Blow the gilded loot trumpets, the Department o' the Treasure has dispatched its heavy-laden fleet of restocking vessels with a brand new series of Gold Boxes!

The Department's famed bushwhackers have been researching techniques that allow them to cram these sparkling new boxes with two new species of pirate-friendly critters: the Toucan and the Sea Turtle! The Toucan is an exotic bird with a colorful bill and, when tame, is quite content to perch on a pirate's shoulder. In contrast, tamers have been unable to coax the Sea Turtle into perching on pirate pauldrons, but these gentle grazers are more than brave enough to flip-flop alongside for your swashbuckling endeavours!

Talented goldsmiths have also been hard at work crafting a glittering showcase of new trinkets to fill out the assortment of ornaments already found in these glorious Gold Boxes! Freshly gilded pins, goblets, and other such novelties are now available to collect, trade, and pose with, much to the envy of your glint-aware bird friends.

Bankers across the seas will be carrying these new Gold Boxes until April 15th, 3 PM PDT, when the Department o' Scryin' tell us these new boxes will be exhausted! For a full list of Gold Box rewards and a breakdown of prize distribution, click here.

The Department o' the Treasure has been made aware of something called "ecological collapse" and has henceforth been instructed by the Department o' Public Relations to stop taming dragons and unicorns--which coincides with the Department o' Suspicious Coincidences being unable to locate more of these creatures, so I suppose this arrangement works out just fine for everybody. Information leading to the Department o' the Treasure's previous conclusion that these creatures had simply entered into a long period of hibernation has proven to be false. The Department o' the Treasure would like to apologize if its actions have in any way caused extinction-level damage to these noble populations. It would be a shame if future generations only knew of them by legend and myth!

Those mysterious members of the Smuggler's Guild, purveyors of prohibited property and paraphernalia, have toiled in the shadows to create a new class of vessel meant to haul bulk shipments of black market goods across the trade lanes. For clandestine reasons that cannot be uttered, they've made the plans to these new ships available to loyal shipwrights everywhere. Visit your local shipyard and see if they have the new Smuggler Class War Brig in stock!

Like its smaller sister ships, the Smuggler Class War Brig variant also bears the revered Lady of Secrets as its figurehead. She serves as a reminder that revealing secrets can have dreadful consequences.

These sturdy cranes speedily lift cargo to and from secret compartments, leaving the deck clear of any contraband or other goods that may bring an invasive search by Imperial watchdogs.

Hanging a gibbet on the deck signifies that you obey time-honored maritime law and follow a strict code of ethics that would never, ever allow the smuggling of criminal items on your ship.

This humble and thoroughly lawful captain's cabin is a strategic place to invite local or Imperial customs officers for a drink of your best rum before you happily submit to a surprise search.

Though the central cabin would pass most general inspections, a closer look will reveal telltale marks of the vessel's shadowy intent! There are two doors visible to the naked eye, but the shipwrights have seen the original blueprints, and those show a third egress attached to the nearby lantern through an elaborate system of pulleys!

That passage leads to an ample crawlspace for storing barrels, bags, and boxes of everything you don't want unwelcome guests getting their hands on. A hatch in the corner leads further into the hidden innards of the ship.

Behold the main smuggling hold! This is the decisive space for carrying your hoard of black-market goods past Johnny Imperial and his agent overseers! Tongues have been wagging about the impregnable nature of this hiding space; it is said no true Imperial officer has so much as set his or her eyes on this shadowy sanctuary!

And as fast as you can knock three times on the seal of the Smuggler's Guild, yet another hidden door leads to the main galley, with stairs back up to the top deck. It's a little dusty in here, but spotlessly clean in the eyes of the law.

The Smuggler's Guild has placed just two stipulations on the sales of these new War Brigs:
First, that no Imperial or lawful agent should be allowed to know of its secrets.
Second, that these ships shall be sold with a 20% discount on delivery fees.

The Smuggler Class War Brig will be available throughout the month of April with a delivery fee of only 80 Doubloons on Doubloon oceans! That means a 20% discount over standard delivery fees for Limited Edition War Brigs, or a savings of 20 doubloons for each of these ships sold. So, make sure you aren't being followed and stop in at a local shipyard to acquire one of these beauties today!

Throughout history, there have been moments when a barrel of rum has altered our understanding of great pillaging.

Our B.A.R.R.E.L. project has been designed to re-invent the barrel as a new, powerful platform for lawless terror on the high seas.

B.A.R.R.E.L. owners will be presented with a choice – a select choice – to enjoy a style of pillaging that is a rarely offered today. It's a choice that opens the doors to a world of exclusivity and personalization that is unique in pillaging. In a B.A.R.R.E.L. you will experience things that have become lost to other pirates: a world of unparalleled craftsmanship and refinement; a world of ever increasing choice and comfort.

Luxury features and accouterments included:

• Intelligent lightweight construction with a powerful effect
• Parrot pre-programmed with over 800 sea shanties
• Retractable flotsam cranes
• 9,000 thread count sail cloth
• Aged cherry wood casing treated with whale oil
• Anti-microbial, moisture wicking Corinthian leather bucket seat
• Mini-tavern with 10 cup holders
• Massive fish box with high velocity shaved ice dispenser
• Remote control via iPhone app (Android app forthcoming)

"It looks like a barrel, steers like a barrel, and floats like a dream."

Today, we are officially announcing the launch of Puzzle Pirates on tablet. As mentioned previously by our own Captain Cleaver, the tablet game is an expansion to the existing game, offering the same Puzzles and game experience on multiple tablet devices, starting with the iPad.

Over the coming weeks, we'll be sharing more information on the two key parts of the tablet project: our take on a refreshed user interface that we hope will make the game accessible to all users, and the additions we've made to the puzzles to make them fun to play with a touch interface. Note: the puzzles will remain unchanged for desktop users, but we do hope you'll be intrigued to see what we've added. We hope to use the next couple of months before we take the tablet version live to get your feedback on puzzle playability.

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