A typical swordfighting brawl

A typical rumble brawl

A brawl is a team vs. team swordfight or rumble in which, rather than sending your attacks to the 'other player', you target a person on the other team and send your attacks to him or her. Additionally, you may target a team member in rumble to defend him or her, an option which is not available during a swordfighting brawl.

Brawls may have up to 12 pirates on each side and can be initiated from a gaming table at an inn or at other locations in the game. Brawls are similar to a sea battle but neither side will have damage blocks.

Brawls can be started by the creator of the "table" at any time when the number of players on the creator's team is less than or equal to the number of players on the other team. When the creator decides to start the table, a five-second countdown begins, at the end of which the puzzle begins as long as no players have left the game.

Pieces of eight can be wagered on a brawl, in an amount set by creator. The creator may decide whether a one-on-one match will be rated; all other brawls are unrated.

Historical notes

Before release 2004-08-24, brawls had to have an even number of players on both sides.
As of release 2005-06-29, brawls were incorporated into the parlor game interface, and thus players could brawl with others not in the same inn.
During release 2005-07-08, brawls were changed to where the teams must be equal, or "initiator's team must be at a disadvantage." Game chat was also introduced into brawls with this update.