Puzzled

[rowyn]

Lut found a new game.

The two betas he'd been playing in early August (World of Warcraft and the new Warhammer 40,000 RTS) were broken by the patches applied while we were in Vegas, so he'd quit playing them. For a couple of weeks, he tried Sony's "Planetside", but got disgusted with the imbalances in it and gave it up.

His newest game: Yohoho! Puzzle Pirates.

It's a massively multiplayer roleplaying game based on .... puzzle games. You know. Like Tetris and Snood and all those games you find on Yahoo and similar places.

I am a puzzle game addict. When I find one I like, I can play it for entire days without break. I played Tetris and its variants for years, and Snood by itself kept me entertained for a few months.

And I played Everquest for three years.

Now, I managed to break my leveling-game addiction (even City of Heroes couldn't hold me more than a month.) But a game that combined MMORPG and puzzle games?

I watched him play "Puzzle Pirates", and I said, "I'm not sure I want to try this game."

"Why not?"

"Because if I do, I'm never going to stop."

I was supposed to go to the Bahamas this weekend, but telnar and I decide we didn't want to visit on the same weekend Frances was. So we rescheduled, leaving me with an unexpectedly free weekend at home. On Friday night, I gave in and tried the game.

...

No, I haven't done much else since then.

Comments

[caffeinewabbit.livejournal.com]

I keep on seeing ads for that on Penny Arcade. I'm curious how you tie puzzle games and MMPOGs together.

[ltwarhound.livejournal.com]

You need to pump the water out of the ship (because we've taken damage, and are taking on water, which slows us down, making us an easier target)?

Then you play the Bilge puzzle game, and by scoring well, you 'pump' the bilge out faster.

Want to sail faster? Get a few of your crew playing the 'sails'. Quick, get a man playing the Gunnery game, so we reload and fire those cannons!

Oops, they grappled us. Grab your sword of choice, and engage in a tetris like game, where clearing out blocks and rows sends them onto your opponent's screen, where he has to try to clear them out (sending them back to you) or lose. And in a brawl, you might have the bad fortune to have 2 or 3 opponents ganging up on you.

As an MMO, its not overly massive. About the size of Planetside, playerwise. But it has a surprising amount of depth to the meta-game that the puzzle games are just the front for.

[rowyn]

Pretty much what Lut said. Where, say, EverQuest has you craft items by putting ingrediants together in a box and pressing a "combine" button (booooooring!) in Puzzle Pirates, you'd play a puzzle game. The better you do at playing the puzzle game, the better your chances of success at whatever you're trying to do: pump out the bilge, repair damage to the ship, fight combats, etc.

Gah, now I want to play .... *whimper*

[oceansedge.livejournal.com]

Oh DEAR ME..... that DOES sound terribly dangerous.

Tetris and Popcap.com are dangerous enough

[rowyn]

Tell me about it!

And I have a Game of October log scheduled for tonight, and my parents are coming for a week starting Wednesday, so I'm not going to have much opportunity to play, either.

I never should've started.

[level-head.livejournal.com]

You are definitely safer playing the game than traveling into the maw of the hurricane.

For the short term. ];-)

===|==============/ Level Head

[rowyn]

All too true, I'm afraid.

[tuftears.livejournal.com]

*waves hoodoo fingers* Try it... You can always give it up if you want to...

Seriously, Puzzle Pirates sounds like potential fun, I just haven't tried it because multiplayer games are only really fun if you're playing them with friends. If you tried it, well, maybe I'd have to try it and then... Wah!

Join us ... joooooooiiiiiin usssssss!

[rowyn]

Lut and I are both playing now, though with my parents visiting, I probably won't be around much for the next week. Lut is "Ltwarhound" and I'm "Chiaokuo".

[rowyn]

And our crew is "Soaring Gulls". So you know. Just in case you decide to play. >:)

join us .... jooooiiiiiin usssssssssss

Breaking radio silence...

[genkitty.livejournal.com]

I'm Arabella on Y!PP, and Chirik plays Silvermoon. Look us up :)

Re: Breaking radio silence...

[rowyn]

Hey, cool!

Lut it Ltwarhound. Should be pretty easy to spot. I'm ... um ... Chiaokuo. I think. You can tell my first few choices were taken, can't you? :)

Re: Breaking radio silence...

[rowyn]

So, OK, I've been playing this game for two weeks ... and I *still* have no idea how to look someone up by name. (How pitiful is that?) Lut and I are in a crew, "Soaring Gulls". Do Arabella and Silvermoon have a crew? :)

Re: Breaking radio silence...

[genkitty.livejournal.com]

*chuckle*

/who Name

This will tell you if someone is online or when they last were online, and gives you a link to their 'bio page' (such as it is).

Arabella and Silvermoon are part of the Silver Dragon Trading Company, under the flag Carpe Noctem. We used to be part of Equinox/Rudder Hell/Rudder Revolution.

Dare I try it?

[krud42.livejournal.com]

Is this a free game?

I hope not.

Monthly fees are all that's keeping me from the likes of "City of Heroes".

The first hit's free ...

[rowyn]

You get ten trial sessions (I'm not sure exactly how long a "session" is, but it's enough time to get a feel for most of the puzzles and the gameplay) but thereafter it costs. It's cheaper than City of Heroes, but not by a whole lot -- I think it was around $10.00 if you pay by the month, with significant discounts for quarterly or yearly payments.

You're better off not trying it, trust me. :D

Re: Dare I try it?

[genkitty.livejournal.com]

From the billing FAQ:
...
What are the Prices?
Pricing for Puzzle Pirates is as follows:

• Monthly: $9.95 / month.
  
• Quarterly: $19.95 / first quarter, $24.95 / subsequent. [ $7.90 / month average over a year ]
  
• Annually: $74.95 / year. [ $6.25 / month ]
  

Does a month last a month, or until the end of the current month?
When you subscribe your account will be active for the duration of your subscription, i.e. for a month for the next 28-31 days. You will be billed again on the same day in the next month. Similarly a quarter of time lasts approximately 90 days, not until the end of the current calendar quarter.
...
That said, I'm one of the lucky beta-testers: $50 for the first two years. I wish I'd started playing a little earlier. Alpha testers got $50 for life.

[kelloggs2066.livejournal.com]

Wow! Sounds fun! :)

I like puzzle games, but as you said, they're time sinks.
Must draw cartoons!

[rowyn]

You are wise beyond your years, sir. :)

[(Anonymous)]

hi are you the same Rowyn that played the game CoH.
If you are cool, he is in the Victory server. :)

raquelprobe@aol.com
Ty let me know.