Deep Sea Diving Rules

Honor System

Deep Sea Diving

PlayToy Industries 1989 for older children AGES: 7 to 14 years PLAYERS: 2 to 4

MAIN IDEA:

Players form a team of divers. They dive using the “buddy system” and help each other through the dangers by sharing equipment they have, and planning strategies together, so that they can retrieve the sunken treasures and bring them and all divers safely back to the ship.

OBJECT OF THE GAME:

Bring home as much valuable treasure as possible, and get everyone safely back on board the ship.

SETTING UP:

Air Tokens:

1} Place all 60 tokens face down, each player in turn takes 15 tokens and places them around the air tank on their Diver card.

2} Air Tokens are your movers. The number on the token tells you how many spaces to move. 1 Air token per move. Once an Air token has been used, it can no longer be used for the balance of the game.

Note: If less than 4 players, place extra tokens around the ship, and if a diver runs out of air, he/she may return to the ship and get more air to continue diving.
Equipment Tokens:

1} Divide up all equipment tokens making sure that each player has a good balance. For example: in case of sharks, each diver should have something for self defense like a speargun or a chemical repellent. For bringing treasure up to the ship, everyone should have a basket and line.

1} Equipment is arranged on each of the Diver cards.

Note: Equipment that is used remains on that space for the balance of the game.

DANGER CARDS:

1} Shuffle the cards and place one face down on each of the 13 danger spots on the gameboard. Make sure that the card touches the three lines pointing to the 3 empty spaces. When anyone lands on any of these three spaces, the same danger has to be solved.

Note: The cards mark unknown dangers and must be kept face down. Other dangers are those marked on the spaces of the gameboard.

SOLVING THE DANGERS:

There is a way to solve or escape each of the unknown dangers (on the cards) and the known dangers (on the gameboard). Sometimes you need one thing, but sometimes you may need more than one of your equipment tokens. On other occasions you have a choice of equipment. For example: if you land on a Biting Octopus you can use a speargun or some chemical, or you can swim away quietly from the dangerous octopus and use an Air Token. Any air or equipment tokens that are used to solve a danger are left on that space. That particular space of Danger is now a safe place, and does not have to be solved again during the game. However, the remaining uncovered spaces are still active dangers.

TREASURES:

Shuffle the Treasure cards. No peeking. Part of the excitement of the game is not knowing the treasures and dangers that await the divers. Place a Treasure card face down closest to each Starfish so that the card is sitting off the board Extra Treasure cards are placed off to the side. When a diver lands on a Starfish, that diver turns up the Treasure card and follows the directions on it. If the treasure is collected, the card is moved up to the ship area. The diver stays on the Starfish space and moves away on the next turn.

PLAYING THE GAME:

Now we are all set for our diving expedition. Remember to practice the buddy system and look out for one another! When leaving the ship to go down, always begin at Start. When surfacing, always use the path leading to Finish. As you move around, note the little numbers in the spaces. These tell you how many spaces away from Finish you are. You need to know this so that you don’t dive too far away from the ship, or spend too much time under water and not have enough Air to get back up to the ship. Each player, in turn, plays an Air token and moves his/her playing piece the corresponding number of spaces. Remember you can use only 1 Air number per turn. Look ahead a bit when deciding what number is best to use. When a diver lands on a space, there is either a written Danger to face, a Danger written on a card, or you may have landed on a Starfish or Treasure space. If you have to face a Danger, you must solve it using the Equipment asked for. If the diver has the right Equipment, put it on the space you are on and leave it there. Your turn is over. But the good news is that on any space like this, that is now covered with Equipment, this Danger is solved for the rest of the game. If anyone ever lands on that same space again, no further Equipment is used up. Of course, the other uncovered spaces in that set of three are still active Dangers. The diver then moves onward on his/her next turn.

WHAT HAPPENS IF A DIVER CAN’T SOLVE THE DANGER?

The diver must then stay on that space until rescued by another diver. To help another diver, you have to swim over to the exact same space. Only when divers are on the same space can they give Equipment and Air to one another. When on the same space you can give each other as much Equipment and Air as you decide is best.

A REAL EMERGENCY:

Sometimes it happens that no one has the right Equipment for a rescue. There is one last emergency move a diver can make - you can use a Line and return immediately all the way to the ship. The Line is left behind on the space, solving the Danger on that space for the rest of the game. This line is now not available for bringing up treasure though. But saving a life is better than collecting a treasure. Of course, if you don’t have a Line, another diver can swim over and give you one.

TRAGEDIES CAN HAPPEN!

If a diver is caught in a Danger and not even a Line is available or,if any diver runs out of air and no buddy can help out, then the diver is lost at sea. The Whole Diving Expedition Is Also Lost and the other divers return to the ship. Start a new diving expedition. Often if anyone is ever lost at sea, a big moan swells up from the players. We all feel terrible about it and try very hard next time not to let it happen again.

FINAL REMARKS:

So, away you go! Take turns, look ahead a bit, play a number and move on to a Danger spot. Discuss together. Help one another at all times. Share whatever treasures you find. Take your time and don’t get too greedy. This is a cooperative game, so if any situation arises that our rules don’t cover, everyone work out a good rule for themselves. For example: some players told us that they decided to allow borrowing a Line from a Treasure space to make a rescue of a desperate diver, but this meant the Treasure had to be returned from the ship to the Starfish space. Try this variation if you start losing divers at sea.

GLOSSARY OF DIVING TERMS

BENDS (Decompression sickness) - illness or injury from gas bubbles forming in the blood during or after coming up. The bubbles come from the gas dissolved in the blood or tissues when a diver is under increased pressure while under water. Sharp pains in the limb joints are the tell-tale sign. The cure involves prompt recompression either by going down and coming up at the proper safe rate or using a decompression chamber on the ship. If the bubbles reach the brain - it’s all over.

BUDDY BREATHING - sharing by two or more divers of the same tank. An emergency technique used when one person’s air supply is exhausted or jammed.

BELT - a weight belt is used to help control descent and ascent. Weights take you down, but when removed from the belt, you start to move up. For safety, weights with quick releases are used.

C02 - the symbol for carbon dioxide. This is the waste product of expired breath. Sometimes if there is an irregularity in an air line, some Co2 could get in and the diver begins breathing in “used air”.

KNIFE - used for cutting through heavy seaweed, grass, old lines, or fine fish line abandoned. Such lines are a nightmare - you can’t see them well. Divers can also get caught in old fish nets and need a sturdy knife to cut themselves out.

LINES - Lines have many uses, such as to move things up and down from the ship. In very dark waters, lines can be a diver’s path to follow and return on. Lines can sometimes get wedged in spaces between rocks. To get the line out undamaged, a pry tool is often used.

NARCOSIS - to avoid tremors and dizziness at high pressures in deep dives, some nitrogen may be added to the breathing mix of oxygen and helium. This new mix can sometimes make a diver feel happy and silly, almost as if he/she were drunk. A diver can flounder, drop hand-rield equipment, even black out. Divers have even invented Martini’s Law, stating that the mental effect of each 50 feet of descent, while breathing mixed air, is equal to that of one dry martini.

REGULATOR - an automatic device for maintaining or adjusting the flow of air equal to the surrounding pressure of the water.

SQUEEZE - damage to tissue linings of lungs, sinuses, or ears, due to failure of pressure in these areas to equalize with the surrounding water pressure. This happens in going down and a pain in these tissue areas is a signal to stop descending and go back up until the pain stops. Then try more slowly to go down again. Squeeze is also recognized by dizziness and nausea.

VEST - basic diving equipment. They provide buoyancy control because a diver can control the inflation and deflation of the gas supply in them.

We invite your comments and enquiries concerning DEEP SEA DIVING.
Please direct your correspondence to

PlayToy industries
29 Ingram Drive
Toronto. Ontario M6M 2L7 Attn. Customer Service
Item No. 6008