CHARGE BARGE

Two currencies drive every run. Volts are stored charge, taken from wrecks and trickled in by a dynamo that pays per second while you sail, so slow water pays better and the throttle becomes a money decision. Surge is battle charge, built by kills and spent on the spot.

You steer the ironclad through procedurally charted channels, aiming guns with the mouse. Skiffs ram you, branders explode, towers lead their shots, and mortar barges mark the water with warning rings you should stay out of. Rocks damage the hull and reefs drag the keel. Each leg ends in a safe cove.

In a cove you spend volts on permanent upgrades such as weapons, defense, speed, income, salvage magnet and surge capacity. Surge pays for abilities during a run: ramming speed, boarding archers, a hired sloop, the Tempest, extra gun crews and a patch crew. More abilities unlock as renown grows.

Sinking sends you back to the last cove with every volt, upgrade and point of renown intact. Progress saves automatically at coves, purchases, unlocks and sinkings, and Continue resumes the chart. The coast gets narrower and more dangerous going north.