Houston: Ground Control

This game was created for the Indie NASA TTRPG Adventure jam.  

The Game

4 Players   •   1-Shot   •   GM-run   •   1-2 Hours

Houston: Ground Control is a 4 Player, plus GM, roleplaying puzzle experience that allows you to relive the events of Apollo 11 from Ground Control, Houston. 

Expect high-octane cooperative puzzle-solving, with the aid of a Flight Plan made up of authentic NASA documents. Be guided by Gene Kranz (GM), Apollo 11's Flight Director as he depends on your problem-solving skills to ensure the mission is a success.  

How to Play

The game is broken up into 5 Acts. Each act has a Brief, Challenge, and R&R phase.  Players are guided by the GM through these acts and phases. 

Brief - Here, players get an establishing scene, where they are asked questions in order to bring the setting to life and add their own touch on how events are experienced. 

Challenge - The challenge phase is where players must solve puzzles in order to proceed with the mission. These range from crosswords, word searches, mazes, cooperative, and solo challenges. Some challenges are timed, making for a high-pressure experience. Don't let the mission down!

R&R - Rest & Recuperation is the game's downtime phase, where players can wind down and reflect on the events that have taken place. Are they proud of their achievements? Or, reliving their mistakes in their head? 

What's Included

•   40-page Rulebook that guides the GM and players through the 5 acts from Final Simulation to Homecoming. 

•   40-page Flight Plan that players can explore to help solve the 5 challenges. 

•   8-page Challenges document that can be printed for players to use. 

Honouring History

Houston: Ground Control was inspired by the Apollo 11 mission, an event that stands out in history to this day. It pays tribute to those who struggled away in Building 30 to make such a feat possible. Gene Kranz stands out amongst them. 

In order to stay as true to history, the following principles have been followed in the making of this game. 

•   Documents in the Flight Plan have been assembled and left mostly unaltered to capture the essence of what it must've felt like to go through them at NASA. 

•   Photographs and artwork are directly from the period, unless written otherwise. 

•   Quotes provided for certain figures have been adapted from actual dialog recorded during the mission, or repeated anecdotally through documentaries. 

•   Actual events, errors, and scenarios are replicated in order to be true to the Apollo 11 mission. 

Bibliography

For more Apollo 11 material, check out the below links: 

Apollo in Real Time - A real-time journey through different Apollo missions where you can explore pictures, videos, audio (astronauts & ground control), and more; painstakingly stitched into one cohesive timeline. For Apollo 11 there is about 8 days of content to explore!

Failure is Not an Option - A History Channel documentary that interviews Gene Kranz and a number of other Ground Control members who participated during the Apollo 11 mission and beyond. 

Mission Control: The Unsung Heroes of Apollo - A 2017 documentary with Gene Kranz and the crew that provides an overview on the tasks at Ground Control, its history, and its future.