Parties with a Twist of Murder!
Parties with a Twist of Murder!
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Pirate Game: Party Ideas and Tips

Host a Pirate Murder Mystery to Kill For!

Dinner table for our pirate party
Pirate party desserts - treasure island cheesecake and treasure chest cake
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Browse our very detailed and helpful pages for tips and ideas on how to run our pirate murder mystery game. Topics cover decorations, costume, food and hosting.

See our party photo gallery for visual inspiration.

Or scroll down to see other party tips (music, dance and slang) for adding some extra swashbuckling vibe to your party.

A Few Other Tips to Turn Our Game into a Swashbuckling Party (Music, Dance and Slang)

Avast: Sound Tracks to Set the Scene for a Pirating Party 

Consider creating a soundtrack to play when guests are arriving, when guests are completing the Accusation Sheet and, optionally, during food breaks.

Sea Shanties include "What Shall We Do With the Drunken Sailor?",  "Ballad of Captain Kidd" and "Blow the Man Down". The most famous fictional sea song is "Fifteen Men on a Dead Man's Chest" from Robert Louis Stevenson's "Treasure Island" - different people have recorded versions of this.

Or include soundtracks from a pirate-themed film of your choice.

The Sailer's Hornpipe is a fast-paced, catchy, well-known orchestral piece.

Optional Singing or Chanting

Use the placemat settings found in Zip 7 (Optional Menu and Place Settings zip). These placemats give each character the version of the famous  "Yo Ho Ho and a Bottle of Rum" song used in our game. (This song is adapted from the famous lines found in Robert Louis Stevenson's "Treasure Island".) 

Divide your party into two or more teams and see who can sing or chant best - or loudest.

Sample tablemat given in Zip 7

 

Optional Dance

Optionally ask one of your guests to give a display of the Hornpipe during a break betwen the rounds - or even to teach it to those wanting to learn!

Impress Your Mateys With the Right Slang

We've found that experimenting with slang and accents can really add to the fun of a party; as host, it is a good idea to encourage this.

However, not every guest wants to spend time researching their role. Therefore, we provide appropriate dialogue suggestions as part of the pre-party and party booklets. These are tailored to the background of each character.

  • For those guests who are playing pirate characters, the party booklets give dialogue suggestions written with amusing slang insults such as "bilge rat", "scurvy dog" and "scabby sea bass" already included - not to mention a few well-known phrases such as "shiver me timbers", "Yo ho ho" and "savvy that".  To ring the changes and keep guests interested, each pirate character has their own unique way of speaking. For example, One-eyed Shark insults people with fish names ("yer rotting catfish").
  • For Lady Dorothy, Lady Desiree, Admiral and Parson, the party booklets are written with a few slang phrases common in the 18th century such as "blast your toplights" or "your evidence is enough to make a dog laugh."
  • For Tempest and Torrent, the party booklets are written with a few suggestions of a Caribbean accent already included.
  • In addition, as Captain Hugh is from Ireland and Maroon-'em Mary is from Scotland, their party booklets have the odd Irish and Scottish dialect suggestions.