The alpha development stage was the testing period for Puzzle Pirates lasting from October 31, 2002, to July 13, 2003. As with most computer software, the alpha version was a necessary part of Puzzle Pirates' natural development. The game still awaited full debugging or full implementation of all its functionality, but satisfied a majority of the requirements. During alpha-testing, it was rare to see more than a few players online at once. It was often possible (due to the word-of-mouth nature of the game) to log on to an empty ocean.