The Game of Six Tools

The march of the Information Age has made many things obsolete, and one of the smaller ones was the game of Six Books, which was memorialized by G. Harry Stine in an Alternate View column in the March 1993 issue of Analog. The game assumes that the player is going out the airlock of a starship or exiting from the bomb shelter, and can allow room for six books with which to survive and rebuild civilization. Which six?

The rapid advance of computer technology allows the player to adopt the Oscar Gordon solution, “take everything”. Let us allow our players a rugged “Colonist Special” computer which stores on advanced CD ROM the entire knowledge of the human race, with sophisticated search, storage and calculation capabilities, engineered to withstand abuse and run on solar power. Is the game over? I think not.

The power of knowledge lies in its application. If we dump our players out the door or hatch with the computer and the clothes they stand in, and check back in a few years, you will probably be faced with the interesting spectacle of skin-clad hunter gatherers sitting around the fire discussing everything from Hawking’s cosmology to the latest thriller (before they left) while the meat roasts. Wilderness survival is a lot of work, and so is building the tools to build the tools to build the tools to build civilization. Starting at square one is a very slow process.

However, a selection of the right tools could considerably accelerate the process. Six seems to be a reasonable number. Which six? Ah, yes. The game is afoot.

THE RULES FOR TOOLS

In playing this game over coffee with friends and co-workers, the first requirement was for a game definition of “tool”. The one that evolved was as follows:

a. it must be able to be carried or otherwise moved by one person, unaided.

b. it may consist of more than one part, but this is not to be construed as allowing a whole set of tools as “one tool”. A drill and a set of bits would be acceptable as one tool, but a toolkit full of tools would not be.

c. a self reproducing unit of a biological system is considered a tool. This would be a breeding pair of animals, or a sack of seed large enough for one person to carry unaided.

As the game evolved, some “freebies” were allowed. Your clothing is your first line of defence against the environment, and this was allowed as a freebie. It is assumed that you have had the time and money to shop at Tilley Endurables or Abercrombie and Fitch for the best and most durable available. However, only what you can wear at one time, and this does not include items like tents and sleeping bags. Items of personal jewellery were also allowed, within reason. Your silver fountain pen is allowed, but not your father’s Swiss Army knife!

Two variants of the game emerged in the area of technology, off the shelf and custom designed. Players were limited to the current level of technology, and the “off the shelf” rule further required tools to be available on the open market. Custom design allowed one or more items designed to order, within the limits of present day technology. I’m an off the shelf person myself, but no doubt the gadgeteers out there could have a lot of fun with the custom design rule.

THE CONDITIONS

For game purposes, we assume an environment about like North America before European settlement, without sentient natives. The players will be dropped on land, randomly, excluding obviously inhospitable areas. You won’t be dropped in Death Valley or on top of an active volcano. Other than that, no guarantees. Groups will be widely scattered, so that whatever your intentions, you will have a long way to go to interact with other people.

For game purposes, the player is assumed to be the leader of their family group (if any), and the player’s choices are for the entire group.

THE PLAYERS’ CHOICE

On the top of almost everyone’s list was an axe. Some included it as a part of a multi purpose tool of the type used by smoke jumpers among others, which includes axe, mattock, and two or three other things. Most favoured a single bit design, some a double bit. No one left it off.

The other common feature was a knife. What kind of knife varied very widely, from Swiss Army to machete. The best single kind of knife was good for a lot of discussion, but not very much consensus, except that knives are a very individual tool. All part of the fun.

After that there was a lot of divergence. Some people considered a saw worthwhile, some didn’t. The question of means of making fire provoked some strong opinions, pro and con. The pros pointed out the great importance of fire, and the difficulty of making it by friction, especially if the conditions are wet. The con’s pointed out that any steel tool will provide half of a flint and steel, and that any quick, convenient means of making fire will have a limited life span.

There were some ingenious answers to the best domestic animal(s) to include. One player pointed out that the homely rabbit reproduces fast and produces meat and fur, as a counterpoint to the more conventional choices of horses and cattle. Llamas also had their proponents. There was also a lively discussion as to whether the “custom design” rule allowed genetically engineered animals.

NON PLAYERS

What didn’t make the lists was sometimes intriguing, too. Modern vehicles and weapons were rejected on logistical problems, however useful they might be. Even a bicycle needs lubrication, maintenance and spare parts. A custom design might be attempted, but I haven’t talked to anyone who thought it possible.

Some consideration was given to primitive weapons made with modern materials, such as a crossbow, longbow or compound bow, or flintlock rifle, so that you could make your own ammunition, but the general consensus among the players I talked to (including one black powder enthusiast) was that you would be making your own weapons and tools from scratch anyway, and it was better to start as you meant to go on, and choose tools to make tools. The number of biological tools in most of the lists ran to half the total, sometimes more.

Like its predecessor, this game says a good deal about your personality. My list? An axe, Hudson’s Bay single bit pattern, a Victorinox Swiss Army Champion, a good bow saw, horses, sheep, and potatoes. I picked potatoes instead of a grain crop because they are less work, and I’ve carried a Swiss Army for years.

Eventually, of course, the groups will find each other, and there will ensue trade, conflict, intermarriage, power struggles, conflict…but we all know about that game.