Cruising for Trouble

The cruise ship Mega Mermaid is on its first voyage, packed with families from all over the world. Many of the passengers are teens, kept busy with organized games and sports. The crowning event of the week will be the rewarding of a marvelous prize—a trophy autographed by the world’s greatest pop star, Bouncé, right before she retired to a remote religious community, never to return to the outside world. Everyone is buzzing with excitement—who will win?
But now the trophy is missing! Who could have taken it, and where is it now? Was it a cruise employee who wanted to keep it away from the passengers? A competitor with no chance of winning it fair and square? An observer who wanted to spoil the contest for everyone?
Or maybe it was… YOU!

This game is intended to be played by teens or young adults, but can be used for adult parties as well.

The game is played in 4 Rounds. Through the game the players learn new secrets about themselves, the detective reveals some facts from the investigation, players receive new information about other characters’ motives for the theft and finally… they prepare their accusations.

Each purchase will include:

– Game Host Guide
– Game Rules
– Character List
– Nametags
– Invitation
– Detective Script and mp3 audio
– Character Cards for each round

All materials are printed on A4 paper and you don’t have to cut them (except nametags).

The Game is not in script form, the characters are only given the facts to talk about. Only Detective, who gives a speech in each round, has a script but it can also be played since you get an mp3 audio file.

The Host can play along
The Host can take one of the roles and who knows, maybe he will end up being the suspect in the end.
It is in Round 2 that the Victim will be told to fall down dead and the Murderer will find out that he/she is guilty.

Game Plan

Round 1: Mingling
A Detective reveals some initial news about the theft. Players read information about their role and are told to share it with as many other players as possible. They also learn a secret about themselves that they need to keep.

Round 2: The Motive
The Detective reveals some facts from the investigation. Players receive new information about other characters’ motives for the theft. They can either question the people they suspect, try to uncover other characters’ secrets, or spread gossip. Only the Thief is allowed to lie; everyone else is instructed to bluster, change the subject, and so on, but always tell the truth.

Round 3: The Method
The Detective reveals more information from the investigation, while other players receive more facts to share, as in Round 2. At this point, some players should be able to make a sensible guess about the Thief.

Round 4: Accusations, Alibis, and a Confession
Players prepare their accusations. The Host keeps track of all the accusations, then calls on anyone with an alibi to share it. This repeats until only one player is left. The Detective makes one final accusation, and the Thief confesses.