ClickTap the water to set a course, or a place name to sail there.
Drag to look around the ship; scrollpinch to zoom.
Fire a broadside out the port (left) or starboard (right) side with Q / E. It reaches the nearest ship on that side.
Treasure is buried inland under a big red X. Open the map (M) to see them all; tap the map to set a course.
Choose your ship in the menu: the Brigantine (all-rounder), the Galleon (2 more hull, a knot slower) or the Sloop (1.5 knots faster, but crashes hurt it more). Every ship starts with one gun a side.
At your hideout, tap Shop to spend banked gold on upgrades, tier by tier: more cannons, a big cannon (one giant ball a side instead), firepower (longer, flatter shots), an ironclad bow (rams don't hurt you), a bigger ship (more hull) and more sails (faster). You keep them when you sink. The Shipwright there changes your ship's type for free. For looks, Black sails (all-black, with a big Jolly Roger) can be flown or struck any time once bought.
Now and then a mermaid surfaces. She waves, but she's shy and swims off when you come close. Sail right over her and she joins your ship as a golden figurehead, yours for good.
Drop anchor, then tap Ashore (B) to row the dinghy to the beach. Ashore, tap to walk, and Dig at an X. Your pistol fires straight ahead, ashore or from the dinghy. Only Back / Board gets you into the dinghy or aboard your ship.
A chest rides in your hands, then the dinghy, then your hold, and only counts once you bring it home to your hideout (H). Your hideout also repairs your hull.
Off the ship you're easy prey: one hit sinks the dinghy, and one hit knocks your captain out ashore. A dinghy rowing away from a sinking ship gets 3 seconds' grace.
Online, the leaderboard above ranks every crew by all the gold it has ever banked (spending at the shop doesn't cost you places), with K/D/A: kills (ships, dinghies and captains you finish off), deaths, and assists (you hit it in the 20 seconds before someone else finished it).
Hold a straight course at full speed for 5 seconds and she makes 2 knots more.
Wind blows in patches (the blue arrow on the compass): run with it for up to 3 knots more, or fight it. Storms blow hardest.
Beware the Kraken, which grabs and squeezes ships, and the White Whale, which rams them. Cannon fire drives them off, and slaying one scatters a fortune: 1,500 gold for the Kraken, 1,000 for the White Whale.
Sink Navy and merchant ships, then scoop up their floating coins. Navy frigates attack if they spot you ahead of their bow; sneak up from behind. Merchantmen fight back once attacked. A frigate (3 guns) is worth 250 gold, a merchantman (1 gun) 120, a chest 300.
Ramming a ship's side with your bow hurts them far more than you; a sideswipe hurts both. Sink and your hold spills into the sea; you escape in the dinghy. Row home for a fresh ship (banking what you carry), or tap Respawn (the skull and crossbones, where Anchor was) for one right away, losing what you carry.
Anchor stops the ship (Space).
Crew voyage (two players a ship): whoever starts it is the captain and sails her; joining with the code, pick a ship with a free seat to be her crew mate, or captain a new ship of your own (2v2v2 and up, to 8 ships). Choose at the start whether crews fight each other or team up against the Navy and the monsters. The crew mate taps the water to aim the guns (each side swings 45° fore and aft), fires, drops and weighs the anchor, holds Pump to patch the hull at sea, and takes the dinghy ashore. Each job is a station on deck: crossing to it takes a moment. Swap jobs in the shop at your hideout.
Your hideout's shop
0 gold banked to spend
Shipwright (free: change your ship's type, upgrades and all)