Tara Laben’s A Dead Man’s Chest party

“My church “youth” group (ages 15-30) recently played A Dead Man’s Chest, and the game was a big hit! My husband and I decked out our apartment to look like a tropical island, and we ate lunch together and launched into the game. I was surprised at how much everyone got into their characters; forming teams and then double-crossing each other, speaking in funny accents, holding emergency meetings in the bathrooms, and so on. The British rocked the game in our particular version — they allied early with the Indians and several of the pirates to make sure they met their goals. Bill Pistol crawled under the dining room table in fear whenever a nobleman approached him, Cassinga managed to scare several people into actually volunteering to be sacrificed to the volcano, and the “Governor” had a great time making everyone bow to him and compliment England before approaching to speak with him (which of course ruffled Don Inigo’s feathers). About half of the players knew who the murderer was by the end of the game, but no one dared lift a finger against them; this person had gotten themselves so well-allied that they were quite untouchable!
“We appreciated that the game was family-friendly, and that it had a good mix of complicated and less-complicated characters to accommodate the players’ varied acting abilities. This game was more than worth the cost, especially since I now know where to find an engaging party game whenever I need one! I have a lot to learn about being a good Host, and it seems that I’ll have another opportunity soon — my friends are already asking when the next game will be!”
Tara Laben, United States

Click here to learn more about A Dead Man’s Chest.

A Dead Man’s Chest is also available in French (as Le Trésor du Pirate) and German (as Des toten Kerls Kiste).