Recreation

Colonists may do joy activities when their timetable allows. Some activities require nothing more than an allotted time while certain activities require the relevant building or item. Certain items can only be purchased from traders. Some activities have an added benefit of improving skill experience points. Colonists develop an increasing tolerance, or resistance, to a kind of activity the more it is done. Tolerances are shown in the Joy tooltip (hover the mouse over the joy meter) and are listed by kind and percentage. A variety of kinds of activities should be made available to avoid tolerance buildup.

The joy meter has thresholds that trigger mood-altering thoughts. No thoughts are triggered from 30% to 69%.

Joy thresholds

Threshold	Label	Mood Effect	Thought
85	Tons 'o' joy	10	I've been enjoying myself so much, I love it!
70	Joy-filled	5	I've been having a great time here recently.
30	Joy-deprived	-5	I could really use a break for something enjoyable.
15	Very joy-deprived	-10	I never get to relax and enjoy myself around here.
0	Totally joy-deprived	-20	It's been so long since I did anything I truly enjoyed.

Buildings

The following can be built from the Architect - Joy menu.

Horseshoe Pins

In-game description: A simple ancient game played with a few horseshoes and a large pin in the ground. Players toss horseshoes from a distance and attempt to get them to land close to or around the pin. It's relaxing, and even trains hand-eye coordination.

To be usable a horsehoe pin must have a standable spot five spaces away. It also needs line of sight to it in a straight line (many structures like chairs, lamps, and tables, do not block line of sight). Playing horseshoes increases the player's shooting skill at a meager rate.

Size: 1 x 1
Beauty: 0

Horseshoe pins can made from:
Standard volume material (i.e. Steel): 15
Low volume material (): 300

Chess Table

In-game description: The ancient game of kings. Fun for a few hours here and there, even playing alone.

Sometimes a colonist will play chess alone to 'practice'. Chess improves the player's research skill at a meager rate.

Size: 1 x 1
Beauty: varies by material, see below.

A chess table can be made from any material:

Material	Cost	Beauty
Steel	70	10
Plasteel	70	10
Wood	70	10
Uranium	1400	5
Silver	1400	32
Gold	1400	120
Granite	70	10
Limestone	70	10
Marble	70	15
Sandstone	70	11
Slate	70	11

Billiards Table

In-game description: A soft-topped bounded table for playing a variety of billiards-type games.

Playing billiards increases the player's shooting skill at a meager rate.

Size: 2 x 3 ~ Needs a space of 4 x 5 to accommodate the playing area.
Beauty: varies by material, see below.

A billiards table costs 80 cloth, 30 wood and one of these materials:

Material	Cost	Beauty
Steel	70	10
Plasteel	70	10
Wood	70	10
Uranium	1400	5
Silver	1400	32
Gold	1400	120
Granite	70	10
Limestone	70	10
Marble	70	15
Sandstone	70	11
Slate	70	11

Activities table

Activity	Duration	Gain Rate	Kind	Interaction	Improves Skill	+XP Per Tick
Skygazing	4000	1	Meditative	Solitary	-	-
Meditating	4000	1	Meditative	Solitary	-	-
Praying	3000	1	Meditative	Solitary	-	-
Going for a walk	8000	1	Meditative	Solitary	-	-
Relaxing socially	4000	1	Social	Social	-	-
Playing horseshoes	4000	1	Gaming Dexterity	Building	Shooting	0.003
Playing chess	4000	1	Gaming Cerebral	Building	Research	0.002
Playing billiards	4000	1.3	Gaming Dexterity	Building	Shooting	0.004
Using telescope * **	4000	1.2	Study	Building	Research	0.004
Watching television * **	4000	1.2	Passive	Building	-	-

* Only acquired from traders.
** Must be installed before use.

Consumables table

Item	+Joy (%)	Kind
Beer	17	Chemical
Berries	0.4	Gluttonous
Chocolate *	7	Gluttonous
Fine meal	4.5	Gluttonous
Lavish meal	6.5	Gluttonous
Nutrient paste meal	-4	Gluttonous
Packaged Survival Meal	2	Gluttonous
Simple meal	2	Gluttonous

* Only acquired from traders.

Activities

Skygazing

Meditating

Going for a walk

Relaxing socially

Playing horseshoes

Playing chess

Playing billiards

Using telescope

Watching television