Welcome to 1914!
Murder at Sea takes place in 1914 aboard the Libertania, a luxury transatlantic liner carrying wealthy first-class passengers, politicians and celebrities across the Atlantic.
So think Edwardian luxury liner: polished brass, dark wood, crisp white tablecloths, steamer trunks, nautical details and the elegance of a first-class voyage.
You don’t need to transform your entire home into an ocean liner. A few well-chosen decorations and props can quickly give your guests the feeling that they’ve stepped aboard the Libertania.
Welcome aboard the Libertania
Start the theme at your front door. Turn the entrance to your home into the gangway where passengers board the ship.
A simple “Welcome aboard the Libertania” or “First Class Passengers” sign immediately establishes the setting. You could also create individual boarding passes or tickets for your guests.
Add a few nautical touches around the entrance:
- Rope
- Life rings
- Nautical flags or bunting
- Lanterns
- Steamer trunks and old suitcases
- A ship’s bell
- Signs pointing towards the “Promenade Deck”, “First Class Lounge” or “Dining Saloon”
If you have a hallway, treat it as the ship’s main corridor, with cabin numbers or directional signs on the doors.
Create a first-class lounge
Your living room can easily become the Libertania’s first-class lounge.
Luxury liners of the period were designed to resemble grand hotels rather than working ships, so you don’t need nautical decorations everywhere. Instead, concentrate on creating an atmosphere of Edwardian elegance.
Dark wood furniture is ideal, but work with whatever you have. Add:
- Table lamps rather than bright overhead lighting
- White or lace tablecloths
- Brass or gold-coloured accessories
- Candlesticks or battery-operated candles
- Vases of flowers
- Framed Edwardian-style pictures
- Decorative cushions
- Books and newspapers
- Playing cards and chess sets
If you have an old clock, globe, writing desk or drinks trolley, this is the perfect occasion to use it.
Set the first-class dining table
Dinner aboard a great liner was a formal affair, and your dining table is one of the easiest places to create a convincing 1914 luxury cruise atmosphere.
Use a crisp white tablecloth and your smartest crockery, glasses and cutlery. Add folded napkins, candles and a simple floral centrepiece.
For an extra touch, create printed Libertania dinner menus and place one at each setting. Even if the menu bears only a passing resemblance to what you’re actually serving, it will look impressive.
Turn your drinks area into the cocktail bar
The Libertania has its own professional Cocktail Stewardess, so drinks deserve a suitably stylish setting.
Create a small cocktail bar using a drinks trolley, kitchen counter or side table. Arrange bottles, glasses, cocktail shakers and bowls of garnishes around it.
Add a handwritten or printed cocktail menu featuring period-inspired drinks—or invent your own Libertania specials.
A small sign saying “First Class Bar” or “Cocktail Lounge” completes the effect.
Non-alcoholic beverages can receive exactly the same treatment. Decorative glasses, slices of fruit, and elaborate names matter more to the atmosphere than what’s actually in them.
Add nautical details—but don’t overdo them
It can be tempting to cover everything with anchors, fishing nets and seashells, but remember that the passengers are aboard a luxury transatlantic liner, not a fishing boat.
Use nautical decorations selectively.
Good choices include:
- Brass compasses
- Ship’s wheels
- Life rings
- Rope
- Maps and charts
- Model ships
- Binoculars
- Lanterns
- Clocks
- Bells
- Old-fashioned luggage
Dark colours, polished wood, brass and white linen will usually create a convincing first-class atmosphere.
Create a promenade deck
If you have a garden, patio, conservatory or balcony, turn it into the Promenade Deck.
Deckchairs are perfect if you have them. Add blankets, small tables and perhaps binoculars for passengers wishing to look out to sea.
A sign saying “Promenade Deck” may be all you need to make the illusion work.
If the weather is less than ideal, that’s not necessarily a problem. After all, you’re crossing the North Atlantic!
Make portholes
Fake portholes are an easy way to turn an ordinary room into part of a ship.
Cut large circles from black or dark card and surround them with gold, brass-coloured or brown borders. Inside, add pictures of the sea, waves or a night sky.
Place them on walls or doors and suddenly your guests are no longer looking at your wallpaper—they’re somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic.
Use signs to turn your home into a ship
Signs are probably the cheapest and easiest Murder at Sea decorations.
Rename different parts of your home:
- First Class Lounge – living room
- Dining Saloon – dining room
- Cocktail Lounge – drinks area
- Promenade Deck – garden or patio
- Purser’s Office – hallway or study
- Bridge – Officers Only – somewhere guests aren’t supposed to go
- Engine Room – Crew Only – kitchen, utility room or garage
Cabins – bedrooms - Grand Staircase – your stairs, however un-grand they may actually be
The signs don’t have to be elaborate. Print them in an Edwardian-style typeface on cream paper and put them into simple frames.
Use “Crew Only” signs to keep your party contained
Prevent players from wandering into areas you don’t want them in by creating “Crew Only” signs to indicate the rooms that aren’t being used for your party.
Add luggage and travel props
Remember that everyone aboard the Libertania is travelling between continents.
Old suitcases, trunks and luggage make excellent decorations. Add homemade luggage labels for New York, London, Cherbourg or wherever else fits your imagined voyage.
You can also scatter period travel items around the party:
- Passports
- Tickets
- Telegrams
- Postcards
- Maps
- Travel guides
- Newspapers
- Leather document cases
- Hat boxes
- Walking sticks
- Umbrellas
Modern suitcases can be disguised surprisingly well with brown paper luggage labels and lengths of string or ribbon.
Print a few 1914 newspapers
Newspapers are particularly useful decorations because Murder at Sea takes place in a world of politicians, industrialists and journalists.
Print a few newspaper front pages or headlines relating to 1914 current affairs, shipping, international politics or high society.
Leave them folded on tables around the lounge and dining room. They make the setting feel lived-in while also giving players something atmospheric to pick up and examine.
Add Edwardian entertainment
The Libertania employs its own Entertainments Officer and cabaret singer, so music is an important part of the atmosphere.
Play quiet Edwardian, ragtime, music hall or early popular music as guests arrive and during quieter parts of the game.
You might also create a printed programme announcing the evening’s entertainment:
Tonight aboard the Libertania
Dinner in the First Class Dining Saloon
Dancing and cocktails in the Grand Lounge
Cabaret performance by Jennifer Floreste
Music until late
Leave copies on tables or display one prominently near the entrance.
Lighting your Murder at Sea party
Lighting can make a surprisingly large difference.
Avoid bright modern overhead lighting where practical. Instead, use table lamps, wall lamps and battery-operated candles to create warmer pools of light.
Lanterns also fit the nautical setting, particularly around entrances and outside areas.
For safety, battery-operated candles are much easier than real flames—especially once guests are moving around, examining clues and accusing one another of murder.
Easy Murder at Sea decorations
You don’t need dozens of decorations. If you want to keep things simple, concentrate on a handful of high-impact ideas:
- A Welcome Aboard the Libertania sign
- A few nautical signs and props
- Old suitcases or steamer trunks
- Printed first-class menus
- A cocktail bar
- Edwardian background music
- Warm, subdued lighting
Set sail for 1914
The best decorations for Murder at Sea combine nautical details with Edwardian luxury. The Libertania isn’t simply a ship: it’s one of the great transatlantic liners, carrying some of the richest and most powerful people in the world.
You don’t need to recreate an entire ocean liner. Concentrate on the areas your guests will actually use, rename them as locations aboard the Libertania, and add a few strong visual details.
Then welcome your passengers aboard, pour the cocktails and enjoy the voyage.
Just don’t be too surprised when someone doesn’t make it to the other side of the Atlantic…
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