In April 2009, much of the world was shocked to learn that pirates still exist. Pirates stopped just being the subject of children’s bedtime stories and Johnny Depp movies and leapt into the public’s eye.

Off the coast of Somalia, a pirate crew took control of an American cargo ship and held the captain hostage for ransom. The world watched and waited for the outcome of the siege not realizing piracy is still much alive and has been active in the Indian Ocean and beyond.

The people behind Strategic Design Network watched the news too, enthralled at the images portrayed on the television screen. That is when the idea came to them. Why not develop a game based on real life current events? And so began the journey of the Pirates of Somalia.

If forced to, one could compare Pirates of Somalia with the masses of X-war style games. There are missions to complete. However, that is where the comparisons end. Pirates bring cool new features social gamers will be talking about.

The very foundation of modern day Somalian Pirates is the ability to capture hostages and hold them for ransom. The only way to ransom hostages is to keep them healthy and well. Corporations and countries would rather pay a ransom for well cared for hostages then try to fight a battle that would cost more harm and casualties towards themselves.

In Pirates of Somalia, players will have the ability to capture, care for and ransom hostages. They will need to build facilities to care for their hostages. Well cared for hostages will bring in more ransom money.

Pirates of Somalia gives social game players the ability to play right along with the real pirates of Somalia. From the start, the game uses research to present the real side. From the beginnings as a poor fishermen to the rise of a full pirate crew, Pirates of Somalia brings truth to the story.