Game about Christopher Columbus.

Object of the Game: Players must correctly answer questions about Christopher Columbus' first voyage. This allows them to spin the compass and roll the die as they move from Spain to the West Indies. The first player to land on San Salvador in the West Indies is the winner.

Contents:
Game board
4 colored ship tokens
pack of questions-and answers cards
die

CHRISTOPHER'S CROSSING RULES OF PLAY

Equipment

* Christopher's Crossing Game Board
* Four colored ship tokens
* Pack of question-and-answer cards
* One die

Object of the Game
Players must correctly answer questions about Christopher Columbus' first voyage. This allows them to spin the compass and roll the die as they move from Spain to the West Indies. The first player to land on San Salvador in the West Indies is the winner.
Game Play
Each player selects a ship token and places it on START, Palos, Spain.

Players roll the die, with the player rolling the highest number moving first. If two or more players tie, they roll again.

The player with the first turn answers a question about Christopher Columbus' adventure. The question is taken from the first card in the box and is read by another player. Answers are on the opposite side of each card.

If the player correctly answers the question, he or she then spins the compass to find out which direction the wind will blow the ship (North, South, East, or West). Lastly, the player rolls the die and moves the ship token the number of spaces on the die, in the direction the wind is blowing (from the compass spin). Play then passes to the left. If the player answers incorrectly, the turn passes to the left without any move of the ship.

Instead of a question card a player may have to follow the directions on a fate card, for example, "You have good winds to help you go faster - Go 3 squares in any direction."

Before a turn ends the player takes the question or fate card and places it in a pile in front of him or her.

With each die roll, move in the direction the compass is pointing. A token may land on any square that contains some water. If the ship runs into land or the sea dragon, STOP. The player must wait until his next turn to try to move.
Winning The Game
Play continues until a player successfully moves his or her ship token onto the square marked FINISH, San Salvador in the West Indies. It is not necessary to land by an exact roll of the die.

NOTES ON PLAY

There is nothing in the rules about how long a player may take to answer a question or about how correct an answer must be. Players should figure this out before the game begins.

If the spinner does not land exactly on North, South, East, or West, pick the direction that is closest. Spin again if there is any question.

Christopher's Crossing lends itself extremely well to team play for as many as three players per team.

Optional: Players may prefer to write the question or fate in a logbook instead of collecting their cards.

Optional: The teacher may have students do the debriefing session at the end of the game.

THE DEBRIEFING SESSION

Explorers' Game Log
Congratulations! You have just finished playing Christopher's Crossing and one of you has successfully made it to the New World. Much of what we know about Christopher's trip is from what he wrote in his trip log (journal). Now you must work together to complete this game log.

Each player will have a role in creating this game log.

Winner: First, assign a role to each player and tell them their responsibilities. Have the recorder write each person's name on the line beside their role.
Recorder: You must write down the group's answers to each game log question.
Time Keeper: You must make sure the group does not take more than 5 minutes on each question.
Gate Keeper: You must make sure each player is helping to answer each question.

Winner: Begin reading the game log questions out loud. Wait until the group discusses the possible answers out loud and the Recorder finishes writing down the answers before moving on to the next question.

Here are the questions. Be sure to look at the game board and the question and fate cards to help you answer these questions.

1. Why did the winning ship get to the New World before the others?
2. Why did some ships not make it to the New World?
3. How was your trip like Christopher's crossing?
4. If you made a trip from Spain to the New World today, how would it be different from Columbus'?