Events

The art contest, the pageant, the inspection and Sports Day, plus prizes and the winners' podium.

Every alien planet has an event. A pedestal waits under a hatch in your floor, off the right end of the habitat stand. At a planet with an event, point at the hatch and pull the trigger: up it comes, and its top folds out into the event's set. Put your human on it and watch.

Each event can be entered once an hour; the hatch shows how long is left. A robot announcer runs the show, judges pop up with their scores, and a little camera drone circles and films everything.

The Glorp-a-Rama Junior Art Contest (Glorpax)

A kids' art corner sponsored by Glorp Burger, with giant crayons, balloons and Glorpy, the inflatable burger mascot. Your human sits at a little desk and colors a picture with crayons while hologram rivals draw at theirs. How good it turns out depends on their painting talent and their artistry. They hold it up in a macaroni frame, and Fries, Soda and Shake pop up from trapdoors to score it. Your human keeps the drawing; it comes by the delivery post.

The Human Pageant (Threadworld)

Underground fashion, Threadworld style. Three rounds, judged by three living balls of yarn:

1. Presentation. Scared humans hunker down, confident ones stand proud, confused ones just stare.
2. Talent. A little stage unfolds around them and they sing, flex, draw or dance, by their best skill (and sometimes forget what they were doing).
3. The runway. They walk it, pose, and answer a question from the judges.

First place earns a BEST IN SHOW sash; second and third get RUNNER-UP.

The Habitat Inspection (Zynthar Prime)

Your human is strapped into an exam cradle that tips upright under a lamp. A robot eye scans them, and three drones fly over and scan the habitat. Then the capsule is sucked down the floor tube and comes back up with an inspector in a bowler hat.

• Open the capsule and tip the inspector into the habitat. He walks round inspecting things (good things, messes, an empty bowl), then waves to be taken out.
• Put him back in the capsule and he is sent up the ceiling tube.
• Leave him in the capsule for a minute and he is sent off uninspected.

The habitat gets a grade from A to F on an official certificate. A tidy, well-stocked habitat does best.

Sports Day (Klorrgblat XII)

The loudest asteroid in the galaxy. A tin robot announcer, a jumbotron that shouts in capital letters, and a giant foam finger.

1. The weigh-in on the KLORR-O-METER (in zorbs).
2. Paint the race track. Hold the trigger and point at your floor: the laser paints like a big brush. Let go and whatever you painted becomes a smooth loop with a start gate and four checkpoints.
3. The race. Put your human on the starting line and three rivals teleport in. Pull the trigger to start. You can pick any racer up; thrown off the track, they run back to it (or sit holding an ankle and say they cannot go on). Your human has to pass every checkpoint to finish. Fitness helps.
4. The ring. The pedestal turns into a boxing ring for a short fight with the best of the rest.

The winners' podium

At the end of every event the pedestal becomes a three-block podium with holograms of the winners. If your human placed, they climb up to their spot and wave. If not, they stand off to the side and shrug, get angry, or look worried. Pick them up to take them home, or after a while they hop down on their own.

Every event also trains a skill: artistry at the art contest, poise at the pageant and the inspection, and fitness at Sports Day.

Tips for winning

• Train skills before you go: crafts for artistry, gentle pats and set-downs for poise, showers for voice, the wheel and the bench for fitness.
• A happy, well-fed human does better than a miserable one.
• Clean up before an inspection, and make sure the bowl and water are full.