$15.99Sailaway III The whole planet as your sea
Set your sails, read the wind, and cross oceans the size of Earth at whatever pace suits you.
Is Sailaway III worth it?
Sailaway III is worth it if…
- you want to learn real sailing, from sail trim to navigation with a sextant
- you dream of crossing oceans or sailing around the world at your own pace
- you prefer calm, low-pressure play over timers and punishing failure
- you enjoy tinkering: building boats, instruments, ports and tutorials for others
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The whole world, in real weather
The sailing waters are as big as the real world, with true wind, waves and conditions. You can cross an ocean, hop between islands you have always wanted to see, or attempt a full circumnavigation, which takes months of real time. Set your course, trim your sails, and the voyage keeps going, even while you are away: you can set the autopilot and let the boat sail on offline, picking up where you left it. A crossing becomes something you check in on, like keeping watches on a real passage.
Learning to sail, properly
This is a simulator, not an arcade boat game. You trim sails for the best performance, and a visualization of air flowing along the sails shows you exactly what your adjustments do. The buoys and seamarks of the real world are on the map and in the world, so you can practice real navigation, and the built-in sextant teaches you astronavigation: find your position by the stars, the old way. If you are new to sailing there is a learning curve, and the menus take a few hours to get familiar with, but the basics come quickly and the depth keeps rewarding you.
Racing, cruising, or just drifting
Virtual sailing clubs organize races you can join, and a good race can eat an evening without warning. But nothing here pushes you to be faster. The game is just as happy when you take the 38-foot cruiser or the small Nordic Folkboat out at your own pace, in whatever corner of the world you like best, alone, with friends, or among other sailors out on the water. It is a calm, low-pressure kind of play: watch the weather, enjoy the sunset, and let the boat carry you.
What else should you know?
Can you play with other people?
Yes. You can sail together with friends, meet other sailors out on the water, and join races organized by virtual sailing clubs. The community is small but active, and much of the game's content, from boats to ports, is made by the sailors themselves.
Do you need to know anything about sailing already?
No, but it helps to be curious. The simulation runs from basic to advanced, so you can start simple and pick up the terminology and physics as you go. Expect to spend the first hour finding your bearings; after that it opens up.
Can you make your own things in the game?
Quite a lot, yes. You can design your own boat, build digital or analog instruments, and even set up your own hardware using a built-in library of blocks, shackles and winches.
Which boats do you get?
Most other boats are designed by fellow sailors and sold separately by them, so you only pay for extra boats if you actually want them.
