THE GAME

The board is an extra large – 20″ x 30″ – nearly exact replica of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and was designed by the amazing cartographer and board game designer, Ron Halliday.  The board beautifully displays real trails, rivers, scenic spots and camp sites.  The map is done at a 1:100,000 scale and every space on the board is an exact mile in distance.

Sites are the scenic and historic places you can visit during your hike and one of the primary ways to collect points along your trek.

Skills are an important part of the game that not only offer each hiker an additional path to victory, but also offers an alternate way to counter challenges during your hike.

Weather is a shared condition that can potentially affect you hike on every turn.  The 3-day forecast is always visible for insight into what is headed your way so you can plan properly.

Hike cards represent the chance happenings that could occur during a long-distance hike.  Sometimes its a challenge you must overcome, other it is a reward of some sort – and then sometimes it’s nothing at all.

Gear and Water is what keeps you alive and moving.  Packing the proper type and amount of gear is the key to a successful hike.

Your Packboard is essentially your Backpack.  It stores all your gear and water, as well as tracks your energy levels.  Energy levels are your core Action points during your hike, and they can increase or decrease depending on how well you plan and execute your trek.

There are 3 bears in the park, one in each of the three regions – and they roam around potentially blocking some trails.  Every now and then they can get aggressive, so be sure you have enough energy to outrun them.