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One of my favorite games of all time is Sid Meiers Pirates!

I'd like to find a game similar to it, but I don't even know how to describe what kind of game Pirates! is.

Is it an adventure game with elements of commerce? Or is there a better way to describe it?

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  • I'd call it an open-world rpg, although adventure game is a good tag for it. Here is a decent selection of similar games: hubpages.com/hub/…, which have the alignment/morality part of Pirates!. Eve Online is remarkably similar in ways you can see through a little reading.
    – Sadly Not
    Commented Nov 23, 2010 at 7:03
  • I'd classify it as "Sid Meier" which comprehensively describes a genre in and of itself and warns anyone who knows the man that they're going to be in for a whole lot of sleepless nights.
    – Shadur-don't-feed-the-AI
    Commented Mar 16, 2014 at 10:25

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Sid Meiers Pirates! has a few important features that define it as well as any single genre will:

  • open-world
  • role-playing elements
  • commerce
  • NPC alignment

Some games that fit a number of those features are Oblivion, Fable, and Eve Online.

Oblivion and Fable are both rpgs that are vastly open-world, with alignment systems where certain groups of NPCs are for or against you depending on your actions (compare with your allegiance chosen in Pirates), and some elements of commerce where you may own stores, trade, and partially influence in-game economies (similar to trading in-town in Pirates).

Eve Online fits more features than Oblivion and Fable, as it is an MMORPG with battles similar to those seen in Pirates and fleshed out commerce with player-owned corporations and player-controlled merchants.

Hope this helps direct your search.

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  • Alignment. That's what I was looking for. I like being the bad guy when I'm not supposed to be. Stealing things in morrowind was fun for me. It's a shame no other game is like pirates. Eve has too high of a learning curve, uninteresting setting and it's an mmo. (I don't like having to make friends. )
    – Jason
    Commented Nov 23, 2010 at 18:01
  • Yeah Pirates is definitely unique in everything it combines. My next suggestion is Fable if you liked Morrowind. I can't personally vouch for the series but it's heavily alignment based.
    – Sadly Not
    Commented Nov 24, 2010 at 16:13
  • There is a series which is pretty similar to Pirates! Uncharted waters. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncharted_Waters
    – Nick
    Commented Jun 6, 2011 at 13:58
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Wikipedia puts it in 3 main categories: Strategy, action and adventure.

To find other games like this one, you could go to some big digital content providers (Direct2Drive/Steam) and look for Sid Meier's Pirates. Go to the page of the game and look around the page. You'll see a section with similar games (deemed similar by the provider).

Another way would be to go to IGN or another good gaming site, look for the game, go to the review and look around the page, again you'll be shown similar games to the one in question.

Disclaimer: You don't need to buy anything from the providers I've mentioned, they're there as examples, nothing more.

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