Base Camp Arcade: Desert Hiking Safety

Get ready for a real desert hike!

Base Camp Arcade is a set of four quick 3D mini-games that teach desert hiking safety in Southern Nevada's Mojave Desert. Pick a hiker, choose a trail sign, and find out if you're ready for Red Rock Canyon and Valley of Fire.

Every game ends by explaining why a choice mattered, not just whether it was right. Wrong answers are never dead ends, and partway through each game an Operation Nevada Mission Update changes the weather, the schedule or the trail so you have to change your plan.

The four missions

• Pack Your Pack (about 3 min): Your daypack only holds so much. Choose water, sun protection, navigation, first aid and light for a hike to Calico Tanks, then repack when the start time slips into a 101°F afternoon.
• Hydration Station (about 3 min): Manage your water and body heat on a Valley of Fire hike. Drink before you're thirsty, use the shade, watch for signs of heat exhaustion, and know when to turn around.
• Trail Decisions (about 4 min): Seven real situations on a Red Rock Canyon hike, including rattlesnakes, no cell signal, turnaround times, a flash flood warning, and a friend who isn't feeling well. Every choice plays out on the trail.
• Desert Dash (about 2 min): Race back to the trailhead! Grab water, duck into shade, dodge cholla and rattlesnakes, and get to higher ground when a storm floods the wash.

How to play

• Mouse, touchpad or touchscreen: tap the trail signs and buttons.
• Keyboard: press 1 to 4 at Base Camp to open a game. In Desert Dash, change lanes with the arrow keys or A / D.
• Press F or use the Full screen button to go full screen.
• Choose your hiker at Base Camp, and they'll appear in every game.

For teachers and event leaders

• Made for middle school players and runs in the browser on laptops and Chromebooks. No download or account needed.
• Built for event stations: after a few minutes with no activity it goes back to Base Camp and resets for the next player.
• Leaderboards are saved on this device only. Names are limited to letters and a basic word filter blocks inappropriate ones.
• The For Game Guides button at Base Camp has talking points for each game and a button to clear the high scores between groups.
• Accessibility: large tap targets, keyboard controls, sound that can be turned off, and no reading under time pressure.

Safety content is general guidance for a youth event. It is not a substitute for ranger or adult supervision.

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Credits

Created for SW Tech Girls in Tech: Operation Nevada.
Fonts: Bungee and Lexend (SIL Open Font License).
Sounds: gravel footsteps by Fission9 (CC0), rattlesnake by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (public domain), raven by Nivatius (CC0), and desert birds by cyanidecup45 (CC0). Made with Unity.