We be payin' tribute to the Year o' the Snake* with this month's Limited Edition Ship: the Serpent Class Sloop! A sleek snake figurehead hangs from her prow, and she be dressed out in fine serpentine style with carvings an' banners and the like, all with a right fancy flourish that harkens to the far eastern seas. Her cold, beady deadlights set upon prey, she's like to slither through the waters just ready to strike!

Let's 'ave ourselfs a look at the craft, shall we? Below we see Ms. Luck upon the foredeck o' this scaly beauty. As ye can see, 'tis a colourful ship this, snaky green decks with red and gold trimmings befitting the Chinese New year. And not a few fine serpentine touches all abouts.

Arr, an what a fine poop-deck! Thar be a snake-'eaded tiller beneath what looks to be a stolen pagoda roof, crowned with a golden serrrpent! And all 'round there be fireworks and boxes o' combustables for yer New Year festivities! Or, should an icy squall start a blowin', ye could always light'em and hold'em tight for emergency warmth - HARR HARRR!

A tasty banquet awaits ye in the Serpent Sloop's cabin, along with more slinky, snaky touches. Here ye might relax after a bountiful voyage, divide booty at yer leisure, or put down yer cutlass and fill yer gob with fine fare that'll make ye forget about ship's biscuit for a while. Shall we - eh? What's that Ms. Luck? Har, indeed! She reminds ye not to light a match me bucko, or those fancy firecrackers just might tickle yer noggin off!

Avast Ms. Luck! Let's stop a moment 'ere in the belly o' the serpent. Well sink me fer a cross-eyed squiffy! Just strike yer deadlights on all that slithery booty me hearties! Twisty wall snakes an' fancy banners 'an even wee snake satuettes - an' more rockets an' crackers an' things what go BOOM! Puts me in a mind to shed me ol' skin and bring in the year o' the snake a better, jollier, and craftier pirate that ev'r afore!

Look lively mates, ye can only get yer hooks on a Serpent Class Sloop until the end of February, so get yer orders in before they slither away to fortunes unknown!

*An' by Neptune's knickers, we sure don't be payin' no tribute to any accurs'd serpent cults 'r the scallywag Stygian necromancers what captains 'em. Those scurvy dark-arts blaggarts wouldn't know a jib from a mainsail!

From now until Monday, January 21st at 3 PM PST, you'll earn a free Ice Box for every $9.95 you spend on doubloons or every month of subscription time you purchase! Trapped at the center of these curiously cold cubicles are rare prizes and tantalizing treasures featuring the seasonal color of Ice Blue! Crack open an Ice Box and you stand a chance to win an all-new wintery trinket, an Ice Blue parrot, an Ice Blue sloop or war frigate, rare furniture, and even an adorable seal pet!

Remember that these mysterious boxes will only be around while the weather permits, so get your hooks into them while they're available! For a full list of available prizes and other more detailed info, the official rules can be found here.

When an occupation demands copious consumption of rum, grog, and swill, it is quite understandable that pirate tales are regularly dismissed as foolery and poppycock. Tavern talk of voodoo curses, webbed mermen, and spectral ships just seems too fantastical to be true. But any meaningful time spent with a crew can easily capsize those expectations.

January introduces a new ship for pirates familiar with all manner of fantastic and terrible powers slumbering beneath the sea! The Hunter class sloop has been commissioned foremost for fortune and vengeance. Quests for sea-bound revenge should no longer be monopolized by maimed whaling captains!

A fearsome prow features the visage of a mythical leviathan. This will either convince very real leviathans that you're just here to hang out, or those same leviathans will immediately see through the ruse and attempt to tear your ship apart like tissue paper. Either way, it certainly looks terrifying.

You may have also noticed a harpoon launcher located behind the prow. Unfortunately, it does not fire harpoons, but it will scare the wits off a Sphinx so long as you don't tell anyone about that shortcoming!

Successfully returning from an adventurous excursion into the unknown means that proper preparation was handled beforehand. To that end we present: chum. Buckets of chum. Oh, and cannon balls, black powder, nets, lucky bells, and more harpoon launchers of questionable build quality. But really, the star of this image is the bucket of fishy chum.

Not impressed by chum? How about a barrel of harpoons? How about numerous barrels of harpoons? Because those are also included!

Venture below deck to find this fabulous trophy room! Concoct your own stories behind these glorious items! Come up with a reason why that sea monster head is kept in a locked cell! I like to believe that the sea monster head responsibly asked for its confinement one rum-fueled night when he lost track of his designated navigator.

Whether its for fortune or revenge, the Hunter class sloop aims to provide you with an entertaining platform for striking out at sea monsters, engaging in expeditions, or telling your tallest of tales! The Hunter class sloop will only be available during the month of January, so hurry to your local shipyard and get one while supplies last!

In the ice-choked seas of the far north, the Toymakers toil through spring, summer and autumn. Compelled, perhaps, by forgotten oaths or an ancient and primal desire to spread merriment and joy, they painstakingly craft shipments of shiny new playthings. As the days grow short, they load their baubles and gewgaws by the cartload into a fleet of waiting merchant vessels, southbound for ports across the ocean. And the pirate folk feel the nip in the air and know these shipments soon will arrive.

But a rumour has spread among the brigands, those scurvy cut-throats who care nothing for the spirit of the season, that "thar be rum in them tubs". And so they've fallen upon the toy-laden fleet, seizing the Toymakers' goods and smashing them into pieces in their rage that nary a drop of rum could be found within!

From now until January 4th, battles with Brigands and Barbarians have a chance to award special toy part trinkets as prizes! Sets of toy parts may be brought to trading posts and assembled into brand new toy furniture items: adorable yeti dolls, festive drums, and curiously small cannons! Decorate your home, pose with them in portraits, and satisfy yourselves by giving a good wallopin' to bands of miserable marauders!

So reclaim what was yours and teach those roaming scallywags that it's a lot more polite to simply buy rum! Join a voyage to hunt down some toy parts today, they'll only be available in pillages until January 4th!