Teacher note
Enter the teacher password to see the answers and testing tools.
How it runs
- Teams of 3 or 4 share one Chromebook. The game tells them to pass the mouse after every puzzle so everyone gets a turn to drive.
- Plan on 60 to 75 minutes (it can be split over two class periods with progress codes). Students explore 10 rooms on 3 decks of a space station plus the Bridge, help 9 characters, collect 9 clues, find the hidden Launch Key, then crack the launch code.
- The station opens up as they go: Chef Blip's Elevator Pass opens Deck 2, Gizmo's Keycard opens Deck 3, and Officer Nebula opens the Bridge. Dr. Luna gives the Planet Chart, which is needed for the final code (it also shows on the final screen).
- Skills: number clues with a hundreds chart (odd, digit sums, comparing digits), arrays and factors (two rectangles with the same number of rows), dividing and multiplying by 6 (Moon weight), comparing and ordering 4 and 5 digit numbers, meshing gears (opposite directions), elapsed time in 90 minute jumps, missing operation signs, quarter, half and three quarter turns on a compass, a number tower (addition and subtraction), elimination from 10 clues (every clue is needed), and planet order from the Sun with mixed operations.
- Wrong answers lock that puzzle for a short wait (15 seconds, then 30, 45, 60) so teams talk instead of guessing. The planet lineup clears after a wrong check. A wrong search adds 2 minutes to the clock plus a wait that grows each time (1, 2, 3, then 5 minutes). A wrong launch code waits 20, 40, then 60 seconds. Hints: 3 per puzzle (the launch code has 3 too), one every 45 seconds.
- Bonus: 11 moon rocks are hidden in the rooms for teams that like to explore. The count prints on the award.
- Progress codes: after every puzzle the team gets a 10 letter code (like
KDHTM-7XQMP), also shown on the side. Have one student write the newest code on paper. If a browser resets or the team switches Chromebooks, they type it on the start screen and get back their crew name, every solved puzzle (in any order), open decks, items, the Launch Key, hints and time. Made-up codes do not work, and after 3 wrong tries the box makes them wait 20 seconds. Typing their own code again on the same computer keeps any wait that is still running, so reloading the page cannot skip a wrong answer wait. A code always brings its own crew name, and that name prints on the award. - The "Left this page" counter on the side goes up every time someone switches to another tab or window. It does not stop the game. A high number can mean someone went looking for answers, for example by taking a screenshot to an AI helper, so it is worth a quick check in.
- Everything in this room (the station, the crew and the story) is original, so it is safe to share. The space facts on the hotspots are real (Moon gravity is about 1/6, the station crew sees about 16 sunrises a day, astronauts exercise about 2 hours a day).
Timer
Minutes until the launch window closes: (teams can keep playing in overtime; the award says "Finished in overtime")
Answers
- Galley, Chef Blip: 73. Between 30 and 80, odd, tens digit bigger than ones digit, digits add to 10. Only 73 fits all four (37 and 55 and 91 each break one rule). Gives the Elevator Pass, which opens Deck 2.
- Space Farm, Farmer Fern: 6 rows, 4 carrots in each row (24), 3 berries in each row (18). 6 is the only row count from 1 to 6 that works for both.
- Gym, Coach Bounce: Coach Bounce on the Moon 15, Cosmo on Earth 42, the backpack on Earth 24.
- Observatory, Dr. Luna: Mercury (4,879), Mars (6,779), Venus (12,104), Earth (12,742), Neptune (49,244), Uranus (50,724). Gives the Planet Chart.
- Robot Workshop, Gizmo: the gold gear turns clockwise, and touching gears always switch. Gold gear clockwise; the big gray gear touching it counterclockwise; the small gear on its right clockwise; the big bottom gear counterclockwise; the small bottom right gear clockwise; the small top left gear clockwise; the top right gear counterclockwise. Gives the Deck 3 Keycard.
- Sleep Pods, Major Dot: suns at 9:15 (already set), 10:45, 12:15 and 1:45.
- Engine Room, Wrenchy: 2 × 2 = 4, 4 − 2 = 2, 6 ÷ 3 = 2, 5 + 4 = 9.
- Spacewalk Airlock, Ace: Antenna A ends South, Antenna B ends West, Antenna C ends North.
- Bridge Door, Officer Nebula: bottom row 2, 5, 3, 6. Next row 7, 8, 9. Next row 15, 17. Top 32. Opens the Bridge.
- The search: the Launch Key is in the Red Toolbox (Robot Workshop). Every one of the 10 clues removes a different object.
- The launch code: 4287. Mars is 4. Jupiter (5) minus Earth (3) is 2. Venus (2) plus Saturn (6) is 8. Neptune (8) minus Mercury (1) is 7.