Space Apps Challenge 2018

PolarQuest:

Team: ICE Team

Francesco Carrer, Chiara Chisso, Martina Fedel, Marco Scherlich

The idea behind it

This game was designed to intrigue and inform about the conditions of the Antarctic continent today and the major areas of research that are currently underway with the use of data mainly collected by NASA.

Game presentation

The player finds himself in the role of a researcher who have to organize his own quest to the South Pole with the aim of collecting different data within his research field (Research Cards).

At the beginning of the game he has to decide how to use his founds: he can decide to expand his research team with the collaboration of other colleagues specialized in one of the other fields or invest his found in equipment (Equipment Cards).

1. With the collaboration of other researchersduring the game hewillgethalf of Research Points finding Research Cards of the research field of collaborators;

1. With the investment in equipment he will have advantages on the material aspects of the trip, to facilitate and speed up the expedition, to explore larger parts of the territory, or avoid inconveniences and hazards (Hazards Cards).

Only after having found all six objectives scattered around the board, it begins the second phase of the game, the Rush to the Centre of the South Pole.

Game Rules

Equipment

A board, 1 dice, 245 hexagonals tiles, 5 tokens, 5 Researcher symbols, 50 Research Cards, 8 Equipment Cards, 14 Hazards Cards, time passing token.

Number of players

2-5

Objective

The goal of each player is to reach the Center of the South Pole afterhavingfound the 6 objectives of his field of interest, hidden under the hexagonaltiles (Research Tiles) of the board and marked by the respectivecolour.

Setup

All players draw aCharacter Card, which will define the scope of their search.

Each player represents one of the following:

1. Astrophysicist: colour Blu
2. Climatologist: colour Yellow
3. Explorer: colour Red
4. Geologist: colour Brown
5. Naturalist: colour Green

At the beginning of the game each player invests his Fundsin the recruitment of his Research Team and/or the Equipment.

Funds

Eachplayer is given 1000 credits.

He can spendentirely or partiallyhisinitial funds only at the beginning of the game:

A) The player can hire other scientists to join his party. This means he will get half of the Research Points of the value of the Research Card of the scientist’s field of interest.

B) With the investment in Equipment he will have advantages on the material aspects of the journey, to facilitate and speed up the expedition, to explore larger parts of the territory, or avoid inconveniences and hazards (see Hazards Cards).

Research Team Cards

1. Astrophysicist: 500 credits
2. Climatologist: 500 credits
3. Explorer: 500 credits
4. Geologist: 500 credits
5. Naturalist: 500 credits

Equipment Cards

1. High magnification microscope: 400 credits
2. Meteorological Drone: 200 credits
3. Travel Diaries: 400 credits
4. 3D Soil Scanning: 200 credits
5. Satellite Uplink: 400 credits
6. Snow Mobile: 500 credits
7. Climbing Gear: 300 credits
8. Scuba Diving Gear: 300 credits

See the cards for the description and more information.

Play

The game is divided in two phases: 1. find the research cards and 2. the rush to the South Pole.

1. First Phase:

After placing their tokens on the hexagons of their colour, players throw the dice and who scores the highest score begins the game. Turns continue in a clockwise direction.

Movement

The player on duty rolls the dice and moves his marker with a number of hexagons equal to the score obtained, proceeding in any direction.

While passing over the tile, he will turn them face up, discovering their hidden colour.

• Blu, Yellow, Red, Brown, and Green represent Research objectives according whit the resercherers’s colours.
• Magenta represents Hazards.

During the game, the score of a dice throw could be modified by Hazards Cards, terrain or Equipment Cards.

The player can decide to stop even if he has movement points left, backtracking on tiles he already passed.

Players can’t cross or occupy a tile already occupied by another player.

Find Research Cards

If the tile is of the colour of the player’s field, he can choose to spend his turn studying the event, he will draw a Research Card, get 10 Research Points and remove the tile from the board (as an authority on your field there will be no need for other non-specialized scientists to research it).

If hediscovers a Research Tile of a different field from his own, he will earn 1 Research Point just for passing on top of it and it will be left face up on the board..

If the player has in his party different scientists,he can spend a turn researching and he willearn 5 Research Points. He will not draw a Research Card. Even in this case, the tile will be left face up on the board.

Tiles already explored by a player won’t give him additional points if he backtracks on them.

Hazards Cards

During your game experience you may step on a Hazard Tile. The players can avoid some of them with the proper equipment (seeEquipment Cards) or suffer the consequences.

Some Hazards impose you a movement penalty, if your total movement score is 0 or negative you lose your turn.

Terrain

The expedition starts in the last days of winter when the temperature is bearable, and the players still have lots of territory to explore, but it’s going to get warmer soon!The outer ice layers will start melting as the temperature rises.

When all players took their turns, the player who started the game will move the time marker one tile forward (one turn equals one week).

Time will pass turn after turn: after 2 months the outer layer of the Antarctic represented on the boardwill melt, and after 4 months the inner layer will melt.

Molten ice is dangerous and difficult to cross, imposing a -1 penalty to movement on one’s dice roll when hestarts or attempts to cross those tiles.

The player will find mountain ranges in Antartica’s mainland, this imposes a -1 penalty to movement on his dice roll when hestarts or attempts to cross those tiles.

1. Second Phase:

Rush to the South Pole

Onceall 6 Research Cards of your fieldhavebeenfound, the player must race to reach the Amunden-Scott base at the centre of the South Pole to finish theirexpedition and publish his findings.

Reaching the South Pole first willgive the player a bonus of 15 points.

Reaching the South Pole second will give the player a bonus of 10 points.

Reaching the South Pole third will give the player a bonus of 5 points.

Conclusion of the game

The player who first reaches the Centre of the South Pole after having found all 6 of his goals, concludes the game.

The playing time limit is determined in passing the turns as the months pass.

Conditions of Victory

You win by having the most Research Points at the end of the 6 months of the expedition.

Counting Points

• Research Cards (of one’s field): 10 RP

EveryResearch Card of the player’s fieldthathasbeenfound is 10 Research Points.

• Research Cards (of a different field): 5 RP

Every Research Card of a differentinterest from the player’s field thathas been found is 5 Research Points.

• Equipment Cards: +1 RP

Players can earn additional points if they own Equipment Cards that allow it.

• Reaching the South Pole: 15, 10 or 5 additional Research Points.