Craft & Game: Captain May I

Captain May I
Copyright 2022

The Crafts:
Gold Bars
Treasure Chest

The Game
The Captain must mentally keep track of how much is in the treasure chest to avoid a mutiny.

To make the gold bars you will need:
50 mini Popsicle sticks
Yellow paint
Gold glitter
Paint one side of the Popsicle sticks with yellow paint. Sprinkle with gold glitter. When dry, paint the other side and sprinkle with glitter. Note: For older kids, skip the glitter on one side and label the gold bars in the following denominations:

10 bars: 1 galleon
10 bars: 5 galleons
5 bars: 10 galleons

To make the treasure chest you will need:
An empty tea box or box similar in size
Brown construction paper
Black construction paper or marker
Scissors
Pen
Glue

Trace the size of the tea box onto the construction paper and cut out. Paste the brown construction paper to the tea box covering the outside. Use strips of black construction paper or a black marker do decorate the treasure chest. Add other decorations as desired.

How to play the game:
Choose the oldest player to be the first captain. If possible, designate an adult to be the treasurer. The treasurer fills the treasure chest with the coins or gold bars and tells the captain and players how much is in the treasury. For example: "There 50 gold bars,” (using just the bars for younger kids) or “There are 110 galleons” (using different denominations set out above for older kids). If there is no adult available for treasurer one of the players or the captain can also do this job.

Then start with the youngest crew member. The crew member asks for an amount (for example: "2 gold bars" or "5 galleons") and makes up a reason for that amount. See some example reasons below and make up some of your own. The captain, who is mentally keeping track of how much gold bars or galleons is in the treasure chest says "yes" if he or she thinks there is enough gold or "no" if he or she does not think there is enough gold.

If "yes," the treasurer then hands the money to the crew member. If there is no treasurer, the crew member simply removes the amount from the chest him or herself but do not look through the bars inside to see how much is there.

If on a previous turn a crew member had requested and received some money, he or she might also give back some of that money. For example, the crew member might return 1 gold bar or "2 galleons" instead of requesting more. Crew members can ask for or return any amount.

The goal of the crew members is to make the captain lose track of how much is in the treasure chest.

The goal of the captain is to try and mentally keep track of how much is in the treasure chest and whether or not he or she must say "yes" or "no" to requests.

If the captain says "yes" but there is not enough money in the treasure chest, there is a mutiny and the crew member who stumped the captain becomes captain and the captain becomes a crew member. If the captain says "no" and the crew member thinks the captain is wrong, he or she can challenge the captain and have the treasure in the treasure chest counted. If the captain was wrong and there was enough treasure to cover the request, there is a mutiny. The captain becomes a crew member and the crew member who challenged the captain becomes the captain. If the crew member is wrong, he or she must walk the plank.

Whenever a crew member replaces the captain all the gold is collected and returned to the treasure chest and the treasurer tells the captain again how much money he or she is starting with.

Example reasons
(Make up some of your own)
One might request gold or galleons to purchase:
Stock for the kitchen
Repair kit for the sails
Pay the port fee
Cannon or cannonballs
Muskets, rifles or gunpowder
Buckets and sponges
Maps
Compass
Mops
Citrus fruits
Biscuits
Salt pork
Burgoo
Hard tack
Barrels of meat
Cheese and butter
Iron or wood bound barrels of goods
Vegetables and fruit
Large salted drumfish
Cassava bread

Example exchange:
Crew member 1: "Captain may I have 5 gold bars (or 5 galleons) to repair the sails?"
Captain: “Yes”
The treasurer gives the crew member 5 gold bars (or 5 galleons).
Crew member 2: “Captain may I have 2 galleons to stock the kitchen?”
Captain: “No, there is not enough.”
Crew member 2 challenges the captain: “I think there is enough money. Have the treasurer count.”

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