Thank you for purchasing a copy of this card game. Not only do we hope you will enjoy the game, but we also hope you will learn a few things along the way - all while supporting search and rescue charities. This game is intended for two groups of people: Those who, whether or not they work in healthcare, do not feel they have a relevant background of trauma and remote medicine. Paramedics, pre-hospital clinicians, trauma specialists. Here's why this is so relevant to non-medical players: The majority of patients, typically 80 to 85 percent in mass casualty events such as earthquakes, require only basic medical care without major procedures or organ support. Haines & Doucet, 2023: Severe crush injury in adults - UpToDate You could be the people ready and willing to help in a disaster. This is why this game contains level 1 questions as well as level 2 ones. Whichever level you feel you're at, read on for more information. Read on for the game set up, rules, and point allocation. The Story As part of an International Response Team (IRT), you must reach an earthquake site to search for survivors. On route, passers-by will ask for help. Roads will be damaged, checkpoints a challenge, and the medical questions you know the answers to might start being stolen. Are you sure you’re ready? Play solo or with 2-4-players. You need a large table, a piece of paper, and a pen/pencil for calculating scores. Set Up Identify your knowledge level and game aims - are you: 1) Interested in USAR and trauma from a medical perspective, but not a healthcare professional? You haven't completed any pre-hospital courses e.g. FREC and/or you don't work in the field. Or you're a healthcare professional, but you don't see yourself as someone working in a relevant field. You'd like to play a fun game and learn a fact or two along the way. 2) You're a Paramedic, EMT, or another healthcare professional with pre-hospital experience and either experience or interest in trauma. If you are a level 1 player, remove all level 2 cards, then place them face down on the side. If you are a level 2 player, you can skip this step. Read the rules relevant to your level below. Level 1 Set Up Remove the cards with white backgrounds (above). Also remove the answer card (below). Find all of the start cards (4x) - these are airport cards with vans (shown below). Give each player who is playing one, then discard the remainder. Find the destination card (1x) (below). Put this to one side. Shuffle the rest of the pack. Now shuffle the destination card back into the last 3 cards. Deal 3x cards to each player, face down. If you are given actions with exclamation marks in your first hand, shuffle them back into the pack and redraw. Playing On your turn pick up a card, then play a card. Some actions must be played instantly - this is indicted by the text and exclamation marks on those cards. Play the road pieces and actions. Sub-rules: You must answer any 2 questions before you reach the destination. Choose wisely: if you answer a question correctly, you will win the points on the card. Record these points on your score card. Some cards are worth more points than others (see the points card). Answer incorrectly? As level 1 players, you won't lose points, and you can still place your road piece. But you still need to answer 2 successfully before you reach the destination. Keep trying! Keep driving! When you want to answer a question, read the question, and all the options, aloud. This gives your opponents a chance to decide if they want to interrupt you before you give your own answer, using an action card where they steal your question card. Opponents: Remind each other of this rule! Feeling clever? At any point in your turn, you can also choose to answer level 2 cards for added points. Again, you do not lose points for wrong answers. When you reach the destination, you must answer any 1 question on your road or in your hand, which you haven't already tried to answer. If you answer correctly, you will gain 10 points. You have now won the game, unless your opponents have accrued more points than you overall. Sub-rules here: If you have no new questions to answer, pick a new one from the draw pile. If you answer unsuccessfully, the destination card moves to the next player. The cycle continues until a player has answered successfully and can place the card. If you have not answered the 2 required questions successfully before placing the destination card, you must answer those first. You can do this by picking more cards for your road, or by answering cards you have already laid. You do not win the points from these cards. If you have run out of cards in the draw pile, use the discard pile to find a question card. The winner is the player with the most points. Read on for information about actions and overall rules. Level 2 Remove the cards with white backgrounds (below). Also remove the answer card (below). Find all of the start cards (4x) - these are airport cards with vans, shown below. Give each player who is playing one, then discard the rest. Find the destination card (1x) (shown below). Put this to one side. Shuffle the rest of the pack. Now shuffle the destination card back into the last 5 cards. Deal 5x cards to each player, face down. If you are given actions with exclamation marks in your first hand, shuffle them back into the pack and redraw. Playing On your turn pick up a card, then play a card. Some actions must be played immediately - this is indicted by the text and exclamation marks on those cards. You can choose whether to attempt to answer the question on the card or to simply place the card. You must answer any 4 questions before you reach the destination. Choose wisely: if you answer a question correctly, you will win the points on the card. Record these points on your score card. Some cards are worth more points than others (see the points card). If you answer a question successfully: Record the point indicated by the colour of the card (use your points card for reference). Place the card on your road. If you answer a question unsuccessfully: Keep the card in your own personal discard pile. You will be deducting points from your final total for all incorrectly answered questions. When you want to answer a question, read the question, and all the options, aloud. This gives your opponents a chance to decide if they want to interrupt you before you give your own answer, using an action card. Opponents: Remind each other of this rule! When you reach the destination, you must answer any 1 question on your road or in your hand, which you haven't already tried to answer. If you answer correctly, you will gain 30 points. You have now won the game, unless your opponents have accrued more points than you overall. Sub-rules here: If you have no new questions to answer, pick a new one from the draw pile. If you answer unsuccessfully, the destination card moves to the next player. The cycle continues until a player has answered successfully and can place the card. If you have not answered 4 required questions before placing the destination card, you must answer those first. You can do this by picking more cards for your road, or by answering cards you have already laid. You do not win the points from these cards. If you have run out of cards in the draw pile, use the discard pile to find a question card. Scroll down for information about actions and overall rules. The winner is the one with the most points. All About the Actions and Strategy There are multiple action cards: The joker card: Play once at any time if the card is in your hand. This will prevent an action from being used against you. Discard after use. May be used to stop a 'play immediately' action that you have picked up - but play wisely as there is only one joker in the pack. Checkpoint: Play during your turn. Exchange as many cards as you want with other players. Discard once played. Damaged road ahead! - Play immediately. Follow the instructions on the card, then discard the card. You may refill your hand at the end of your turn, but you cannot place another card on this turn unless it is another play immediately card. You Forgot Something! - Play immediately. Follow the instructions on the card, then discard the card. You may refill your hand at the end of your turn, but you cannot place another card on this turn unless it is another play immediately card. Oh No! - Play once during your opponent's turn to force them to discard the card they are placing and skip their turn. You may both refill your hands. Discard once played. Aftershock: Play during your opponent’s turn to stop them answering a question. Answer it instead, then take their card and place it on your road. Discard this action once played. The gameplay now returns to the original order, skipping your opponent's turn. The aftershock and oh no! cards can be played against players who have just drawn the destination card, before they answer their final question. If you use these action cards in this way, the destination card will move to you. Exception: your opponent may counter this action with the joker card. Whoops! - Play just before another player takes their turn (this must be played before they finish reading the question on their card or try to lay it). That player must skip their turn. Now discard the action. Lost Space? Lose Roads. These rules affect all levels and concern the general etiquette of game-play: You must not redirect or re-angle a card once it has been placed. You can only move your entire road, as if it is one piece. You must not cross an opponent's road. If you have run out of space, you must discard and then pic up cards, until you can redirect your road. The same rule applies if you are on the edge of your table. Note: if you're short on space, scroll down to the FAQ to learn how all players can pre-agree to put these rules aside and play an alternate way*. You will lose any associated points when you discard cards. BONUS points: At least one of every category = Extra 5 points! Or/and all of one category = Extra 10 points! SCORECARD https://www.canva.com/design/DAGPVvnjhEs/H98OqBg-vzIJmqclvbc9Cw/view FAQ *What if I only have a small table? Ignore the 'lost space, lose roads' rule. You can start to stack your cards, rather than laying them out. Decide this in advance of beginning the game. What if I'm playing with a mixed-skill group? Which level should we play? This is up to you. It might be worth playing the easiest level first, then tackling level 2 once all players have had a chance to try level 1. How can we play as teams? Simply nominate team-members to answer specific categories of questions, or take it in turns within your team to answer. Can I solo play? Yes! Play level 1 or level 2, removing all actions except those that need to be played immediately and the 'Can't faze me, I'm prepared!' card. What if we draw? If you drew with a player who placed the destination card, that player wins. If you drew with a player who did not place the destination card, the player with the highest number of correctly answered questions (rather than points) wins. They have helped the most people on their route. If you have still managed to draw, pick a question for each other. The one who answers correctly wins. Short on Space but Still Want to Play? You can also play in 3 alternative ways: Version 2 - Pick up your cards road-side up. Cards can only be played if they match the previous category colour. Action cards can be played to retrace steps or steal cards. The winner is the one with the least cards in their hand when the destination card is played. Version 3 - Play the game as in the main version but without laying it out on a table. Each player creates a stack of cards, made from their road. Each card played must clearly connect to the previous card before it is placed on top. Version 4 - Divide the shuffled pack in half. Put each half beside each player. Shuffle the destination card into the last 5 cards. All players will play cards into the single pile. Deal 3 cards to each player. Take it in turns to play a road card, and then pick up. The fastest person to reach the destination ends the game. Disregard all points for this game. Try setting a timer - if neither of you make it in 2 minutes, try again. Let us know which version you prefer in the comments below. Want to Play with More Players or More Versions? Look out for EXPANSION PACKS, coming soon! References and Notes ROAD TO DISASTER is based on academic research and/or NHS websites, clinical guidelines, and/or course providers who have their own extensive collection of research. Click here to check our references and notes. ★★★★★
