For a game that's supposed to be relatively easy to pick up and play, it has an extremely lengthy tutorial. Players learn all the basics of sword fighting, ship-to-ship battles, gunfights and even some voodoo tricks to heal or curse opponents. Sword fighting is fairly straightforward, and like all the other skills, improves with use. Players click while facing enemies, then click again as the swing reaches its end to initiate the next move in the combo chain. In the meantime, gamers can pick up special moves like a circular attack, which can be used at any time. Unfortunately, it takes a good amount of time to build up decent swordsmanship skills, and that means long periods of staring at the same two or three animations over and over again.

Alternatively, players can take to the seas to loot and plunder unsuspecting Imperial Navy or Trading ships. In keeping with the family-friendly theme, they cannot fire on each other except in pre-arranged PvP (Pirate vs. Pirate) matches. It's on the ship that a sense of teamwork really comes through, since one player steers and other crew members man the cannons. Gamers can load armaments with special ammunition, including voodoo cannonballs. It's incredibly amusing to see miniaturized versions of a crew run around on the ship's deck while steering, and the fun continues when they manage to board an opponent's vessel and draw their swords.

The game also does a great job creating a generally non-confrontational world, where pirates are welcome to jump right into an ongoing sword or ship battle and share in the experience. Like the sea battles, players can not attack one another except in arranged events. Those who don't want to do any pirating can choose to jump into some card games to pass the time, where they could potentially use hidden aces up their sleeves to cheat, however getting caught lands them in jail. Yet, getting out of jail is as easy as kicking down the cell door. Furthermore, PvP transports players to a different world. Characters use a coin to transform into undead pirates, leaving them free to shoot and stab each other while preserving the "nobody (living) gets hurt," family-friendly attitude.