[1] It was created by Art Canfil and the company Mega Micro Computers, and published by Avalanche Productions.

The goal of the game is for the player to accumulate wealth through trade and possibly also through booty won in battles against pirates.

At various times when arriving at a port, a message will pop up indicating a special price has occurred for one of the commodities.

The player may trade at any of seven historically named ports: Hong Kong, Shanghai, Nagasaki, Saigon, Manila, Singapore, and Batavia.

Often in Hong Kong, the local extortionist Li Yuen asks if the player would like to "donate" money to the Sea Goddess.

It is not advisable to carry too much excessive cash; the donations asked from Li Yuen, the fines for dealing with opium and the amount stolen from oneself after occasionally getting "beaten up and robbed" always depend on how much you have.

Runner's Gambit: When attacked by ships an effective escape strategy is to do nothing and wait until the crew asks, "Taipan, what shall we do??"

When this happens, the player can trade their old ship for a larger one with fifty extra units of cargo space by paying some money.

More guns mean more firepower (and subsequently also larger fleets attacking), but also require 10 units of valuable cargo-space in the hold.

"[4] Upon meeting the creator at a 1982 Electronic Arts founding party, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak declared that Taipan was "my favorite game!"