quality. In short, Pirates! is an absolutely must have title for any pirate, Sid Meier, or sim-style game fan. On a final note, it is worth stating that everything highlighted so far is just that: Highlights. The sheer number of game play hours in Pirates! is staggering and this is merely the tip of this iOS iceberg.