Free ROR game · For cadets and students

Rules of the Road game,
clear your orals with MarinaVex.

Practise COLREG and ROR for your MMD or AMSA orals. Name the vessel from her lights, decode the whistle, and learn a rhyme and the rule behind every answer.

Round 1 / 10Score 0Streak 0Best 0

10 rounds per game. Correct answers score 100 points plus a speed bonus. Sound mode uses your speaker; the blasts are also shown as bars.

How to play

  • Night lights: you are on watch at night. Identify the vessel from the lights you can see, the way you would from the bridge.
  • Sound signals: press play, listen to the whistle, and choose what the signal means. A short blast is about 1 second; a prolonged blast is 4 to 6 seconds (Rule 32).
  • Every answer shows the rule it comes from, so a wrong answer is still a lesson.
  • Finish all 10 rounds to earn your rank, from Cadet to Master, and share your score with your batch.
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Based on the COLREGs 1972 as amended. Light positions are simplified for the game; spacing and exact positions are set out in Annex I. A study aid, not a substitute for the official text.

Rules of the Road rhymes,
easy to remember.

Every answer in the game ends with a memory rhyme, like "red over red, the captain is dead". Here they all are on one page: read them aloud before your ROR oral.

Head-on (Rule 14)Both sidelights dead ahead? Turn to starboard, show your red.
Seeing her green (Rules 15 and 17)Green to port keeps clear of you, but keep a sharp eye on what she'll do.
Seeing her red (Rule 15)If to starboard red appear, it's your duty to keep clear.
Not under command (Rule 27)Red over red, the captain is dead.
NUC, not making way (Rule 27)Red over red, the captain is dead. No sidelights? She's stopped instead.
RAM (Rule 27)Red, white, red: restricted ahead.
Constrained by draught (Rule 28)Three reds in a line: she's deep, keep clear of her line.
Trawling (Rule 26)Green over white, trawling tonight.
Trawling, not making way (Rule 26)Green over white, trawling tonight. No sidelights shown? She's holding tight.
Fishing (Rule 26)Red over white, fishing at night.
Pilot vessel (Rule 29)White over red, pilot ahead.
At anchor (Rule 30)Two whites, the forward one high: she's at anchor, pass her by.
Aground (Rule 30)Anchor lights with red over red: she's aground, keep clear ahead.
Towing, 200 m or less (Rule 24)Two whites up the mast: a short tow goes past.
Towing, over 200 m (Rule 24)Three whites in a line: a long tow behind.
Sailing vessel (Rule 25)Red and green with no white on high: she's under sail, the wind's her guide.
1, 2, 3 short (Rule 34)One short, starboard; two short, port; three short, astern I'm going.
Doubt signal (Rule 34(d))Five short and fast: 'Wake up! What are you doing?'
Overtaking in a narrow channel (Rule 34(c))Two long to ask, then one short for starboard, two short for port.
Agreement (Rule 34(c))Long, short, long, short is Morse C: 'Charlie, yes, you may pass me.'
Fog, making way (Rule 35(a))One long in the fog: I'm moving, every two minutes.
Fog, stopped (Rule 35(b))Two long in the fog: underway but stopped.
Fog, the 'D' vessels (Rule 35(c))Long, short, short is Morse D: 'Difficult to manoeuvre.'
Fog, towed vessel (Rule 35(e))Long, short, short, short is Morse B: 'Being towed.'
Pilot identity (Rule 35(k))Four short is Morse H: Hotel, the pilot flag.

Rhymes help you remember, but examiners want the rule. Always learn the rule number and its exact wording from the official COLREGs text.

Clear your ROR orals
with MarinaVex.

Rules of the Road (ROR) is one of the most tested subjects in deck officer oral exams. Whether you are preparing for MMD orals in India or AMSA orals in Australia, practise here for free, as often as you like.

  • Lights and shapes: examiners often show you a light or shape and ask what the vessel is, which way she is heading and what action you take. That is exactly what Night lights mode trains.
  • Sound signals: expect to be asked what you sound, and what you hear, in a crossing, in a narrow channel and in fog. Practise them in Sound signals mode.
  • Rule numbers: learn the rule behind each answer. The game shows it every time, from Rule 14 (head-on) to Rule 35 (sound signals in restricted visibility).
  • Restricted visibility: Rule 19 is a favourite oral question: no stand-on vessel in fog, and avoid altering to port for a vessel forward of the beam.
  • Daily practice: play one round of each mode every day in the weeks before your oral, and take the 24-question COLREG quiz to test the rest.

MarinaVex is not affiliated with DGMA (formerly DG Shipping), the Mercantile Marine Department (MMD) or the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA). This is a free study aid; your exam is based on the official text.

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