Introduction & Rules

You are going to play the officers of the ships HMS Erebus and HMS Terror. Your goal is to find the fabled Northwest Passage leading through the Arctic Ocean. Your voyage starts in 1845 at Baffin Bay off the coast of Greenland and if you are skilled and lucky enough you will emerge in the Beaufort Sea near Alaska. You are well provisioned, and HMS Erebus and HMS Terror are true jewels of British naval power. There is no better leader than Sir John Franklin, a veteran of many arctic expeditions.

You are going to face difficult issues that need to be solved to ensure the success of your expedition and survival of your crew. You need to tackle them with your fellow officers one at a time. An interactive app in the play section will guide you through the game.

Get emotional or be rational. Use your intuition, empathy or cold logic. It is up to you. Enjoy the game!

There is no doubt that if there is any crew in the world that can find the Passage, it is you! Make Queen Victoria and all her subjects proud of their homeland. Rule, Britannia!

To-do List

Check before you are done with this (pre-speaking) part of the activity:

  • I have read the accounts about some of the perils we may face when venturing into the Arctic.
  • I am familiar with the orders from the Admiralty regarding the voyage.
  • I have gone through the maps to see what territory remains uncharted so we can fill it in.
  • I have looked at the crew list of the officers and I thought about the role I would like to play.
  • I have checked the vocabulary, I understand the words, I can pronounce them and use them in spoken interaction.
  • I have checked useful phrases for debating.