The Pack - NYSCI 4+

New York Hall of Science

    • 5.0 • 5 Ratings
    • Free

Description

Help restore the world to an ecologically balanced state in this open-world puzzle and survival game – while learning some computational thinking along the way! The Pack is set in Algos, a future world where healthy ecosystems have faltered, water and food are scarce, and it’s up to you and your Pack to help fix the environment.

You find yourself waking up in a barren land where the only way to bring balanced life back is to replenish water sources and find varied seeds that are scattered all over the world! You can’t do it alone, and can’t stray too far from water, so you and a “Pack” of helpful creatures set out on an adventure across Algos.

Throughout the game, you must find food sources to attract your own Pack made of local Algos creatures with special skills that will help you in your new environment. These creatures have functions like digging, moving, holding, grabbing and bumping, skills that will help you collect seeds and bring water to dry areas. When your Pack has more than one type of creature, you can combine them in a sequence (also known as an algorithm) to perform complex tasks and overcome challenges. Learning and mastering how to use these algorithms is the key to finding all of the seeds and restoring harmony to Algos!

This project was supported by the JPB Foundation. This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 1543144. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

The Pack is a science and math-based game created by the New York Hall of Science. The game encourages problem-solving and computational thinking as well as enforces basic coding principles. Educational guidelines are available to download free from our website.

What’s New

Version 7.0

Tutorial fixes
Ability to skip tutorial
Late game fixes

Ratings and Reviews

5.0 out of 5
5 Ratings

5 Ratings

albert randy ,

good game

well made and great theme. the characters reek of hard work

MobileSBO ,

Cute, fun, relaxing!

My son and I love playing this game together! It’s so relaxing and challenging in just the right ways. We can build and try out different algorithms to solve the problems, like how to find and gather a seed that is out of reach. I’m drawn to the idea of restoring natural land much more than the other simulation games out there, which seem to mostly be about buildings and war.

It could use some improvements with the controls—tap & drag is how you move AND how to move the algorithms around. There are some weird glitches like how the water sometimes stacks and doesn’t spread, and there’s a significant lag in water movement and land re-greening. I would totally pay for this game if someone made improvements!

corydaye ,

Needs a little more guidance

I've been playing this for a few days now-- apparently I added too many creatures to my pack and I don't have room for any new ones. I did not know this was possible as it wasn't presented at any time during the game. I like the game, but I don't have an unlimited amount of time to figure every single thing. I do not know how to have a creature leave the pack, or if this is even necessary. I don't know if I make more land, will I be able to add a creature without getting rid of any? Or is there something I'm missing? Love the game, but in any case I just don't have hours and hours to spend trying to figure out what to do-- it's probably very simple but I don't know what it is, making the game more frustrating than fun at this point. I understand we're supposed to figure it out, but maybe make it a little less completely 100% vague, knowing that people can't live on their phones. I have an actual garden and wildlife habitat I need to tend to IRL, so I'll probably have to quit this game because its taking too much real time, spending two hours trying to figure out how to add to the Pack. Nice concept, but more clues/guidance would be helpful.

I've never played games like Minecraft or anything. Maybe the developer is assuming most players have, but as a naturalist this game appealed to me because of the ecological theme, so I went in blind.

Developer Response ,

Thanks for your feedback! We're actually working on a guide to go with the game for these sorts of questions. 

For the short-term you can get a creature to leave by tapping on it. A 'leave pack' button will appear above its head and you can hit that to remove it. Hope that is helpful!

App Privacy

The developer, New York Hall of Science, indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. For more information, see the developer’s privacy policy.

Data Not Collected

The developer does not collect any data from this app.

Privacy practices may vary, for example, based on the features you use or your age. Learn More

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