Yaaargh's Revenge: The First Ever (Literally) Pirated Game

They stole the game. They kept the fortune. They added two “a”s.

Before The Great Atari Disaster buried their hopes in sand, before E.T. took the economy down with it, the Copy Cats of Yaaargh’s Revenge pulled off one perfect heist. They didn’t just copy Yars’ Revenge—they took it outright, slapped on two extra “a”s, and dared anyone to stop them. Lawsuits couldn’t land on a moving target, and by the time the lawyers figured out where to send the paperwork, the stolen game had already paid for itself. Yaaargh’s Revenge became a cult hit, a gloriously illegal masterpiece, and for a while, the Copy Cats weren’t just criminals. They were entrepreneurs.

The Friendly Robot Travel Agency suggests dropping in while the legacy still lingers—because here, the line between legend and lawsuit is just two letters long. The game still runs in back-alley arcades, tucked between glitchy slot machines and questionably sourced FictionVision streams. Some claim to have an original heist copy, complete with developer notes in pirate slang. Others just want to see if the infamous title screen still flickers with static, like even the game knows it was never supposed to exist.

Wishbone Cost:

Rick’s Review:

"Booted it up expecting a cheap rip-off. Ten hours later, I was still playing. Say what you will about piracy—it’s got replay value."

Rick’s Tee-Hee Rating: