Thanks to a heroic effort by all of the Samothracian team, a first version of the Argonauts and Samothracians game came into the world in October 2016. Some 75 students at Emory University and Agnes Scott College have tested the game, in which players balance the heroic drive to retrieve the golden fleece with the practical, social and geospatial realities of navigating the ancient Mediterranean sea. Players see the constellations in the night sky as they were in the 2nd century BC; they choose their course based on the information gained from hired navigators or provided by the game directions; enroute they must keep their crew supplied with water and food, encounter strong winds. Every player is Jason, who seeks to build his own ‘clout’ or (in ancient terms) kleos through financial gain, crew well-being, and the heroism that informs a seemingly impossible quest.
The game is available for download at:
https://scholarblogs.emory.edu/samothraciannetworks/play-the-game/
