Yohoho! Puzzle Pirates beta opens

San Francisco-based developer Three Rings has announced the launch of a public beta test for Yohoho! Puzzle Pirates. The game has already been through eight months of alpha testing, and gaining access to the online game is simply a matter of downloading the client and signing up for a free account on the game's Web site.

Yohoho! Puzzle Pirates is an online game that challenges groups of players to solve puzzles as a part of engaging in various pirate deeds, including puzzles for sailing, swordfighting, bilging, navigation, carpentry, and gunnery. There's a player-run economy, and the high-level gameplay gives players the option to own shops, trade goods, and colonize islands.

"Puzzle Pirates brings fun puzzle games into the satisfying context of a persistent, piratical world," said Three Rings' designer and CEO, Daniel James. "Sea dogs love a good challenge, and in Yohoho!, puzzling skill earns booty for ye and yer fellow crewmates."

Windows and Linux versions of the game are currently available, and a Mac OS X version is coming soon. Yohoho! Puzzle Pirates will launch this summer and will have a "modest monthly fee."