## Description
_Cutthroat Capitalism: The Game_ is an interactive simulation of the Somali
pirate business model, a practice that has been running rampant since the
nineties, where pirates board ships near the African coast and hold the crew
hostage until a ransom has been paid. In July the web magazine Wired ran an
article about the business model of the pirates and afterwards made a game out
of it.
Shown from a top-down view, a pirate ship is navigated to the exit of the Gulf
of Aden, where different kinds of ships pass by, such as yachts, container
ships, fishing boats, each with a different colour. The ship needs to be
navigated to intercept one of them. Based on the amount of pirates and other
factors, the boarding fails or succeeds. When they take over a ship, the
player is taken to a negotiation screen. A sum of money can be demanded and
the counteroffer is shown on the right. While negotiating, a number of tactics
can be applied, such as raising of lowering the money, the handling of the
hostages and the tone when calling the negotiators. To the right, the number
of hostages and their health is shown, along with the trust level of the
negotiators. When happy with the offer, the deal is settled and profits come
in. When doing well, additional pirates sometimes join the ship, but they can
also leave when they are unhappy about the negotiation process.
Cutthroat Capitalism: The Game