Ninety-Eight Coins for the Captain
The classic 100-coin pirate puzzle, its ruthless solution, and why a wildly unfair split still passes the vote.
Pirates: Split the Treasure
Five pirates, one treasure. How much would you keep—and what would the crew let you get away with?
A social experiment in fairness, greed, and power, played as a free-to-play social strategy game.
Play Pirates
What would you do with the power?
How much is fair?
Would you accept a small share, or reject it even if it costs you?
How much can a captain keep?
You control the offer. The crew can let it pass or overthrow you. Where would you draw the line?
What changes when power changes hands?
A rejected captain leaves the match. Would the next pirate offer a fairer split?
How a match plays out
A match is one treasure, five pirates, and a few tense rounds to settle who gets what and who gets greedy.
Joining
A treasure chest full of coins awaits. Five pirates gather into one crew to take their share.
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Proposing
The highest-level pirate becomes captain. The captain adjusts the proposal before time runs out.
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Voting
The rest of the crew has seconds to reject. Doing nothing accepts, and if most of them reject, the captain falls.
Rejected
The captain is overthrown. If the match continues, a new round starts in Proposing.
or
Accepted
The treasure is paid out. The match ends.
Why coins matter
Coins are more than the score. They are how you rise — and what you risk. Why coins stay at risk
Level up
When a match ends, the coins you've won become levels. Levels are yours for good: no vote can take them back.
Take command
The highest level in the crew becomes captain, and the captain controls the split.
Stay at risk
Unspent coins are your stake. A rejected captain forfeits part of them into the treasure.
The puzzle behind the game
Why the Nash Equilibrium Is No Fun
The solved pirate game is a beautiful puzzle and a terrible game. Every rule Pirates changes breaks one assumption in the proof.
Silence Means Yes
Pirates' highest-leverage rule is not about coins. Proposals pass by default, so rejection is a deliberate, public, attributable act.
Rich one match, overthrown the next
Fortunes swing fast and another crew is already gathering around a chest. There's always a next match.
