In this strategy card game, you'll work individually or collaboratively to build a spacecraft that can explore destinations throughout our solar system. The object is to fully explore your destination while withstanding the challenges thrown your way.
Materials
- Printer (for printing game materials)
- 6-13 sheets of 8.5x11 paper (depending which materials you'll be printing out)
- Starter Pack of game cards (requires 6 sheets of paper) – Download PDF
- Scissors
- 2 six-sided dice
- Sticky notes, coins, OR other markers for tracking damages to spacecraft
- Pen and paper for tallying points
- (Optional) Outer Worlds Expansion Pack (requires 1 sheet of paper) – Download PDF
- (Optional) game mat (requires 6 sheets of paper) – Download PDF
- (Optional) tape for assembling game mat
Project Steps
Step 1: Get to know the missions
Step 1: Get to know the missions
In this game, you’ll lead a mission to explore some of the most interesting environments in our solar system including the Moon, Mars, and Jupiter's moon Europa. Before getting started, read on to learn about some of the current and future NASA missions exploring the same destinations you will soon encounter with your fleet of spacecraft.
- NASA’s Artemis program calls for sending the first woman and next man to the surface of the Moon by 2024. It also seeks to establish a permanent and sustainable presence on the Moon. The agency will use what we learn on the Moon to prepare for humanity's next giant leap – sending astronauts to Mars.
- On Mars, Perseverance, NASA's most advanced Mars rover to date, is taking the next steps in our exploration of the Red Planet. Only the fifth NASA rover to land on Mars, Perseverance is building on the work and scientific discoveries of its predecessors by searching for evidence of ancient microbial life on the Red Planet.
- In the near future, NASA plans to take its search for life even farther into the solar system to Jupiter's ocean moon Europa. This small moon contains more water beneath its icy shell than all of Earth's oceans combined. NASA's Europa Clipper mission, currently in development, is designed to orbit Europa, make up-close observations, and investigate whether the icy moon has conditions suitable for life.
About the image: From left to right: An artistic depiction of the Artemis program's Gateway space station; a selfie taken by the Perseverance rover on Mars; and an artistic depiction of the Europa Clipper spacecraft orbiting Jupiter's moon Europa. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech |
Step 2: Print and cut out the game materials
Step 2: Print and cut out the game materials
Print out the following on 8.5x11 paper or card stock:
- Starter Pack of game cards, double-sided (6 sheets of paper)
- (Optional) Ocean Worlds Expansion Pack, double-sided (1 sheet of paper).
- (Optional) Game mat, single-sided (6 sheets of paper)
Cut out the game cards.
If you're using the game mat, assemble it by taping together the pieces, as shown below. The mat includes a place for the deck, discard pile, and spacecraft.
Step 3: Get familiar with the gameplay
This game is very similar in structure to strategy card games you may already be familiar with. Whether the architecture looks familiar or not, it may help to watch this tutorial video before getting started.
Learn to play NASA Space Voyagers, a strategy card game in which students design a robotic space mission to explore the Moon, Mars, and beyond. | Watch on YouTube
Step 4: Go alone or play with a friend
You can play by yourself or with up to three other players, collaboratively. If you play alone, some of the more challenging destinations may prove difficult. Playing on a team will allow you to pool your resources toward your common goal.
Step 5: Pick a destination to explore
Step 5: Pick a destination to explore
The destination cards, such as the Moon or Mars, have an exploration value, or a number of points you will need to earn to complete your mission and win the game. Each round, you will roll the dice to determine which of the challenges on the destination card you must overcome.
Step 6: Modify your deck and draw your cards
Step 6: Modify your deck and draw your cards
Before you shuffle the rest of the cards, you may want to modify the deck to ensure that all cards are helpful to the environment you’re setting out to explore. A submersible won’t provide much help on the Moon, for example. Feel free to personalize your deck to ensure success.
Now, each player draws seven cards from the shuffled deck. Note: You can choose to replace up to two of your drawn cards.
Step 7: Start your mission!
Each turn, you can take a number of actions to start building your mission, buying spacecraft and instruments and deploying them to start exploring your destination, including:
- Put down a resources card to go toward the purchase of a spacecraft or instrument. Resources are either funding or research. Each turn, you can only play one resource card, so you will need to accumulate them over multiple turns to purchase spacecraft and instruments.
- Purchase a spacecraft and put it into play to start accumulating research points at your destination. You must have the resources identified to purchase spacecraft and instruments and put them into play. Once spacecraft are put into play, they can begin accumulating research points at the destination. The research value of the spacecraft (amount of exploration it can do per turn) and the durability (how much damage it can withstand) are provided in the bottom right of the card, given the value X/Y, respectively.
Funding – This money symbol associated with funding is used on spacecraft and instruments cards to indicate how many funding cards are required to purchase that card or special ability. Research – This beaker symbol associated with research is used on spacecraft and instruments cards to indicate how many research cards are required to purchase that card or special ability.
- Purchase an instrument. You must have the resources identified in the top-right of the card to purchase an instrument. Instruments can be purchased at any time, but they must be added to a spacecraft to accumulate research points.
- Add an instrument to a spacecraft. Instruments can only be added to spacecraft according to the rules on the spacecraft card. Once instruments are added to a spacecraft, their research value can go toward the destination total.
Be sure to tap all used resources, spacecraft, and instruments at the end of your turn. These cards cannot be used again until the next round.
At the end of your turn, draw one new card from the deck.
Step 8: End the round and get a new challenge
Step 8: End the round and get a new challenge
Once all players have had a turn, it's time to end the round:
- Tally up the research value of any spacecraft and instruments used (tapped) in the round and subtract their research value from the destination's total.
- Now, the destination also gets a turn, and may cause damage to your spacecraft. Roll the dice to see what impacts there are to your spacecraft. Tally the damages by placing sticky notes, pennies, or other markers on applicable cards and removing those that reach zero durability. And subtract the value of any damages from each applicable spacecrafts’ durability. Note that:
- Damages are permanent and cumulative as turns continue throughout the game.
- Spacecraft that reach zero durability have failed and are removed from play.
- Some spacecraft and instruments have special abilities that allow them to withstand damages, so be sure to read the cards carefully.
- When you're ready to start a new round, untap any resources or spacecraft you used the previous round.
- Damages are permanent and cumulative as turns continue throughout the game.
- Spacecraft that reach zero durability have failed and are removed from play.
- Some spacecraft and instruments have special abilities that allow them to withstand damages, so be sure to read the cards carefully.
Step 9: Complete your mission
Step 9: Complete your mission
To win the game, you must fully explore your destination (subtract the total research value) before running out of cards. Remember, playing with others will prove beneficial as your destinations get more advanced.
Step 10: Check back for new missions and planets to explore!
Our solar system is full of exciting mysteries to uncover, and NASA is building new and more complex spacecraft all the time. Check back often to see when new expansion sets are released.
About the Author
Brandon Rodriguez
Educator Professional Development Specialist, NASA-JPL Education Office
Lesson Last Updated: Sept. 30, 2024