• This week we feature a player from Pirates CSG Online.

  Real Life First Name: Mahes

  Forum Handle: maheswani

  Game Handle: maheswani

  Where do you live? Sydney, Australia

  How long have you played Pirates? Since September 2007

  Do you play Stargate, Star Chamber or Legends of Norrath? No

  Do you play any physical TCGs?

  I have a lot of TT Pirates, but never played a competitive game. Beating your 7yr and 5yr old children is not really competitive.

  What got you into gaming and what sort of games do you like the most?

  I started RPG (Basic D&D) games when I was 12 years old and I loved it. I still like playing but it is hard to get the guys together these days.

  What type of work do you do? Oral Engineer

  What other hobbies or activities do you take part in, other than Pirates?

  Family, golf and still the occasional RPG game

  What is your favorite fleet (deck) type? 60 pt. Std.

  What is your favorite card (playability-wise), and why?

  Crew - Bonny Peel, although a high point cost, she has a good surprise factor.
  

  Ship - The Harbinger - useful in both death matches and standard games. Works nicely with Bonny Peel too.

  What is your favorite card (art-wise)?

  Zeus. I just love its tattered appearance.

  What type of TCG player are you? For example, are you an Art Lover, a Competitor, an Innovator?

  Both competitor and innovator, I enjoy fleet building as much as I do playing the game.

  What do you like best about Pirates?

  Firstly, the other players in the community; they are a warm and friendly bunch. Secondly, the fact that Pirates CSG is a cerebral game with many layers of strategy. Also there is no player or fleet combo that is invincible.

  Could you describe, in brief, a memorable game you had, or opponent you faced, and why it stands out in your mind?

  I remember losing to betholder72 about 14 times straight. In just about every game, at a crucial moment the dice gods would let me down. We both had a lot of laughs from those games.

  Do you run or work for an OSG or TCG Fan Site?

  No but I am involved in running events for our guild, Rogue/Saber Squadron.

  What is one thing no one would ever suspect about you?

  In real life I am a serious person who is well respected by the local community.

  Also I can see dead people.

  Only joking! About the first bit only.

  Feel free to leave Maheswani a friendly note on the Pirates CSG Online forums!

• 
  
  

  That time of year is almost here...

  The time when SOE players from near and far gather in one place to celebrate their favorite MMOs by engaging in fun, food and fraternization! But there will be some that walk among the crowd... a couple players so respected by their gaming peers that they will have the distinct honor of being crowned SOE's second annual Players of the Year!

  Will you be one of them?

  To celebrate the 2008 Las Vegas Fan Faire (Aug. 14-17), Sony Online Entertainment will select and bring two lucky players to the Hilton Hotel to join in the festivities. So, here's your chance to nominate a friend (or even yourself) for this coveted title! We want to know who YOU think is the most deserving and why.
  
  From Wednesday, July 2, 2008, (12:01 am, US Pacific Time) through Friday, July 11, 2008 at (11:59 pm, US Pacific Time), Sony Online Entertainment will be hosting the Official Fan Faire "Players of the Year" contest. Participating games include EverQuest, EverQuest II, Star Wars Galaxies, Vanguard: Saga of Heroes, EverQuest Online Adventures, The Matrix Online and PlanetSide.
  
  Good luck to everyone and we hope to see you all in Las Vegas for Fan Faire!

  

  Contest:
  Do you know someone who is the poster child for your MMO? Someone so dedicated that they walk around bloodshot and sleep deprived in their favorite wrinkled gaming T-shirts and baseball caps (what else would they be wearing?). Someone who goes so above and beyond the call of duty helping other community members in-game, out-of-game and everywhere in-between that they're practically an online Mother Theresa? Well, they just might be the perfect candidate for SOE Player of the Year and we want to know more about them!
  
  Nominate a fellow player (or yourself) by writing a 200 word (or less) letter or role-play story explaining why the person deserves to be an SOE Player of the Year. Optional - you can also include a link to an image (screen capture, artwork, video or photo) with your entry as support for your story but please note that a written submission is still required.

  

  How to Enter:
  Please view the Official Contest Rules to determine eligibility for this contest before submitting an entry.
  
  Submissions should be sent in an e-mail to SOEContests@soe.sony.com. Be sure to include all of the following information with your submission:

  • Subject of Email: SOE Player of the Year - Main Game Name (Include game name in the subject).
  • Real Name:
    
  • Character Name:
    
  • Server Name:
    
  • Station Name: (User Name - do no include passwords)
    
  • Mailing Address: (Street Address Apt #, City, Zip Code - Do not use PO Box)
    
  • Forum Community Handle: (If applicable)
    
  • E-mail Address:
    
  • Submission Text:
    
  • The written entry can be placed directly in the body of the email.
    
  • Written entries should be plain text (.txt), word document (.doc), or rich text (.rtf).
    
  • Entries should be in Times New Roman text format, font size 12.
    
  • Please do not use indents, smiley faces, or all caps and avoid slang terms unless it fits within the theme of your entry.
    
  • Spell out server names, city names, and other terminology as much as possible.
    
  • Please use spell checker before submitting the entry. Entries will be reviewed for typos but those that require too much editing may be disqualified.
    
  • Length: 200 words or less.

  Additional Nomination Submission Information:
  

  • If you are nominating someone as Player of the Year, you may want to let them know in case they would prefer not to be considered.
    
  • We will not need you to include their station account or mailing address. We only need Character Name and Server name. We'll retrieve the extra information where needed.
    
  • Be sure to have the person you are nominating update their email address on their Sony Station account.
    Optional Image Information:
    
  • You can include a link to where the image (screen capture, artwork, video or photo) is hosted but all files must be hosted externally. The supporting image work will not be downloaded so it has to be readily accessible in that location.
    
  • Do not include anything with your submission that is copyrighted.

  

  Contest Rules:
  

  1. Please review the Official Contest Rules before submitting a nomination.
     
  2. Nominees must be an active SOE subscriber to at least one of the games with account being in good standing.
     
  3. Must be a US resident and 21 years of age.
     
  4. Please remember to stay within the Terms of Service Agreement when participating in this contest or you will be disqualified and further action may be taken. This includes inappropriate names, words, or images.
     
  5. Within the Terms of Service Agreement, it states that by submitting (e.g., uploading or transmitting) Content to an SOE Communication Feature, you automatically grant SOE the royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, non-exclusive, and fully sublicensable right and license to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate, create derivative works from, distribute, perform and display such Content (in whole or part) worldwide and/or to incorporate it in other works in any form, media, or technology now known or later developed. In addition, you warrant that any and all so-called "moral rights" in the Content have been waived.

• Inconceivable!

  Pirate of the Week: The Dread Pirate Roberts (fictional)

  The movie The Princess Bride introduces us to one of the most successful fictional pirates of all time, the Dread Pirate Roberts.

  Like young men in the real Golden Age of piracy, Westley has no money, and to fulfill his dreams of marrying his lady love and starting a life with her he must go off to seek his fortune. He boards a ship for America, but during the voyage pirates attack and capture the ship. The pirate is none other than the Dread Pirate Roberts himself.

  When the captured crew and passengers are brought before Roberts, Westley intrigues Roberts by asking only that his life be spared so that he can reunite with the beautiful Buttercup. Roberts makes Westley a member of his crew, but keeps him in line by telling him every night "Good work. Sleep well. I'll most likely kill you in the morning."

  Three years later, Westley is second in command, and Roberts reveals the secret of the Dread Pirate Roberts. Successive men had inherited the name and the ship Revenge after the previous captain retired. In all, four men including Westley had been bequeathed the ship and taken on the name of the Dread Pirate Roberts. Each time the ship changed hands, the old crew would be offloaded in port and a new crew taken aboard under the new Captain Roberts. The previous captain would stay on as ships' mate for a few months, making sure to call the new captain "Roberts" in front of the crew and regaling them with tales of Dread Roberts' exploits. After a suitable time, the old captain was dropped off to retire with his wealth in happiness and peace.

  Westley, having learned much in his time as a pirate, uses his skills to find and rescue Buttercup from her abductors. He displays excellent sailing skills in his pursuit of Vizzini across the sea, considerable climbing skill, and a fencing skill so remarkable he beats Inigo Montoya, the best swordsman in the world. Westley beats Fezzik by being physically and mentally quicker and more agile than the giant; jumping on his back and slowly choking off his air until he falls unconscious. And finally, Westley outwits Vizzini by appealing to his enormous ego and challenging him to a battle of wits. Vizzini is the only one Westley outright kills in the entire movie, and even then it can be said that Vizzini's overbearing ego is what does him in.

  Even the clever and resourceful Dread Pirate Roberts cannot escape death once he is captured by the evil Prince. But his good deeds have not gone unnoticed. Inigo and Fezzik rescue him and bring him to a miracle man, knowing they will need him alive to rescue Buttercup.

  In the end, it is mere threat and the clever words of the Dread Pirate Roberts that make the evil Prince back off, letting him escape the castle with his love Buttercup.

  Many pirates in the Golden Age of Piracy used stories and hearsay to make their own reputations more fierce, and while this worked in the short term, none of them were able to escape death as Westley did, through the power of true love and miracles.

  Interested in reading (or seeing) more? Check out the links below.

  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dread_Pirate_Roberts

  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093779/

  http://www.godamongdirectors.com/scripts/princess.shtml

  Discuss this article in the forums.

• The other half of one of the most unusual duos in pirate history, less is known about Mary Reade's early life than that of Anne Bonny.

  Pirate of the Week: Mary Reade 1685-1721

  She was born in England around 1685 or so, the daughter of a woman widowed by her sailor husband. Mary was most likely illegitimate, but her older brother was not. His father's mother paid for his support, although she never would have for Mary, and so the little family was able to survive.

  It was not long before Mary's brother sickened and died, and Mary's mother faced a dilemma. Her husband's mother would not keep paying for a dead child, and would certainly not pay for an illegitimate one. Some quick thinking and boys' clothes transformed Mary into her brother, and the grandmother's money kept coming. It also helped that Mary and her mother lived far away from the grandmother and only rarely saw her.

  In time, the wealthy grandmother passed away, and once again Mary and her mother were without means. Mary, who by the age of thirteen was well acquainted with living as a boy, took a job as a footboy to a wealthy Frenchwoman in London. For a time this sufficed, and were Mary a dutiful daughter she would have kept the position as long as she was able.

  But Mary had been raised with freedoms most women never saw in that era. She had seen what world was offered to boys her age, and what happened to women without money. In short order Mary had run off and joined a crew aboard a Royal Navy Man O'War. Being paid for a life of adventure on the highs seas seemed infinitely more appealing than scraping for coins in the streets of London.

  But the hard life aboard a navy ship was not what Mary had bargained for. The hard work and abuse quickly took its toll, and Mary soon jumped ship to join the army without any man the wiser. She distinguished herself with her bravery and fighting skills. Some say she was promoted to a Horse Regiment, other sources claim that since she could not afford to buy a commission in the army she left for the Horse Regiment.

  Whatever prompted her to join that force, it was not long before she met and fell in love with a fellow soldier, risking all to reveal her true gender. In a surprise turn of fate, her chosen love returned her affections, and they were married and discharged from the army to start their new life together as owners of an inn.

  It might all have ended there, an unusual story in and of itself with a happy-ever-after ending.

  But fate had more in store for Mary Reade, a series of events which would make her story even more incredible and earn her a place in history.

  Mary's beloved husband soon sickened and died, leaving her alone with the inn. Due to the recent peace, traffic slackened and once again Mary was without means. Mary put off her dresses (the only time in her life she had ever worn them) and once again set off to make a living in a man's world.

  She joined the crew of a ship sailing for the Dutch West Indies, seeking her fortunes in the New World as so many sailors were at the time. During this voyage, or perhaps shortly after, her ship was overtaken and captured by pirates. Mary, disguised as a man, was given the same choice the other men were given; join the pirates or die.

  Mary chose to become a pirate aboard Calico Jack Rackham's ship, and the rest is history. Her life became intertwined with that of Anne Bonny's; the two were fast friends. Mary was perhaps the better fighter, and Anne fierce and unrelenting. When they were finally captured by the authorities they were the last two on deck, defying their own deaths to retain their freedom.

  While Anne had a wealthy father to buy her out of jail and her predicament, Mary was once again a woman without means. Mary died in jail in Jamaica in 1721, either in childbirth or of a virulent fever, having dared to live free and take life on her own terms.

  Interested in reading more? Check out the links below.

  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Read

  http://www.piratesinfo.com/biography/biography.php?article_id=27

  http://www.achievements.co.uk/articles/mary_read.html

  Discuss this article in the forums.

• Registration is still open for the annual SOE Fan Faire being held on August 14-17, 2008 at the Las Vegas Hilton.

  Whether you're a player of one of SOE's many games, or someone who just loves games and good times, SOE Fan Faire is the party where you'll find friends and a whole lot of gaming fun stuffed into an unforgettable three days!

  Don't miss out on your chance to meet fellow MMO players from around the world, participate in discussion panels, live events, and tournaments, and mingle with the teams behind each of the SOE games.

  For more information, visit the official SOE Fan Faire Website.

  Chat about Fan Faire with other players in the Pirates CSG Online Forums!

• Pirate of the Week: John "Jack Shandy" Chandagnac (fictional)

  John Chandagnac, aka. Jack Shandy, is the creation of Tim Powers, and is the central character in his novel On Stranger Tides.

  Set in the year 1718, we are introduced to John as he sails to the new world to confront his uncle, who has stolen his father's inheritance. John's father is dead and John himself adrift in the world and rudderless. Seeking to right a past wrong gives the young man a purpose beyond simply scraping out a living with the skills of a puppeteer.

  Aboard ship he discovers the beautiful Elizabeth Hurwood, the daughter of an English scientist, and also discovers another purpose in his life; that of wooing her. Her father has plans that do not include her marrying a penniless puppeteer, however.

  Before they reach their destination, their ship is overtaken and captured by pirates. The captain is killed, and Chandagnac given a choice; join the pirates in life or the captain in death. The choice is easy for John. He becomes Jack Shandy, a puppeteer turned pirate, willing to do what he must to save the life of his love and bring justice to his uncle.

  Along the way Jack encounters many obstacles including the Royal Navy, voodoo magic, and sunken ships crewed by zombies. He also encounters historical figures, including Woodes Rogers, Anne Bonny, and the formidable Blackbeard himself.

  Tim Powers uses his skills at creating alternate histories to create a believable yet magical Caribbean, full of traditional pirate swashbuckling, but also darkness and horror. His treatment of Blackbeard and explanation of why he twists slow matches into his hair and beard is nothing short of creepy.

  Yet through it all John Chandagnac is the traditional pirate hero, who perhaps has his eyes opened to the true workings of the world, but only falters momentarily in his quest to save his love and that imperfect world.

  If you like pirates and dark fantasy, this book is for you.

  Interested in reading more? Check out the links below.

  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_Stranger_Tides

  http://bellsouthpwp2.net/b/r/branch_c/tp6_tides.html

  http://www.amazon.com/Stranger-Tides-Tim-Powers/dp/0441626866

  And of course, read the book! On Stranger Tides by Tim Powers.

  Discuss this article in the forums.

• This week we learn that a sense of style coupled with the appropriate symbolism goes a long way towards immortalizing your name.

  Pirate of the Week: Christopher Moody ?-1718

  Little is known about Christopher Moody. He was believed to have pirated off the coasts of North and South Carolina. Various sources have placed him at times as part of both Bartholomew Roberts' and Blackbeard's crews.

  It is thought that he scoured the Carolina coasts from 1713 to 1718, taking part in Black Bart's attack on Principe Island as well as Blackbeard's blockading of Charleston, South Carolina.

  He was known to give no quarter in battle, and is probably best remembered for flying the "Bloody Red", a flag more feared than the traditional black Jolly Roger with its skull and crossbones. Moody's flag was blood red and depicted a winged hourglass, an upraised arm holding a sword, and a skull and crossbones. All this symbolized to his victims that their time was running out, there would be slaughter to come with no quarter given, and death would be the result; all on a background of blood.

  Moody was making sure his intentions would not be misunderstood, and perhaps trying to make his work easier. Like most pirates, his flag probably symbolized his own fate as well as his victims'.

  Moody was hung at Cape Coast Castle in Cabo Corso, Ghana in 1718.

  Interested in reading more about Moody and the history of the "Jolie Rouge"? Check out the links below.

  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Moody

  http://www.cosmosmith.com/moody.html

  http://www.kipar.org/piratical-resources/pirate-flags.html

  Discuss this article in the forums.

• Registration is now open for the annual SOE Fan Faire being held on August 14-17, 2008 at the Las Vegas Hilton.

  Whether you're a player of one of SOE's many games, or someone who just loves games and good times, SOE Fan Faire is the party where you'll find friends and a whole lot of gaming fun stuffed into an unforgettable three days!

  Don't miss out on your chance to meet fellow MMO players from around the world, participate in discussion panels, live events, and tournaments, and mingle with the teams behind each of the SOE games.

  For more information, visit the official SOE Fan Faire web site.

• This week we feature a player from Pirates CSG Online.

  Real Life First Name: My friends call me CeeCee.

  Forum Handle: Narcissa

  Game Handle: Narcissa

  Where do you live? United States

  How long have you played Pirates? A long time.

  Do you play Stargate, Star Chamber or Legends of Norrath? Yes Legends of Norrath as an Iksar avatar.

  Do you play any physical TCGs? No.

  What got you into gaming and what sort of games do you like the most? My brother got the board game and broke all the little ships but there was a coupon for this site in it so we tried playing here. I like thinking games.

  What type of work do you do? Schoolwork.

  What other hobbies or activities do you take part in, other than Pirates? Spending time with my friends, and I play Wood Elves in Warhammer because I like them.

  What is your favorite fleet (deck) type? France.

  What is your favorite card (playability-wise), and why? Princess Arii, she leads my witch boat.

  What is your favorite card (art-wise)? I like the portrait crew cards, I think they are pretty.

  What type of TCG player are you? For example, are you an Art Lover, a Competitor, an Innovator? I think I like the art best.

  What do you like best about Pirates? I like playing with the other people, they are very nice here.

  Could you describe, in brief, a memorable game you had, or opponent you faced, and why it stands out in your mind? There are so many, I remember in one game against Admiral Spirit we played using only DJC cards for a guild war island battle game and I took only French cards but I think I did pretty well.

  Do you run or work for an OSG or TCG Fan Site?No.

  What is one thing no one would ever suspect about you? I'm a klutz, I can trip over nothing. :p

  Feel free to leave Narcissa a friendly note on the Pirates CSG Online forums!

• It is surprising to go twenty-five years thinking a pirate is fictional, and then discover he is based on a real pirate.

  Pirate of the Week: William Henry "Bully" Hayes 1829-1877

  The film Nate and Hayes was made in 1983, a part of the deluge of swashbuckling adventure stories that came out after the first hugely successful Indiana Jones movie. As such, the plot is relatively thin, but the action sequences and humor are great entertainment.

  Tommy Lee Jones plays Bully Hayes, a roguish buccaneer known for running guns and rum to South Sea Islanders, and occasionally dipping as low as slave trading. The "Nate" in the title is erstwhile missionary Nathan Williamsen, played by Michael O'Keefe.

  When Nate's new bride Sophie (Jenny Seagrove) is kidnapped by evil slave-trader Ben Pease (Max Phipps), he seeks out Bully Hayes, not for help but to find Sophie. Pease is Bully's nemesis, and made his attack on the missionaries' home island look like Bully's work.

  After some fast talking on the part of Hayes, he and Nate team up to find and rescue Sophie and get revenge on Pease. What follows is an adventure that is pure fun and not to be taken too seriously. You can tell that Tommy Lee Jones had fun with the role, and the island locations are pretty and Hollywood perfect.

  Bully Hayes himself was a real pirate, the "last of the buccaneers", who operated around the South Sea Islands in the late 19th century. Born William Henry Hayes in Cleveland Ohio c. 1829, he was known primarily for running guns and rum, but was not above slave-trading and privateering.

  He was described as large in stature and with a quick temper and tongue. Bully was his nickname, acquired because he was frequently rude and overbearing to his crew. Despite this, he could be entirely charming and well-mannered when it suited him. He was also very cunning and quick-witted, once escaping the grasp of Hawaiian customs officials by getting them drunk at dinner and stealing the very brig they had imprisoned him on.

  Bully was well-known by fellow sea-captains in the area, all of whom wouldn't trust him as far as they could throw him. With his ship Leonora, Bully caroused his way through the South Seas until his ship wrecked off the coast of the island of Kosrae in 1874. Three years later Bully was murdered in a violent argument with a former crewmember, Peter Radeck, or "Dutch Pete", and his body thrown overboard.

  In both the movie Nate and Hayes and in real life, Bully Hayes was a larger-than-life figure who lived for adventure and the sights just over the next horizon.

  Interested in reading more? Check out the links below.

  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nate_and_Hayes

  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bully_Hayes

  http://www.janesoceania.com/restieaux_hayes/index.htm

  Discuss this article in the forums.

• John Smedley, one of the original creators of "EverQuest" and the president of Sony Online since 2000, has watched the rapid changes in the space his company once owned, and he believes it's time for a change.

  In his keynote speech at an online game conference in Seattle recently, Smedley spoke of the need to reinvent the MMO - and he says the two new games his company is developing, "The Agency" and "Free Realms," will do just that.

  Read the entire article and Smed's interview on MSNBC's Technology & Science.

• Ahoy mateys! This week we learn that a good teacher is worth his weight in doubloons.

  Pirate of the Week: Benjamin Hornigold ?-1719

  Captain Benjamin Hornigold first makes his appearance just after the War of the Spanish Succession in 1713. It is likely that Hornigold, like many of his contemporaries, had been a privateer during the war and with its end found himself out of work.

  Along with many other men in similar straits, Hornigold sailed for Nassau, which had been destroyed during the war. There he and a colleague, John Cockram, set up a "pirate's republic" and proceeded to attack Spanish ships with small ships purchased from local settlers.

  Hornigold's early gang included several pirates who would later go on to make names for themselves in the Caribbean; Sam Bellamy, Paulsgrave Williams, and Hornigold's best student, Edward Teach. The infamous Blackbeard apparently impressed Hornigold so much he was soon awarded command of his own ship, and the two went on to terrorize the area around Nassau for years.

  Within three years the pirate gang under Hornigold and Cockram had grown to more than 200 and their control of the surrounding waters was uncontested. In 1715 Hornigold had threatened British authorities who attempted to arrest some of the pirates in the area who were raiding the wreck of a Spanish treasure galleon. But he refused to attack any English vessels, keeping his loyalty to the English crown and eventually causing a break with other captains who were not so loyal.

  Still, Hornigold was a skilled captain despite his reputation for being the nicest pirate on the ocean at the time, and the pirate colony remained largely his. It was even claimed by one source that after attacking and taking one ship, Hornigold asked only for the victims' hats, as his crew had thrown theirs overboard in drunken revelry the night before. After getting what he wanted, Hornigold sailed away, leaving the ship in peace.

  Benjamin Hornigold was a man who did what he had to in order to survive, and turned his loyalty for England into an excuse to attack Spanish ships. No small surprise then that when Woodes Rogers arrived from England in 1718 with a pardon from the King, Hornigold happily accepted, to the dismay of many members of his gang.

  Edward Teach, Charles Vane, Calico Jack Rackham, and many others fled the island, vowing to take down Woodes Rogers and likely their former mentor. But if Hornigold had taught them much of the pirating life, he hadn't taught them everything he knew. Rogers employed Hornigold as a pirate-hunter, perhaps recognizing the man's skill and dedication, and was not disappointed.

  Though Hornigold was not able to take in Charles Vane or his former best student Blackbeard, he did succeed in capturing many of his former colleagues and essentially turning full control of Nassau over to the English governor. Once this task was done, Hornigold had earned retirement to a life of ease, although he apparently did not take it.

  Accounts differ as to what happened to pirate colony-founder and successful privateer Benjamin Hornigold. One account claimed he was sent on a trading mission to Mexico, but his ship struck a reef far from land and all hands drowned. Another says he accepted a commission from Woodes Rogers to hunt Spanish ships once again but was captured off the coast of Cuba and imprisoned in Havana, where he died.

  Whatever happened to Hornigold, his legacy far outlived him in the skills he passed on to his students and followers and the legends they in turn engendered.

  Interested in reading more? Check out the links below.

  http://www.republicofpirates.net/Hornigold.html

  http://www.geocities.com/captcutlass/bio/hornigold.html

  http://www.piratesoul.com/notable_detail.aspx?id=15

  Discuss this article in the forums.

• On Thursday, May 22nd Tech Support will be closed from 11:30am-3:00pm and will resume operations from 3:00pm-7:00pm Pacific Time. We apologize for any inconveniences this may cause.

  Regards,

  SOE Customer Service Team

• Ahoy mateys! This week we learn that sometimes appearances can be deceiving.

  Pirate of the Week: "Calico Jack" Rackham ?-1717

  History first takes notice of John Rackham in 1717, when he becomes known as Charles Vane's quartermaster. Having fled the island of New Providence with Vane when Woodes Rogers started cleaning up the pirate haven, Rackham was already entrenched in the pirate life. He preferred to wear flamboyant clothes made of bright calico cloth, earning him his nickname, Calico Jack, and he liked to throw money around and impress women… many women. It was a life that required treasure on a constant basis.

  When Vane and his crew surprised a French warship, rather than attacking Vane decided to pass up what promised to be a long hard battle in favor of keeping his skin in one piece. Rackham and the rest of the crew were angry; they had been ready to fly into battle even against the odds for such a rich prize and a more powerful ship. The crew put Vane and some loyal crew members in a smaller sloop and sent them packing, and Rackham was elected Captain.

  In the position of power, Calico Jack took his crew on a rampage around the Caribbean, taking several smaller vessels and, all in all, doing moderately well. But, in an eerie echo of his future, while Jack and his crew were resting ashore after one of their runs, his ship was seized by a patrol out of Jamaica.

  With his career abruptly cut short, Calico Jack found his way back to New Providence, intent on securing one of the pardons Woodes Rogers was giving out to former pirates. While there, Rackham's snappy dressing, charm, and profligate spending lured in Anne Bonny. Anne herself was an heiress, and pretty besides, with a fiery temper and a taste for adventure. In the face of that, who could blame Calico Jack for stumbling?

  Anne was already married, and her husband, James Bonny was a pirate hunter for Woodes Rogers. Discovering that Anne had taken up with Rackham, James went to the governor and demanded she be punished as an adulteress, which at the time included a public whipping. Calico Jack, apparently secure in his charm and wit, offered to buy Anne from James Bonny, but this only had the effect of enraging Bonny further.

  Rather than see Anne publically humiliated, Calico Jack forsook his pardon and stole a ship with her, and the two sailed away in the dead of night. Anne disguised herself as a man until she could prove her fighting skill. By the time her gender was revealed, no man in the crew would willingly take her on, as she had killed several men already, including one who had challenged Jack himself.

  Having a woman aboard who fought as well or better than the men was odd enough; Calico Jack's run passed from sensational into legendary when it was discovered that another "man" who had joined their crew was a woman as well. Mary Reade joined the pirates when they took her ship and forced her to decide at sword point; it was Anne who discovered her gender after attempting to seduce her. A jealous Jack soon discovered Mary's secret as well. What were the odds? Two female pirates on one ship. A probably very bemused Calico Jack let them stay.

  Rackham and his unusual crew succeeded in capturing several more ships, due in no small part to the fierceness of the two women, who apparently could fight and swear better than any man on the ship. It was a profitable run, but Woodes Rogers had put out a bounty on Calico Jack, and his career was about to come to a second, and final, end.

  While Rackham and his crew celebrated a recent capture, a sloop belonging to the governor surprised Jack's ship at anchor. Most of the male crew were drunk and in no condition to fight, including Jack. The women fired pistols into the hold where the men hid, swearing at and insulting them, but it did little except kill one man and wound another. The women fought as long as they were able, but in the end the entire crew was overcome.

  The pirates were taken to Port Royal and jailed to stand trial. It is here that Jack asked to see Anne and Mary one last time. Perhaps Jack knew that Anne's rich father would buy her freedom from jail, and hoped she would plead his case to her father for him. But Anne, feeling sorely betrayed by Calico Jack's lack of fight, only uttered to him her famous words,

  "I'm sorry to see you here, Jack, but if you had fought like a man you need not be hanged like a dog."

  Calico Jack Rackham was hanged at Port Royal on November 28th, 1720. His body was hung in a cage at the entrance to the harbor as a warning to all pirates; fight for your freedom or hang like a dog.

  Interested in reading more? Check out the links below.

  http://www.kipar.org/piratical-resources/pirate-fame.html#R

  http://www.geocities.com/captcutlass/bio/rackham.html

  http://www.thepiratesrealm.com/Jack%20Rackham.html

  Discuss this article in the forums.

• This week we feature a player from Pirates CSG Online.

  Real Life First Name: Josie

  Forum Handle: Lady_Evil

  Game Handle: Lady_Evil

  Where do you live? Indiana

  How long have you played Pirates? Since October 29, 2007

  Do you play Stargate, Star Chamber or Legends of Norrath? Nope.

  Do you play any physical TCGs? Nope.

  What got you into gaming and what sort of games do you like the most? I started the game to spend time with Mongoevil while he's away from home. I love The Sims2 pc, yahoo pool, and some ps2 games like Final Fantasy and Resident Evil.

  What type of work do you do? I'm a full time Mommy of 2, sometimes 3 when I count Mongo, hehehe . ;}*

  What other hobbies or activities do you take part in, other than Pirates? I like camping, painting, music, good movies, watching CSI & Criminal Minds, playing games and antique shopping, all with Mongo.

  What is your favorite fleet (deck) type? SCS (South China Seas) then CC (Crimson Coast)

  What is your favorite card (playability-wise)? Titan with Myngs, Owen, helms, and the Gentleman

  What is your favorite card (art-wise)? The Junks like Baochuan, but the Turtles have cute designs on them too.

  What type of TCG player are you? For example, are you an Art Lover, a Competitor, an Innovator? I'm a Social Butterfly with a ship-burning desire, lol.

  What do you like best about Pirates? The People, they're a great bunch; helpful, protective, and very funny. I luv'em, especially my girls. {purrrrr}

  Could you describe, in brief, a memorable game you had, or opponent you faced, and why it stands out in your mind? TheSwordLord and Jester were partners vs. Ikthultu and I. Ikky said, "remember don't shoot me", lol. With Lordy on my aft and Jester at the front I didn't have a chance, but it was so much fun.

  Do you run or work for an OSG or TCG Fan Site? Nope.

  What is one thing no one would ever suspect about you? I'm very shy in person. When I'm embarrassed I giggle like a little girl. :{

  Feel free to leave Lady_Evil a friendly note on the Pirates CSG Online forums!

• Well, he had to be gotten to eventually.

  Pirate of the Week: Jack Sparrow (fictional)

  That's Captain Jack Sparrow, actually. He doesn't let anyone forget it, least of all his erstwhile first mate, Hector Barbossa.

  Jack Sparrow, portrayed by Johnny Depp in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, shares many qualities with his historical counterparts. He is bold, charming, clever, defiant, and unrepentant. He is not above trickery and guile to get what he wants, and seems to frequently change sides, turning in his compatriots one moment and saving them the next.

  Unlike real pirates, he never kills without cause and frequently performs heroic acts that have no profit for him, confusing his friends and enemies alike. Jack started as a one-dimensional character, but as the story progresses more and more facets of his personality are revealed.

  First impressions show us a foppish man, frequently drunk and possibly a victim of heatstroke. He has slurred speech, odd mannerisms and a large ego that seems rather misplaced. Other characters usually see him as eccentric but harmless, allowing him to go where a more straightforward person might be stopped.

  But Jack's eccentricities mask a single-minded determination, a sharp and intelligent mind, and a basically honorable heart. Throughout the first movie, no matter what happens, his goal is his precious Black Pearl, and there is little anyone can do to stop him for long.

  Jack values freedom above all, and the Black Pearl is the vehicle to that freedom. For him, it was never about treasure, or killing, but about the love of the open sea and the right to go where and when he pleased. His first mate, Hector Barbossa explains that this is why he and the rest of the crew mutinied. Jack was not a successful pirate by their standards, and so they marooned him and sailed away in the Pearl, only to be cursed by the very treasure they had so greedily sought.

  Jack Sparrow literally has a moral compass; a magical compass that shows him the direction to his heart's desire. His one weakness, rum, frequently interferes with the power of the compass, proving that one must have a clear head to attain one's goals. In one scene, as his ship and crew come under attack, Jack abandons them to their fate, only to turn the rowboat and head back when he sees his compass pointing back towards the ship. Jack may be a reluctant hero, but hero he is; he cannot deny even the little good that resides in his heart. This is, perhaps, why he drinks; he knows that his good nature will one day get him killed.

  Jack is frequently apt to embellish stories about himself, making him appear more clever, stronger, or fearsome than he really is. He actually appears wounded if someone insults him, and feels the need to correct people's impressions of him. His large ego would seem to write out the possibility of an inferiority complex; what then, is his motivation? Like many real pirates, Jack knows that having a reputation that precedes him actually helps him avoid trouble; many ships, seeing a pirate flag heading their way, were apt to surrender if they recognized the particular symbols on the flag as belonging to a notorious torturer or killer. Jack is nothing if not a negotiator. He prefers to talk his way into treasure and out of trouble rather than fight. His quick mind allows him to see options as they develop, relate them to his overall goal, and act, often before others even guess what he is up to.

  Jack often defies Death itself, in the form of Davy Jones, but unlike his real counterparts, he manages to avoid that final noose through a combination of trickery, luck, and quick thinking. It could be argued that Jack is ultimately selfish and self-centered, interested only in attaining immortality so that he can sail free forever. But at the last moment, when there is a choice to attain his goal or help a friend, he makes (to him) what must have been the ultimate sacrifice. That single scene is the only scene in any of the three movies where we see Jack truly upset and uncertain. It may be the only scene in which we see the true Jack.

  Jack Sparrow constantly fights that good side of himself, using rum to foul up his moral compass; in the final scene of the series, we see him at sea, about to set off on another adventure. The compass points back towards port, where he has left his friends, and where Barbossa has once again stolen the Pearl. But as soon as he uncorks a bottle, the needle swings in the opposite direction, he grins, and sails off into the sunset on another misguided (but probably very fun) adventure.

  "Drink up me hearties, yo ho!"

  Interested in reading more? Check out the links below.

  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Sparrow

  http://pirates.wikia.com/wiki/Jack_Sparrow

  http://www.potcinteractive.com/capjack.html

  Discuss this article in the Pirates CSG Online forums.

• This Friday, May 2nd SOE Phone Support will be closed for a few hours from 10am - 12:30pm Pacific Time. Phone Support will resume operation from 12:30pm - 7pm Pacific Time. We apologize for the inconvenience.

  SOE Customer Support Team

• Avast me hearties! This week we learn that sometimes it's better to quit while you're ahead.

  Pirate of the Week: Thomas Tew - ? – 1695

  Details of Thomas Tew's early life are unclear; he claimed to have come from a well-to-do Rhode Island family that had been settled there since 1640. Historical records do not bear this out, although speculation and research indicate it was likely he was at least related in some way to this family.

  In 1690 Tew arrived in Bermuda with gold in his pocket and a taste for adventure. With a commission from the governor, he bought a share in a 60-ton sloop named the Amity, and with the support of various backers set sail for Africa. His mission was supposedly to attack French holdings in Gambia, destroy a factory there and take slaves. But once a storm separated him from a fellow vessel, Tew took command of the expedition and persuaded his men that the real opportunity lay in the Red Sea, among the treasure-laden ships of India's Great Mogul.

  His crew went along with this plan without much convincing; Tew was either a good captain or a charismatic leader or both. Once they had elected a quartermaster they headed for the Red Sea and fortune. In late 1693 Tew and his crew ran down a "tall vessel" laden with treasure. She was heavily armed with 300 Indian soldiers, but Tew's charisma won out over caution and the Amity attacked. The pirates' enthusiasm won the day, and without a single loss they took the larger ship and its treasure of gold, silver, pearls, gems, spices, ivory and silk.

  After sharing out the loot, Tew set a course for Madagascar, where he stopped to careen the Amity before returning to America. It is Thomas Tew who is credited with bringing the Madagascar trade to the Americas, and some sources claim he spent four months charting its coast. Some sources also claim he spent time there ruling a "pirate colony" in partnership with a French pirate, Captain Misson, which was later destroyed by natives. There is no hard evidence to support this claim, as of yet.

  In 1694 Thomas Tew returned to Newport, Rhode Island, where he sold the Amity, paid off his backers, and seemingly retired into a life of ease. He frequented dinners given by the governor of New York, with his wife and daughters dressed in silks, and regaled other guests with tales of his adventures in the Red Sea. All of New York knew he was a pirate, and yet he was treated as a conquering hero with all of society listening to his tales of Madagascar and Arabia.

  Whether bored of his easy life or urged on by others who wanted exotic new tales, Thomas Tew decided to take another trip on the Pirate Round. In late 1694 he bought a letter of marque from Governor Fletcher of New York, fitted out a new Amity, and set out once again for the Red Sea. In August of 1695, Tew happened across a fleet of pirates, including Henry Every, who were also hunting the rich waters of the Red Sea. Tew threw in his lot with them, perhaps figuring it would be easier to take large ships with a fleet.

  In September 1695 a convoy of 25 Mughal ships approached the Mandab Strait, following their normal shipping route, and the pirate fleet attacked. The Fateh Muhammed was their first target, and Tew attacked it in the Amity. Unfortunately for Tew, one of the Fateh Muhammed's only answering shots was the last he saw. According to a witness, a cannon ball tore away Tew's stomach, leaving him holding in his intestines for a short time, until he finally collapsed to the deck. Seeing their charismatic captain felled at last, Tew's crew surrendered immediately and were captured. Henry Every's crew released them when they took the Fateh Muhammed a day later, the Mughal ship having taken damage from the Amity.

  Thomas Tew's remains were never recovered, although he did leave a sea chest behind which is now in a pirate-themed museum in the Florida Keys; the only known sea chest with provenance leading back to a pirate.

  Interested in reading more? Check out the links below.

  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Tew

  http://www.piratesoul.com/notable_detail.aspx?id=3

  http://www.redflag.co.uk/thomtew.htm

  Discuss this article in the forums.

• Ahoy maties! This week we learn that a head made for business and a body made for sin add up to fame and fortune the likes of which most male pirates never saw.

  Pirate of the Week: Cheng I Sao 1775-1844

  Cheng I Sao was born around 1775 in China. In 1801 at the age of 26, she was working as a prostitute when she caught the eye of the notorious pirate captain, Cheng I. The dashing pirate captain asked her to marry him, but even at that young age, Cheng I Sao was a shrewd wheeler-dealer. She agreed to marry him on the condition that they were to share power equally and that she would have the opportunity to help him build more wealth. Cheng was more than willing to have his new bride use her business acumen on his behalf, and for the next six years they terrorized the South China Coast from Macao to Canton. Coastal villages paid Cheng and his bride to keep them from raiding and pillaging in their area, and the pirate fleet even joined in a Vietnamese rebellion. Six years of wedded bliss, and Cheng and his lady were the most feared pirates in the South China Seas with a fleet of 400 junks and over 70,000 men.

  In 1807, tragedy struck. Cheng was killed in a gale at sea, leaving the Lady Cheng a widow. At this point, Cheng I Sao might well have gone into retirement, leaving her husband's adopted son Chang Pao to take up the captain's position. But Lady Cheng was only 32, at the height of her power, and no slouch. Instead of stepping aside, she took up the reins of her husband's empire, took her adopted son Chang Pao as her lover, and proceeded to build her fleet into the largest on the South China Seas.

  Lady Cheng realized that despite her previous power beside her husband, it was likely that the men in her pirate fleet would not easily take the rule of a woman. She made Chang Pao her lieutenant and gave him direct command over her pirates while running the political, business, and strategic aspects of the fleet. She developed a strict code of laws that were brutally enforced. Many rules, if broken, incurred capital offenses punished by execution; commands were only to be given by the leaders, female captives were not to be raped, villages that paid their protection money were not to be raided, and the treasury was not to be touched. Even female captives who supposedly consented to relations with their pirate captors were chained about the legs and thrown overboard, while their captors were beheaded. Desertion was punished by the removal of an ear and public humiliation.

  For a year Cheng I Sao attacked weak merchant vessels, coastal villages and inland villages along rivers, building her fleet and treasury, at the mercy of none except the weather. In 1808, the Chinese Imperial Navy attempted to reign in her depredations, but she destroyed fleet after fleet sent against her, and actually ended up with more ships in her fleet. She was known to have captured Imperial Navy officers tortured and killed. One man was nailed to a deck and beaten until he vomited blood, then taken ashore and cut to pieces. Others committed suicide when capture seemed imminent, to avoid a slow painful death. Villages who attempted to raise militias against her raids were punished in horrific fashion. In 1809, 80 men of the Sanshan village were beheaded and their wives and children held for ransom or sold into slavery for attempting to defend themselves against her fleet.

  Shrewd, disciplined, and merciless, Lady Cheng seemed unstoppable. Then, in 1810, a rival appeared on the scene. O-Po-Tae, in a series of epic battles against Lady Cheng's fleet, forced her to retreat, although he could not destroy her entirely. At a stalemate, both pirate leaders were ready and willing to accept the Chinese government's generous pardon when it came in 1810. O-Po-Tae, fearing Lady Cheng's revenge on him, accepted first, but Cheng I Sao was quick to follow, using her business acumen and power to negotiate a very sweet deal indeed for her men and herself.

  Chang Pao and many of her pirates received military government positions, while the Lady Cheng retired from piracy and opened a successful gambling hall (and some sources also claim an opium smuggling operation) in Guangzhou.

  Sao I Cheng died peacefully in 1844 at the age of 69, a wealthy business owner and grandmother as well as one of the most feared and respected pirates of her day.

  Interested in reading more? Check out the links below.

  http://www.cnn.com/2007/LIVING/worklife/08/27/woman.pirate/index.html

  http://www.thepirateking.com/bios/sao_cheng_i.htm

  http://www.cindyvallar.com/chengsao.html

  Discuss this article in the forums.

• 

  The votes are in and your voices have been heard! FitzAwlScyzes, The_Sword_Lord, djwesterdale, and CaptainStrack are the new inductees in Captain Strack's Pirates' Hall of Fame. Congratulations on providing your fellow players with the total pirate experience!

  Current members are listed below.

  Strack's Pirates CSG Online Pirates' Hall of Fame

  • Capt. Ron
  • CaptainStrack
  • djwesterdale
  • FitzAwlScyzes
  • Jester187
  • LoneWolf-JDR
  • MetalCarnage
  • PaladinSG
  • The_Sword_Lord
  • Winterpegger

  The next ballot will be held in three months.

  See the process in the Pirates CSG Online forums.

• 

  If you've never been to an SOE Fan Faire before, you've been missing out! Fan Faire is a great place for SOE gamers to mix and mingle with each other and meet some of the faces behind their favorite SOE games. Here's just a taste of some of the great stuff we're planning:

  • In-game tournaments
  • Live, game-themed tournaments and quests
  • A costume contest
  • Lots of social activities, including a Kickoff Reception, a Grand Banquet and a VIP Party with live entertainment
  • Sneak peeks at SOE titles currently in development
  • The 2nd Annual Community Address from SOE President John Smedley
  • Developer forums and roundtables

  And that's just the beginning! No matter which SOE game you like to play, Fan Faire will be a blast! Even if you're not an SOE gamer, we encourage you to join us and bring your friends!

  Passes will go on sale later this Spring, but you can book your hotel stay now! The Las Vegas Hilton is currently accepting reservations at the discounted Fan Faire rate of just $139 per night. Just call (800) 635-7711 and tell them you're with Sony Online Entertainment, booking code SSOE8 or click here to make online reservations. Space is limited – so get your room soon, in case they sell out!

  Hope to see you in Las Vegas!

  Watch for passes to go on sale and other Fan Faire announcements on the Fan Faire site.

• It's quite ironic that there are so few records of Henry Every's life, when he was the most famous pirate of the year in 1695.

  Pirate of the Week: Henry "Long Ben" Every 1653(?)- (disappeared from record 1696)

  Henry Every was born near Plymouth, England around 1653, and like so many of his contemporaries, became a sailor in his youth. The borders of the world were expanding, trade was booming, and untold riches were crisscrossing the oceans of the globe daily.

  As a Royal Navy sailor, Every would have been part of the hustle and bustle, and would have seen the flow of riches and perhaps glimpsed the rich lives of those benefiting from trade with exotic ports. But also as a Royal Navy sailor, Every would have been as far from rich as the earth from the sun, with a lot of extremely hard work to do for nothing but weevil-infested hard-tack and stale water.

  No surprise then that in 1694 Long Ben decided he had had enough and led a mutiny aboard the ship Charles II, on which he was first-mate. The mutiny went over easily, as it was well-planned and the Captain was apparently drunk and had no idea what was going on until the next day.

  Every sailed from Spain to the Cape Verde Islands just off the west coast of Africa, where he took his first three ships, all English merchantmen. After taking two Danish ships near Principe, he put in at Johanna Island to careen and modify the Charles II, which he had renamed the Fancy. When Every set sail again, it was in a much faster ship, as he had removed (razeed) parts of her superstructure. At that time Fancy was probably one of the fastest ships in the Indian Ocean.

  "he was too nimble for them by much, having taken down a great deale of his upper work and made her exceeding snug, which advantage being added to her well sailing before causes her to saile so hard that she fears not who follows her." (Earle, 126) (1)

  Indeed, Every and his crew went right out and captured a French pirate ship, looting her of everything and recruiting forty more men. Long Ben left a note behind in Johanna addressed to English ship captains falsely explaining he had taken no English ships, and that if they were to show him a certain signal should they ever meet, he would not attack. Was he remorseful for taking the three English merchantmen? Or was he merely ensuring that he would know by the signal if he were attacking an English ship and therefore be certain to put all aboard to the sword? Perhaps he was hedging his bets, hoping the English would defend him as a privateer and give him safe haven should his pirating career get out of hand.

  Whatever the reason might have been for the letter in Johanna, Every was soon to scuttle any hopes of safe haven. He stopped in Madagascar to resupply (paying for those supplies with the seventeenth-century equivalent of a bad check), then continued on towards the Red Sea. There he was joined by several other pirates, and together they formed a fleet of six ships. Small, but more than a match for overloaded merchant ships.

  In September of 1695, the fleet crossed the wakes of two ships, the Fateh Muhammed, an unarmed merchant ship, and the Ganj-I-Sawai (Gunsway), a heavily-armed merchant ship belonging to India's Great Moghul. The Fateh Muhammed was taken without a fight, yielding gold and silver coins amounting to more than 50,000 english pounds. The Ganj-I-Sawai had a much more formidable fighting force; 62 guns and 400 to 500 musketmen. But Every did not hesitate to attack.

  Luck was with the pirates. A cannon aboard the Ganj-I-Sawai exploded in their opening salvo, killing dozens of crew members. Every's next broadside snapped their mainmast, bringing it crashing to the deck and killing more. The ships' captain fled below decks and hid among his concubines for the rest of the fight.

  It took two hours, but Every's pirate fleet hammered the Ganj-I-Sawai into submission, losing only about 20 men. For their hard work, they were rewarded with treasure beyond any of their wildest dreams. 500,000 pieces of silver and gold, a ruby-studded saddle made expressly for the Great Moghul, and drifts of jewels. Modern-day estimates put the overall worth of their take at $105,000,000 to $188,000,000 with the difference explained by the disparate estimates put forth at the time by the East India Company and the Great Moghul himself.

  In the debauchery that followed this successful attack, several Indian and Muslim women passengers either threw themselves into the sea or killed themselves to avoid being dishonored by the pirates. Those who did not were taken prisoner, but by the time the pirate fleet had scattered and Every reached St. Thomas intending to sell his vast loot, there is no further record of them.

  The Great Moghul was livid upon hearing of the attack and threatened to kick the East India Company out of India and halt all trade unless they made reparations and declared Every and all his band pirates. The East India Company quickly placed a bounty on Every and his crew, and from then on no place was safe for the Arch-Pirate or his men.

  At this point, perhaps wisely, Every decided to retire. He sailed for the Bahamas and attempted to bribe the governor of Royal Island for a pardon, even going so far as to give him the Fancy. But this governor lacked the authority to grant them. Next Every sailed for Jamaica but the governor there refused to be swayed by bribes. The East India Company was out for blood and he knew anyone who got in their way would pay very dearly indeed.

  Henry Every then took a new alias, Benjamin Bridgeman, purchased a sloop, and sailed for England. Once there, several of his crew were soon caught, either because they couldn't keep quiet about their wealth or because they tried to sell their loot to those who informed on them. Twenty four men were caught in all. Six were hanged and others were sent to the Americas as convict laborers.

  And Henry Every? Also known as Long Ben, the Arch-Pirate, and Benjamin Bridgeman? Henry Every disappeared, with his unimaginable wealth, never to be heard from again.

  Interested in reading more? Check out the links below.

  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Every

  http://www.cindyvallar.com/every.html

  http://pirateshold.buccaneersoft.com/roster/henry_every.html

  (1) Earle, Peter. The Pirate Wars. St. Martin's, 2003.

  Discuss this article in the forums.

• Real Life First Name: Bobby

  Forum Handle: FitzAwlScyzes

  Game Handle: FitzAwlScyzes

  Where do you live? Chapel Hill, NC.

  How long have you played Pirates? First week of retail.

  Do you play Stargate, Star Chamber or Legends of Norrath? I play and collect Legends of Norrath.

  Do you play any physical TCGs? Not currently, played Magic pretty heavily early on and tried most of the second generation CCG games.

  What got you into gaming and what sort of games do you like the most? I was hooked on computer gaming in middle school with the original Might and Magic. I have always loved any kind of strategy game. Titan and 1830 by Avalon Hill are my favorite board games.

  What type of work do you do? Project Management/Engineer for Lenovo.

  What other hobbies or activities do you take part in, other than Pirates? Golf, Tennis, attending UNC collegiate sporting events, Texas Hold'em Poker, raising a newborn daughter.

  What is your favorite fleet (deck) type? 80 point commons only.

  What is your favorite card (playability-wise)? Longshanks, with SM Jack Hawkins and a Helmsman.

  What is your favorite card (art-wise)? Independence.

  What type of TCG player are you? For example, are you an Art Lover, a Competitor, an Innovator? Definite Competitor but I do like winning with combos or cards outside of the accepted power fleets.

  What do you like best about Pirates? As much as I like playing, I most favor the economy and trading aspect of the game.

  Could you describe, in brief, a memorable game you had, or opponent you faced, and why it stands out in your mind? My favorite games so far have been the 2vs2. CaptainStrack and I would team up and take all comers. I can't wait till the game mechanics completely support teams and multiplayer battles.

  Do you run or work for an OSG or TCG Fan Site? Nope.

  What is one thing no one would ever suspect about you? I proposed to my wife as part of the TLC TV Show Perfect Proposal.

  Feel free to leave FitzAwlScyzes a friendly note on the Pirates CSG Online forums!

• Yes, a chain of seafood restaurants stole his name. But that doesn't diminish the stature of possibly the most famous fictional pirate ever.

  Pirate of the Week: Long John Silver (fictional)

  Robert Louis Stevenson wrote Treasure Island in 1883 as a serialized children's story. On the surface, it is a rousing adventure, full of danger, suspense, and of course treasure. It's not very difficult to imagine a child of that time identifying with young Jim Hawkins, dreaming of sailing the high seas, following a treasure map to a chest full of gold doubloons.

  But there is much more to the story than that. Originally titled "The Sea Cook", it has been argued because of this, and because of the character of Long John Silver, that the story was not about Jim Hawkins at all.

  John Silver had served in the Royal Navy under a man named Hawke, and at some point during this service lost his leg. He was presumably discharged for this impairment, and taken on by the pirate Captain Flint. A man must survive somehow, after all. Silver was apparently so good at his adopted career that he was the only man Flint feared; a considerable accomplishment, since Flint himself was formidable. Silver became Flint's quartermaster, and served under him for many years.

  Flint's career lasted twenty-five years, an enormous length of time for one in such a risky profession. During this time he buried the bulk of his treasure on a remote Caribbean island, killed the six men who helped him to do it, and kept the map of its location a secret until he lay on his deathbed.

  Flint's remaining pirate crew scattered after his death; he had shared out what loot was left after he buried the greater portion. But the wily Silver knew it would not be long before the others would try to find the treasure, and so he gathered a few of his own crew and set off to recover it himself. What follows is the adventure of Treasure Island.

  Stevenson, in his portrayal of Silver, gave rise to much of the modern perception of pirates. Long John Silver uses crutches very effectively after losing his leg; this may be where the association between pirates and peg legs comes from. A parrot (rather wryly named Captain Flint) rides his shoulder and screams "Pieces of eight, pieces of eight". He uses a treasure map to find a buried treasure, something few if any actual pirates ever did. (Captain Kidd buried loot to hold as a bargaining chip, but it was quickly recovered by the authorities.)

  But Long John Silver is not at all a one-dimensional character. Like his real-life counterparts he is a mix of good and evil. He shows a friendly, even fatherly side to Jim Hawkins, perhaps seeing something of himself in the young adventure-seeking boy. To others he is by turns friendly and ruthless, murdering fellow crewmen without a flicker of emotion and manipulating them for his benefit. He is clever, self-serving, greedy, and a hardened killer, and yet likeable despite all of that.

  An excess of charm? Perhaps. Long John Silver is no more or less than the real-life pirates who terrorized the high seas in the Golden Age of piracy, with all their charm and murder. He is easily believable as a real person, mixed up in an adventure most of us only read or dream about, of treasure maps, tall ships, and the Jolly Roger against a clear blue sky.

  Interested in reading more? Check out the links below.

  http://www.deadmentellnotales.com/onlinetexts/treasure/island.shtml

  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_John_Silver

  http://www.piratesinfo.com/legend/treasure/common.html

  http://www.tqnyc.org/NYC051310/piratesfactfromfiction.htm

  And of course, read the book! Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson.

  Discuss this article in the forums.

• Ahoy, me hearties! This week we learn that defiance in the face of authority can be fun times, until the authorities recognize your face.

  Pirate of the Week: Charles Vane ?-1719

  Records are scant on the early life of Charles Vane, but given his skills at sailing and capturing ships, one can surmise he spent some time as an ordinary sailor.

  Vane was introduced to piracy in 1716 by the privateer Henry Jennings, who took him along with a large force to the coast of Florida to harass a Spanish salvage operation. A fleet of Spanish treasure galleons had sunk just off the coast during a hurricane and the Spanish were trying to recover the silver that still lay scattered among the wrecks. Jennings' formidable force intimidated and ran off or killed the salvage crew