Story pages are always as accurate as we can possibly make them, except when we need to introduce puzzle content. An example of this is found in the second paragraph on page 21 where Shackleton limits the amount of gear allowed to be carried on the trek across the ice. The first set of gear listed is historically accurate from Lansing’s account in “Endurance”. We wanted to remind the player that these men were not carrying an abundance of supplies. It was a minimalistic venture! The second list is fictional and is used in the puzzle content on the inside of the envelope.

Shackleton’s account of the crew’s time on the ice is curiously void of any talk about “fun and games”. But Lansing’s work indicates that not only were games an important part, but Shackleton himself was keenly interested in card games (poker and bridge) and rather competitive. The rest of the items are things that we imagine the crew may have had on their person: special keepsakes from home. (We also slipped in a little Easter Egg: a connection to Episode 1 with the map of Antarctica showing the Weddell Sea).

Every single aspect of this map is meant to be a reproduction of an actual photo: from the tents to the lookout tower to the Galley and the sledges. Referencing Hurley’s photos of the entire camp we can get a fairly good idea of the layout. The map also includes various activities such as “hunting” (a critical endeavour) and “constitutionals” which - as Lansing describes - was a very uncomfortable experience that brought little “relief” in the usual sense. The tracks that criss-cross the campsite (and also form the basis for the puzzle on this map) come from our interpretation of camp being a busy place of paths in the slushy ice. What a joy it is to recreate and puzzle-ify this epic adventure!

With very limited ability to carry excess weight, the crew had to leave behind many precious items in their trek across the ice. But when the trek proved fruitless, many trips were made back to the Endurance to retrieve these precious items. Among them, and perhaps most valued of all, was the 11th edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica, which would have provided an incredible volume of distraction from their mundane waiting period.

At various points throughout the first-hand accounts of this voyage, there is mention of the sound of ice. As Canadians, we’re familiar with the sound of ice moving on water, and it is truly something beyond description. The sounds are other-worldly! We wanted to reference this fact to give some indication to players what kind of world these explorers were in. While we have never been to Antarctica ourselves (yet!) we don’t have to try too hard to imagine the sound of the ice these men would have heard on a regular basis. When you compound that with the fact that the ice was the “floor” of their “home”, you start to envision the gravitas of their plight!