Broadsides

Broadsides is a 1983 videogame that simulated naval combat in the Age of Sail for the Atari 8-bit family, Apple II, and Commodore 64. Giant warships circled each other, waiting for the best time to unleash a broadside upon the enemy. Cannons could be loaded with various types of ordnance; cannonballs to destroy the hull, chain shot to destroy the sails, and grape shot to kill the enemy crew.

One could also close with the enemy ship and attempt to board their ship. This aspect of the game played a lot like rock-paper-scissors, where the player controlled one crew member and which sort of attack he made with his sword. This was compared against the enemy attack, and the results were used to decrease the crew count on one side. Once one side's crew was all dead, the other side was the victor.

The game also offers a simplified, arcade-combat mode in which the player fights an endless number of enemy ships.