You being the game knowing very little of the world of Port Royale; in other words you are only really familiar with your immediate surroundings. The unknown parts of the map are represented in an unfinished and inexact way - as if roughly sketched using word of mouth as a guide. The map is only rendered accurate when the player has explored an unknown region. In some circumstances this accuracy can be obtained via a completed order or via information supplied to the player.

Port Royale offers many different types of buildings or workshops and a variety of farms and plantations. Countless buildings have their own unique and very specific function; from the small shipyard and the corner inn, right up to the governor’s palace. So the players can have their ship repaired in the shipyard, get the newest gossip from the inn or request a privateering letter from the governor.

After you have established your own warehouse you can then start thinking about establishing workshops. For this a decision is required on whether to tend to the physical welfare of the population or establish plantations of tobacco, cocoa or sugarcane for export the Old World.

However, happiness is not achieved by money alone. It is important to keep observing the changing political events during the course of the gameplay and make decisions accordingly. Even if trading between, for instance, a Spanish and English port has been a nice little earner up to now, a war between these nations can scupper this lucrative source of income completely.

The unwary player will become aware of the changed political circumstances when sailing into what was once a friendly port but now greets the player's fleet with a hail of cannonballs from the town fortifications.