piratesonline.com is the site to go to register and play. You can play for free to get the feel of the game, but it is limited how far you can go for free. The coolest features and to keep advancing through the game does require paying for unlimited access. I had my son play on the free version for a while and he enjoyed it very much, but he did get limited on what he could do and how far he could advance so I changed his account to a paid version. I immediately signed up for the $4.95 initial month plan, but I am hooked now and will probably purchase a multi month plan at the end of my introductory month.