Featured article archive

The featured article archive has the blurbs that were featured on YPPedia's Main Page.

2006-01-26 to 2006-04-07
Fan Arrrt With its friendly social atmosphere, Yohoho! Puzzle Pirates has a thriving and active user community. Many users post fan art to the forums.

To help encourage creative pirates, Nemo heads Art Forums in The Mariner's Muse. Each Art Forum project starts with a subject of a suitably piratical bent. Then, any who wish to participate do a sketch of the subject. Participants range from complete beginners to professional artists. The community comments and gives advice and praise, and the artists move forward with the work using a variety of mediums. Eventually everyone finishes a piece, we all discuss them and compliment each other and start over with a new subject. It's great fun and can improve the work of the amateur and master alike.

There's even an on-going contest for player created portrait backgrounds where winning entries selected by Nemo are used as limited edition backgrounds in game.

More fan art…

2006-04-07 to 2006-06-07
Featured article: Rumble Rumble is the newest multiplayer puzzle added to Yohoho! Puzzle Pirates. It is available from the tournament board or as a parlor game. Players can challenge NPPs or other players to a rumble. In addition, the final phase of a sea battle against Barbarians is a rumble.

Meant as a concept of martial arts, fisticuffs and/or melee fighting, Rumble is played most similar to Snood, Bust-A-Move/Puzzle Bobble, or PopCap's Dynomite. The player must fire colored balls in clusters of at least 3 balls of the same color to send attacks to the opponent.

Everyone can fight with their bare fists, however some may prefer to use the different bludgeons available. New bludgeons can be ordered from a shipyard or bought from other pirates. Different bludgeons change the drop pattern of your attacks.

More on rumbling…

2006-06-07 to 2006-07-22
Featured article: Blockade

A blockade is the most common means by which a flag takes control of an island. A blockade is a large multi-ship sea battle in which factions vie for control of flagged buoys. Unlike regular sea battles, blockades do not involve grappling or swordfighting.

Blockades often involve multiple flags, and can be quite large, depending on the circumstances of the blockade. Blockades offer an entirely different combat dynamic from ordinary sea battles, and jobbers are frequently recruited by all sides involved, with payments on a per-round basis.

Blockades may be either sinking or non-sinking. In a sinking blockade, sunken ships disappear beneath the waves; the ship and all goods aboard are lost forever. In a non-sinking blockade, sunken ships fade out and reappear at the island where they were last in port, supplies intact. These ships may not reenter the blockade, but their supplies may be transferred to other ships in port.

More on blockades…

2006-07-22 to 2006-10-19
Featured article: Portrait

A portrait is an in-game picture of a pirate. Single-pirate portraits can be commissioned at any portrait easel (found in all palaces) for 15,000 PoE and, on doubloon oceans 20 doubloons.

After paying for a portrait, a pirate can then choose a facial expression and, optionally, select an item to hold. The colors of pirates' skin and hair are reproduced in the portrait as well as any injuries.

The clothes a pirate wears in a portrait are the ones the pirate is wearing when commissioning the portrait.

Portraits of more than one pirate can be commissioned by selecting a background which allows more than one pirate. On some backgrounds the maximum number of pirates can be increased by making pirate arrangement 'two rows'.

The commissioner of the portrait receives a copy. Additional copies may be ordered for a PoE cost (dependent on the background and arrangement) and 7 doubloons.

More on portraits…

2006-10-19 to 2006-12-10
Featured article: Greeter Greeters are players volunteering to help new players, greenies, find their way around the game. Anyone with 200 hours in-game who has been playing for at least 6 months and has a reasonably clean disciplinary record can go on duty as a greeter by typing /duty. This will cause their name to become pink to all other greeters, greenies and Ocean Masters.

If you still have a green name you can contact a greeter by using the link in the 'Help' section of the 'Ye' panel in the Sunshine widget.

Greeters are expected to be role models when on-duty and type in proper English (as opposed to "chatspeak" or "leetspeak") when they first meet each greenie. They should be willing and ready to answer greenies' questions and teach them game etiquette. They can use several shortkeys while on-duty to aid with the speed of this.

They have access to two extra chat channels, /greeter and /greenie. The abuse of either of these channels is /complain or even /blackspot worthy. /greeter is a channel for specific greeter related questions and /greenie is a broadcast that goes to all greenies in the archipelago. /greenie should not be used more than every 30-60 minutes in each archipelago.

More on greeters...

2006-12-10 to 2007-05-30
Featured article: Blockade pay

In the early days of the Midnight Ocean, blockades were staffed for free by allies, friends, and random jobbers. Robertdonald and the flag Scallywag Syndicate were the first to implement payment of blockade jobbers. The payment trend caught on and a variety of methods were employed to try to handle manual blockade jobbing payment, from asking for tells at each duty report with confirmation from screenshots to asking jobbers to board a payment ship where money was added to the booty to be split after a quick deport. Later, payment was made somewhat easier by the event of the /pay command and the popular third-party tool QuarterMaster Pirate Helper.

With, the blockade pay function was added to the game. Accessible only by royalty and the monarch, it gives flags an in-game, automated way to handle blockade jobber payment. Blockade jobbers are paid for each segment of a round based on the settings chosen by the paying flag. The settings affect the average amount that jobbers are paid per segment and which jobbers are paid. A jobber must be working on a ship that is correctly set to pay the jobbers.

More on blockade pay...

2007-05-30 to 2007-07-01
Featured article: Brigand Kings

Fear ye all who roam the seas of these merciless figures, these tyrants of souls, these terrifying Brigand Kings. Brigand Kings (and their rumbling counterparts, Barbarian Kings) are special brigands found occasionally when a player ship attacks a red or orange brigand vessel. Information on their whereabouts may be attained from buying a drink for the old salts in the inn. Brigand Kings will include a special dialogue during the sea battle and subsequent swordfight or rumble and offer the prize of an inscribed trinket to every subscribed or pirate badge+ holding player on the winning ship should they defeat the king.

With, Brigand Kings will now blockade player controlled islands. A Brigand King will amass his armada near to an island at a league point in a flotilla. The flotilla board looks similar to the blockade board and functions mostly like a sinking blockade. The Brigand King's fleet will consist of two kinds of ships: green outlined supply ships, and red outlined attack and defense ships. All player ships are on the same team and if they can sink enough supply ships and cut off the king's supply chain, the king will break the flotilla and move his fleet elsewhere, possibly to target another island for blockade. If the flotilla is not broken, eventually the Brigand King will declare a blockade on a nearby island. All Brigand King blockades are sinking and it is possible for the players to lose control of the island and the king to be installed as governor.

Pictured above: Azarbad the Great, the newest Brigand King. More on Brigand Kings...

2007-07-01 to 2007-08-01
Featured article: Olympic Champions League

Once every so often, the greatest competitors on a given ocean come together to prove their mettle at one of several piratey events. These games - organized by Artemis and Apollo - are known as the Olympic Champions League (or OCL), and are a source of pride and bragging rights for those who are skilled enough to take home the championship in a given event.

Over their four-year history, these games have been run six times. Beginning on Midnight, they expanded as new oceans were opened to include separate competitions on Cobalt, Viridian, Sage, and Hunter. Originally composed of two different leagues - Sea Battle and Team Brawl - a third league (Team Drinking) was added during the second season, and these three leagues have made up all OCL seasons since. Pirates form teams, and enlist in one or more OCL leagues, competing for the glory and prizes that come with a victory.

Indeed, the prizes are not to be scoffed at. Each member of the first place team in an OCL league receives a pure white familiar (parrots for the Team Brawl winners, monkeys for the Sea Battle winners, and octopi for the Team Drinking winners), which will mark those illustrious and skilled pirates for what they are - the victors over their peers in one of the most demanding competitions in any of the Oceans. More on the Olympic Champions League...

2007-08-01 to 2007-09-01
Featured article: Blacksmithing

Blacksmithing is the latest crafting puzzle to be released. It is available to play from any Iron Monger. The objective is to complete orders of swords and cannon balls by clearing a board of 36 squares.

Each square consists of either a number or a piece very similar to those found in Chess. The board starts red hot, but as each square is hammered (up to three times each) the sword will cool down. On the first hammering the square turns to dark grey (warm); on the second it turns silver (cool); on the third the square disappears and is considered "complete". As a player gains experience, they may try adding chains to the strategy to increase their standing even more!

There are four difficulty levels, which start with only three numbered pieces. The more the puzzle is played, the higher the difficulty level will rise, leading to the addition of another number along with four chess pieces. Finishing out the difficulty scale is the elusive rum jug, which acts as a wildcard, and replaces the last piece hammered of the hot and warm temperatures.

The concept and original design for Blacksmithing generated from the Grand Crafting Puzzle Project, where players submit ideas which can ultimately lead to implementation in Puzzle Pirates. More on Blacksmithing...

2007-09-01 to 2007-10-01
Featured article: Skellies Test your mettle and swordfighting prowess against the scourge of the oceans: the skellies. Bringing eternal darkness with them, skellies (also called skeletons) are non-player characters that randomly appear on islands in groups of 3 to 50. Once they appear, they can be challenged to a daring swordfighting brawl. When challenged, the skellies will take 100 PoE and a random item from the player. Aside from pet rats, familiars, backswords, and savvy hats, skellies can take any unequipped clothing, pets, swords, bludgeons, mugs, bid tickets, charts, potions, or furniture from a pirate’s booty panel. The skellies will only accept challenges until the number of pirates in the brawl equals the number of skellies. The melee can be started at any time when over half the players vote to start. If the skellies win, they stay on the island to be challenged again. If the players win, the skellies leave the island. All the bets from the previous rounds are distributed evenly to the players, and each player gets an additional 1000 PoE. Every pirate that survives the melee will also get a skull trinket, inscribed with their name which can be held in portraits. In rare instances, a random pirate will receive a skeleton bone bludgeon.

The easiest way to find skellies is to take the Defeat the Skellies mission from the notice board. Seeing this mission when the skellies are out requires an experience of Narrow and puzzle standing of Renowned in swordfighting, an item to be wagered, and 100 PoE.

Skellies also act as swabbies for the Brigand King Barnabas the Pale, and 150 of them crew the Black Ship, El Pollo Diablo.

More on Skellies...

2007-10-01 to 2007-11-04
Featured article: Pets Pets are walking, talking companions that will follow their owners around in Puzzle Pirates. Several varieties of pets can be purchased from the palace shoppe at costs varying from 12,000 to 100,000 Pieces of Eight. Any pirate can receive a free, randomly-colored rat by completing the 'Get loot for your home' mission from the notice board. Rats are the only pet available to non-subscribers on subscription oceans, and also the only pet which cannot be traded or gift-wrapped.

Pets can be named by their owner, but with care, since they can only be named once. Unlike familiars, a pets' name will be displayed above it in a scene, similarly to a pirate, only the name will always be white. Owners have several options for interaction with their pet, such as picking it up to not display in the scene, let it roam so that it can freely walk to any chat circle, or have it stay in its current pose and position. When a pet has been allowed to roam in a scene, its owner can retrieve it from anywhere on the ocean using the Reclaim button, found on the Placed Pets tab of the pirate info page.

While a pet is in a chat circle, it will often contribute to the conversation using phrases or sounds unique to its species. For example, a dog may sometimes say "Woof.", which is done in /speak while in a house or shoppe, or /vessel while on a ship.

Although pets do not age, and therefore cannot die, skellies can take any type of pet (except rats) which are not actively equipped in the Booty panel. Additionally, if a pirate is deleted, any pets they owned are also deleted.

More on Pets...

2007-11-04 to 2008-02-13
Featured article: Ocean Poker Tour Anyone can play Every English ocean Win a familiar The Ocean Poker Tour is a traveling, recurring poker tournament that visits each of the English production oceans (Midnight, Cobalt, Viridian, Sage, and Hunter) once during each tour and always on a free poker day.

On each ocean, a preliminary round is held where 100 participants (more, in fact, since new players may join as others leave) compete in a multi-table arena where each table's winner advances (a shootout in poker terms). Each table winner also wins a green/green ribbon and all PoE won is kept. The preliminary round format is 20 PoE pot-limit for approximately one hour with unlimited rebuys and reloads.

At each ocean's final table, the preliminary round table winners compete against each other using an entirely different format. They begin with 2 PoE no-limit and with no rebuys or reloads (a freezeout). After approximately 45 minutes, a blind increase will be simulated with the game being recreated at 20 PoE no-limit. Play continues until the ocean champion stands alone and wins a gold signet ring.

At the end of each tour, the ocean champions meet on Midnight and play against each other in a Tournament of Champions. The grand champion wins a tan monkey familiar on the ocean of their choice.

More on the Ocean Poker Tour...

2008-02-13 to 2008-06-15
Featured article: Real-life couples The player base of Puzzle Pirates has formed a highly social community. This runs the gamut from social interactions in-game, on the forums, and in real-life parties to creating things to share with fellow players. As a result of this social atmosphere, there have actually been a number of real-life couples who first met in game and went on to get married in real-life.

The first couple to add their story to the YPPedia real-life couples page was Nylons and Mlik, whose tale crossed geographical boundaries from Canada to Singapore:

''On a bright and sunny day in May 2004, Nylons, a cute little pirate, was feeling bored and decided to apply for a random job on the notice board. Mlik jobbed her aboard his sloop, the Believable Salmon, and she was the only jobber on board. She was busy clearing the bilge at the deck below. The ship was grappled by a wicked brigand and a melee broke out. There were 2 other swabbies on board. Needless to say, Mlik's ship won a vicious battle and after the battle, Mlik shouted, "Good job guys!" Nylons replied, "But... but... I'm the only human onboard! You should say "Good job Nylons!"''

''They didn't realize that this was just the start of their little romance. [ ... ] ''

They were finally married in real life on December 31, 2005.

Even the Ocean Masters are not immune, Hypnos and Hermes met in game and were married last spring.

If you don't happen to be married yet, but wish to sicken others with your blissful state, you can share your stories of puzzle piratey romance that set sail into real-life in the forum thread.

More stories of real-life couples who met in Puzzle Pirates...'''

2008-06-16 to 2008-12-07
Featured article: War In the opening stages of Puzzles Pirates, there existed no method of sinking another flag's ships. The release on January 26, 2004 changed the face of the game when it introduced the war mechanic. Flags could now declare war on their enemies, and if their opponent declared back, they would be in a state of war.

During war, flags can pursue each other's ships across the ocean to attempt to catch them in a sea battle. If the engagement is successful, the two ships enter into a sinking PvP. The battle will end before grapple if one ship manages to fill the damage meter on the other, thus permanently sinking the ship. However, if one ship manages to successfully grapple the other and send the battle into a brawl, the winning ship will receive all contents of the losing ship's hold and booty except for 5 fine rum. War declarations also tie into the blockade system. If the island owner reciprocates the war declaration, the blockade will be sinking. Thus, the decision to have a sinking blockade must be weighed against the possibility of up to seven days of sinking PvP.

One of the most infamous wars was also among the first. The Four Hour War was a clash between Crimson Tide and Rudder Revolution on March 28, 2004. The two flags, constantly at odds due to their respective monarchs' rivalry, declared war upon each other. The war ended abruptly four hours later when Crimson Tide called a truce, citing RR's breaking of war terms. Members on both side of the clash still argue over the exact details of the event, showing the lasting effect that a war can have on the game.

Archive – More on war...

2009-12-07 to 2012-05-24
Featured article: Imperial outpost

The tyrannical Empire, no longer content to remain in the far off continental mainland, has decided to stamp out piracy once and for all in the archipelagos and bring them under the iron fist of Imperial authority. The Imperial Navy has recently been spotted constructing small forts and landing troops of marines on previously unclaimed atolls on the outskirts of the ocean, presumably to use as a base of operations for further incursions into pirate waters.

Visit an Explorers' hall to purchase a map showing the location of nearby outposts. Sail there, sink the imperial ship, defeat the soldiers stationed on the island, and make off with some of the Empire's money and supplies. Choose a sinking or non-sinking map and the size of the challenge you will face.

More on Imperial Outposts...

2012-05-24 to 2012-08-01
Featured article: Trinkets

Are you a collector? Do you like shiny things? Do you like collecting shiny things? Then trinket collecting is probably the career for you!

Trinkets are little objects that players can collect and display. They have their own section of the booty panel and do not decay. Each player can equip one trinket to display that others can view. Trinkets may also be displayed using display case furniture.

You can win trinkets from a variety of sources. Defeat a fearsome Brigand King and you will be rewarded with a special trinket commemorating your victory. You may also win a trinket after journeying on a sea monster hunt in Atlantis, Cursed Isles, or Haunted Seas, and some expeditions.

Many trinkets are available for purchase at the palace shoppe, but many others can be acquired only by winning them in a competition or from an Ocean Master. For instance, dolls are awarded only by the OM or Ringer who is depicted.

More on Trinkets...