Tectonic!

“Keep Calm and Quake On!”

Oh no! A scientist has predicted that an earthquake (a possible 6.0+ on the Richter Scale) will hit your city and your city’s future depends on how well you work together. Tectonic is a collaborative survival board game for 6 players, age 13+ with light role-play element, where players take on responsibility as community leadership roles (Doctor, Engineer, Scientist, Mayor, Firefighter, and Community Organizer) with unique strengths to brace for impact, survive under pressure, and rehabilitate afterwards.

During a 45 minutes gameplay (including a preparation period and a debrief period), the players will experience three escalating stages—Bracing, Survival, and Rehabilitation. In each stages your community will face intense choices from the Situation Cards, where the players have to manage limited resource kits and abilities to protect the base of a community: community morale. With shifting priorities, limited resources, and a community that is watching every move, collaboration is more than just an option—it’s survival.

Learning Objectives

Our game’s learning objective is to teach students about natural sciences and disaster preparedness through a hands-on (and safe) earthquake experience as a city’s leadership team. We want students to practice their science skills along with those of teamwork, planning, and policy management. As our game theme is an earthquake disaster survival story, our theme is highly tied to our learning objective and vis versa. 

Game Overview

• Players: Best with 6+ (roles can be combined/doubled)
• Roles: 6
• Play Time: ~45 min
• Game Category: Collaborative Card game, Board Game, with role-play elements
• Win Condition: Keep your community morale above 6!

This page presents you:

• Game rules
• Game Glossary
• Real-world earthquake example
• Game boards for plotter-print/regular print
• Game materials (tokens for regular/3D print, situation/role cards)
• Brief presentation of Tectonic
• Credits/citations

Game Rules

Glossary

Real-world Earthquake Example

Game Board (Plotter Print 36*24in.)

Gameboard (Regular A3 size)

Game Tokens Regular Print

Game Tokens 3D Print

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1C04yA_IM1KlFxI10XBg7zuk-37MPUfNT?usp=share_link

Situation Cards

Role Cards

Brief Presentation of Tectonic

Credits

Tectonic was created by Priyanshu Pokhrel, Bella Balmaseda, and Olina Jin as the final project for EDST210-01 Educational Gaming Lab: Project-Based, Game-Based Pedagogy Approaches instructed by Professor Camilla Zamboni by Fall 2025 at Wesleyan University.

• Game prompt & Research: All three Collaborators
• Visual Direction & Design: Olina Jin
• Game rules & Overall Mechanics: Bella Balmaseda
• Game Cards Design & Mechanics: Priyanshu Pokhrel
• Educational Directions: All three Collaborators

Citations

California Academy of Sciences. (n.d.). Anatomy of an earthquake. DIY Science. Retrieved December 20, 2025, from https://www.calacademy.org/explore-science/anatomy-of-an-earthquake

Cambridge Dictionary. (n.d.). Aftershock | definition. Retrieved December 20, 2025, from https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/aftershock

Canva. (n.d.). Canva [Design platform]. Retrieved December 20, 2025, from https://www.canva.com/

Conan, N. (2020, January 12). Haiti in ruins: A look back at the 2010 earthquake. NPR. https://www.npr.org/sections/pictureshow/2020/01/12/794939899/haiti-in-ruins-a-look-back-at-the-2010-earthquake

Disasters Emergency Committee. (n.d.). 2010 Haiti earthquake facts and figures. Retrieved December 1, 2025, from https://www.dec.org.uk/article/2010-haiti-earthquake-facts-and-figures

Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Richter scale definition and meaning. Retrieved December 20, 2025, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Richter%20scale

Pan American Health Organization. (2012, January 13). Haiti’s efforts were hampered by poor information sharing. https://www.paho.org/en/news/13-1-2012-haiti-quake-efforts-were-hampered-poor-information-sharing

Game board, game tokens, player avatars created by Olina Jin with Adobe Illustrator&Canva

Game cards created by Priyanshu Pokhrel with Canva