                   PIRATES OF THE BARBARY COAST


LOADING INSTRUCTIONS:

     Boot your version of DOS, version 2.11 or higher. Insert Disk 
in your A: drive and type START at the A> prompt.

     You can use Keyboard, Joystick or Mouse to play the game. You 
need  to install your Mouse driver per manufacturer's  instruction 
before loading game if you want to use the Mouse option. 
(Note: Mouse functions are only available with versions of DOS 3.0
or higher.)

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                          CAPTAIN'S LOG

     "On  returning to the ship from business in the port,  I  was 
informed  that my ship was raided,  and my daughter Katherine  has 
been kidnapped by Bloodthroat the Pirate.  He demands a ransom  of 
50,000 pieces of gold within thirty days or he will sell her  into 
the harems of the Coast.  Now I must raise the ransom,  and try to 
rescue my beloved Katherine."


***************************************************************


     Welcome,  Honored Player,  to Pirates of the Barbary Coast, a 
strategy/action game based on the days of the traders and  pirates 
around the Barbary Coast of North Africa.  You will need to  trade 
goods  in  the ports to raise the sums necessary  to  ransom  your 
dughter.  On  your voyages between the ports,  you will  often  be 
attacked by pirates.  You can choose to either fight these battles 
or to run from them. If you are able to sink the attacking pirate, 
you may either board his ship and read the captain's log,  or take 
his accumulated booty.

     The  captain's log may contain information about which  goods 
are  getting  good  prices where,  or where  they  can  be  bought 
cheaply,  or  it may give clues to the location  of  Bloodthroat's 
hideout or possible Treasure. You must decide what to do.

     In Port,  you may sell your cargo,  buy new cargo, repair the 
battle  damage on your ship,  or buy supplies or hire crew at  the 
General  Store.  You  may also bribe the Storekeeper  for  trading 
information or clues.

     Use  the  time between scenes to make notes  on  the  trading 
values you've discovered,  on any clues you might have gained, and 
the  strategy you intend to use.  There is more to Pirates of  the 
Barbary Coast than you might at first suspect.  Successful trading 
has always paid off best for those who remember what other  people 
forget.

CHOOSING YOUR OPTIONS:

     In most scenes,  you have many options.  To SELECT an option, 
use your joystick, mouse or keyboard to move the dagger around the 
screen until it rests on the item or function you want. Then press 
either the Fire Button, the Mouse button or Return to SELECT it.

LOADING YOUR CANNONS:

     In your battles at sea, you may fire only one of your cannons 
at  a time.  However,  you can request many or all of them  to  be 
Loaded at the same time. You do this the same way that the sailors 
on the actual ships did... Put in the powder, tamp it down, put in 
the ball, and brush out the barrel. Here's how you do it:

     SELECT the "Load option.

     Then,   SELECT   the   Cannons   you  wish   to   be   loaded 
simultaneously.  Do  this  by moving the pointer  to  each  cannon 
number and Selecting it. They will change color when Selected.

     Then, click the pointer on the following items in this order:

          POWDER - hanging just to the right of the cannon.

          CANNON - in the area just below the railing.

          PUSH ROD - hanging next to the powder.

          CANNON - in the area just below the railing.

          BALL - in the bucket sitting to the left of the cannon.

          CANNON - in the area just below the railing.

     If  you didn't miss a step,  the numbers on the cannons  will 
change  color  again.  This means they are  now  loaded.  If  that 
doesn't happen for you,  SELECT "Unload" to clear, and then "Load" 
to  start the process over again.  With practice,  you'll get  the 
hang of this procedure.


TO FIRE A LOADED CANNON:

     Click your pointer on the arrows that appear on the left  and 
right of the screen.  Watch the lighted number move left or  right 
until  it  lights up the number of the cannon you  wish  to  fire. 
You'll see the deck move as you do this.

     Once  you have the cannon you want to fire in front  of  you. 
SELECT  the  elevation  you want by clicking on  the  up  or  down 
arrows.  Then click on FIRE when the elevation is the way you want 
it.

     The fuse will burn,  and the cannonball will sail across  the 
ocean.  Hits and Misses, Long or Short shots, will be indicated on 
the top right of the info line.  If your shot is too  Long,  lower 
the  elevation on your next shot.  If it's too  short,  raise  the 
elevation.

     If  you hit the atacking ship hard enough and  often  enough, 
your  first Mate will alert you that the other ship is going  down 
and can be boarded.  If you board the ship,  you can fetch  either 
the  information in the Captain's Log or you can grab  the  booty. 
You won't have time for BOTH, so choose wisely.

     If you choose NOT to fight, SELECT "Flee" to leave the scene.


THE FINAL BATTLE WITH BLOODTHROAT:

     If you find Bloodthroat while cruising the island groups, the 
First Mate will alert you by saying "Someone's here!".  Should you 
choose  to enter the lagoon,  it's unwise to do so without  having 
all available cannons loaded. You may have to fight. If necessary, 
go  back out to sea (by SELECTING another destination),  and  load 
all available cannons on the return trip.

     Once  you enter the Lagoon,  Bloodthroat will  confront  you, 
asking  whether you came to fight or pay.  If you  haven't  enough 
gold,  you'll have to fight.  Shoot as quickly as you can to  find 
the right elevation.  Once you find it, SELECT "Broadside" to fire 
off  the  rest of your cannons.  You can only hope you  were  fast 
enough at this to win the battle.


OTHER HINTS:

     Remember to keep your crew fed.  This requires 1 unit of food 
per man per day. If you have 30 crewmen and you set out on a 7 day 
sail,  you will need 30 x 7 units of food to keep them alive. When 
you have money to spend,  stock up on food! Also remember that you 
need at least 16 crewmen to run a ship of this size.

     If you happen upon an island that matches your treasure  map, 
you might choose to search it and try to find the treasure.  Hints 
as  to the treasure's location might be obtained from sea  battles 
or by bribing a storekeeper. There will be a number of spots where 
the treasure might lie,  each marked with an "X".  SELECT the  one 
you want to try, but beware.

     The Master Traders were quite wise;  they were always looking 
to  make their best profits based on the demands for  the  various 
items  they  dealt in.  Such demands changed quite  frequently  in 
those  days,  just  as they do now.  Once the word  got  out  that 
certain  items were bringing high prices at  certain  ports,  many 
people would try bringing them there. Eventually, there would be a 
glut in the market and prices would fall.

     You  can either BUY or SELL the same item in the  same  port, 
but remember,  the Master Trader sells higher than he  buys.  He's 
out to make a profit,  too.  Remember too, that Prices change over 
time.

Good hunting, Captain. Get Katherine back safely!




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