Deep Sea Adventure
Grab treasure before everyone's air runs out
A dice-and-risk game in which players are divers setting out from the same submarine in search of treasure, with a single air tank shared by everyone. At the start of each turn the tank loses as much air as the player is carrying treasure, and the more they carry the slower they move.
When the air runs out, anyone not back in the submarine loses everything they carry. Three dives are played and the winner is whoever accumulates the most treasure value, kept hidden until the end. The most valuable treasures lie at the bottom, and reaching them means trusting that the others will not keep grabbing treasure on the way and draining everyone’s air. It is the tragedy of the commons reduced to its essence: the treasure is yours, the air it costs belongs to everyone.
Classroom value
- The tragedy of the commons in 30 minutes: private gain and shared cost.
- Opens debates on diffuse responsibility (who used up the air?), points of no return and relative vs. absolute gains: whoever is already safe may want the others to drown.
- Cooperating to go further: the most valuable treasures are only within reach if everyone holds back and keeps air to go down and get back in time.