Pirates! Showdown is a fast-paced game combining real-time strategy (RTS) and defense tactics. You can fight in 75 campaign levels with different pirates and privateers, or you can fight in a random battle. Your main mission is to defend your base against the enemy pirates. To win a battle, you need to capture the enemy's base. You can capture a base by destroying its defenses or attacking the enemy directly.

When you capture a base, you can get resources that will help you in the battle, such as gold, wood, stone, iron, etc.

Pirates! Showdown also has an RTS element. Your ships are the main element of your strategy. Your ships can be upgraded to be more powerful. The upgrade element will help you to win more battles.