Forget Skull and Bones, there's another pirate game out on Steam this week that's plundered my heart with turn-based naval combat and pirate presidential campaigns

After years of delays, disappointing previews, and a beta our own Tyler Wilde described as «cheesy and unnatural», I think it's fair to say a bit of scepticism about the launch of Skull and Bones this Friday is sensible. Hopefully it is good, but if it does turn out to be a load of old hornswoggle, I think I've at least found an alternative.

Just released on Steam, Tortuga — A Pirate's Tale is a pirate sim that really revels in the details. As a captain out to pull off a historic score by plundering the Spanish treasure fleet, you're free to build up your power by sailing the Caribbean taking down merchant convoys, scrapping with other pirate factions, trading between ports, completing mercenary contracts, and generally making a nautical nuisance of yourself.

The game originally launched on the Epic Game Store last year, but as is often the way with Epic exclusives, it did so to little fanfare and even less attention. I've been checking it out this week, and I think it deserves a bit of a second chance now that it's out on Steam—especially if Skull and Bones isn't looking like it's going to satisfy your needs when it comes to buccaneering and booty.

Leaning more into the sim side of things, Tortuga gets into the grit of pirate life—and particularly the social element. Pirate ships were sort of rough democracies, you see—captains weren't appointed, they were elected by agreement of the crew, and could just as easily be turfed out if they weren't bringing home the bacon. In Tortuga, that makes managing your crew's morale a top priority—and though partly that just means keeping your hold loaded with grog and salted meats, there are some more interesting systems at play too.

After every few weeks at sea, you have to «divide the loot» to keep your crew happy. That means choosing how much treasure to give out, but also choosing the grand boasts you're going to make about what feats you'll achieve on the next trip out. It's a bit like custom-building your own multi-layered