Check out this old 70′s board game that has been being autcioned off on eBay.  CNN news blog tells us:

A nearly 40-year-old board game is getting a lot of new attention because of eerie similarities between the scenarios of its play and the 78-day-old BP Gulf oil disaster.

The game BP Offshore Oil Strike, which came out in the 1970s and is adorned with an old BP logo, revolves around four players exploring for oil, building platforms and constructing pipelines – all in the name of being the first to make $120 million.

But like the real-life oil game there are some big hazards, too. Players have to deal with the possibility of large-scale oil spills and cover cleanup costs. You struggle with “hazard cards” that include phrases now part of our daily vernacular, including: “Blow-out! Rig damaged. Oil slick cleanup costs. Pay $1 million.” Keep Reading

Does anyone remember this?

Ship Simulator – It may not have the capabilities of a Transas Full Mission Simulator, the unique characteristics of a Tall Ship simulation or the pure fun of the nautical game Ship Simulator 2008 but none of the above have the real life data of google earth driving the background images.

TheMaritime blog tells us:

I came across this free ship simulator that allows you to control different types of ships in different areas of the world using Google Earth in your web browser. Its very basic, and the true simulator connoisseur may find many faults, but hey, its fun! There are no explosions or special effects if you try ramming your ship aground….I tired it.  Looks like they are also looking for investors to make the simulator better.  You’ll need a free Google Earth plugin for your browser if you don’t already have it installed.  Takes just a second to install it.

Here is a video of the Google Earth Ship Simulator:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Of note the game was developed by PlanetInAction with help from Google Earth blogger Frank Taylor.

Related Posts: Free Ship Simulator Game

We have shown you the video game Ship Simulator 2008, a “realistic” (we haven’t tested this claim) simulator game for your PC, but today we point you towards another product from the company Vstep; RescueSim. Here’s the short description from the RescueSim website;

RescueSim allows emergency response teams to prepare for incidents in a virtual working environment. Under the guidance of your own instructor, any incident can be realistically simulated. Crews experience the incident as they would in real life. They determine the best response strategy, implement it and then observe the consequences of their decisions.

The training platform can be supplemented with industry-specific training modules that include environments, scenarios and equipment relevant to that industry. Today, modules exist for Ports; developed with the Port of Rotterdam and Rotterdam Harbour Fire Department, it includes training incident scenarios with various vessels and industrial fires.

While we still recommend any organization in need of this type of training contact our friend Tom Guldner at Marine Firefighting Institute, we look forward to learning more about this product.

If any gCaptain readers have experienced Ship Simulator 2008 or RescueSim, please let us know what you think!