Sail the Seas With These 6 Fun Pirate Games for Your Family

Put on your Pirate hats and eye patches for these six swashbuckling family games that will help your kids find the buried treasure of fun. Fire volleys of cannonballs, swab the decks, and hunt for hidden doubloons. Win them all and you’ll earn the right to call yourself the best Pirate to sail the seven seas – and, of course, to make your opponents walk the plank!

Feed the Shark

Photo by Joi

Assemble your crew and decorate a box with a shark’s face, making sure to include a hole for its mouth. Mark the border of your ship’s deck with string a few feet away from the shark. Line up your crew of family members to take turns “feeding the shark” by throwing three pieces of crumpled paper each and earning a point for each one that gets in the shark’s mouth. Once every kid and parent has had a turn, the Pirate who got the most points wins.

Hook the Treasure
Grab the family, two hook hands, two treasure chests (or decorated boxes), and lots and lots of necklaces, and head out to the backyard!

Put the treasure chests at one end of the yard, scatter the necklaces, and divide your family into two crews. Say “Go!” to signal the hunt as one pirate from each team dashes to gather the necklaces one at a time using only their hooks.

After 20 seconds, the Pirate with the most treasure wins a point for his or her crew! Scatter the necklaces again, then let the next two pirates have their turn. Once everyone’s gotten their chance, the team with the most points wins.

Parlaying Pirates
Perfect for long car rides, Parlaying Pirates involves dividing your kiddos into two crews. Each Pirate takes a turn asking another a question, and the recipient can’t answer except by asking a question him or herself, no matter how silly. You only have 10 seconds per turn!

The Pirate who runs out of time or says something that’s not a question loses the round and the other team gets a point. Once everyone’s had a turn, the crew with the most points wins.

Swab the Decks

Photo by Dean Hochman

Deckhands, it’s time to clear the poopdecks! To make sure your galleon has a wide enough deck for this game, head out to your backyard. Divide your family into two crews and have your captains split you up on opposite sides of the deck. Take 10 ping-pong balls in two different colors and give five and a broom to one member of both crews.

At the word “Go!” the swabbies sweep their balls to the opposite side of the deck. Once they get there, they trade places with the next Pirates on their teams, who take the brooms and sweep the balls back to the other side. The crew that finishes first wins.

Cannonball Battle
Print out pictures of islands, items, and characters from Pirate101, assign one to three points to each, and set them on the floor. Mark a toe line with string or tape and have the crew line up behind it. Each Pirate takes a turn to throw three beanbags at the targets, and whoever gets the most points wins.

Doubloon Hunt
Get a big bowl of uncooked rice and have your captains bury doubloons in it — pennies or chocolate coins work! Every Pirate takes a turn wearing a blindfold and searching through the rice to find as many coins as they can. Winners get to keep the treasure they’ve found!

These nautical games can keep a crew occupied for hours. Next time you’re on shore leave with an itch to sharpen your wits, gather your mates and play!