[Let's Play] Lost in the Sea of Despair

[SGamerz]

So the next Fighting Fantasy LP has already been chosen, and it will be another Luke Sharp book, Chasms of Malice. But as I mentioned at the end of the last LP, I will be doing another non-FF LP in between as I usually do. This one will be a pretty short break between the 2 Luke Sharp Adventures, as each of the books in this series are only slightly over 100 sections in length.

"Lost: Can You Survive?" by Tracey Turner is an "educational" type CYOA series meant for a younger audience. Each book places the PC as someone who's lost in wild, unfamiliar and potentially hostile environment far from civilization. Between the gameplay sections are interspersed with individual sections that offer legitimate survival tips and information for the relevant environments, such as the common hazards and local flora and fauna. Gameplay is simple CYOA style without any complex statistics to keep track of.

Which environment should we test ourselves in?

[Darth Rabbitt]

Jungle of Doom is also a Give Yourself Goosebumps title so I’m tempted to go with that. Gamebook commonality is fun.

[Thaluikhain]

There's some educational and entertaining US WW2 training films about surviving in the jungle or at sea, but not about mountains, so yeah, jungle.

[Queen of Swords]

I voted for the Sea of Despair because I like sharks (so it won't be too disappointing if we get eaten by one. Or many).

[SGamerz]

The poll is set to run for a single day, so please get your vote in before it expires.

Right now I see 2 people picking Jungle in the posts but only 1 in the poll, so 1 of you might have either not voted or voted a different option from your stated preference?

[Thaluikhain]

Right...and there's no way to tell that that was me overlooking that, could totally have been Darth Rabbitt.

[SGamerz]

So, the Sea of Despair won the poll, so for the LP, we'll be lost at sea:

I'm going to skip the introduction page and go straight for the start of the adventure, since there are no complex rules or mechanics for this straightforward CYOA:

You watch helplessly as the small orange life raft bobs out of sight in the churning waves. You clutch the railing of the yacht as another massive wave crashes over you, wondering how on Earth you are going to survive.

Tonight's terrible events swirl around your head like a nightmare. Your uncle woke you up when he discovered the small yacht was letting in water from a hole in the hull, or body of the boat. It was the middle of the night, and a storm was raging around you - so different from when you had set off on this trip, sailing to the South Pacific on a calm, sunny day. Trying to repair the hole, your uncle got washed overboard. He shouted for you to throw him a life raft. You saw him inflate it and climb into it, then the sight of the tiny raft got lost among gigantic waves.

Your uncle is an experienced sailor, but you have no knowledge of sailing at all. Yet here you are, far from land, surrounded by crashing waves in a leaking boat. The yacht rolls up and down the waves, nearly hurling you into the sea. You are lot in the Pacific - and completely alone.

How will you survive? Turn to page 8 to find information you need to help you survive.

So, that was the beginning of the story, but instead of going straight to your first choice, we first get treated to a 2-page geographical info-dump on the following pages. That's how all the books in the series start btw.

The Pacific Ocean is enormous. It is the larges of the world's oceans, covering roughly 28% of Earth's surface, stretching from the Arctic in the north to the waters of the Antarctic in the south. The Pacific is bounded by Asia and Australia to the west, and North and South America to the east.

Yo are lost in the tropical South Pacific. The sea here is dotted with islands, and you might be lucky enough to find one - but there is a lot more sea than land. The islands of the South Pacific are some of the most remote in the world, scattered over 12000 square miles (31000 sq km). Many people have become lost in the Pacific Ocean, never to be seen again. If you are going to survive, you'll need to have your wits about you.

Perils of the South Pacific

The open sea is probably the most challenging survival environment of all. No one can survive in cold water for very long but, here in the tropics, you stand a much better chance of staying alive. Besides the perils of surviving on a tiny boat in a huge sea, you will have to brave brutal tropical storms, sharks, whales, and other large marine mammals that could capsize your craft. Closer to shore, sea jellies, sea snakes, stingrays, and other venomous sea creatures might be lurking. If you do find land, you need to be wary of any animals you might meet.

Island Life

There are thousands of islands in the South Pacific. The region is divided geographically into Micronesia, Melanesia, and Polynesia. The largest island is New Guinea, which covers nearly 270270 square miles (700000 sq km). The smallest inhabited island is Pitcairn at just two square miles (5 sq km). There are thousands of uninhabited islands, too, some even smaller than Pitcairn. Often, the reason an island is uninhabited is because there's no fresh water available. The islands are dramatically different. There are different cultures, languages, wildlife and plant life. The farther west you go, the more plants and mammals you'll find. Farther east, there are fewer species.

Turn to page 10.

So, you'd think we be presented with our options after that, right? Nope, first, there's another page of Survival Tips for the players:

Basic Survival Tips at Sea:

Here are a few basic tips that might affect your chances of survival at sea.

- Onboard any boat, always find out where the life rafts, life belts and life jackets are, and make sure you're familiar with emergency drills.

- Stay with the boat for as long as possible before abandoning it for a life raft. A large boat will have more supplies on board and be easier for rescuers to spot than a smaller raft.

- If you can, let Search and Rescue services know you are abandoning your boat for a life raft.

- If a call for help has been successfully sent, stay in the same position. Life rafts have sea anchors that stop them from drifting. If a call hasn't been sent, keep the raft moving.

- Make sure you're protected from the elements as much as possible.

- Drinking fresh water is a priority. If you don't have a desalinator to remove salt from seawater, find ways to collect rain or make a solar still. Never drink seawater.

- Take deep breaths and stay calm. Panicking wil seriously reduce your chances of survival.

Remember this book is not intended as an official guide to sailing ships.

Turn to page 11.

This is the first and the most general section on Survival Tips in this book. Throughout the rest of the books there are also information on more specific subjects, and in fact the sections usually cross-reference other relevant sections when they mention specific subjects with more detailed information in another. In the one above, for example, we have "see XX section" for more information on desalinator and solar still. I will post those if we come to them during the LP, and if we won't then I may post them at the end if the players want to read more on those subjects.

Other the Basic Survival Tips which is on a left-hand page, all the other infodump sections are on the right-hand pages (usually accompanying a relevant gameplay section on the left). A lot of them are right beside a "The End" section, so that players are informed why their prior options led them to Game Over. Some of them are alongside a options section, but those are usually ambiguous enough to not directly spoon-feed players on what options to take. And on rarer occasions, players may even be informed that they actually made what would have been an unwise decision in RL, but still be fortunate enough to survive and continue the story, so the Tips are no 100% ways to victory, although they are usually trustworthy.

And now, we finally proceed with the game:

The storm is dying down a bit, but the little yacht is still pitching wildly from side to side.

The hole in the side of the hull is still letting in water. Now that you can move around more easily and safely, you open the door to the cabin. Water is everywhere! There's no way the bilge pump can keep up with this. You start bailing the water out over the side with a bucket. You are bailing faster than the water is coming in, but you wonder how long you can keep it up.

There is a second life raft. You spotted it when you picked up the first one, and your uncle shouted to you that you might need to use it. Maybe it would be better to abandon the boat now and set off in the other life raft?

If you decide to abandon ship, go to page 36.
If you stay with the yacht, go to page 20.

A choice, at last! Do we think it's time to abandon ship yet?

[JourneymanN00b]

Without even reading the tips, I vote to stay with the yacht, as my memory from reading the Worst-Case Scenario Handbook states that you stay with the ship, even a disabled one, for as long as possible, as it is easier to see from rescuers.

Oh, and is the radio busted? If not, I vote to call for help as well.

[Beroli]

"Stay with the boat as long as possible."

No going overboard yet.

[Queen of Swords]

Unless the boat is actually sinking, stay in it.

[SGamerz]

The storm has died down even more and you keep bailing out the water coming through the hole. As the first light of dawn appears, the full horror of your predicament becomes clear - the yacht is obviously sinking. It's only a matter of time before it goes under no matter how quickly you bail, and you are already exhausted. You take a look at the water-logged radio, flicking the switches on and off, but there's no sign of life.

It looks like it's time to inflate the life raft. But maybe you'd be better off staying with the yacht? After all, it's much bigger and easier to spot than a little raft.

If you decide to stay with the sinking boat, go to 16.
If you decide to inflate the life raft, go to page 36.

And here, we have a reference/information section on the right-hand page:

Abandoning Ship:

It's a good idea to stay with a boat or ship until the point of no return. It's easier for rescuers to see a boat than a life raft, and there are more things in it that can help you survive. But once it's clear that the boat is sinking, there's nothing else you can do but abandon ship.

- Stay calm! Panic will lead to bad decisions.

- If you can, send distress calls.

- If the shore or other ships are nearby, fire distress flares.

- Put on extra clothes, to keep as warm as you can, and a lifejacket.

- Take seasickness pills.

- Find the Emergency Gab Bag.

- Prepare to launch the life raft.

The last 2 points also list additional reference pages for Emergency Grab Bag and Life Rafts.

So, have we waited long enough?

[JourneymanN00b]

Preparing to inflate the life raft leads to the same paragraph as abandoning ship, but the information section is a dead giveaway that it is time to do so. So I vote to inflate the life raft. However, if staying with the sinking boat allows us to get extra supplies beforehand, then I vote to do so instead.

[Queen of Swords]

Agree with JourneymanN00b.

[SGamerz]

However, if staying with the sinking boat allows us to get extra supplies beforehand, then I vote to do so instead.

The whole point of playing these games is that the players need to decide for themselves whether the option they pick is worth the potential risk or not. I'm not telling you whether you get extra supplies if you wait. That's like saying: I vote we fight this enemy if it ends with us winning without taking a wound, otherwise I vote not to fight. Ambiguous votes like this will not be counted.

[Thaluikhain]

We have to worry about whales? Um...that is not a thing you have to worry about IRL. And while it's generally wiser to stay with the ship than get in a life raft, this does not apply when the ship is sinking. If you're only doing it because the ship is easier to sea than your lift raft, you can stay close to it, maybe moored on a quick release line. Boo!

Anyway life raft.

[JourneymanN00b]

The whole point of playing these games is that the players need to decide for themselves whether the option they pick is worth the potential risk or not. I'm not telling you whether you get extra supplies if you wait. That's like saying: I vote we fight this enemy if it ends with us winning without taking a wound, otherwise I vote not to fight. Ambiguous votes like this will not be counted.

Understood. I vote to inflate the life raft and abandon ship then to remove any doubt then.

[Beroli]

Inflate the life raft and abandon ship.

[Queen of Swords]

Inflate life raft, abandon ship.

[Darth Rabbitt]

Time to abandon ship.

[SGamerz]

You pull the life raft canister off the wall and try to make sense of it. You force yourself to breathe slowly and stop panicking - you know that you won't be able to figure it out if you don't calm down. Taking deep breaths, you read the instructions. It says the raft inflates automatically, Apparently, you have to throw the canister into the sea, still hanging on to a rope sticking out of one side. Then you pull the roe to inflate it. You're worried that it's not going to work.

The hole in the yacht has let in more water while you've been trying to figure out the life raft's instructions. The yacht is now listing over to one side. Where should you launch the life raft? On the side that is closest to the water? Or should you throw the raft over the other side of the boat, next to the part of the hull that's out of the water?

If you decide to launch the raft on the side nearest to the water, to to page 22.
If you decide to launch it on the other side near the yacht's hull, go to page 12.

The accompanying information section is on life rafts, but doesn't actually tell the readers the which way to launch it:

Life Rafts:

There are different types of life rafts. Some come in hard canisters and inflate automatically. Thankfully you have one of these, and it's a good one.

- The raft has a canopy arch for high-visibility. It covers the whole raft, and inflates automatically. It has a door that zips open and closed.

- There are two buoyancy compartment. If one gets a hole in it, the other one keeps the raft afloat.

- The life raft comes equipped with various items to help you survive: a bailer, paddles, a knife, a mirror for signaling, a flashlight, a horn and a whistle for making noise that's more likely to be heard than shouting, a compass, a first-aid kit, sponges, flares, seasickness pills and sick bags, a pump to top up the inflatable compartments of the raft, a fishing line and hook, and a repair kit.

- The raft should be able to keep you alive for at least 30 days.

So which way do we launch the life raft?

[Thaluikhain]

Hmmm...if the yacht is going to tip over sideways, the mast is going to pose a risk if the raft is on the side nearest the water. I'm not sure about this logic, though, so only half vote for the other side.

(The raft will keep us alive for 30 days, but there's no mention of water or water purification stuff?)

[Darth Rabbitt]

As Thal pointed out, the side leaning over the water might tip over and crash into the raft; on the other hand, the side facing away from the water might make it harder to launch and/or reach the raft. Depends on how far the raft launches, I suppose. But without that information I have to think we’re supposed to launch it as close to the water as possible to make it easier to get into.

[Queen of Swords]

Once we launch it and get in, we might be able to paddle it away from the yacht before the yacht tips over and strikes the raft, so half a vote for this.

[Beroli]

Launch it on the side nearest the water.

[JourneymanN00b]

I vote to launch the raft on the other side near the yacht's hull, as I believe there is too much of a risk of yacht getting caught between the ship if we launch it on the side nearest the water.