How To Play

You are in charge of an eight man expedition to Mount Everest.

You get scored based on how high up the mountain your climbers can get. Inexperienced climbers give more points. If someone gets injured, or dies, you get severe penalties to your score.

YOUR TEAM

In your team you have two sherpas, three amateurs, two professionals and one millionaire. Click on the climbers to get information and give orders.

RESTING AND CLIMBING

Most of the time, your climbers rest in camp. When you think the time is right, you can order them to climb to the next higher camp. To do this - simply click the climb button in the climber overlay or in the climber detail view.

CLIMB NEXT MORNING

You can also order the climber to climb automatically, starting at eight o’ clock the next morning. Notice that this can only be done for climbing UP. There is no button for descending next morning.

PLANNING
Planning is very important and you should try to time your attempts for higher ground carefully. You have to consider the climbers Condition, Acclimatization and Morale.

The weather is also very important. As is the preparation of the trails and the camps.

GAME TIME

Time passes automatically but is paused as soon as you do something. The clock goes faster when all climbers are resting or if it is night. The blue progress bar beneath the Calendar shows how much game time has elapsed.

THE MAP VIEW
This is where you spend most of the game time. The map can be zoomed and dragged. 

ZONES

The map is divided into three zones. The zone button gives you the current weather and the preparation level. Click a zone button to get more detailed information about the zone. You can also click on a Camp to get information about the Zone it belongs to.

THE SCORE VIEW

Gives detailed information on your current total score and what you have scored points for. You get more points for reaching high camps with your weaker climbers.

CONDITION
Condition represents the climber’s strength and health. At very low levels, the climbers risk medical conditions or death. Your climber will also turn down or try to get to the nearest camp himself if he gets very tired. You can see the condition of a Climber as a status bar in the Climber detail view.

ACCLIMATIZATION
Acclimatization must be raised before the climber can start his attacks. At first acclimatization can be raised by simply resting in BC, but after a while it gets harder to raise your climber’s acclimatization level. You have to spend time in higher camps and then revover in BC.
Acclimatization is unpredictable and people react differently.

MORALE
Morale is affected by weather, by climbing at night, or by climbing alone. It is also lowered if staying on the mountain for too many consecutive nights without recovering in Base Camp. Behavior that affects Morale in a negative way is usually illustrated with an icon over the Climber.

PREPARATION

Zone preparation represents activities such as setting up tents, fixing ropes, clearing tracks or brings oxygen and food to a camp. You raise it by simply using the trail and spending time in a camp. Sherpas are especially good at this. Climbing on unprepared trails causes penalties to climb speed and morale. The preparation level of a Zone is shown as a bar in the Zone detail view. An icon with the letter P illustrates when a climber is in a badly prepared Zone.

WEATHER
Weather is random but gets better and better, especially the last two weeks of May. It changes every day and is different on different parts of the mountain. Climbing in bad weather has a very negative effect on climbing speed and morale. The one week weather forecasts are always 100% accurate and you can see them in the Zone detail view.

END OF GAME

May 30 - your budget is up and you have to head for Kathmandu. The game ends and your final Score are calculated.

TACTICS
Usually an expedition spends a couple of weeks becoming acclimatized before making a summit attempt. During this time, they spend time in higher and higher camps and then return to BC to recover.

SUMMIT ATTEMPT
The actual summit bid usually takes 6-8 days, four days to reach the top and two days to descend. Statistically, one person dies for each 10 successful summits. 120 bodies still lie on the top of Mount Everest. Many of them are in the open and can be seen by climbers.

HAPE
HAPE (High Altitude Pulmonary Edema) is a life-threatening condition and can only be treated in a Hospital.

AMS

AMS (Acute Mountain Sickness) is a serious condition that can lead to HAPE if not treated. All the climbers abilities are lowered and the climber must receive treatment in BC as soon as possible.

HEADACHES
In the game “Headaches” represents early symptoms of high altitude sickness. The climber must rest in a camp or it may lead to worse conditions.

THE DEATH ZONE
In the Death Zone, most people can’t drink or eat at all. The oxygen level is about a third of what it is at sea level. The wind is hard and the temperature often below -40 degrees Celsius.

RESCUING
If a climber gets seriously ill - up to two other climbers will automatically try to get him down to Base Camp. The rescue mission can not be interrupted. If there are no rescuers from your team close enough, the injured climber will be brought down by other teams.

STARTING OFF
A good start is to spend some time in Base Camp and then do a short hike up half Khumbu Icefall. When you can do this with a climber, maybe it’s time to try to spend a night in Camp One.


HINTS

  • The game is designed to be played in normal speed.
  • You don't have to stay in every camp, every time.
  • Descend fast after summiting.
  • Don´t disable the tutorial messages. Some of them are situation-based and you need them to understand the game.
  • Never start from BC with less than full morale and good condition.