The vampirates are upon us!

The ocean's brigands have unearthed something terrible: an ancient vampire curse! They've taken to it rather warmly, so mortal pirates be warned!

Until the end of Halloween, losing a puzzle challenge to a brigand or pirate who has been affected by the vampirate curse will force you to become a member of their horde! Telltale signs of having contracted vampirism include sharp fangs, abnormal eye colors and insatiable thirst for blood. Mwa ha ha!

But fear not, fair pirates, as there is hope! Any vampirates who are bested in battle by a pure-blooded mortal will find themselves cured of their affliction, with no permanent damage! Civic-minded individuals would do well to challenge any vampires they see on sight to keep the spreading curse at bay.

Rest assured, however, that there is an even easier way out (or back in) for pirates who prefer one form over the other: the Palace Shoppe has a couple amulets for sale that will switch you to either mortal or vampire form at will! Keep some garlic handy!

The curse only remains until you log off, so enjoy it while it lasts!

Captains of the Night

In true Puzzle Pirate tradition, with the vampirates comes a delicious Halloween competition! Each pirate has been assigned to a competition team for the duration of the vampirates' incursion. The goal is to defeat as many pirates from opposing teams as you can in 1 v. 1 and team puzzle challenges. Everyone who participates will be eligible for a fantastic, one-of-a-kind trophy at the end of the event, so be sure to sink your teeth in before it's too late!

Dress to Impress

The vampirates have also brought with them some very spooky new clothing! Lucky for you, they're willing to share it for the right price. Check out the Palace Shoppe to get yourself properly attired for the vampire gala!

New for Halloween: Skeletal Ship Upgrades!

Arm yer ship in properly spooky fashion with Skeletal Cannons!

Steer yer boat to the ends of the earth and beyond with the Skeletal Helm!

Haunt both yer hearties and yer enemies with the Skelly Cap'n and Skelly Mermaid Figureheads!

The new Skeletal items will only be on sale in October, so hurry and snag yers now from yer local Furnisher!

Just because it's September doesn't mean the summer fun has to end! It's time to celebrate the end of summer vacation with... a Puzzle Pirates vacation!

From now until the end of the month, pirates who visit and complete three of the following four exciting Puzzle Pirate destinations will earn themselves an awesome Seal o' Piracy trophy for September! What are those destinations, you ask?

• An Atlantean Citadel!
• A Cursed Island!
• A Buried Treasure Atoll!
• A Lost Shipwreck!

Better hurry, though: once September slips away, your chance at the Seal will be gone, so grab your favorite ship and some friends and head on out for adventure! Oh, and be sure to bring us back some cool souvenirs.

NOTE: Players on Crimson are only required to visit two of those destinations to earn their trophy. Sorry for any confusion!

Avast!

Exciting new bonus promotions tailored to particular pirates are now available! If ye're one of the lucky ones this week, ye could earn yerself an awesome Sloop or a Mounted Tigershark just for buying a package of doubloons or a subscription!

New promotional offers will sail ashore every week! To make sure ye always be getting yer share of the deals, be an active participant on yer ocean: run pillages and trips to sea monster zones, play lots of puzzles and make sure ye spend yer loot on new clothes, boats and other piratey swag!

Ye could have a special bonus waiting right now, so head on over here to see what's up, and be sure to check for more great deals each week by pressing the Buy Doubloons! or Subscribe! buttons on your Ye panel!

At long last, pirates across the great oceans can finally begin personalizing their favorite ships with new shipboard gear! To help you prepare to turn your old and busted sloop into a completely tricked-out piracy machine, let's take a closer look at the bevy of items now available for purchase from your local Furnisher.

First off, new cannons! The new Gilded-style cannon is available in all three sizes, and looks as great on a sloop as it does on a war frigate!

Next is the new Gilded Helm. Don't worry: one size fits all!

And we've saved the best for last: new figureheads! Narrow ships, like the sloop, get the new Gryphon figurehead...

...while larger ships can utilize the new Sea Serpent prow!

This next one should be familiar to anyone who previously owned a large ship, but it's now available for placement on ships as small as a cutter: the mermaid figurehead!

And for those of you who want to keep your skills sharp while you're sailing around in your newly gilded ship, we've also added a variety of new practice dummy items! There is a Swordfighting and Rumble dummy for each gender, and they can be set to mimic an existing pirate's skills and appearance in battle! Spar with a copy of your friend, or beat up on your enemies in the comfort of your captain's cabin! We won't tell anyone.

What else could we possibly have planned for this brave new era of ship customization? Only time will tell! For now, be sure to grab some doubloons and hit your nearest Furnisher to take advantage of all this goodness today!

Time to celebrate the dog days of Summer!

There's no better way to beat the heat than kicking back with a huge pile of cold, hard doubloons! That's why we're now giving away 15% more doubloons with every purchase $9.95 or greater! Act quickly, though: when the end of August rolls around, the Doubloon Blast will disappear into the sunset, so don't miss out!

This promotion is over now, folks, but if you're interested, you can still buy a shiny doubloon package right over here.

The Great Pirate Sweepstakes are here!

For the next three weeks, we'll be holding a series of sweepstakes with real world prizes. Each Friday, we'll be drawing for:

• A Nintendo Wii
• Two second prizes: a DSi



Participation in the sweepstakes is easy: Players must complete an in-game challenge assigned each week in order to qualify. This week, to qualify, you must:

Play 10 different puzzles

That's it! You'll be notified that you've qualified with an in-game announcement. To commemorate this joyous event, we'll also be giving away our first monthly participation trophy. The August edition! The trophy will be awarded when you complete your first sweepstakes challenge.

If yer a more detail oriented Pirate, ye can check out the details here.

Click here if ye be coming to hear about our current promotions (ye be in the wrong place)!

Have we got a deal for ye!

Fine products of the Orient on sale here, matey. Exotic ships from far away lands at discount prices!

That's right! Now, and for the rest of August, the discerning Pirate can get the deal of their life if the price is right:

• Discount Dhows! Only 30 doubloons to you
• A Baghlah blow out: Just 35 doubloons for this fine vessel
• The Xebec Give back: 50 doubloons each ship

Now that's what I call a deal!

Now, whisk yerself off on that magic carpet and get yerself a fistful of doubloons while the sale is still on!

Ahoy Pirates

The Summer be in full swing, indeed! And we're marking a first for Three Rings: the launch of two Oceans at the same time!

Both Crimson (our first Family Ocean) and Jade (our first Spanish-language Ocean) are now launched!

The promotion for Crimson and Jade is now closed!

Please note: the small dog and persimmon color are now available for sale.

You can learn more about what the Promotion included here.

Ahoy Pirates!

The Census Bureau be closed, me buckos! But you're all welcome to peruse census data from our recent survey of the player population. Enjoy!

---

We hope to use the results to help us make better decisions about the game in the future. The census will be accessible through till Thursday, July 16th PST. After that, we'll get together some interesting statistics to share with ye!