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Taipan! was created by Art Canfil — first on the TRS-80 in 1979, then the Apple ][ in 1982. It was an old favorite of mine, and this is my attempt to bring it back — with a twist in how it was made.
This entire port was built in conversation with an AI (Claude, by Anthropic). I described what I wanted; the AI found the original Applesoft BASIC listing online, ported the game engine line-by-line to Python, built this green-phosphor terminal you're looking at, wrote the test suite, and deployed it to the web. My job was to play it, point at things, and decide what the game should become. The AI's job was everything else.
Classic mode is the exact 1982 game. The price formulas, Li Yuen's extortion math, Elder Brother Wu's brutal 10%-a-month interest, the combat odds, the scoring — all checked against the original BASIC source, which ships alongside the code. Even the strange parts survive: you can still overload your ship buying more cargo than it holds, because that's how it worked on the Apple ][.
Everything I thought improved the game lives in Extended mode, where the original rules are the foundation, not the casualty: tavern rumors, charter contracts, seasonal missions, dockyard refits, a rival firm that undercuts your cargo and may send privateers, typhoon seasons, port-by-port opium risk, reputations with Li Yuen and Wu that remember how you've treated them, five-year dashes and deep-debt starts, and the real history of the 1860s unfolding around your voyages. Around both modes: a daily challenge where every captain sails the same seas, challenge links to race a friend's ghost, achievements, and a captain's log that remembers your story.
It started with an empty folder and one question — "are you familiar with the game Taipan?" From there: the original source tracked down and studied, a playable game the same day, then weeks of back-and-forth — hundreds of automated voyages replayed to prove the engine faithful, arguments over what was a bug versus what was 1982, features proposed, a few rejected, the good ones kept. Every score on the boards here is replayable from its seed — the same trick that made saves work also keeps the game honest. It ends, for now, with the lorcha in your browser tab.
Original game: Art Canfil. Reference C port: Jay Link. Terminal font: VT323. Built with Claude (Anthropic). Source code: github.com/tqdesign/taipan
Good joss, Taipan!
It is 1860. You are a trader on the South China Sea with a small ship, big debts, and one goal: build a fortune and retire. Your score is your net worth measured against how fast you earned it — a quick fortune beats a slow one.
Sail between seven ports — Hong Kong, Shanghai, Nagasaki, Saigon, Manila, Singapore, Batavia — buying goods where they're cheap and selling where they're dear. Prices roll fresh at every port call; the Market log panel remembers what you last saw everywhere.
The goods: Opium is the money-maker, but authorities outside Hong Kong may seize it. Silk and Arms are steady earners. General Cargo is cheap ballast for starting out.
Only Hong Kong has: the bank (cash in hand above ~25,000 attracts muggers; banked money is safe and earns 0.5%/month), the warehouse (store up to 10,000 units to wait out bad prices), Elder Brother Wu the moneylender, and McHenry, who repairs battle damage.
Beware Wu's interest: 10% per month, compounding. Borrowed money must work fast. Debt above 10,000 brings warnings; above 20,000, cutthroats.
The pirate lord Li Yuen asks donations to the temple of Tin Hau. Pay, and his fleets let you pass (for a while). Refuse, and the sea gets dangerous. Ordinary pirates attack regardless — in battle you can Fight (needs guns), Run, or Throw cargo overboard to lighten ship and escape. A damaged ship sinks in storms; watch your seaworthiness.
Every choice has an underlined hotkey. Amount prompts accept A for All, plus the preset buttons. Esc cancels any input or backs out of a purchase. M toggles sound. In [options]: fast play (no delays), auto-repeating battle orders, and restarting or quitting the current voyage.
Classic is the exact 1982 game. Extended adds tavern rumors, charter contracts, seasonal missions, dockyard refits, a rival firm that undercuts you and may send privateers, typhoon seasons, port personalities, and the history of the 1860s — plus real stakes: banks can fail (heed the whispers and mind what you deposit), and the partners force retirement after 25 years (or try a five-year dash / deep in debt start for a tighter run). Finished Extended voyages show a highlight reel; Rematch (same seas) lets you sail the seed again. The daily challenge (press D on the title screen) gives every captain the same seas and its own leaderboard. After any game, Challenge a friend shares your exact voyage as a link to beat.
1) Repay Wu before his interest eats you — short loans only. 2) Bank your cash in Hong Kong before it makes you a target. 3) When Li Yuen asks for a donation early, pay it — protection is cheap while you're poor.
Good joss, Taipan!
_____ _ ___ ____ _ _ _ |_ _|/ \ |_ _| _ \ / \ | \ | | | | / _ \ | || |_) / _ \ | \| | | |/ ___ \ | || __/ ___ \| |\ | |_/_/ \_\___|_| /_/ \_\_| \_|
A game based on the China trade of the 1800's
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Created by Art Canfil · Web port of the 1982 Apple ][ classic
Press ANY key to start
or press D for today's DAILY CHALLENGE — every captain sails the same seas — or H for how to play
A saved voyage was found — any key resumes it, N for a new game, D for the daily
| Opium | In Use: | ||
| Silk | |||
| Arms | Vacant: | ||
| General |
| Opium | |
| Silk | |
| Arms | |
| General |
| Opium | Silk | ||
| Arms | General |