Humanity's Last Hope:
A Serious Board Game

The game Humanity's Last Hope is a collaborative production by the students and faculty of Michigan State University Game Development Program and students and faculty of Waverly High School with the Michigan State University Abrams Planetarium.

Teaching Next Generation Science Standards to High School Students through games.

google drive

An image overview on Tabletopia where High School Science students can play free online.

Play the Game on Tabletopia (external link)

Overview

Humanity’s Last Hope

Find what’s out there
Can we survive after Earth?

To avoid extinction, work together as a team of astronauts to discover and combine element resources on a new planet. Play to the strengths of your character abilities and use actions effectively to win this board game for free online! Learn the importance of the periodic table of elements as you build your future.

Broader Impact:

Players come away with a better understanding of how to build a sustainable environment from a barren one using chemical resources.

Innovation:

The Humanity's Last Hope Digital Board Game helps teach high school students about human impact on the environment and the periodic table through space exploration and resource management.

Play the game free online

Tabletopia is an extended learning experience that can be provided through a link to a free game online. Students will interact with it through the use of digital cards and board pieces on the Tabletopia Platform.

The link to the game will be provided at the Abrams planetarium.

How to Play Online for Free

You can play with 4-6 players on TableTopia. Tabletopia is an online arena for playing board games just like in real life. Play directly in your web browsers on Mac and Windows platforms.

Play Humanity's Last Hope on Tabletopia for free.

Sign up for free to play.

You will need to get a free Tabletopia login to sign up to use tabletopia and then you can play.

Get Started by signing up for Tabletopia for free.

HumanitysLastHopeInstructions-a.pdf

The Rules - Version A - (A test - more pages coming)

GamePlay

How to Play

Players explore the new planet (board) using actions and try to collect the needed elements for sustainable life before their Oxygen tanks deplete. This will take place outside the planetarium Each player controls their own character (4-6), but must work together and pool resources to win.

GamePlay Flow Chart

An image overview of the standards

Educational Standards:

HS-PS1-1 Physical Science

https://www.nextgenscience.org/pe/hs-ps1-1-matter-and-its-interactions

HS-ESS3-3 Earth and Space Science

https://www.nextgenscience.org/pe/hs-ess3-3-earth-and-human-activity

Specific part of the Educational Standard:

Use the periodic table as a model to predict the relative properties of elements based on the patterns of electrons in the outermost energy level of atoms. [Clarification Statement: Examples of properties that could be predicted from patterns could include reactivity of metals, types of bonds formed, numbers of bonds formed, and reactions with oxygen.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment is limited to main group elements. Assessment does not include quantitative understanding of ionization energy beyond relative trends.]

Create a computational simulation to illustrate the relationships among the management of natural resources, the sustainability of human populations, and biodiversity. [Clarification Statement: Examples of factors that affect the management of natural resources include costs of resource extraction and waste management, per-capita consumption, and the development of new technologies. Examples of factors that affect human sustainability include agricultural efficiency, levels of conservation, and urban planning.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment for computational simulations is limited to using provided multi-parameter programs or constructing simplified spreadsheet calculations.]

Cross Cutting Concept:

Critical Thinking, Resource Management, teamwork

For Educators

Learning Objectives

Learn about elements and compounds by building a livable environment on a barren planet. Use chemical resources to build bases in a time where Earth is no longer inhabitable. Humanity's Last Hope teaches the importance of the elements of our universe.

Assessment

If the players can gather the resources needed and arrange them in a way to make the new planet habitable within a set time limit they will have learned about how elements can be combined together to make important materials for survival.

Extended Learning

Use the Compound Cards as Flash Cards to study elements and how they combine together in compounds and mixtures.

Elements

Hydrogen
Oxygen
Nitrogen
Carbon
Alkali Metals
Halogens
Alkaline Earth Metals
Transition Metals
Post Transition Metals
Semi-Metals
Phosphorus
Sulfur

Compounds

and Mixtures

Water 2H O
Nitrogen Gas N2
Salt 1 A.M. (Na) 1 Hal (Cl)
Methane C 4H
Oxygen Gas 2O
Steel 3 T.M. (Fe) and C
Fertilizer N P 3H 2O
Glass 1 S.M. (Si) 2O
Gunpowder K C N S 3O H
Sulfuric Acid S 4O 2H
Cement (alkali earth) 2Ca, 4O, (Sem) Si, (post-transition) Al, (Transition metal) Fe