## Description
Mar Tesoro (which is Spanish for Sea Treasure) is a game which simulates the
search for sunken treasure. You start with $10,000 with which you must hire a
boat, crew and equipment of various sorts from the main port of “The Island”.
Then you can explore and bring back any treasure that you find.
In port, you can hire a boat and select the type of equipment to use (scuba,
diving rig or a diving bell). These allow you to reach treasure at increasing
depths. You can also hire a historian who can estimate the worth of a treasure
by a sample retrieved by the diver, without having to recover the entire
treasure. Additional crew can be hired to assist in salvage operations. Once
the daily hire charge and time has been determined, you can set out on your
expedition.
On leaving port, you may choose to look at the chart which shows the randomly
generated island, the surrounding sea, and previously dropped buoys. You can
move the ship, represented by an asterisk, from square to square in four
directions. Movement uses time, which is shown below the chart. If you exceed
the agreed upon rental time you will be nabbed by the coast guard. Other
randomly occurring incidents such as bad weather and engine trouble may also
use time.
Once you have decided upon a spot to search, you may dive. This brings up a
side view of the scene. You control the diver, who must visit the ocean floor
and return a sample of any possible treasure. Treasure, which ranges from a
shipwreck to an oyster bed with pearls, usually appears a different colour
from the rest of the sea floor. It may also be guarded by a giant squid, which
must be avoided, or you will lose a worker or perhaps your own life. Having
brought the sample back to the boat, you have the option of retrieving the
treasure. The historian (if you have one) will offer an opinion on the
likelihood of a good treasure. The time it takes to retrieve a treasure
depends on the depth. If you don’t have enough time, you can mark the site
with a buoy and continue elsewhere.
After returning to port, you are offered money for all of your recovered
treasures. Then you may either leave the game (and get you final rating), or
continue the game to look for even greater fortune.
Mar Tesoro