#013 [XIII]
Making a Boardgame about Moon Mining [Teaching with games in schools]

Today we started the NASA’s Space Apps Challenge. We are 8500 hackers around the Earth on the worlds largest Hackaton. First we had a Astronaut on ISS give us a welcome presentation. Then we sent out to face the challenges.

The Swedish Astronaut Christer Fuglesang will join us on Sunday as one of the judges.

Team #LunarBots

Send me to the Moon [We’re Whalers of the Moon]

Me myself had no team so I teamed up with Jens Nockert to take on one of the 50 Challenges that NASA have issued. We took on Bootstrapping of the Space Industry (#MoonVille). Check out the Google Hangout below for more information about the challenge. We are both gamers so we decided to make this game as a Boardgame called LunarBots. It’s about launching a self sustaining mining operation to the moon.

We think of it as a learning and inspiration game for school kids to be used in school. To get the interested in space exploration and the space industry. To start them think about building a sustainable future here on earth where they can be an active part. The game is also a logistics puzzle with some co-operation.

We had tour of Lindholmen Science Park where the challenge is being held here in Gothenburg, Sweden. We stopped by the Interaction Institute where they have a 3D-printer that we will be using to print our LunarBots in the game. Follow it on Twitter: #LunarBots.

Sharing is Caring [Let us all improve the future together]

The project is of course a open source project so that anyone can download the game and craft a own copy. They can also help improve, develop and play-test the game. As a game of this type requires allot of balancing and play-testing before it is done.

LunarBots the Boardgame in prototyping

Think new, Think different

We also had a very interesting presentation on the work of the Interaction Institute by Peter Ljungstrand. He talked about all crazy real life experiments they are doing with technology and science. I also found out that my Boardgaming friend Staffan works there.

@LordSillion [Michael Sillion]