Ahoy, Me Hearties! A Pirate Activity for Kids & Families

Ahoy, me hearties! 

The pirates on board The Bearded Rat pirate ship are lost at sea, and shiver me timbers! They be sufferin’ greatly from cabin fever. But that’s not the worst of it - someone stole the grog! But who, how, and why? These are all questions you must answer to solve the mystery!

This role playing mystery game is fun for the whole family - if your child can read and follow instructions, your child can play! For 4-6 players, any ages, takes approximately 30 mins to play. 

Don't forget to folow me on Facebook and Instagram, and sign up for my newsletter to keep up with new games & giveaways!

If you'd like to play music before, during, or after the game, Bearded Rat Mysteries has an Ahoy, Me Hearties! A Pirate Themed Mystery Activity playlist on Spotify.

This digital download includes:

Four essential characters
Two optional characters
Instructions
Tips
Pirate Lingo
The Pirate's Creed
The Captain's Log
Pirate Character Backgrounds
8 Discussion Questions

HOT TO PLAY THE GAME

This activity is not necessarily meant to be played by just sitting around and looking at each other. That would get real tedious real fast. So be sure to get into character! Swab the deck! Run around! Sing a chantey! You can play it while eating dinner, between chores (pirates have chores, you know. Someone needs to swab the deck), or generally playing “pirates” around the house.

This activity is divided into FOUR rounds.

For the first THREE rounds, each pirate will have one thing to say, and one thing to do. These things can be done in any order, there's very little structure - just like a pirate's life!
After the third round is over, STOP. Each pirate must say who they think stole the grog, why they stole the grog, and how they stole the grog.
After every pirate has made an accusation, go to the fourth round. Every pirate will make a confession. The confessions are numbered, so start with #1.

The pirate characters are:

Captain Gentleman Jones
Captain Gentleman Jones was born into a well-to-do family, but left the luxuries of home to sail the seven seas and steal treasure. Luckily, he was able to start his career by using his inheritance to buy a pirate ship – a ship he immediately named The Bearded Rat.

Fangsmirk
A lifelong criminal, Fangsmirk was on a prison ship sailing to the Americas when Captain Gentleman Jones took over the ship and freed the prisoners. Forever grateful, Fangsmirk decided to live a life of piracy and join Captain Gentleman Jones’ crew on The Bearded Rat pirate ship. He has worked hard and climbed the ranks, and is now the First Mate.

Pretty Cakes
New to piracy, Pretty Cakes joined the crew as the cook on The Bearded Rat at the last dock. Pretty Cakes lost a job working in the kitchen at the local Inn, and gratefully accepted Captain Gentleman Jones’ offer to be The Bearded Rat’s cook.

Scurvy Steve
As a descendant of many devoted pirates, Scurvy Steve has known nothing but life on the sea. Unfortunately, his poor health inhibits his ability to advance in rank, so he is still only a common scallywag.

Darkblade - Optional Character
A former sailor on a privateer ship under the banner of Her Majesty’s Naval Service, Darkblade left the navy to lead a life of piracy after a heated dispute with the navy ship’s captain. Now, Darkblade serves Captain Gentleman Jones with humble loyalty as a common scallywag on board The Bearded Rat pirate ship.

Sea Weasel - Optional Character
Born and raised to be a simple island fisherman, Sea Weasel joined the crew on board The Bearded Rat after another pirate ship destroyed the only fisherman’s boat Sea Weasel had ever owned. Sea Weasel is now a pirate out of necessity.