When children play pirates, in our experience, it often ends in pointy sticks poked in faces. And tears. Thankfully, Max’s Pirate Planet looks a lot more painless.

Billed as “a board game adventure” on iPhone and iPad, it’s a piratically-themed multiplayer game designed to be played on a single device by up to four “kids of all ages”.

The game involves hunting for a hoard of gold belonging to a legendary pirate named Barnacle Bill in a turn-based race across the high seas. Duels with swords or cannons are included when friends are playing, and there are monsters to battle too.

Developer Slant Six Games says you can also connect your iOS device to a TV using a cable or the Apple TV set-top box to show the action on the big-screen, which could be great fun for intra-family battles.

Max’s Pirate Planet – A Board Game Adventure costs £1.99 on the App Store, and runs on iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. It’s also available on Android, again for £1.99.

We’ll be taking a proper look at it for a review soon, but here’s a video trailer: