Orbital Summation was the very first game I invented. By trial and error in the making of this game, I developed many of the techniques I would employ when designing and manufacturing future games. This creation has sentimental meaning for me because it started me on the path of designing games and toys.
The idea behind it was to design a board game that incorporates the Boulder Dice I had just designed and made. I was even considering obtaining a patent for them. They are shown below. After playing the game a few times I decided it was too complicated, and decided to change it to a more compact, simpler game by eliminating part of the original design and tweaking the rules. The new game was named Orbital Summation Junior. I later shortened this back to the original name of Orbital Summation.
Orbital Summation is a game designed for school age kids on up to adults that are familiar with basic arithmetic. Addition, Subtraction, and Multiplication are used to play the game. It is a very fun way to sharpen math skills.
The story associated with the game is set in the future and involves a group of young astronauts that travel in their Star Cruiser to an orbit around the planet Photon. They play the ancient game of Orbital Summation where their goal is to gather different numbers around the three rings that surround the planet. They will manipulate those numbers to obtain a special Atomic Number, then race back to their Star Cruiser to win the game.
Orbital Summation Directions
Click the image on the right to download a PDF that contains the complete rules and directions for Orbital Summation. These rules were updated in August of 2025.
Pictures and rules are nice, but what fun is a game if you can’t play it? It is easy to make an Orbital Summation game by following the directions that are detailed in GarsGarage. The items you need can be readily purchased online or at a hobby or craft store.
These are a few examples of what can be made by following the directions posted in GarsGarage.
To make a simple version of Orbital Summation click on the purple button below. You will print out a picture of the gameboard on glossy photo paper, then glue it to a piece of foam poster board, wood, or similar material. To complete the game, number cards need to be printed out and some Space Scooters made out of machine screws. You’ll be zipping around Photon in no time!
Rendezvous on Planet DeGar
Two 8-sided dice with the numbers 1-4 printed on them twice are required to play the game. A few places sell them like that, but they are relatively rare. It is easier to find eight-sided blank dice then write the numbers on them with a permanent marker.
These two 12-sided dice were purchased as blank dice and the numbers 1-4 were written on them three times with a permanent marker.
A final option is to use virtual dice. Click on the link below. One six-sided die will appear. Click on it and it will disappear. Next, click on the Green 4 once or twice, depending on how many dice the player chooses to roll for that turn.
Below are pictures showing the evolution of Orbital Summation. As mentioned above, after playing the first two versions a few times, I decided that maybe a simpler, smaller version would be better. The first two versions had four circular rings. The first black ring displayed positive numbers, the second red ring showed negative numbers, while the third white ring’s numbers could be either positive or negative. The inner green circle displays multipliers. In the newer version I dropped the white ring and used less numbers, making the game easier for younger people to play without getting overwhelmed.
My first game is shaped like a rectangle box and uses two round “boulder” dice I invented many years ago. The game was actually built as a platform for marketing the dice. The middle bowl has four tubes that enter from each side of the game. The dice will roll in a tube, so I built a pinball machine type shooter to propel the dice into the inner bowl. In the video I am pulling back on the shooter and releasing. The underside of the game is shown below. Click on the pictures for a bigger view.
Quite a few years ago I somehow busted the top of the game in two places. Recently I repaired it by disassembling the game and gluing two plastic patches over the places that were broken and cracked.
D A N G E R ! !
INTERORBITAL ELECTRON STORM