Neuston: We Have A Problem (Ver 1.0) Instruction Manual

Foreword

Our plan was never to make a game...

After reading an article in the New York Times about Benoit Lecomte’s wild swim through the Great Pacific Garbage Patch we were inspired to create something experiential. The article was fascinating and left us feeling divided. The patch exists because a system of tidal currents, called gyres, within the North Pacific ocean between California and Hawaii act like slow moving whirlpools and have gathered a huge amount of plastic detritus

Lecomte and scientists onboard a support vessel for his swim found the items of garbage surrounded by marine life, much of it teeming with smaller lifeforms called neustons These creatures, many of which are stunningly beautiful, have ways of life that are entirely alien to land-dwelling species like ourselves They have, despite the odds, found themselves a home amidst a troubling situation. Located far off shore in continually changing conditions they are hard to study and we still know so little about them We felt conflicted and uncertain about which side we were on: the side of NGO’s doing the necessary and hard work of extracting plastic from the patch? The side of scientists trying their best to study these little known lifeforms in the hope of unlocking knew knowledge about our ocean’s ecosystems? We wanted to be on both teams but understood that the work of one directly impacted the work of the other

We resisted the idea of a game as long as we could. They’re slowgoing to make and follow a timescale of development that is entirely of their own whim. Just as you think you’ve worked out how to represent an idea or balance a mechanic, there’s always an opposing problem that rears it’s head

You can play your game 10 times and feel totally confident it’s watertight - only to have someone reveal a simple hole in the wording that was right in front of you within their first three moves!

But this is why the idea of a game (despite our best efforts) is the right match It’s about negotiation, compromise It’s a form that brings the continually shifting present into a sharply felt, practical experience to grapple with. We hope we’ve managed to capture some of the beauty and tragedy in what is a very real and troubling situation. The game is digital and free to play. We ask, if you’ve enjoyed it, that you consider donating what you feel you would’ve paid for the game to The Ocean Cleanup or The Marine Biological Association - or a charity of your choice If you like you can let the gameplay be the decider on where your money goes.

You join us at version 1 0 of the game We plan to release a physical version, expansion packs, expanded rules and new playing boards in the future Thanks for playing, we’re delighted to have you aboard.

Simon and Sara

Setup

HOW YOUR PLAYING SPACE SHOULD LOOK

You should have:

10 Event Cards and 3 Coastguard Cards

At least 34 Plastic and Neuston cards (18 of each)

2 Character Cards

7 categories of Score Tokens (3x plus, 3x minus, 1x zero)

A spinner

An empty Discard Pile

2 empty Hands

Rules

QUICK GAME: the game lasts 5 rounds. The player who wins the most event cards wins the game. For this setup, locate and remove the three Coastguard cards from the Event Deck. If you’re after a more advanced, potentially longer game, see COASTGUARD RULES at the bottom of these instructions

Shuffle the Plastic/Neuston deck

Shuffle the Event Deck Lay both decks face down

Choose a Character Card each Read the description on the back to find out your goal in the game

Each player begins with 5 cards in their hand from the Plastic/Neuston Deck, dealt at random This is known as your ‘hand’ Try not to show your opponent what you’re holding To begin a round, each player must select two cards to play from their hand and lay them face-down on the table These (and any other cards that are played later on) are known as ‘in play’ Players must flip over the four cards together to begin the round

Flip the spinner. The person who guesses correctly goes first.

It’s time to use your abilities! Most Neuston and Plastic cards have an ‘ability’ (you’ll find this by looking for a star at the bottom of each card). The player who won the spin goes first and plays the abilities of their two cards Abilities must be used any time a card is played - no picking and choosing! There are ‘score tokens’ in the playing area you can place onto cards to indicate any changes in their points The turn then passes to the second player who plays any abilities on their cards You will keep alternating turns in this order until the end of the round

Now you have a starting score for the round! It’s time to draw an Event card Draw the top card from the Event deck and flip it over Read it out aloud

It might contain a ‘Twist’ These are a change to the state of play A ‘Twist’ occurs just once and only applies to the current round (unless they indicate specifically otherwise) Play this twist and make any changes indicated on the card Taking it in turns (in the order established above) you can play one card from your hand per turn. Remember: abilities must be used so choose carefully!

Rules Cont...

A round ends when one player indicates they don’t want to lay down any more cards. From this point their opponent can lay down as many or few cards as they like, so choosing when is important. The person with the highest number of points (positive or negative) wins the round and takes the Event Card Any cards left in your hand carry over to the next round For each round players restock their hand with cards from the Neuston/Plastic Deck so that each player begins with a total of 5 cards each If you have played a card in the previous round that allows you more than this number, ensure you have the right amount of extra cards This ability only applies to the one, following round At the end of the game, tally up your event cards each The player with the most event cards wins!

FIVE ROUND GAME

In a rush? To keep it short and sweet, remove the Coastguard cards from the Event Deck and let your game last 5 round (or any number you specify). After the final round tally up your event cards The player with the most event cards wins!

COASTGUARDS

There are three coastguard cards in the event deck These indicate a countdown to end the game When a coastguard card is drawn it is a regular event card should be drawn after and played as normal The third coastguard card indicates the final round of the game Your games may be short or long!

Warmest thanks are due to: Matt, Matt (yes, the other one) and Joel Grinke.