Seafight, played and written up

Seafight is the pirate cousin of the space grind: sail, sink things, haul the cargo home, spend it on cannon and plating, repeat. What lifts it above that description is the event calendar, which keeps dropping new reasons to be on the water at a particular hour.

Combat is broadside-and-position rather than aim-and-click, so a slower connection or an older machine is no handicap. Crews matter: the bigger fights are won by groups who turned up together, and most of the game's social life happens there.

It is scrappier than the two games above it and quicker to show you a fight, which is exactly why it is on this list.

The parts worth the noise

• Naval battles
• Ship upgrades
• Treasure hunts

Who this is for

Anybody who would rather be in a fight tonight than planning one for Thursday. The barrier to a good evening here is very low.

If you dislike timed events and seasonal pushes, half of what makes this game tick will read as pressure.

How to start without wasting a week

Stay in the starting waters longer than feels necessary. The jump in enemy strength past them is steep, and a sunk ship costs you the haul.

Spend your first earnings on cannon, not on hull. Sinking things faster solves more problems in this game than surviving longer.