# Pirates! Showdown > Fast-paced pirate strategy game with RTS and defense tactics. (iPhone/iPad app by Flashpoint Games.) - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pirates-showdown/id579731941 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`) - Developer: [Flashpoint Games](https://appshunter.io/developer/560584424) - Category: Games, Entertainment, Action, Strategy - Price: $2.99 - Rating: 4.50/5 from 58 App Store ratings · 52 written reviews indexed - Age rating: 12+ - Requires: iOS 7.0 · 109 MB - Languages: American English - Released: 2012-12-14 - Data updated: 2026-06-10 - Monetization: free - User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pirates-showdown/id579731941/reviews.md ## What is Pirates! Showdown? Pirates! Showdown is a fast-paced strategy game combining real-time strategy(RTS) and defense tactics. 3rd place on list of best tablet games! Digital Trends "Seriously, this is a very cool game!" Gameplay4You 5 Stars - Wickedly entertaining. A must have. 5 Stars - Great game. Easy to play, many skill levels, totally entertaining. 5 Stars - Awesome. Most addicting game!!!! Face off against the fearsome Red Hand privateers in thrilling head-to-head pirate battles on the high sea! Capture towns and other structures to strengthen your defense and increase your gold supply. Capture your enemy's base to win, but make sure you are also defending your own base! 75 levels plus randomly generated maps in skirmish mode! STREAMLINED RTS! Fast paced gameplay with RTS and defense tactics without heavy resource management or the need to micro-manage units. Designed for iPhone and iPad. WEIGH ANCHOR! Command your fleet of pirate ships as you send them to intercept the enemy pirates or lay siege to land targets. Send an armada of Brigantines or save your gold for a massive Ship of the Line! CAPTURE! Towns, guard towers, shipyards, lighthouses, mystical obelisks, and more can all be captured. Structures all have a unique purpose and will supply you with gold, attack your enemy, buff up you ships, allow you to launch more ships, etc. UPGRADE! Upgrade towns to increase gold production. Upgrade guard towers to increase their firepower and strengthen your defenses. STRATEGY! Will you aggressively capture towns to loot their gold or invest in the towns you have to increase their gold production? Wage a purely pirate ship battle or strengthen your defenses with upgraded guard towers? Find the right RTS strategy to beat each level. 75 UNIQUE LEVELS IN FOUR WORLDS! Combat the enemy in the tropical Caribbean then follow them into Hades in the River Styx world. And the Open Sea and Chaos Ocean worlds have the largest levels of all SKIRMISH MODES! Two skirmish modes provide an infinite number of randomly generated maps and instant action CONTROL TIME SPEED! At any time you can speed up or slow down time to play at your own pace. Allow yourself more time to prepare your strategy or speed up your opponent's demise! ADJUSTABLE DIFFICULTY! Set the game to be as easy or as difficult as you want. Replay levels to beat them on harder difficulty levels ## Key features - Real-time strategy (RTS) gameplay - Tower defense tactics - Capture towns and structures - Upgrade defenses and production - Command pirate fleets - 75 unique levels - Randomly generated skirmish maps ## Recent user reviews (10 of 52) All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pirates-showdown/id579731941/reviews.md ### 5/5 — Great game *2020-06-09* Love this game. A few small ways to make it better though to the developers. A reset button to replay it!!! A ship counter on the screen to let you know how many ships you can create befor you hit max ships. Much more visual seperatations between the military and monetary monaliths. But I go back and replay entire game about every 3 weeks and love it and their other game War showdown ### 2/5 — Very repetitive, no variety and little actual strategy involved *2019-12-28* This game will certainly entertain for hours however, it is very repetitive and is more akin to a free flash game. The game play is essentially a stripped down tower defense except the player, for some odd reason controls when new ships spawn. The game completely lacks depth and can be beaten with little effort or thought. Additionally, this game is not at all optimized and despite its PS1 era graphics, drains my battery way too fast. No substance, just a time waster. I’d recommend that you don’t buy this game for the reasons listed previously. ### 5/5 — Deserves more Recognition!!! *2019-03-14* This game is one of my favorite strategy games for my iPad! Don’t know why this isn’t more popular. Please give this a shot ### 5/5 — YES *2018-12-21* Thanks so much for updating this amazing game so i can once again play it, it is so much fun ### 4/5 — Update *2018-08-14* Update please!! I love this game ### 1/5 — Does not work on IOS devices *2018-02-18, version 1.1.35* I previously gave this app 5 stars, but now it gets 1 as you can no longer play the game on iOS devices. Please help developer! ### 4/5 — Update *2018-01-29* I love this game but it needs to be updated for the new iOS. Please update so that I can play again. ### 4/5 — Awesome game but *2017-05-30* I like it a lot but it has been about three since I first got the game and it still doesn't have a update ### 5/5 — Great action / strategy! *2017-05-11* This game is an innovative approach to the action/strategy concept with intriguing gameplay, interesting and varied levels, 5 levels of play, and exciting finales to each level. I definitely recommend it for anyone who's never tried it! ### 5/5 — Great Game 2 *2017-03-21* My 2nd review. Enjoy the game so much, after completing all levels, I deleted the app just to download it again......lol. Absolutely love this game!! ## Frequently asked questions about Pirates! Showdown ### What kind of game is Pirates! Showdown? Pirates! Showdown is a fast-paced strategy game that combines real-time strategy (RTS) elements with defense tactics. Players engage in pirate battles, capture structures to strengthen their defenses and economy, and aim to conquer the enemy's base. ### What are the key features of Pirates! Showdown? Key features include streamlined RTS gameplay without heavy resource management, commanding fleets of pirate ships, capturing various structures like towns and guard towers for strategic advantages, upgrading these structures, and a variety of levels across four worlds. It also offers skirmish modes with randomly generated maps and the ability to control time speed and adjust difficulty. ### Is Pirates! Showdown free to play? Yes, Pirates! Showdown is a free game. The provided information indicates it does not have in-app purchases or ads, suggesting a completely free experience for players. ### What platforms is Pirates! Showdown available on? The game is designed for iPhone and iPad, indicating compatibility with Apple's mobile operating systems. Players can enjoy the strategic pirate battles on their iOS devices. ### How does the strategy work in Pirates! Showdown? The strategy involves balancing offensive and defensive actions. Players must decide whether to aggressively capture towns for immediate gold or invest in upgrading existing towns for increased long-term gold production. They can also choose between focusing on ship battles or strengthening defenses with upgraded guard towers to find the optimal approach for each level. ## Version history (last 4 releases) ### 1.2.2 — 2018-11-28 Support latest iOS. Performance optimization. Bug fixes ### 1.1.35 — 2013-09-23 25 new levels Two skirmish modes with randomly generated maps Time speed control Replay levels to beat them on harder difficulties New Splash Screen New Icon Optimizations and graphics tweaks ### 1.0.22 — 2012-12-30 ***HUGE UPDATE*** NEW LEVELS -18 new levels -New world - Open Sea -New levels are much larger than previous levels NEW UP-GRADABLE STRUCTURES -Attack power obelisk -Gold obelisk UI -Improved readability on Retina iPhones AUDIO -Increased overall audio volume -Improved audio balance OPTIMIZED -Decreased load times -Decreased size of download -Improved performance MISC -Added Facebook and twitter buttons -Added more hints -Improved tutorial -Added level preview -Misc. tweaks -Misc. bug fixes ### 1.0.13 — 2012-12-10 No release notes. ## More apps by Flashpoint Games - [WAR! Showdown](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/war-showdown/id813747499) - [Chroma CRUSH!](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/chroma-crush/id1466165934) All apps by Flashpoint Games: https://appshunter.io/developer/560584424 --- *Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-06-10.*