Sid Meier's Pirates! 1987

Released: May 1987
Genres: Role-playing (RPG) · Simulator · Strategy · Adventure · Arcade
Platforms: Apple IIGS · Commodore C64/128/MAX · Atari ST/STE · PC · Mac · DOS · Amiga · Apple II · Amstrad CPC · Nintendo Entertainment System
Developer: MicroProse Software, Inc.
More info: Wikipedia IGDB

Where to buy

Digital: GOG Steam
In a collection: Pirates! Gold Plus

GOG Steam
Physical: Search on Amazon

Affiliate links: GOG, Fanatical, Green Man Gaming, ININ Games and Amazon

Is it still worth playing?

MicroProse's 1987 action adventure strategy game, designed by Sid Meier, first for the Commodore 64 and later ported to several platforms. Set in the Caribbean, it simulates the life of a pirate, a privateer or a pirate hunter in the 16th to 18th centuries. It is a single player open world game. You receive a letter of marque to serve as a privateer for Spain, the Dutch Republic, England or France, and you can turn to piracy at any time. You may attack enemy ships or towns, hunt pirates, seek buried treasure, rescue long lost family members, or avoid violence and grow wealthy by trade. There is no predetermined end: crew gets harder to recruit over time, and as your character ages, fighting becomes harder until poor health forces retirement. With no end set in advance, each voyage still takes a course of its own.