DEAD ON ARRIVAL
The Ultimate Life-or-Death Reading Scenario Game
For Middle School & High School Students
A
Reading Sage Educational Resource
ABOUT
THIS GAME
Dead on Arrival presents 60 real
life-or-death scenarios across three extreme environments. For each scenario,
players choose between two options — and find out if their choice would have
kept them alive or gotten them killed. Every answer is grounded in real
survival science, with myth-busters revealing why the 'obvious' answer is
sometimes the wrong one.
HOW
TO PLAY WITH FRIENDS
1. One player reads the scenario
aloud. Everyone listens.
2. Players discuss and debate,
then each secretly commits to Answer A or Answer B.
3. On the count of three,
everyone reveals their answer simultaneously.
4. The reader reveals the
correct answer and reads the explanation.
5. Keep score: one point for
each survival choice. Highest score at the end wins.
FOR
TEACHERS
This game builds critical
thinking, science literacy, and decision-making under pressure. Scenarios are
drawn from real wilderness survival training, sports medicine, and rescue
protocols. The answer key includes myth-busters to correct dangerous misconceptions
students may carry. Suitable for health, science, PE, and life skills classes.
THREE EXPEDITIONS (20
scenarios each):
• EXPEDITION 1: Mountain
Climbing (Scenarios 1-20)
• EXPEDITION 2: Deep Sea
Adventures (Scenarios 21-40)
• EXPEDITION 3: Jungle Trek
(Scenarios 41-60)
π️
EXPEDITION 1: MOUNTAIN CLIMBING
You are on the mountain.
Weather is changing. Decisions happen in seconds. Think fast — your life
depends on it.
SCENARIO 1
You're at 18,000 feet and
develop a severe headache, confusion, and vomiting — classic signs of High
Altitude Cerebral Edema (HACE). Your summit is only 400 feet away. Your partner
wants to push for the top.
A) Push for the summit —
you're so close. Take ibuprofen and keep moving upward.
B) Turn around immediately
and descend at least 1,000 feet as fast as safely possible.
SCENARIO 2
An avalanche releases above you.
You have 3 seconds. There is a stand of trees 20 feet to your left and a large
rock outcrop 20 feet to your right.
A) Run toward the trees and
grab on to slow your fall.
B) Run perpendicular to the
avalanche path toward the rock outcrop.
SCENARIO 3
You fall into a crevasse and
stop yourself 10 feet down. You are uninjured. Your rope is attached to your
harness but your partner above is not responding.
A) Unclip from the rope to
free yourself and try to climb the ice walls with your ice axe.
B) Stay clipped in, yell for
your partner, and attempt prusik-knot self-rescue up the rope.
SCENARIO 4
Your tent partner shows signs of
severe frostbite on three toes — the skin is white, waxy, and hard. You are 6
hours from base camp. It is -20°F outside.
A) Rewarm the toes now using
warm water and body heat in the tent.
B) Leave the toes frozen,
protect them with dry padding, and evacuate immediately.
SCENARIO 5
You are descending a steep
snowfield. Your crampon pops off. The slope is 45 degrees and you begin to
slide.
A) Try to stand and hop on
one foot to reattach the crampon.
B) Drop immediately to your
stomach, dig your ice axe pick into the snow, and self-arrest.
SCENARIO 6
A sudden whiteout blizzard hits.
Visibility drops to zero. You are 2 miles from camp. You have a working GPS,
full cold-weather gear, and a bivy sack.
A) Keep navigating toward
camp using your GPS — moving generates body heat.
B) Stop, dig a snow shelter
or deploy your bivy sack, and wait out the storm.
SCENARIO 7
You run out of water at
altitude. There is clean-looking snow nearby and a frozen stream 15 minutes
off-route.
A) Eat handfuls of snow —
it's frozen water and looks clean.
B) Melt the snow in your
bottle using body heat or your stove before drinking.
SCENARIO 8
A partner breaks their leg in a
fall at 12,000 feet. You are a team of two, with a satellite communicator. Help
is 12+ hours away.
A) Send an SOS on your
satellite communicator, build the best shelter possible, and stay with your
partner.
B) Leave your partner
sheltered and race down alone to get help faster.
SCENARIO 9
You are melting snow for water
and realize your fuel canister is nearly empty — maybe one cup of warm water
left. You are two days from the trailhead.
A) Ration fuel strictly, melt
only a small amount each day to preserve it.
B) Use all remaining fuel now
to melt and fill every container, then rely on cold water sources.
SCENARIO 10
You find an unconscious climber
on the trail. They are breathing but unresponsive. The temperature is 28°F.
A) Put them in the recovery
position, share your insulation, and activate emergency rescue immediately.
B) Try to wake them by
shouting and shaking, then leave to go get help.
SCENARIO 11
You are 1,000 feet from the
summit when your partner says they feel fine but you notice they are slurring
words and stumbling — signs of altitude sickness they're not aware of.
A) Trust your partner's
self-assessment. They said they feel fine. Keep climbing.
B) Override their protest and
begin descent immediately.
SCENARIO 12
You need to cross a steep snow
slope. There is a cornice (overhanging snow) above the route.
A) Cross quickly under the
cornice — speed reduces your exposure time.
B) Find an alternate route or
wait. No cornice zone is worth crossing.
SCENARIO 13
Your water bottle has frozen
solid overnight. You need to melt it but your stove just broke. Temperature is
5°F.
A) Put the frozen bottle in
your sleeping bag and use body heat to melt it overnight.
B) Try to find a sunny
south-facing rock to thaw the bottle by midday.
SCENARIO 14
A rockfall hits and a small rock
strikes your helmet. You feel dazed for a moment but feel okay after 60
seconds.
A) You feel fine — continue
climbing. Helmets are designed for this.
B) Descend immediately. Any
head impact at altitude with even brief altered consciousness is an emergency.
SCENARIO 15
You are hypothermic and
shivering violently. You have dry spare clothes, an emergency blanket, and
energy bars.
A) Do jumping jacks and
vigorous exercise to generate heat before changing clothes.
B) Get out of wind, change
into dry clothes, wrap in emergency blanket, eat the energy bars.
SCENARIO 16
You need to rappel a 200-foot
cliff. Your rope just barely reaches the anchor below, and the end hangs 10
feet off the ground.
A) Rappel down — you can jump
the last 10 feet.
B) Tie a stopper knot in both
rope ends before rappelling.
SCENARIO 17
You sprain your ankle badly on
the descent — it's swollen and painful but you can limp on it. You are 4 hours
from the trailhead with 2 hours of daylight left.
A) Push hard to make the
trailhead before dark — moving fast is safer than bivying.
B) Slow down, use trekking
poles as support, make camp if darkness falls before you arrive.
SCENARIO 18
You discover your climbing
partner has been keeping their crampons on during rest stops, even on bare
rock. They say it's faster.
A) Say nothing — they seem
experienced and confident.
B) Insist they remove
crampons on rock. This is a serious safety issue.
SCENARIO 19
A thunder and lightning storm
rolls in while you are on an exposed ridge. Your tent is 30 minutes away
downhill.
A) Run to your tent
immediately — shelter is always better than exposure.
B) Immediately descend off
the ridge, crouch low in a depression away from peaks and lone trees.
SCENARIO 20
Summit day. You started at
midnight. It is now 2 PM and you are 2 hours from the summit. The rule of most
guided expeditions is to turn around by noon.
A) Push on — you are so close
and the weather looks okay.
B) Turn around. The
turnaround time exists for life-and-death reasons.
π
EXPEDITION 2: DEEP SEA ADVENTURES
You are in, on, or under the
water. The ocean follows no rules. Choose wisely.
SCENARIO 21
You are scuba diving at 60 feet
and notice your dive partner is not moving and appears unconscious. You have
air in your tank. They are sinking slowly.
A) Grab them, inflate their
BCD, and shoot to the surface as fast as possible.
B) Establish neutral buoyancy
on them, give rescue breaths underwater if trained, and ascend slowly at 30
feet per minute with safety stop.
SCENARIO 22
A shark begins circling you
while you are diving on a reef. It is a reef shark — not typically aggressive.
It makes a close pass.
A) Splash and yell underwater
to scare it away — aggressive behavior deters sharks.
B) Stay calm, maintain eye
contact, move slowly toward the reef wall, and exit the water calmly.
SCENARIO 23
You surface from a dive and feel
joint pain, skin mottling, and dizziness. You dove three dives today, including
one to 80 feet.
A) Drink lots of water, lie
down on the boat, and rest — it will probably pass.
B) This is decompression
sickness. Call emergency services and get to a hyperbaric chamber immediately.
SCENARIO 24
You are caught in a rip current
while swimming at the beach and being pulled rapidly away from shore.
A) Swim as hard as you can
directly back toward the beach.
B) Swim parallel to the beach
to escape the current, then angle back to shore.
SCENARIO 25
While snorkeling, you
hyperventilate before a breath-hold dive to 20 feet to 'store more oxygen.' You
get to depth and feel great — no urge to breathe.
A) Stay at depth — you feel
good and want to explore. The urge to breathe will come.
B) Surface immediately. The
lack of urge to breathe at depth is a warning sign of shallow water blackout.
SCENARIO 26
Your scuba tank runs to reserve
(500 psi) while 40 feet down. Your dive buddy is 30 feet away also at depth.
A) Breathe calmly, signal
your buddy, share their alternate air source, and ascend together properly.
B) Drop your weight belt and
shoot to the surface immediately — you'll make it on reserve.
SCENARIO 27
You are kayaking in the ocean
and capsize in rough water 200 yards from shore. Your kayak is still nearby and
floating upside down.
A) Abandon the kayak and swim
hard for shore — 200 yards is manageable.
B) Stay with your capsized
kayak, signal for help, and attempt to re-enter or use it as a float.
SCENARIO 28
You are stung by a jellyfish and
someone offers to urinate on the sting, which they say neutralizes jellyfish
venom.
A) Accept the urine treatment
— it is a well-known remedy.
B) Rinse with seawater,
remove tentacles with a card (not your fingers), and apply heat if available.
SCENARIO 29
Your boat engine dies in rough
open ocean with no VHF radio. You have a mirror, a whistle, flares, and a cell
phone with no signal.
A) Use the flares to signal
passing ships or aircraft immediately.
B) Save the flares, use the
mirror and whistle for close-range signals, and try the cell phone every 15
minutes.
SCENARIO 30
You are aboard a boat taking on
water rapidly. The boat will sink in approximately 5 minutes. Life jackets are
accessible. Shore is 1 mile away.
A) Grab a life jacket and
jump overboard immediately — swim for shore.
B) Send a Mayday call on VHF,
don life jackets, grab the life raft, and deploy it before abandoning ship.
SCENARIO 31
You are free diving and feel the
urge to breathe return at 15 feet on your ascent. You see the surface above
you.
A) Speed up your ascent —
you're almost there, just push through it.
B) Stay calm, make long
steady fin strokes — do not panic or rush, and exhale slightly to equalize.
SCENARIO 32
You are on a small boat and
someone falls overboard. They are conscious and wearing a life jacket. The
water is 58°F.
A) Throw them a line and have
them swim hard back to the boat.
B) Maneuver the boat back to
them, throw a flotation device, and pull them aboard with minimal swimming.
SCENARIO 33
You encounter an octopus in a
tide pool. It is small and vivid blue — very beautiful. You reach down to touch
it.
A) Pick it up gently for a
photo — it's so small, it couldn't hurt you.
B) Do not touch it. Back away
immediately.
SCENARIO 34
While night diving, you become
disoriented and cannot tell which direction is up. Your BCD has air in it.
A) Watch your bubbles — they
always rise toward the surface.
B) Swim in the direction your
compass says is up.
SCENARIO 35
You accidentally cut yourself
while fishing offshore. The wound is bleeding noticeably in the water. Sharks
are in the region.
A) Stay in the water and
press the wound — the bleeding will slow in salt water.
B) Get out of the water
immediately. Blood in the water creates a scent trail detectable by sharks from
a great distance.
SCENARIO 36
You are night swimming alone in
a warm resort lagoon. It is calm and beautiful. There is no lifeguard.
A) Enjoy the swim — you are a
confident swimmer and the lagoon looks calm.
B) Do not swim alone at
night, ever, regardless of conditions.
SCENARIO 37
You are in a boat that catches
fire at sea. The fire is in the engine compartment. You have a CO2 fire
extinguisher.
A) Open the engine hatch and
discharge the extinguisher directly at the flames.
B) Do NOT open the hatch. Use
the access port if equipped, or discharge through a gap without fully opening.
SCENARIO 38
You are stranded on open ocean
in a life raft. You have no fresh water. You are surrounded by salt water. You
are very thirsty.
A) Drink small amounts of
salt water to stay hydrated — just enough to wet your throat.
B) Never drink salt water.
Collect rain, morning dew, or use any desalination method available.
SCENARIO 39
You step on something in a tide
pool and feel a sharp pain in your foot. Looking down, you see you've stepped
on a stonefish.
A) Soak the foot in cold
water to reduce the venom's effects.
B) Immerse the foot in the
hottest water you can tolerate and seek immediate emergency medical care.
SCENARIO 40
During a dive, your mask is
knocked off by a current. You have 60 feet to ascend and no mask. Your eyes
sting in the salt water.
A) Keep your eyes open to
see, breathe normally, and ascend following your bubbles.
B) Close your eyes to protect
them, breathe normally from your regulator, ascend slowly following your
bubbles.
πΏ
EXPEDITION 3: JUNGLE TREK
You are deep in the
rainforest. Every plant, animal, and raindrop could help or kill you. Trust
your knowledge.
SCENARIO 41
You are bitten on the hand by
what may have been a venomous snake in the rainforest. The bite area is already
swelling.
A) Cut the bite and suck out
the venom — act immediately before it spreads.
B) Keep the hand below heart
level, remove rings and tight items, mark the swelling edge, and evacuate
immediately.
SCENARIO 42
You are lost in a dense jungle.
You find a river. You don't know which direction leads to civilization.
A) Follow the river
downstream. Rivers always lead to settlements or the ocean.
B) Stay put, signal for
rescue, and only move if you have a strong directional reason to.
SCENARIO 43
It begins to rain heavily in the
jungle and you hear roaring water nearby. You are camped in a dry streambed.
A) Enjoy the rain — dry
streambeds are flat and comfortable. The roaring is probably just wind.
B) Move immediately to high
ground. That roaring is a flash flood.
SCENARIO 44
You discover you are covered in
army ants during a rest stop. They begin to bite.
A) Slap and crush them one at
a time — killing ants is the fastest way to stop the biting.
B) Run immediately. Move away
from the swarm as fast as possible, brushing them off as you go.
SCENARIO 45
You're dehydrated in the jungle.
You find a clear-looking stream. You have no water purification equipment.
A) Drink from the stream —
clear water in a fast-moving jungle stream is safe.
B) Collect the water but do
not drink it unpurified. Boil it if possible or find an alternative.
SCENARIO 46
A jaguar makes eye contact with
you at 40 feet on a jungle trail. It holds its ground.
A) Make yourself small, avoid
eye contact, and slowly back away — showing submission may calm it.
B) Stand tall, maintain eye
contact, speak in a calm firm voice, and back away slowly without turning.
SCENARIO 47
You are building an emergency
shelter in the jungle. You find a beautiful tree with large smooth leaves for a
roof. The leaves have a milky white sap.
A) Use the leaves — they're
large and perfectly shaped for waterproofing your shelter.
B) Do not use plants with
milky white sap. This is a toxin indicator — test before use.
SCENARIO 48
You find berries in the jungle
that look exactly like blueberries you eat at home. You are very hungry.
A) Eat them — they look
identical to safe berries you know well.
B) Do not eat them. Apply the
Universal Edibility Test before consuming any jungle plant.
SCENARIO 49
You are sweating heavily in high
jungle heat and have been losing fluid rapidly. Your friend offers you pure
water. You have no food.
A) Drink the pure water —
hydration is your top priority.
B) Add some salt to the water
if possible. Drinking large amounts of pure water without electrolytes is
dangerous.
SCENARIO 50
You step into quicksand and
begin to sink up to your knees. Your pack weighs 40 pounds.
A) Try to step out quickly
with your full weight and the pack on your back.
B) Drop the pack, lean back
to distribute your weight, and make slow deliberate movements toward solid
ground.
SCENARIO 51
You wake to find a large spider
on your sleeping bag directly over your chest. It is not moving.
A) Flick it off quickly with
your hand — a fast sharp flick will send it away.
B) Remain completely still.
Blow a steady gentle breath on it or wait for it to move on its own.
SCENARIO 52
You have been in the jungle for
three days and develop a deep cut that is now red, swollen, warm, and has pus.
A) Clean it as best you can
and keep moving — infections take days to become serious.
B) Treat this as a medical
emergency. Clean aggressively, begin antibiotics if available, and prioritize
evacuation.
SCENARIO 53
You need to cross a jungle
river. It looks calm and about 30 feet wide. You can't see the bottom.
A) Swim across quickly — it's
only 30 feet.
B) Scout up and downstream
for a crossing point, use a pole for balance, and cross at the shallowest,
widest point.
SCENARIO 54
You are trying to start a fire
in the jungle but everything is wet after days of rain. You need fire for
signaling and warmth.
A) Gather large, wet logs and
use accelerant from your lighter fluid.
B) Find the dry inner wood of
dead standing trees, use the smallest possible tinder, build a feather stick,
and shelter your fire-building area.
SCENARIO 55
A member of your group begins
showing symptoms of malaria — high fever, chills, sweating, and severe headache
— three days into the jungle.
A) Give them fever medicine,
keep them hydrated, and continue the expedition.
B) Treat this as a medical
emergency. Begin anti-malarial medication if available and evacuate
immediately.
SCENARIO 56
You hear a sound overhead and
look up. A large tree branch is falling directly toward you.
A) Run forward away from the
tree.
B) Run to the side
perpendicular to the fall direction.
SCENARIO 57
You are stung by a bullet ant —
known as the most painful insect sting in the world. You have no medication.
A) Soak the sting in cold
water and rest for 30 minutes, then continue.
B) Monitor for allergic
reaction. The pain is extreme but not life-threatening for most people — focus
on staying calm and watching for anaphylaxis.
SCENARIO 58
You are signaling for air rescue
and have a signal mirror. A small plane passes 2 miles away at high altitude.
A) Aim the mirror at the
plane and flash continuously.
B) Aim the mirror reflection
at the plane using the 'sight hole' technique, and flash in bursts of three
(international distress signal).
SCENARIO 59
You are building a jungle
shelter for the night. You choose a spot under a large tree for protection from
rain.
A) Build directly under the
main canopy — it catches the most rain.
B) Build at the edge of the
canopy drip line, slightly away from the trunk.
SCENARIO 60
You have been lost for 4 days.
You spot smoke in the distance — it could be a village or a wildfire.
A) Move toward the smoke
immediately — any sign of humans is worth following.
B) Observe first. Watch for
30+ minutes to determine the nature of the smoke before committing.
π
COMPLETE ANSWER KEY
Use this section to reveal
answers during play or for classroom discussion after the game.
EXPEDITION 1: MOUNTAIN CLIMBING — Answers
SCENARIO 1 — B — DESCEND
IMMEDIATELY. HACE kills within hours. Ascending even 400 more feet with HACE is
nearly always fatal. Every step down is medicine — oxygen pressure increases
rapidly with descent. Summit fever kills climbers every year. No peak is worth
your life.
★
Myth busted: Ibuprofen helps prevent AMS but does NOT treat HACE. Only descent
(or a Gamow bag) saves you.
SCENARIO 2 — B — Move
PERPENDICULAR to get out of the slide path. Trees provide zero protection —
they become deadly projectiles inside an avalanche. The rock outcrop may create
a dead zone beside it. If you can't escape, ditch your poles, swim hard to stay
on top, and cover your face as it slows.
★
Myth busted: Trees do not stop avalanches. They are lethal hazards inside one.
SCENARIO 3 — B — Stay clipped in
and prusik up the rope. Unclipping is a death sentence — crevasses are V-shaped
and deeper than they look. The rope is your lifeline. Your partner may be
managing a haul system. Prusik loops (if you carry them) allow you to ascend
even a fixed rope solo.
★
Myth busted: Ice walls look climbable but are nearly impossible without
anchored protection — smooth, vertical, and often overhanging.
SCENARIO 4 — B — Do NOT rewarm
in the field if evacuation is possible. Refreezing thawed tissue causes
catastrophically worse damage than keeping it frozen. Wrap gently in dry
dressing, keep the patient warm overall, and move to definitive care. Rewarming
should only happen when refreezing is impossible.
★
Myth busted: Rubbing frostbitten tissue destroys it. Never rub frostbite.
SCENARIO 5 — B — Self-arrest
immediately. Every second of sliding increases speed exponentially. One foot on
a 45-degree icy snowfield is a guaranteed fall. Your ice axe is your single
most important survival tool — drive the pick in, chin down, weight on the axe
head, toes dug in.
★
Myth busted: Many people instinctively try to sit up during a slide. This
increases speed. Stomach-down, axe in, is the only effective technique.
SCENARIO 6 — B — Stop and
shelter. Navigation errors in whiteout conditions are nearly impossible to
avoid even with GPS (you can walk in circles, off cliffs, or into crevasse
fields). A bivy or snow trench provides dramatic wind protection. Dying from exposure
while 'almost there' is a classic mountaineering tragedy.
★
Myth busted: Moving in a whiteout with GPS sounds logical but disorientation,
wind chill, and route-finding errors make it deadly.
SCENARIO 7 — B — Never eat snow
for hydration. Eating snow at altitude drops your core temperature rapidly and
costs more energy to melt than the water provides. At -10°F, eating snow can
trigger hypothermia quickly. Always melt first. Your stove is survival
equipment, not a luxury.
★
Myth busted: 'Clean snow' is not safe to eat in cold survival — it is a
guaranteed route to hypothermia and worsened dehydration.
SCENARIO 8 — A — Activate SOS
and shelter in place together. Modern satellite communicators reach rescue
teams faster than any solo run. Leaving an immobile injured person alone at
altitude in cold weather is almost always fatal for them. Share food, water,
insulation, and keep their morale up while rescue is coordinated.
★
Myth busted: 'Going for help' was the right call before satellite comms. Today,
solo rescue runs often result in two casualties instead of one.
SCENARIO 9 — B — Use the fuel
now and fill up. Dehydration at altitude is a faster killer than cold water.
Warm water is nice but cold water keeps you alive. You need at minimum 4 liters
per day at altitude. Rationing fuel to sip warm water over two days will leave
you critically dehydrated.
★
Myth busted: Cold water does not 'cause' hypothermia if you're otherwise
clothed and active. Dehydration kills faster at altitude.
SCENARIO 10 — A — Recovery
position, insulation, and emergency SOS. An unconscious climber is in medical
crisis — likely severe hypothermia, HACE, or trauma. Shaking/yelling is useless
and wastes time. Leaving them alone in freezing temps without insulation is a
death sentence. Recovery position protects airway. Every minute counts.
★
Myth busted: Never shake a potential hypothermia patient roughly — the cold
heart is prone to fatal arrhythmia from rough handling.
SCENARIO 11 — B — Descend
regardless of their protest. Altitude sickness causes impaired judgment — the
patient literally cannot assess their own condition. This is called 'summit
fever denial.' Most HACE fatalities involve people who insisted they were okay
right up until collapse.
★
Myth busted: 'I feel fine' from an altitude sickness patient is a symptom, not
a verdict.
SCENARIO 12 — B — Avoid cornices
entirely. Cornices can collapse without warning at any temperature. There is no
'safe' speed under a cornice. Experienced alpinists treat cornices like live
electrical wires — avoid all exposure. The minutes lost finding an alternate
route are always worth it.
★
Myth busted: Cold temperature does not make cornices safe. They can fracture in
any conditions.
SCENARIO 13 — A — Body heat in
your sleeping bag is reliable and controlled. A frozen water bottle next to
your body will melt in hours and does not meaningfully drop your core
temperature if you are in a quality sleeping bag. Sun-thawing in mountain weather
is unreliable and time-wasting.
★
Myth busted: Many climbers sleep with their water bottles every night to
prevent freezing. It's standard practice, not dangerous.
SCENARIO 14 — B — Descend after
any head impact with altered consciousness. At altitude, even mild concussion
symptoms are dangerously amplified. Brain swelling is far more serious at
altitude. A brief 'daze' after a rock strike is a traumatic brain injury event.
Descend, monitor, seek evacuation.
★
Myth busted: Helmets reduce skull fractures — they do not prevent concussion.
Any altered consciousness is a red flag.
SCENARIO 15 — B — Shelter, dry
clothes, calories, and insulation. Vigorous exercise with wet clothes and
hypothermia is dangerous — it can trigger cardiac arrhythmia in the
cold-stressed heart. The emergency blanket reflects 90% of body heat. Calories
fuel internal heat generation. Dry insulation stops conductive heat loss.
★
Myth busted: Exercise can help mild cold exposure but is dangerous with true
hypothermia. Prioritize insulation and calories first.
SCENARIO 16 — B — Always tie
stopper knots. Rappelling off the end of a rope is one of the most common
causes of climbing fatality. A stopper knot takes 10 seconds and saves your
life. The 10-foot drop at the bottom can be managed by a partner spotting or
lowering technique.
★
Myth busted: Rappelling off rope ends kills experienced climbers every year.
Never skip the stopper knot.
SCENARIO 17 — B — Move carefully
and make camp if necessary. A sprained ankle on rough mountain terrain in
failing light is a recipe for a much worse fall. Darkness + injury + rushing =
second accident. A planned bivy with your gear is far safer than a panicked
rush in the dark.
★
Myth busted: Most mountain accidents happen on descent, often because of
fatigue and urgency. Slow down when injured.
SCENARIO 18 — B — Speak up
immediately. Crampons on bare rock are like roller skates on ice — front points
catch, and catastrophic slips happen instantly. This is not a style preference
issue. In roped climbing, one person's fall can pull both climbers off. Team
safety requires speaking up.
★
Myth busted: Expertise does not prevent bad habits. Safe teams communicate
concerns regardless of experience levels.
SCENARIO 19 — B — Get off the
ridge and crouch low. Running 30 minutes on exposed ridge during a lightning
storm is extraordinarily dangerous — ridges are the highest point and attract
strikes. Crouch in a depression, feet together, away from lone trees, metal
equipment away from you. Do NOT lie flat.
★
Myth busted: Lying flat on the ground spreads ground current through your body.
The lightning crouch position minimizes contact.
SCENARIO 20 — B — Turn around.
Turnaround times are calculated based on descent time, weather patterns, energy
reserves, and daylight. They are not arbitrary. The most famous mountaineering
disasters (1996 Everest, etc.) involved parties who ignored turnaround times on
summit day. Getting to the top is optional. Getting down is mandatory.
★
Myth busted: 'The weather looks okay' is not a forecast. Mountain weather
changes in 20 minutes. The turnaround time already accounts for this.
EXPEDITION 2: DEEP SEA ADVENTURES — Answers
SCENARIO 21 — B — Controlled
rescue ascent. Rocketing to the surface causes arterial gas embolism (AGE) —
nitrogen bubbles explode into the bloodstream and brain. A rescue ascent must
still follow safe ascent rates. Perform rescue breathing if trained. Safety
stop at 15 feet for 3 minutes if possible. Signal for boat immediately on
surface.
★
Myth busted: Panic-surfacing a diver causes a second, often fatal, emergency.
Controlled rescue ascent saves two lives.
SCENARIO 22 — B — Calm, slow
retreat to the reef. Frantic splashing mimics injured prey — the exact signal
that triggers a feeding response. Reef sharks are not man-eaters but can bite
defensively when startled. Back against the reef, watch it, do not turn your
back, and exit calmly. Most encounters are investigative, not predatory.
★
Myth busted: 'Punching a shark in the nose' is a last resort for attack — not a
first response to a circling shark.
SCENARIO 23 — B — Decompression
sickness is a medical emergency. The symptoms you describe are Type II DCS —
neurological involvement. Without hyperbaric treatment within hours, permanent
paralysis or death is likely. Breathing 100% oxygen while awaiting evacuation
significantly improves outcomes. Do NOT ignore DCS symptoms.
★
Myth busted: DCS symptoms do not 'pass' on their own. Delay in treatment causes
permanent damage.
SCENARIO 24 — B — Swim parallel
to shore. Rip currents are typically 50-100 feet wide and move at 8 feet per
second — faster than an Olympic swimmer. Swimming against them is impossible
and leads to exhaustion and drowning. Swim parallel to escape the narrow
channel, then return to shore at an angle.
★
Myth busted: Most drownings in rip currents happen because swimmers panic and
fight directly against the current until exhaustion.
SCENARIO 25 — B — Surface
immediately. Hyperventilation before freediving flushes CO2 (the trigger for
the urge to breathe) without adding usable oxygen. You can lose consciousness
underwater without warning — called shallow water blackout — and drown with
lungs still containing oxygen. The absence of air hunger is NOT safety. It is
the danger.
★
Myth busted: Hyperventilating before freediving kills people every year. It is
banned at most competitive freediving events.
SCENARIO 26 — A — Signal and
share air. 500 psi at 40 feet can support a calm diver for several minutes —
enough to signal a buddy and make a controlled ascent. Dropping your weight
belt and surfacing rapidly causes arterial gas embolism and pulmonary barotrauma.
Buddy breathing exists exactly for this scenario.
★
Myth busted: Emergency ascents without air source control are a last resort,
not a first option. Controlled buddy-breathing saves lives.
SCENARIO 27 — B — Stay with your
kayak. Even capsized, a kayak is a large, visible flotation device. 200 yards
in rough ocean water can be a 20-minute swim for an average person — enough to
cause fatal exhaustion or hypothermia. Rescuers look for boats, not heads. Your
kayak is your best survival asset.
★
Myth busted: 'It's only 200 yards' underestimates waves, currents, cold shock,
and exhaustion. Stay with your vessel.
SCENARIO 28 — B — Seawater rinse
and proper tentacle removal. Urine is a myth — it can actually activate unfired
nematocysts and worsen the sting. Fresh water also worsens stings. Seawater is
the correct rinse. Remove visible tentacles with a rigid card. Immersing in hot
water (110-113°F) significantly reduces pain by breaking down venom proteins.
★
Myth busted: The urine treatment has been thoroughly debunked by marine
biologists. It makes jellyfish stings worse, not better.
SCENARIO 29 — B — Save flares
for confirmed visual contact. Flares are single-use with limited supply. In
open ocean with no vessel in sight, burning all your flares gains nothing. A
signaling mirror is effective up to 10 miles in sunlight. Use your whistle for
close-range. Save flares until you see or hear something. They are your most
powerful last-resort signal.
★
Myth busted: Flares fired into an empty sky help no one. Experienced mariners
save them for confirmed opportunities.
SCENARIO 30 — B — Mayday, life
jackets, raft — then abandon. A 1-mile swim in open water, especially cold
water, kills a majority of swimmers. A life raft is dramatically more
survivable than swimming. A Mayday call takes 30 seconds and alerts rescuers to
your position. You have 5 minutes — enough time to do this correctly.
★
Myth busted: 'I can swim a mile' on a calm day ≠ surviving a mile swim in cold,
rough water after a traumatic sinking.
SCENARIO 31 — B — Stay calm and
steady. At 15 feet, a panicked rush burns oxygen dramatically faster,
potentially triggering blackout just as you reach the surface — the most
dangerous place to black out because a buddy may not see it. Slow, steady kicks
get you there safely. Exhale only slightly to prevent lung overexpansion.
★
Myth busted: Most freediving fatalities happen within 15 feet of the surface
during ascent. Stay calm to the very end.
SCENARIO 32 — B — Get the boat
to the person. At 58°F, cold water incapacitation begins within 30 minutes and
swimming ability fails within minutes. Have them signal position, approach from
downwind, throw a life ring with line, and drag them to the swim platform.
Every minute of swimming in 58°F water accelerates hypothermia.
★
Myth busted: Cold water incapacitation is not hypothermia — it is a separate,
faster response that makes swimming impossible within minutes.
SCENARIO 33 — B — Do NOT touch
it. A vivid blue-ringed octopus is one of the most venomous animals on Earth. A
single bite delivers tetrodotoxin — there is no antivenom. A bite may not even
be felt. Respiratory failure follows within minutes and requires hours of
artificial respiration to survive. Its beauty is a warning, not an invitation.
★
Myth busted: Size does not indicate danger in marine animals. A blue-ringed
octopus the size of a golf ball can kill an adult human.
SCENARIO 34 — A — Follow the
bubbles. Exhaled bubbles always rise to the surface. Compasses do not indicate
up/down. In dark or murky water, spatial disorientation is common even for
experienced divers. Look for your bubbles, let a small amount of air out of
your regulator if needed, and follow them up.
★
Myth busted: Disorientation underwater can be complete — experienced divers
have swum downward in panic. Bubbles are the one reliable guide.
SCENARIO 35 — B — Exit the
water. Sharks detect blood in concentrations of one part per million —
equivalent to a drop of blood in an Olympic swimming pool. A bleeding wound
offshore is a significant risk factor. Exit the water, treat the wound, and
re-enter only when bleeding has completely stopped.
★
Myth busted: Salt water does not slow bleeding and does not mask blood from
sharks. Get out.
SCENARIO 36 — B — Never swim
alone at night. Even confident swimmers drown in calm conditions during solo
night swims. Disorientation, unexpected cramp, small waves swamping your face,
and exhaustion can all be fatal when there is nobody to help. Drowning is
silent and fast — it does not look like it does in movies.
★
Myth busted: Drowning victims rarely shout or wave. They go under silently.
Solo swimming removes the only safeguard.
SCENARIO 37 — B — Do not open
the hatch. Opening the engine hatch on a fire floods the compartment with fresh
oxygen and causes a fireball. Engine fires are fought through dedicated ports,
not open hatches. If you cannot control it within seconds, send a Mayday, don
life jackets, deploy raft, and abandon ship.
★
Myth busted: Opening a burning engine hatch is a classic mistake that turns a
manageable fire into an inferno.
SCENARIO 38 — B — Never drink
salt water. The human kidney cannot process the salt load in seawater. Drinking
it accelerates dehydration through osmotic diuresis, causes hallucinations,
organ failure, and death. Every ounce of seawater drunk requires two or more
ounces of fresh water to process. Collect rain, dew, or use a hand-powered
desalinator.
★
Myth busted: Small amounts of salt water is a lethal myth. There is no safe
quantity of seawater to drink for hydration.
SCENARIO 39 — B — HOT water,
then emergency care. Stonefish venom is protein-based and heat-labile — hot
water (110-115°F) denatures the protein and dramatically reduces pain and venom
activity. Cold water does nothing. Stonefish envenomation causes agonizing pain
and can cause cardiac arrest — this is a true emergency.
★
Myth busted: Cold water is the wrong treatment for stonefish. Heat is the
medically correct first aid response.
SCENARIO 40 — B — Close eyes,
breathe normally, follow bubbles. Salt water will not damage your eyes in the
short term but the stinging causes panic. You do not need your mask to ascend —
you need your regulator and your bubbles. Breathe normally. A panicked rapid
ascent without a mask causes decompression sickness. Close eyes, stay calm,
surface safely.
★
Myth busted: Mask-off ascents are a standard skill taught in open water courses
for exactly this reason. Panic is the real danger.
EXPEDITION 3: JUNGLE TREK — Answers
SCENARIO 41 — B — Immobilize,
mark swelling, evacuate. Cutting and sucking venom is completely ineffective —
venom enters the lymphatic and bloodstream immediately and cannot be sucked
out. The cuts cause infection and additional tissue damage. Keep the limb
immobilized and below heart level to slow venom spread. Evacuation to antivenom
is the only effective treatment.
★
Myth busted: The cut-and-suck method has been completely discredited by
toxicologists. It causes more harm than the bite in many cases.
SCENARIO 42 — A — Follow the
river downstream. In jungle survival, rivers are the single best navigation
tool. Downstream leads to lower elevation, wider rivers, and ultimately
civilization or coast — all of which are more accessible for rescue. This is the
opposite of mountain logic. In jungle, water flows to help.
★
Myth busted: 'Stay put' is the rule in temperate wilderness. In dense jungle
where search aircraft cannot see you, moving to the river is often survival.
SCENARIO 43 — B — Evacuate the
streambed immediately. Tropical jungle flash floods travel at 20+ mph and carry
boulders, logs, and debris. Dry streambeds fill within seconds. The roaring
upstream is your only warning — seconds count. Flash floods in jungle
environments kill more explorers than any animal.
★
Myth busted: Dry streambeds in jungle environments are deadly campsites. Rain
miles away can flood your position without a drop falling on you.
SCENARIO 44 — B — Run first,
brush off while moving. Army ants swarm in millions and release alarm
pheromones when crushed — this triggers the entire swarm to attack. Slapping
them makes it worse. Put maximum distance between you and the swarm, then remove
clothing and brush off remaining ants. A healthy adult can outrun an army ant
swarm.
★
Myth busted: Crushing army ants releases an alarm chemical that makes the
entire swarm more aggressive. Run, don't swat.
SCENARIO 45 — B — Purify all
water in jungle environments. Crystal-clear stream water in tropical jungles
can contain Giardia, Cryptosporidium, liver flukes, leptospirosis bacteria, and
typhoid. Clear water is not a safety indicator in tropical environments. Boil
for 1 minute if you have fire. If not, drink as a last resort after 24 hours —
the risk of dehydration eventually outweighs contamination risk.
★
Myth busted: 'Clear' water in the tropics is one of the most dangerous myths in
jungle survival. Clearness indicates zero biological safety.
SCENARIO 46 — B — Stand tall and
hold eye contact. Jaguars, like most big cats, respond to confident body
language. Making yourself small triggers prey response. Never run — running
activates predatory instinct. Maintain eye contact, speak calmly, back away
without turning your back. Making noise can also deter an investigative jaguar.
★
Myth busted: Submission behavior works with some animals. With big cats, it
triggers predatory response. Stand tall.
SCENARIO 47 — B — Avoid milky
white sap plants. White sap in tropical plants is a classic indicator of latex
or toxic alkaloids. Contact can cause severe skin irritation, chemical burns,
blindness (if it contacts eyes), and systemic toxicity. In the jungle, identify
plants before contact. Use palm fronds, banana leaves, or other confirmed safe
materials.
★
Myth busted: Milky white sap = danger in the tropics. This includes many
Euphorbia species, manchineel trees, and others.
SCENARIO 48 — B — Never eat
jungle plants without testing. Jungle plants have no evolutionary relationship
to the blueberries in North American markets. Dozens of lethal jungle berries
are visually identical to safe species. The Universal Edibility Test (rub on
skin, then lip, then small taste with 8-hour wait) is the only safe protocol.
★
Myth busted: Appearance is completely useless as a poison indicator in the
jungle. Many of the most deadly plants look delicious.
SCENARIO 49 — B — Add
salt/electrolytes if possible. Heavy sweating in tropical environments depletes
sodium dramatically. Drinking only pure water rapidly can cause hyponatremia
(water intoxication) — the cells swell with water in the absence of sodium,
including brain cells. This causes confusion, seizures, and death. If you have
any salt or food with salt, include it.
★
Myth busted: Hyponatremia kills marathon runners and jungle survivors every
year. Pure water in massive quantities is not always safe.
SCENARIO 50 — B — Distribute
weight, go slow. Quicksand creates a vacuum seal around limbs. Rapid, forceful
movements increase suction and cause faster sinking. Leaning back spreads your
weight over a larger surface area. Remove the pack to reduce downward force.
Use a trekking pole or branch to extend to solid ground. Slow, rotational
movements break the seal.
★
Myth busted: Quicksand does not typically pull you under like in movies — but
panic and fighting it makes it much harder to escape.
SCENARIO 51 — B — Stay still and
blow gently. Many venomous spiders (including wandering spiders — the most
venomous in the Americas) bite defensively when threatened. A quick hand
movement toward it is a defensive trigger. A gentle continuous breath on it
disturbs it enough to move without triggering a bite reflex. Never slap at
spiders on your body.
★
Myth busted: Fast movements near spiders trigger defensive bites. Slow,
deliberate, non-threatening responses are always safer.
SCENARIO 52 — B — Jungle
infections are medical emergencies. Tropical environments harbor bacteria that
cause infections that advance from minor wound to sepsis in 24-48 hours. Wet
heat accelerates bacterial growth dramatically. An infected wound in the jungle
with pus is a sign of established infection — this will worsen rapidly without
antibiotics and medical care. Evacuation is critical.
★
Myth busted: Wound infections in temperate climates develop slowly. In tropical
jungle environments, they can be life-threatening in under 48 hours.
SCENARIO 53 — B — Scout before
crossing. Tropical rivers with unclear bottoms hide submerged logs, strong
undercurrents, sudden depth changes, caimans, electric eels, and piranha. A
calm surface masks powerful current. Always cross at the widest, shallowest,
slowest point. Use a sturdy pole for balance. Loosen your pack straps so you
can ditch it if you fall.
★
Myth busted: Calm river surfaces are some of the most deceptive environments in
jungle survival. Always scout before crossing.
SCENARIO 54 — B — Go small and
dry with interior wood. The inside of standing dead wood is dry even in
torrential rain. Feather sticks (shaved wood curls still attached) ignite even
in humidity. Large wet logs will never catch on a struggling fire. Build
smallest possible ember first, then feed it carefully. Shield from rain as you
build.
★
Myth busted: Accelerants cannot make wet wood burn — they flash and go out. Dry
tinder inside wet-looking materials is the jungle fire secret.
SCENARIO 55 — B — Malaria is a
medical emergency. Falciparum malaria (the most common severe type in tropical
jungles) progresses from early fever to cerebral malaria and multi-organ
failure within 24-72 hours. Without treatment, it kills. Fever medication only
masks symptoms. If you have artemisinin-based antimalarials, begin them.
Evacuate — this will not resolve in the field.
★
Myth busted: Malaria feels like flu in early stages. It does not feel like a
life-threatening emergency until it suddenly is.
SCENARIO 56 — B — Move
perpendicular to the fall. A falling branch carries tremendous momentum in the
direction it is falling — running forward puts you directly in the debris path.
Moving sideways takes you out of the fall zone. In jungle environments, 'widow-maker'
branches kill more campers than most animals. Always look up in old-growth
jungle.
★
Myth busted: Running 'away' from a falling branch means running in the
direction it is falling. Go sideways.
SCENARIO 57 — B — Monitor for
allergy, stay calm. Bullet ant venom is extremely painful (rated #1 on the
Schmidt Sting Pain Index) but not medically dangerous for non-allergic
individuals. Pain lasts 12-24 hours. The real risk is anaphylaxis in allergic individuals
— watch for hives, throat swelling, and difficulty breathing. If anaphylaxis,
use epinephrine if available.
★
Myth busted: Pain severity does not equal medical danger. Bullet ants cause
extreme pain but rarely medical emergencies. Bees kill far more people.
SCENARIO 58 — B — Use the
sighting technique and flash in threes. A signal mirror is visible up to 10
miles in sunlight. Random flashing in a pilot's eyes may be dismissed as a sun
reflection. Three flashes (SOS rhythm) is the international distress signal and
catches trained attention. Use the mirror's sighting hole to aim precisely at
the aircraft's cockpit.
★
Myth busted: Signal mirrors work only if the pilot looks at them. Precise
aiming and SOS rhythm dramatically increases chance of recognition.
SCENARIO 59 — B — Edge of the
drip line is safer. Building directly under large jungle trees exposes you to
falling branches (widow-makers), insects living in the canopy, and large
animals using the tree. At the drip line edge, you get most of the rain protection
without the risks directly beneath. Never build directly against a tree trunk
in snake country.
★
Myth busted: The largest trees are not the safest shelter. They drop the most
branches, host the most insects, and attract lightning.
SCENARIO 60 — B — Observe before
committing. Moving through dense jungle burns enormous energy. Wildfire smoke
and cooking fire smoke look similar from a distance. Watch for consistency
(cooking fires fluctuate; wildfires build), location, and wind direction. If it
grows, it's likely a wildfire — do not approach. If it remains steady or stops,
it's human-made — approach upwind.
★
Myth busted: Rushing toward smoke in the jungle has led explorers into
wildfires and wasted days of energy on false trails.
π
SCORECARD
Player Names:
Name:
_________________________ Total Correct:
_____ / 60
Name:
_________________________ Total Correct:
_____ / 60
Name:
_________________________ Total Correct:
_____ / 60
Name:
_________________________ Total Correct:
_____ / 60
SURVIVAL RATING:
55-60 correct: ELITE SURVIVOR —
You would make an excellent wilderness guide.
45-54 correct: EXPERIENCED
ADVENTURER — You'd make it out alive most of the time.
35-44 correct: DETERMINED ROOKIE
— You'd survive with some luck and good partners.
25-34 correct: HIGH RISK —
You're carrying some dangerous myths. Study up!
Under 25: DEAD ON ARRIVAL — Time
to take a wilderness safety course!
Dead
on Arrival is an educational game. All scenarios are based on real survival
training, sports medicine, and rescue protocols. For emergency situations,
always defer to trained professionals and emergency services.
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