WHAT IS THE ROLE OF NATIONAL PARKS IN THE UNITED STATES?

Contents of the game

• 40 brown cabin pieces

• 60 trivia cards

• 60 park cards

• 2 dice

• 4 character pieces

Set up

Before beginning the game, place the brown pieces on each brown tile on the board. Shuffle both sets of cards and evenly distribute the park cards to each player. Each character piece should be placed on the black tile next to the green tile labeled “1.” The player who has most recently visited a national park gets to go 1st, the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th players are determined the same way.

Movement

Players will move by rolling one die; the corresponding number rolled is the amount of spaces they can move. After their roll, players can choose to move forwards or backwards, but may only choose to go one way per turn. If players reach a black tile during their move and still have remaining moves left they may choose to stop at the black tile or reverse in the other way.

Black tiles

These tiles serve as ports for players to move from island to island or island to mainland. To move from the black tile to the island players must flip a “heads” with a coin. Players get one flip per turn; after three failed flips they may advance. Once on an island, leaving the island follows the same mechanism. The order from island to island should follow the numerical order of the parks. The only islands that may be skipped by players are “9,” “28,” and “58.” Players cannot progress backwards from islands, only forwards.

Green Tiles and Park Cards

Each green tile represents a national park and is numbered 1-59. Each park card has a name and a number on it. If a player holding a park card lands on the corresponding park tile, a point is earned. On the back of each park card is a corresponding action. When a player lands on one of the parks they have, they must look up a picture of the action(using a device) and show it to the rest of the players and gain a point.

Blue Tiles

Function as campsites. When players land here, they get some rest and wait for their next turn.

Brown Tiles and Trivia Cards

Each brown tile has a brown cabin on it. When a player lands on a brown tile they have to answer a trivia question. The trivia card is picked up by another player and read to the player who landed on the brown tile. If a player correctly answers the trivia question, they take the brown cabin on their tile; cabin tiles are not replaced after being taken. If a player answers incorrectly they lose a point and the cabin remains.

Points

Points are earned in 3 different ways

• Answering trivia correctly

  • Each brown cabin is worth 1 point

• Visiting Parks

  • Completing a park action is worth 1 point

• Visiting Every Single Park Held

  • Visiting every single park in your hand gains 5 additional points

Points are lost by answering trivia incorrectly.

Using scrap paper that is provided, players should keep score.

About

The hope behind this is that by playing this game, players will recognize how much is conserved by the National Park Service. Millions and millions of wilderness across the U.S. is protected and cultivated by the NPS. This conservation action is important as land is one of the hardest things to get, but the National Parks have plenty. By playing this game, players should learn about the lands parks are located on, the natural wonders possessed by each park, and the endangered life that lives in some of the parks.

Fuller, George. Guide to National Parks of the United States. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic, 2016. Print.

    This is the book I used for all of the information of the National Parks and road map idea. National Geographic outlined each park and things to do in each park. I used this idea to help format the park cards and action at each park.