Treasure Hunt in the Pirate Sea

From Research Realm
LEGO Pirates Treasure Hunt
Publisher(s)The LEGO Group
Platform(s)Web browser
Release24 October 1996[1]
Genre(s)Adventure game
Mode(s)Single-player

Treasure Hunt in the Pirate Sea (also called LEGO Pirates Treasure Hunt) is a 1996 adventure browser game based on the LEGO Pirates product line. The player controls a LEGO minifigure exploring the titular Pirate Sea on a quest to find Captain Redbeard's buried treasure. The game world contains obstacles and enemies for the player to navigate around and treasures for the player to collect for points.

Treasure Hunt was the first web game published on LEGO.com. It is currently only partially-archived.

Gameplay

File:LEGO Pirates Treasure Hunt webpage h3v3.png
Screenshot of the game, showing the interface and several different map features

Treasure Hunt is a tile-based game controlled by clicking. The player controls a LEGO Pirates minifigure in a rowboat; clicking on any of the adjacent tiles will move the player to that tile, if it is not blocked. The game takes place on a 14×14 map, which the player starts on the southern side of. The map has three main types of features scattered across it: treasures for the player to collect, enemies for the player to avoid, and islands that the player has to navigate around. The player starts with twenty points,[note 1] and each move to a different tile costs one point. Collecting treasure increases the player's points, while sailing into an enemy takes away points. There are also three special items on the map: a shovel, a message in a bottle, and a crown.

The game's index page gives a short backstory. Years ago, the evil pirate Captain Redbeard hid his treasure on a secret island in the titular Pirate Sea. The player has been appointed as the king's personal treasure hunter and is tasked with finding Redbeard's treasure. The player is given the option to talk to "the old treasure hunters in the king's city" before playing,[note 2] or to start the game straight away.[2]

Release

Captain Redbeard
Captain Redbeard

Treasure Hunt was announced on 24 October 1996.[1] [3] Advergame

Notes

  1. The archived copy of the game starts with 19 points remaining and 1 step taken.
  2. The page this option links to is not archived, so it is unknown what it was – possibly either hints or further instructions.

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Nipper, Mads (24 October 1996). "LEGO Pirates come to life on the Internet". LEGO World Wide Web Press Info. The LEGO Group. Archived from the original on 1997-01-10.
  2. "LEGO Pirates Treasure Hunt". LEGO World Wide Web. The LEGO Group. Archived from the original on 1997-01-10.
  3. "Hey kids! Check out the LEGO Home Page!". LEGO Mania Magazine. No. 14 (US ed.). Enfield: LEGO Systems, Inc. January 1997. p. 20. You'll find: A Pirate Game you can play to find buried treasure and an Exploriens Game