Pathways Badge Quest

How to play Pathways Badge Quest?

Board Game Overview 

Explore CALS Pathways to Innovation and Leadership through the board game Pathways Badge Quest! Players race in the allotted time to make progress through the Pathways program. Each round, players take turns playing cards, drafting dice to fulfill required activities, and reflecting on questions about their aspirations, plans, and the professional skills needed for success. At the end of the game, players calculate points based on their completed activities, earned micro-credentials, and if they reached the goal of earning a completion badge. 

1-4 Players 
20-45 minutes 

Game Components 

  1. Yellow and red dice
  2. A deck of badge cards for each player (24 cards)
  3. 17 Micro-credential cards
  4. 7 Completion Badge cards
  5. Activity Completion Tokens
  6. Starting Player (SP) Token
  7. A Player Board for each player 

 

Game components include dice, deck, activity completion tokens, starting player token, and a player board/mat

Game Setup 

Ensure that each player has the required game components. Player count determines the number of total dice required. 

  • 1 player: 4 dice (half red, half yellow)
  • 2 players: 6 dice (half red, half yellow)
  • 3 players: 8 dice (half red, half yellow)
  • 4 players: 10 dice (half red, half yellow) 

Scoring 

At the end of the game, players calculate points based on their completed activities, earned micro-credentials, and if they reached goal of earning a completion badge.  

  • 1 point per completed activity on a card
  • 4 points per completed micro-credential card
  • 4 points per completion badge 

Activity completion points only apply to micro-credential cards that are not completed.

Visualization of the scoring components with photos of the activity completion token, micro-credential card, and completion badge.

 

Rules 

  1. Select a Starting Player (SP). SP rolls all dice in a central pile.
  2. Taking turns beginning with the starting player, each player selects one card from their hand to place on their player board. Cards must match the color and category of the space on the player board.
  3. In reverse turn order, players then draft up to 3 dice by immediately removing them from the central pile. You may only draft dice that fulfill a needed activity on one of your cards.
  4. Based on your drafted dice, immediately select activities to complete using appropriate numbered and colored dice. Each dice may complete one activity on any played card. Place an Activity Completion Token on top of the dice image.
  5. Once all players have played a card and drafted dice a new round begins. Return all dice to the central pile. The player clockwise to the previous SP will start the next round.
  6. Game ends when the allotted time is up. Players then calculate and compare their points. Alternatively, students can play a version where the game ends when the first student earns a Completion Badge. 

Earning Micro-credentials and a Completion Badge 

Micro-credential 

If a player completes all three required activities on a card, they have earned that micro-credential! Remove the Activity Completion Tokens and flip over the card to reflect on the question or fact. 

Visualization of an earned micro-credential (by completing all tokens and flipping the card over)

Completion badge 

If a player completes all five categories of micro-credentials then they have earned a Completion Badge! The earned Completion Badge corresponds to the Hands-On Learning card completed. 

 

Visualization of the flipped cards on the game mat in their respective positions

Example of a Round 

Jeff and Amy are playing a game of Pathways Badge Quest. They have 20 minutes to play. Jeff is the Starting Player. He rolls six dice in a central pile and then decides to place the Mock Interview (Communications) card on his Player Board. 

 

Visualization of the starting player token on an icon of "Jeff" and a Mock Interview card chosen, face up

Amy’s turn is next! Amy examines the dice and decides to play the Hands-On Learning (Entrepreneurship) card. Because she is the last person to take a turn in this round, she immediately drafts dice. She sees that she can only draft two dice that fit activities she needs to complete. She selects Yellow 5 and Yellow 6. She removes the dice from the pile and places Activity Completion Tokens on her card. 

Visualization of Amy's turn and her board mat, showing the Hands-On Learning card flipped over. Two dice are highlighted that match her card, and tokens are placed on the dice icons on top of the card.

 

It is now Jeff’s turn to draft dice. He sees that there are two dice left that are useful for him. He drafts them and places two Activity Completion Tokens on his card. 

 

Visualization of Jeff highlighting two dice that match the dice color and number on his card and placing two tokens over each of the dice icons on the card.

Remember that the Starting Player (SP) shifts clockwise each round! Amy will now roll the dice and be the first to place a new card on her Player Board. 

Visualization of Amy now becoming the starter player