Black Skull is an online pirate-themed murder mystery game. It’s one of several adventure-style games run by Lower Mainland-based Vancouver Mysteries.
Vancouver Mysteries runs a number of in-person games that take place in downtown Vancouver. They are sort of like escape room games, except that they take place outside in the streets and on the sidewalks of the city. The company also runs a few virtual games that are played online via Zoom.
For information about the company’s in-person adventure games see our article about Vancouver Mysteries. To learn about the company’s other virtual games, click Vancouver Mysteries’ Online Games. To learn about Black Skull, continue reading. And for the company’s official website (where you can learn about everything), click vancouvermysteries.com.
TIP: If you use the promo code BESTPLACES when booking a game online for three or more people you can save 10%. The discount is good for any of Vancouver Mysteries’ virtual games or live outdoor adventures.
Black Skull Virtual Zoom Murder Mystery Game
Black Skull is a really fun game! And because it’s all online, it’s a perfect way for friends and families to have a great time even when not physically together.
Black Skull is a murder mystery game that you play via Zoom. It has a fun pirate theme and is recommended for people ages 14 and older. The game doesn’t feature “mature” content. It just involves a bit of intellect, acting, problem-solving and role-playing abilities.
Seven of us played Black Skull the other day and we had a blast! None of us had done an in-person murder mystery game before, but we understood the concept. Three people in our group were older teenagers. The other four were their parents and in their 50s. Everyone had a good time and thought the game was great.
From start to finish, the experience takes up to around two hours. It can be played with between six and 12 players. For larger parties though, three groups of up to 12 people in each can play three games at the same time.
To book a game and for the activity’s official website, click Black Skull Murder Mystery.
What to Expect
Black Skull is a great game for people who like acting and doing detective work. Expect to have fun and be challenged.
At the start of the game everyone signs into Zoom on their own computers (and in their own separate rooms if they happen to be in the same house). Everyone plays separately and it’s important that people don’t overhear other conversations.
After signing in, a live host greets the players and explains how the game works. Everyone is assigned a character and each player receives information about who they are. The players have about five minutes to read everything on their character sheets, but the information is online so they can refer to it throughout the game.
Black Skull has a pirate theme and each player gets to be a different pirate-themed character. There’s the Captain, of course, and a First Mate, plus a number of other characters. One of them is a murderer and it’s everyone else’s job to find out who that person is!
Setting the Scene
The Vancouver Mysteries’ game host explains the scene. Everyone is on a pirate ship. The cabin boy is missing, however, and believed to have been murdered! The players have approximately one hour to find out who did such a dreadful thing. They also have to achieve a number of other individual-specific objectives.
How the Game is Played
In a game there are four rounds that last between about 11 and 13 minutes each. During a round, the players can enter virtual breakout rooms and talk among themselves (either one-on-one or in larger groups). Participants have to interrogate one another, learn about each other’s alibies, and achieve personal objectives that only they know about.
After each round the players get back together in one big group. The host convenes a meeting, updates everyone on new developments, and then sends everyone off on another round of breakout discussions.
The game is all about scheming, intrigue, keeping secrets, divulging information, uncovering secrets, solving the murder, and not getting killed yourself in the process!
After four rounds of talking with your fellow players and trying to put all the pieces together, everyone comes back together for the finale. That’s when players have to guess who the murderer is. You get points for guessing correctly, and you get more points if you’ve accomplished other secret tasks and objectives (including staying alive)!
Black Skull is a clever game and a lot of fun. You have to think. You have to act. And you have to decide who to trust and who not to.
For full details and to book a game, visit the Vancouver Mysteries website.
Tips & Advice
Below are some tips to help you make the most of your virtual game experience with Vancouver Mysteries.
Tips Regarding the Black Skull Game
TIP #1: You don’t have to be an actor or good at acting to play this game. The more you act, however, and the more you take on the role of your character, the more fun you and everyone will have.
TIP #2: Participants have only four rounds to ask the other players questions and share what they know. You don’t want to tell everyone everything. You do, however, want to know as much as you can about the other people and their stories. Time goes fast, so talk and share as much as you can to learn as much as possible about the other characters. Don’t be shy!
TIP #3: Each participant needs to play at their own separate computer, and in a space where other players can’t hear them talking to other characters online. You also need to play on a computer, not a tablet or your phone. Black Skull works with Zoom on desktop and laptop computers, but not so well on mobile devices.
TIP #4: At the end of the game be sure to ask your host if your group can stay on Zoom and chat for a while. The host can leave, as their job is now done, but it’s fun if you can keep chatting with your friends. You can ask other players how they knew things you didn’t know, and find out why different people did things and who made who walk the plank!
Other Tips
TIP #1: Don’t forget that you can save 10% if you use the promo code BESTPLACES when booking a game online. The discount is valid for any of Vancouver Mysteries’ games, both virtual and in-person, but only for bookings with 3 or more players. This offer may end at any time, but is likely good until at least the end of 2022.
TIP #2: If you want to play an online game with children, then check out Big Top Werewolf. It has a circus theme, involves acting, and is perfect for parents, grandparents and other adults to play with younger children. If you want to play a virtual game but you don’t like acting, then consider playing Super Trivia.
TIP #3: Vancouver Mysteries’ live in-person games are awesome. If you get chance, try playing Crime in Downtown, Heroes & Villains or Secret Mission. They are played outdoors in downtown Vancouver and are a ton of fun!
For full details about Black Skull and other games, visit the Vancouver Mysteries website.
Other Vancouver Mysteries Games
Black Skull is just one of several great games offered by Vancouver Mysteries. Below are some of the company’s other fun adventures. The cost for each, unless otherwise stated, is $25 per person for virtual games and $35 for live in-person games (or at least that was the case as of March 2024).
Big Top Werewolf
(Cost: $25/person; Virtual Game via Zoom)
Big Top Werewolf is an online party game with a circus-theme. It involves acting, silliness and lots of laughing. It can be played with between six and 36 players.
This game is fun, fairly easy and appropriate for children to do with at least one adult. It’s a private game, which means the only people playing and on Zoom with you are the game host and your friends.
For more information and to play this game click Big Top Werewolf.
Crime in Downtown
(Cost: $35/person; Live In-Person Game)
Crime in Downtown is an escape room or scavenger hunt-style detective game that’s played live and outdoors in downtown Vancouver. Instead of having to escape from a room, however, you have to run around the streets of Gastown finding clues and solving the murder of Jimmy Capello.
Crime in Downtown games take between 90 and 120 minutes and can be played with between two and 30 people. This game’s difficulty level is “intermediate” which means it’s for adults and youth ages 12+. It also means you might succeed in solving the crime or you might not.
Click Crime in Downtown to learn more.
Heroes & Villains
(Cost: $35/person; Live In-Person Game)
Heroes & Villains is another live in-person game, but this time with a superhero theme. With this adventure you and your friends have to save the world from the evil Muck Monster. Costumes with capes are encouraged, but not required.
This game takes place around the Vancouver Convention Centre and Coal Harbour Seawall. It can be played with between two and 40 people and takes between 90 and 120 minutes from start to finish. The game is for adults (ages 12+), but rated “easy.”
To learn more and book your game click Heroes & Villains.
Heroes & Villains (Family Version)
(Cost: $35/person; Live In-Person Game)
Heroes & Villains Family Version is the same as the regular Heroes & Villains game, but good for kids ages 8 and older.
This game has set times where your group of two to five players competes against other teams. Alternatively, you can book a private game at a time of your choosing with a minimum of 11 players.
With this game there has to be at least one responsible adult in each group. Games take between 90 minutes and two hours to complete. They are very easy for adults, but challenging for kids. Players in a team work together, though, and everyone has fun! This game can be especially fun for youth birthday parties.
To learn more see Heroes & Villains Family Version on the Vancouver Mysteries website.
Secret Mission (In-Person)
(Cost: $35/person; Live In-Person Game)
Secret Mission is a secret agent adventure where you and your team have to foil the evil BLACKOUT organization’s plot to destroy the city. It’s a live game played in the streets of downtown Vancouver (between Gastown, Burrard Street and West Georgia more or less).
Secret Mission is for between two and 40 players. It’s rated “intermediate” for difficulty, which makes it similar to Crime in Downtown but more challenging than Heroes & Villains. It’s a lot of fun and good for folks ages 12 and older.
To learn more about this game click Secret Mission.
Super Trivia
(Cost: $25/person; Virtual Game via Zoom)
The same as Big Top Werewolf and Black Skull, Super Trivia is an online game that can be played on Zoom with a computer from anywhere in the world. Unlike the other virtual games, however, this one is like a game show. It too, though, comes with its own real-person host.
Because of the question categories, Super Trivia is good for players ages 14 and older. Six is the minimum number of players. Three hundred is the maximum (although that high a number doesn’t happen very often)!
To learn more click Super Trivia.
The Case of the Hotel Detective
This game is different from all the others. It’s neither a virtual game played at a computer nor an adventure game played in-person in downtown Vancouver. The Case of the Hotel Detective is a live in-person game that can be played indoors anywhere in Metro Vancouver.
The Case of the Hotel Detective comes in a box and is delivered to your door. With this game, an operator communicates with your party via a video call and is present the entire time. Together, you and your group have 90 minutes to solve a murder.
Unlike Black Skull, The Case of the Hotel Detective isn’t a murder mystery game where everyone has a different character and you have to act. It’s more like a portable escape room that you can play anywhere. You play as yourself, not as a fictitious character.
For more details click The Case of the Hotel Detective.
Other Information
To learn more about the Black Skull murder mystery game, click Black Skull Adventure. For more information about Vancouver Mysteries and its other games, visit vancouvermysteries.com.
Other articles on our website that might be of interest include the following:
- Vancouver Restaurants
- Lower Mainland Rainy Day Activities
- Vancouver Mysteries
- Vancouver Mysteries’ Online Games
- Halloween Mystery Nights
- Secret Mission
- Big Top Werewolf