Gus Thornbeard’sSurvivalTrainer
Learn fire, shelter, water and snares in hands-on lessons. Then get dropped in the woods and survive.
Skill Camp
Pass a lesson’s test and Gus hands you its gear for The Drop.
Pack for The Drop
Points left: 0
Points you don’t spend count toward your score.
Out of the woods
0 points
New personal best!
How to play
- Skill Camp: Gus explains a skill one card at a time. Then you do it with your hands: pick the safe spot, put things in the right order, strike sparks, blow the ember, pile the leaves, hold the boil, size the snare. Then a short test.
- Pass the test and Gus gives you that lesson’s gear free for The Drop: a ferro rod (fire), paracord (shelter), a metal pot (water), snare wire (snares).
- The Drop: spend your points on gear, then live through the nights. Each day has three turns: morning, afternoon and evening. Gather wood, make fire, build the shelter, get water, set snares, build signal fires or rest.
- Each night the weather tests what you built. Keep warmth, water and energy up or your health drops. Survive every night, or get spotted by a search plane, to win.
- Points like the TV shows: a fire is 5, a waterproof roof 15, a rabbit 10, a big catch 20, each day survived 20.
- Easy gives hints and 3 nights. Normal is 5 nights. Hard has no hints, 7 nights, harsher weather, gear that breaks, and water boiled at 7,000 feet (3 minutes).
- Keys: Space or Enter for the big button, number keys 1 to 7 for choices.
What Gus teaches, and where it comes from
A game that teaches survival basics. It is not a substitute for a hands-on course with a qualified instructor. Follow local laws, fire rules and burn bans.
Fire
Build a campfire on open, level ground out of the wind, at least 15 feet from tents, bushes and low branches, and clear a circle 10 feet across down to bare dirt. Lay tinder (dry grass, leaves, needles), then kindling (sticks thinner than about an inch around), then fuel logs. Put it out by drowning it, stirring, drowning again and feeling for heat with the back of your hand. Source: Smokey Bear, U.S. Forest Service, How to Build Your Campfire.
Shelter
Pick a site a little high and dry, with no dead trees or limbs overhead and away from dry creek beds. A debris hut has a ridgepole propped about waist high, ribs leaning on both sides, a mesh of small sticks, and dry leaves and debris piled at least 3 feet (1 meter) thick, with a thick leaf bed inside. Keep it just big enough for you. Source: U.S. Army Field Manual 21-76, Survival.
Water
Let cloudy water settle or filter it through a clean cloth, paper towel or coffee filter. Bring clear water to a rolling boil for 1 minute, or 3 minutes above 6,500 feet. Without a fire, plain unscented household bleach (5 to 9%) at 8 drops per gallon, stirred, then wait 30 minutes. Source: CDC, Making Water Safe in an Emergency. Melt snow before you drink it; eating it chills you (Field Manual 21-76).
Snares
Snares and traps are illegal in many states and need a license and a season where they are allowed: check your state wildlife agency. In an emergency, set a simple wire loop on an animal trail where it narrows, slightly bigger than the animal’s head and at head height, tied to a stake or sturdy branch. Never eat a wild plant you can’t identify for certain. Source: U.S. Army Field Manual 21-76, Survival.
Rules of thumb
The “rule of threes” (about 3 hours without shelter in harsh weather, 3 days without water, 3 weeks without food) is a rough guide taught in survival courses, not an exact limit. Three of anything (three fires, three whistle blasts) is a signal for help. Lost? S.T.O.P.: stop, think, observe, plan.
Photo credits
The photos are real and freely licensed (Creative Commons or public domain), found through Openverse. Each one links to its original.
- A campfire burning inside a ring of stones: Forest Service Pacific Northwest Region, Public domain
- A stone fire ring on open, bare ground with nothing overhead: Joshua Tree National Park, Public domain
- Curls of papery birch bark, good tinder: fravuerve, CC BY 2.0
- A roll of dry birch bark: fravuerve, CC BY 2.0
- Hot sparks flying off a ferro rod: particlem, CC BY 2.0
- A person blowing a smoking tinder bundle into flame: Inha Leex Hale, CC BY 2.0
- A pile of dead, dry branches and logs: sf-dvs, CC BY 2.0
- Split firewood stacked: Muffet, CC BY 2.0
- Thin split kindling sticks: schwuk, CC BY-SA 2.0
- A live tree full of green leaves: dingcarrie, CC BY 2.0
- Wet moss on rocks beside a waterfall: cudipeich, CC BY 2.0
- Thick woods with low branches overhead: grandmapearl, CC BY-SA 2.0
- A tent at a campsite: Grand Canyon NPS, CC BY 2.0
- A field of tall, dry grass: Namibnat, CC BY 2.0
- Woods in snow on a cold, clear day: marcostetter, Public domain
- A dead standing tree, rotten and full of holes: Nicholas_T, CC BY 2.0
- A debris hut: a low frame of sticks piled with leaves: JustTooLazy, CC BY 2.0
- Sticks leaned together into a frame: mikecogh, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Dry fallen leaves covering the ground: Dhaval Jani, CC BY 2.0
- A dry creek bed with a sandy, flat bottom: USFWS Headquarters, CC BY 2.0
- Cold fog settled at the bottom of a valley: andyarthur, CC BY 2.0
- Live trees on a rise in the woods: John Brighenti, CC BY 2.0
- A clear stream running over rocks: Clicksy, CC BY 2.0
- A small creek flowing through the woods: takomabibelot, CC BY 2.0
- Cloudy, muddy water: daveynin, CC BY 2.0
- A muddy puddle on a trail: ednl, CC BY 2.0
- A still pond covered in green scum: docoverachiever, CC BY 2.0
- A pot steaming over a campfire: Kurayba, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Snow and ice along a creek: ForestWander.com, CC BY-SA 2.0
- A line of animal tracks along a narrow path in snow: oddharmonic, CC BY-SA 2.0
- A narrow animal path through brush: Stefans02, CC BY 2.0
- An open meadow: Nicholas_T, CC BY 2.0
- A campsite with tents: Grand Canyon NPS, CC BY 2.0
- Bare rock with a little fern: Jim Morefield, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Woods with evening light through the trees: John Brighenti, CC BY 2.0