A Pryce in Blood

$39.95

(34 customer reviews)

Add intrigue to your next party with this murder mystery game, set on an island of shipwrecked pirates.

Format:
30 Minute Mystery
Setting:
Wrecked pirate ship
Time:
30+ minutes
Ages:
Adult / Teen
Players:
8-16 (Standard Game)
17-100+ (Expanded Game)
Play this game as a virtual party
Want to play this game over video chat so your guests can play from home? Try the virtual edition.
View Virtual Edition
A treasure-hunting adventure takes a bloody turn…

Backstory

The guests will be playing the roles of surviving crewmembers of the wrecked pirate ship Retribution. While navigating toward a remote Caribbean island, the purported resting place of the famous Treasure of the Lost Grotto, a huge storm erupted and the ship hit a large reef, splitting the hull. The ship was within sight of the island, and nine pirates, including their leader, Captain Bartholomew Pryce, were able to salvage planks from the wreckage and use them to assist in the swim to shore. The rest of the crew perished.

Murder!

Awakening from their first night on the island—spent in exhaustion on the beach—the pirates find that the captain has been murdered, and the treasure map, which he kept on his person at all times, has been stolen!

Solving the Mystery:

Now it’s up to the guests to determine who murdered the captain in order to recover the treasure map, find the treasure, and, of course, exact pirate justice!

Customer Images

34 reviews for A Pryce in Blood

  1. Tamster


    Headline : Good fun for youth

    Nickname : Tamster

    Menu Highlights : Dried fish (goldfish), boiled sea water (bottled water), ye old rope (red vines), and buried treasure (chocolate coins in a treasure chest)

    Theme Highlights : The invitation set the mood, plus encouragement to dress like a pirate.


    We did this for a church youth activity and it was so fun, especially for the kids who got into their roles. It was nice to read as you go so the murderer was a mystery to me, too. However, I wish I would’ve read all the way through to better understand. I think I could’ve gotten into my role as the narrator type more, especially since I’ve never done a murder mystery before. I also wouldn’t do it in a gym. It was too loud and echoey. We had 24 so had 3 people be each character. Fun times! I’ll have to do it again.

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    (0) (0)
  2. HR – excuse to play games


    Headline : Pirates prevent Murderer from escape!

    Nickname : HR - excuse to play games

    Menu Highlights : No menu since we did a virtual game. Some people added to the fun with bottles and steins like pirates would use.

    Theme Highlights : I added virtual backgrounds, had players change their name on the screen to match their character. A powerpoint to give visual clues, and music in the background. Sent out a formal invite in their emails, and posted pirate things in the chatrooms the week before to build interest and keep them thinking about the event.


    Played a Pryce in Blood on zoom with the office. We dressed up (at least pirate head ware) and had fun going through the mystery. I made a Power Point to go along with the flow of the game,This helped me as the host to remember where we were and keep us on track. I played pirate music in the background, and hyped the event the week before. Making posts with pirate themed sayings, etc. Being my first mystery I would change one thing. I would either allow more time for the people to tell a bit about themselves from their bio. or as the host would do a longer introduction on each person. I guess I expected the individuals to do more talking and throw in more bits and pieces. Maybe some of you have had better success with this. Overall super fun, will do more of these as HR social events.

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    (1) (0)
  3. Jmoran


    Headline : Pirate Justice acquired!

    Nickname : Jmoran

    Menu Highlights : Just good wholesome fun!

    Theme Highlights : I used music from the Pirates of the Caribbean movie to set the tone.


    We used this as a Virtual Birthday Celebration in a corporate setting and we all had a blast. 8 characters and about 20 investigators. Accents, pirate music and a whole lot of pirate justice!

    (0) (0)
  4. Tree


    Headline : Virtual Halloween party for work

    Nickname : Tree


    We had a great time getting into character for a virtual party! The party was easy to following at took us exactly the time indicated in the directions.

    (0) (1)
  5. Gina


    Headline : Devious surprise

    Nickname : Gina


    Pryce of blood.
    We had a surprise 40th Murder Mystery dinner for my sister.
    We had the kids join us, youngest was 6, and because the game was fairly quick, the kids stayed engaged for whole game. We would have liked a more of a scripted dialogue – it did jump around a bit. I would recommend that the host not play the game, but rather read the whole thing through before hand in order to steer the game in the right direction.

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    (0) (1)
  6. CCB


    Headline : Easy to participate and play the characters.

    Nickname : CCB

    Menu Highlights : WE did not have food because it was virtual

    Theme Highlights : Encouraged the players to wear costumes.


    New Year’s Eve Day. With family in U.S. and friends in Germany.
    We timed the party so it midday for us and the start of the evening in Germany.
    It was excellent – everyone enjoyed the nuances of the characters. We had quite a bit of laughter.
    Because the characters were not evenly gender split we had fun adding a bit to the story line to make the characters fit our group.

    Image #1 from CCB
    (0) (0)
  7. A Pryce in Blood


    Headline : Great "who-dunnit" Fun!

    Nickname : A Pryce in Blood

    Menu Highlights : We served "treasure maps" (fruit roll-ups) & "gold nuggets" (cheese puffs) out of a treasure chest!

    Theme Highlights : We outlined a skeleton on the floor to set the mood & provided costume accents for each guest.


    We hosted a Murder Mystery for our residents at our Retirement Home in October & it was a great success! I reformatted the dialog into script form so it was easier for everyone to follow along. There were a few “investagators” who enjoyed listening & watching to crack the case.
    We are looking forward to our next event!

    (0) (0)
  8. CCP


    Headline : Great Murder Mystery Fun for Corporate Event

    Nickname : CCP


    Hosted a corporate murder mystery party on Zoom using a Pryce in Blood. We used 8 character actors as our pirates, a host (me), and a co-host to assist. We then had hundreds of attendees who investigated the crime. We were able to use polling feature to ask audience who they thought was guilty & spotlight feature for our pirates. The script and info provided by Playing with Murder was great for our purposes very detailed and helpful. We did end up taking a bit longer than the 30 minutes. I would recommend practicing if you are hosting a corporate event, but this was a great murder mystery, written well, kept our audience guessing, and everyone had such a great time.

    (0) (0)
  9. Jill’s party


    Headline : Surprise Retirement Party

    Nickname : Jill's party

    Menu Highlights : Cake with pomegranate filling for a spill over blood effect.

    Theme Highlights : Party was in full swing, assigned guest shrieked there had been guest murdered. Suspects were named and sat to "explain". We had props and decorations to support pirate theme.


    Our party was a blast! We had to consider social distancing and mask wearing and many guests were frustrated. That all changed when “The Mystery” began! Guests were commenting on how they hadn’t laughed so hard in months. Set up took minimal time and we added a few props, after that the script took over. Thank you so much for the script, easy to follow directions and suggestions!

    (0) (0)
  10. Sydney


    Headline : Little chaotic start but really fun in the end.

    Nickname : Sydney

    Menu Highlights : "everything red" (virgin) Bloody Mary's, red wine, sprite w/grenedine Caprese Salad Spaghetti Bolognese and/or lasagna Red Velvet cake with cheese cake frosting and red letters written on it: Murder Mystery

    Theme Highlights : The table was set in the roaring 20's style and some pencils and little booklets for writing down details, we had Spotify play 20's music and some family members dressed up as their character.


    Because of the Summer of Covid-19 we as a family are not traveling as we usually do and decided to do a themed day/evening every weekend in order to have something to look forward to. One of the themes on the list was a murder mystery dinner. It took us a little while to figure out if we needed to share the character information before starting Round 1 and we went around a few times to repeat and include some of the information we had. After this initial hiccup we went into Round 2 and by the end of Round 3 every one was thoroughly engaged in figuring out the murderer!

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    (0) (0)
  11. Allison


    Headline : Fun virtual birthday party with friends!

    Nickname : Allison


    I hosted a virtual murder mystery party through Zoom with my friends. It was a lot of fun. I would recommend doing one of the 30-minute games (took us around 1 hr at leisurely pace) because my friends did not have a longer time span. It was fun having my friends each come in costumes, and we changed our Zoom names to reflect our characters. I was able to email them the character information ahead of time, so I was able to participate. Fun way to connect with friends during quarantine.

    (0) (1)
  12. The Loomis Campbell Clan


    Headline : Intergenerational Game Play Success

    Nickname : The Loomis Campbell Clan

    Menu Highlights : 9 people served at my Mom's retirement community dining room. Performed the 3 rounds before the 3 courses

    Theme Highlights : Nautical themed wardrobe accent items like belts, scarves, hats, an apron.


    Family reunion Lunch for Boxing Day after Christmas

    (0) (0)
  13. Anna B


    Headline : A Pirate-y Good Time

    Nickname : Anna B


    Our small gathering was wonderful, especially because of this mystery!

    (0) (0)
  14. Cristina


    Headline : Teenage boys Sleep over

    Nickname : Cristina

    Menu Highlights : Snacks


    OMG this is the best site I have ever found for murder mystery games. It is so easy to follow. I was nervous about trying it with a bunch of teenage boys but they all had to much fun. Some even fought over who were going to play the girl parts. I definitely want to do more and will in fact I am ordering one right after I finish this review. First timers don’t fear. IT WAS SO EASY! You will have a blast.

    (1) (0)
  15. Cris


    Headline : Teenage boys Sleep over

    Nickname : Cris


    SO much fun. We had a ton of fun. Was extremely user friendly and the kids were so very excited. Thank you SO much for making this a wonderful sleep over party.

    (0) (0)
  16. April


    Headline : Awesome Event

    Nickname : April

    Menu Highlights : Local Seafood Restaurant – We ordered off the menu

    Theme Highlights : The restaurant was already decorated with sea/beach themed items. Our center pieces were made from clear glass plates and small fish bowl type vases filled with sand. A candle was placed in the vase with seashells, drink umbrellas, and various sea/beach related trinkets were scattered in the sand. The center pieces were given as a consolation prize. The prize for the winners was a beach themed bag with a beach towel and beach themed patio cushion (pillow). The center pieces were given as a consolation prize.


    Team Building/Employee Engagement Event
    We had our event at a local seafood restaurant which fit our theme.
    We were blessed to have a local high school theater group perform the play. They were amazing and even came in costumes. Because they were so good at keeping us in the dark, no one was able to determine the identity of the killer.
    In the end we had a drawing for our prizes and all those in attendance would highly recommend this play. Everyone said that they would like to have another event similar to this.

    Image #1 from April
    (0) (0)
  17. SCZ


    Headline : Team Building Event

    Nickname : SCZ


    I did a test run with this Murder Mystery with my family before I used it as a team building event within my work. I had to make many adjustments myself in order to make it less confusing. Many of the “Character Responses” were out of order. Some Round 2 responses came before Round 1 which made people miss their lines. It was a bit of a mess first time around. There were a few spelling mistakes, which isn’t a huge issue. However, I expected more as I paid over $40 CAD for this. We also found the “murderer” to be quite obvious. If you’re looking for something more challenging, I suggest going with a different story line!

    (0) (0)
  18. Veteran Youth Pastor


    Headline : Worth doing again!

    Nickname : Veteran Youth Pastor

    Menu Highlights : Since it was at the New Year we provided all kinds of snacks and finger foods that you would find at a New Year's Party.

    Theme Highlights : Each table was designed with a different collection of decorations relating to a Pirate theme. The items included: small treasure chests, candles (battery operated since we are working with teens), candle stands and holders, plastic gold coins, HUGE variety of colored plastic gems, burlap, fish netting, old rope, fabric of gold or purple and burgundy velvet. The front stage that all tables were directed to and where the host stood was decorated in a similar fashion as the tables but large scale. We added a skeleton dressed in pirate attire, swords, steamer trunks, old wooden boxes and barrels and then filled it with more of the same decoration that was on the tables. We played the music from the Disney pirate movie series. We could have done more with costumes and invitations. We did promote it with our social media and communication outlets through our church and youth group.


    We used “A Pryce in Blood” as a New Year Mystery Party for our Youth Group at church. We had 107 total attenders with several of them acting as host, sound and tech support.
    The group size provided for 11 teams of 8 players and a leader to act as the Investigator and to help each group work through each round with ease.
    We had a great response and participation with about half of the group able to solve the mystery and win the prize.

    (1) (0)
  19. skyejamie@yahoo.com


    Headline : A fun time was had by all.

    Nickname : skyejamie@yahoo.com

    Menu Highlights : Brunch with hot and cold dishes. WE charged a flat fee for the brunch and murder.

    Theme Highlights : By giving the parts out ahead my actors thought up costumes and looked great.Most were from the Dollar tree store such as fake knives and eye patches.


    I did this murder for a fundraiser. I included a brunch beforehand. I selected my players a week before and gave them their parts. All of them arrived sporting some kind of Pirate gear. I sat them in a line according to their character. The audience of abut 20 people were to be the investigators. I gave them paper and pens to write their clues and answers. By the time were on round three everyone was in stitches. Some of my characters were ad libing left and right. But, we did get the point across. I had three winners who guessed right. WE gave them small prizes. THis was my fourth mini murder and they are a big hit.

    (0) (0)
  20. Brittany


    Headline : Team building

    Nickname : Brittany


    Corporate team building event. We have our 8 people the character information before hand so they could prep. The rest of the group sat at tables of 6 and had to work together as a table to solve mystery

    Image #1 from Brittany
    (0) (0)
  21. Kieran


    Headline : Great fun for teenagers!

    Nickname : Kieran


    I used the game to fill some time in at the end of the year with my class. I teach teenagers with special needs. The game was pretty easy to set up on my part, just some printing and some cutting and sticking. My students really enjoyed getting into character and it was great practice for their literacy and problem solving skills. It only took 30mins as described so it was a great warm-up and fun start to our main lesson.

    (0) (0)
  22. cyndy sperry


    Headline : New Year's Eve intergenerational Pirate Mystery

    Nickname : cyndy sperry

    Menu Highlights : We had fun rum drinks. Eggnog and dark and stormies.

    Theme Highlights : I put a plaster skull in the center of the table, lots of seashells, candles, empty bottles of wine, and little stuffed pirate birds. Also, a steak knife sticking out of a gnawed bone.


    Two 13 year old hostesses organized the adult and younger children into the characters. They knew the outcome and did a great job keeping everyone on track. It went well. There were some great improvisational moments where characters went off script but the hostesses pulled everyone back into the story and kept the focus on solving the murder. It was New Year’s Eve and we were not interested in having an endless dinner party with one of those other longer murder mysteries. The timing was perfect. For us, because of a rowdy crowd, the mystery took closer to an 45mins-hour to solve.

    (1) (0)
  23. Jacquelyn Mahan


    Headline : High tea

    Nickname : Jacquelyn Mahan

    Menu Highlights : Scones, tea sandwiches, crab puffs, spinach wraps, pizza rolls, Bundt Cakes, lemon cookies, fruit tarts, Vanilla caramel tea, cinnamon spice tea, sweet and spicy tea

    Theme Highlights : For the centerpiece we used a Halloween party inside a plastic pumpkin it was a scene my granddaughter had made at the miniature show.


    My nine year old granddaughter had a tea for the family. she planned everything and put on the game. she was very proud to be able to do this and she did a great job. the guests ranged in age from 6 to 67. we paired up the youngest with adults so that there were eight characters. at the end there were many guesses and it was great fun. we got prizes at the dollar store and awarded them to everyone who guessed right.

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    (0) (0)
  24. Suzi Gordon


    Headline : End of the Year Get together

    Nickname : Suzi Gordon

    Menu Highlights : Just had snacks

    Theme Highlights : This was very informal. No pressure on anyone and open to whatever fun came from the evening.


    It was the end of Summer Adventure Camp at Camps Burgess and Hayward in Sandwich Massachusetts.
    We planned a party with all the counselors and workers. This was an international party as we had people from other countries in attendance. We had a great time trying to keep up with this storyline and play our roles.

    Having a master of ceremonies helps to keep everyone on track. It would be easy to get caught up in the fun and miss giving some valuable information. Sometimes we laughed so hard we had to pause the game. The story was simple but totally engaging. The 30 minute format was great for a low commitment party. Not too much set up but props and costumes do add. The key for us was to have an animated person playing Old Lucky. Really set a good tempo. Game is laid out perfectly and you have all the information you need but the script doesn’t give the murderer away. It is very handy to have investigators to keep the action on track. We had a blast. 30 minutes is perfect for a casual gathering.

    Image #1 from Suzi Gordon
    (0) (0)
  25. Suzi


    Headline : Camping on Lake Charlevoix

    Nickname : Suzi


    It was a 60th Birthday and we were camping. The water and pirate theme seemed appropriate. The fact that it only took less than an hour worked great at the campfire. The key thing was getting an animated person to play Olde Lucky. He really set the tempo and everyone joined in. I chose who would play the different parts based on personality and read everything ahead so I could make sure everyone chimed in at the right time with there responses. We had a great time.

    (3) (0)
  26. paige


    Headline : 2 october

    Nickname : paige

    Menu Highlights : chips pizza with mayo

    Theme Highlights : help you save peolpe

    Video : muder mystrey


    help you

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  27. Josh Moxon


    Headline : A pryce in blood

    Nickname : Josh Moxon

    Menu Highlights : Fish and Chips

    Theme Highlights : All leaders wore hats


    We had two groups of 8-10 around tables each playing characters or investigators to do with the marooned ships crew.

    (5) (0)
  28. Heidi Lumbard


    Headline : A Pryce in Blood

    Nickname : Heidi Lumbard

    Menu Highlights : Sorry no food, it was during school.

    Theme Highlights : I had each character script in a folder so they could read and hide their script from others as we were in a classroom setting. I copied the "it" person's script and put it behind their first page so they could read it ahead of time. I picked a responsible teen who wouldn't give it away and it worked well.


    I used this story-line with a group of High Schoolers learning how to conduct crime scene investigations as a warm up; and they enjoyed it. It did take them twice as long to get through all the material but it was still fun. I will use it again next year. The kids loved guessing who was the culprit and had several plausible guesses within the material.

    (2) (0)
  29. Karen


    Headline : A Pryce in Blood

    Nickname : Karen

    Menu Highlights : Baked potato bar and pirate cookies

    Theme Highlights : Everything was set up like a pirate ship including table setting.


    We has an adult Singles dinner at our Church with 72 people showing up. We fed them dinner then started the game. We had each table play so it was 8 teams going at the same time. Everyone had a great time. Some dressed up but everyone got into the parts.

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  30. Sylvia


    Headline : A very piratey Christmas

    Nickname : Sylvia


    Every year I organize a small game or scavenger hunt for my family to play at out Christmas dinner. This year I wanted to do something a little different, so I decided to try out a small murder mystery game. Everyone really enjoyed it and had a blast getting into character. I had a few more players than the 8 characters, so I coupled some of them up, which still worked well! There was only one downside and that was that the murderer was too obvious too soon in the game that no one ended up guessing them because they though it was too obvious!

    Overall, it was good fun, next time I’d like to try one of the longer mysteries with a bunch of my friends.

    (0) (0)

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There are 8 primary characters in this game. Read the "How to Play" section for instructions on how to play this game with more than 8 people.


* = Optional character


  • Olde Lucky, Aging Pirate: Olde Lucky has been a pirate for forty years. He’s seen a lot of
    action and is missing the body parts to show it. He may be going a little senile.

  • Master Luftinant, Former Naval Officer: Once an officer in the Royal Navy, Master
    Luftinant became a pirate after a mutiny gone awry. He still maintains a certain military
    stiffness.

  • Celine du Nuit, French Exile: Celine is a French deportee and the widow of legendary
    buccaneer Philippe de Berry. She uses a falsely naïve demeanor to catch her enemies off
    guard.

  • Orphan Ollie, Cabin Boy: After losing his parents, Orphan Ollie stowed away on a merchant
    ship, which was subsequently captured by Captain Pryce and his crew. At only eleven years
    old, he is a master pickpocket.

  • Ramsay Prescott, Former Privateer: Ramsay Prescott was once a crewmember on a
    privateering vessel, but he opted for a life of piracy after discovering the much more
    equitable distribution of loot amongst pirates. He always wants his fair share.

  • Estella Buckham, Swashbuckling Beauty: Estella grew up in Charles Town but left home in
    her teens. She is quick-witted, hotheaded, and masterful with the sword.

  • Sidney Sheffield, Young Aristocrat: Sidney Sheffield is the child of Baron Sheffield.
    Shirking noble duty, Sidney left home in search of adventure but has not yet learned how to
    fit in amongst pirates.

  • Sawin’ Sister Sarah, Ship Doctor: Sarah was the mender of wounds, letter of blood, extractor
    of teeth, and remover of limbs on board the Retribution. She may also be a witch.

Extra Players


  • *Investigator: If you have more than 8 players, additional players have the option of playing the role of "Investigators". In this role the players are not suspects and do not have character backgrounds but can question the suspects and try to solve the mystery along with the other players.

This game kit includes:

  • Hosting guide – Guidebook that takes you through all the steps for running the game
  • Character sheets – Information sheets for eight unique characters and one generic “Investigator” character
  • Name cards – Printable name cards that can be placed in front of players for in-person games (optional)
  • Introductory Handout – A brief description of the game that can be sent to your guests ahead of the event (optional)
  • Invitation template – Printable template that can be used to send paper invitations to your guests (optional)

Our line of 30 Minute Mysteries is specially designed for fast setup and easy play, whether your playing in-person or virtually over video chat.

All you need to do is:

  1. Gather a group of players
  2. Distribute character sheets
  3. Follow the party guide instructions

If you’re playing in person, you have the option of printing out the hosting script and character sheets, or you and your guests may view them on your electronic devices.

Best of all, the party facilitator can choose whether they join in the game and solve the mystery along with the other guests!

Playing the Game

While this mystery has 8 primary characters, it is designed to accommodate any number of additional players. See the “Expanded Game for Large Groups” section below if you have more than 8 players.

Each of the players will be assigned a character and given a character sheet that explains who or what their character is, what information their character knows, and how their character should respond to events that occur during the game.

The game will progress in rounds.

Round One will start with the party’s host or hostess reading a script that explains the nature of the mystery that is afoot. After the introduction is read, each player at the table will share a piece of information from their character sheet, which will often be met by a response from another player.

Round Two begins with the host sharing a clue that should shed further light on the mystery. After the clue is revealed, the players will once again go around, providing another piece of information.

Round Three, the final round, begins with the host sharing the last clue. The players then go around the table a final time, sharing their last piece of information.

By this point, the players should have enough information to piece together a theory about who was responsible for the crime. Everyone will vote for the culprit, which the host will then reveal. Any player or couple who correctly guessed the identity of the killer is declared a winner.

From start to finish, the game typically requires half an hour to complete.

What Do I Need in Order to Play?

Our 30 Minute Mysteries are specifically designed to not require very much in the way of supplies. All you need is:

  • Playing area
    • In-person – Table to sit around or large playing area where the guests can sit in a circle
    • Virtual – Video chat room (links to 3rd-party providers like Zoom included in game)
  • A group of players (minimum 8 people)
  • Access to a printer or electronic device (so you can distribute game materials)

Expanded Game For Large Groups

If you have more than 8 players, there are three ways that you can accommodate everyone:

  • Investigator Role – Using this method, eight guests play the primary characters while the remainder of the guests each play the Investigator role. Players in this role are not suspects and do not have character backgrounds but can question the suspects and try to solve the mystery along with the other players.
  • Teams – Each primary character can be played by 2 or more people that work together as a team. This works well if you’ve invited several couples to your event, but also works if you break up your guests into eight larger teams of 3 or more guests.
  • Multiple Groups – If you have 16 or more guests, you can break them up into groups of 8 players and run multiple instances of the game on their own. This method is best for large events (e.g. fundraisers) where each table of people can play through the game independently. This method goes well with the Investigator method, which allows you the flexibility to add more than 8 people to any group.

Both the standard and expanded games are included with the purchase of any game kit.

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