In Pirates of the Caribbean, Explorers have landed on Treasure Island and discovered a cave full of gold pieces! It’s a race against the clock as these Explorers attempt to bring as much gold from the cave back to the beach, moving one piece at a time. However, the jungle is filled with Pirates!
The teacher sets up a playing area with an end zone at one end, the Beach. Opposite the Beach, a small rectangular area is marked out with cones to serve as the Cave. A milk crate is placed on the Beach as the Booty Box, and several beanbags are placed in the Cave as Gold Pieces.
Explorers move all of the gold from the Cave to the Booty Box, one piece at a time. Pirates work to freeze them before they can.
Pirates must use soft tags (not hits) when tagging Adventurers.
All players should keep their eyes up at all times.
Treasure may never be thrown.
Builds allow you to increase the game's complexity, one layer at a time.
Introduce Treasure Island one element at a time.
Start by having all of the players stand on the Beach. On the teacher's signal, they move into the playing area to explore Treasure Island. When the teacher calls "BEACH!", the Explorers must run back to the Beach as quickly as possible.
After a few turns of this, add the Treasure Cave to the playing area. Have students move from the Beach to the Treasure Cave as quickly as possible, reminding them that both areas are safe zones.
Add beanbags to the Treasure Cave to serve as pieces of gold, and a box on the Beach to serve as the Booty Box.
Explorers collect all of the treasure from the Treasure Cave by running to the cave, taking one piece, then running back to the Beach and placing it in the Booty Box. They keep going until all of the treasure has been collected.
Time the group as they do this once, then reset the game and have them try to beat their previous time.
Timing the run turns a simple relay into a team problem worth talking about. Give them a moment between attempts to plan rather than sending them straight back out.
All students stand inside the Beach as Explorers. Select two students to start as Pirates, each given a pinnie to wear and a shortened pool noodle, their sword, for tagging.
On the teacher's signal, play begins. Explorers attempt to reach the Treasure Cave, take one piece of treasure, bring it back to the Beach, and place it in the Booty Box. They keep going until no treasure remains in the Cave.
Pirates attempt to tag any Explorer who steps onto Treasure Island. Pirates cannot tag players who are on the Beach or in the Treasure Cave.
A tagged Explorer remains frozen on the spot. If they were holding treasure, they give it to the Pirate who tagged them, who returns it to the Cave.
Frozen players become unfrozen if a fellow Explorer takes them by the wrist and brings them to the Beach. During a rescue, neither the rescuer nor the rescued player can be tagged.
Play continues until there is no treasure left in the Cave, or until all of the Explorers are frozen.
Add a new playing zone on Treasure Island to serve as the Cursed Ship, and place a foam die and hula hoops inside it.
A tagged Explorer must now move to the Cursed Ship and roll the die. An even number means they are free to return to play. An odd number means they take a hula hoop, stand inside it, and shuffle their way across Treasure Island, because they are now a Zombie.
Zombies attempt to tag Explorers and must respect the same playing area limits as the Pirates. If an Explorer is tagged by a Zombie, the two players exchange roles.
Play continues until the Explorers have collected all of the treasure, or until they have all been turned into Zombies.
The die is what makes this build worth adding. A tagged player gets a coin flip rather than a sentence, which keeps the mood light even as the Zombie numbers grow.
Print the game sheet, leave it on your desk, and your sub has everything they need: the diagrams, the builds in order, what to say, and what to watch for. This one is $4. #PhysEdU Plus members get all 39, free forever, for $49 a year.
Games that build on the same tactics.
