author: Nicole J. LeBoeuf

Woo. Haven't done one of these for a while. Partially it's because my Saturday mornings have been hectic lately. Either there have been events to attend and/or prepare for, or there have been leftovers from my Friday workday that absolutely had to get done instead. (Hello, chronically late Friday Fictionettes!) Or both, of course. It can always be both.

But also, I just haven't been playing Puzzle Pirates much lately. Which is sad! But I've been trying to exercise good time management during my weekday, which means not playing video games until I've gotten my work done, which means not enough time to play all the video games, which means I've pretty much only been playing Spiral Knights. (I have a new Sinister Skelly Shield! It is sinister.)

But there's a lot more New Stuff going on in YPP than in SK, so let's hit it.

New stuff for May:

• The Seal o' Piracy for May 2018 requires that you complete 20 sea battles. This is not hard, but it is time-consuming, so you'll want to get started early.

• The War Galleon has been released! For the first time in... well, a long time, anyway... we get a new ship. Holds a crew of 40, moves three times per turn, is equipped with 24 cannons and fires 2 large cannonballs per side per move. More details are accumulating on the yppedia page.

• And the blockade schedule is below. I don't have time today to trawl the forums for intent posts, but I can tell you that all four English-language oceans are represented (that's the three classic plus Dark Seas). Full schedule is below.

(And speaking of getting my work done, yesterday's Friday Fictionette went up at 10:30 PM last night: "Adventures in Felinity," in which you take a vacation from humanity only to get thrust right back into the midst of human drama. 1,362 words long, ebook here, audiobook here, teaser excerpt for general consumption here. Having published the offering on time, I then celebrated my diligence with a very long Clockworks dive undertaken from the comfort of the corner pub. It was a good Friday.)

Standard reminders: Schedule is given in Pirate Time, or U.S. Pacific. Player flags link to Yoweb information pages; Brigand King Flags link to Yppedia Brigand King pages. BK amassed power given in parenthetical numbers, like so: (14). For more info about jobbing contacts, jobber pay, and Event Blockade battle board configuration, check the Blockade tab of your ocean's Notice Board. To get hired, apply under the Voyages tab.

Doubloon Ocean Blockades

*** Saturday, May 12 ***

12:05 p.m. - Magpie Island, Obsidian Ocean
Defender: Consider it Sunk
Attacker: Brenda

12:05 p.m. - Sayers Rock, Emerald Ocean
Defender: Pull Out
Defender: Cluster Service

12:05 p.m. - Admiral Island, Emerald Ocean
Defender: Pull Out
Attacker: Cluster Service

12:06 p.m. - Isle of Kent, Emerald Ocean
Defender: Pull Out
Attacker: Cluster Service

12:06 p.m. - Caravanserai Island, Emerald Ocean
Defender: Pull Out
Attacker: Cluster Service

12:49 p.m. - Conglin Island, Meridian Ocean
Defender: Imperial Coalition
Attacker: Infierno De los Diablos

12:55 p.m. - Polaris Point, Meridian Ocean
Defender: Imperial Coalition
Attacker: Infierno De los Diablos

1:33 p.m. - Prolix Purlieu, Meridian Ocean
Defender: Imperial Coalition
Attacker: Infierno De los Diablos

3:25 p.m. - Paihia Island, Emerald Ocean
Defender: Illuminatti
Attacker: Comin For You

4:00 p.m. - Tumult Island, Emerald Ocean
Brigand King holds the island!
Defender: The Jade Empire (3)
Attacker: Mid Knight

4:36 p.m. - Loggerhead Island, Obsidian Ocean
Brigand King holds the island!
Defender: Chthonic Horde (7)
Attacker: Keep the Peace

5:00 p.m. - Ventress Island, Emerald Ocean
Defender: Illuminatti
Attacker: Gucci Gang

5:00 p.m. - Pukru Island, Emerald Ocean
Brigand King attack!
Defender: Illuminatti
Attacker: Fleet of his Imperial Scaled Highness (4)

Subscription Ocean Blockades

*** Saturday, May 12 ***

6:00 p.m. - Ostreum Island, Cerulean Ocean
Brigand King holds the island!
Defender: Fleet of his Imperial Scaled Highness (1)
Attacker: Kings of Oblivion