Summary: Meltwater is a small game but one that speaks volumes about the human race’s tendency to self-destruction and the futility of war. It’s an experience that stays with you long after the game has ended.
In Meltwater’s hellish post-apocalyptic vision, Antarctica is the last habitable landmass on Earth. The Cold War has turned Hot and survivors flee to the southern continent, braving radioactive waters to seek refuge in government research stations on the tundra.
Yet, even as both refugees and radiation wash up on the frozen shores, the US and USSR continue their conflict. Each side determined to win, no matter the cost that will ultimately be paid by all….
You may have already realised this but let’s be clear: Meltwater is not a game for everyone.
It’s unrelenting bleak and deeply cynical. If you are currently wondering who in their right mind would willingly play a game like this; leave now. It only gets worse.
Each turn in Meltwater consists of three phases. The active player makes all the decisions in each phase during their turn. Remember this, it’ll haunt you later.
The game begins with Phase 2, wherein players manoeuvre their chosen side, hoard resources, pressgang civilians into the military and wage war, despite the inevitable hastening of the end.
Phase 3 is the Doomsday Clock. A card draw that reveals the locations of encroaching radiation and where refugees will land. This is a valuable glimpse into the future. Antarctica can only support so much life, and the habitable landmass is slowly being poisoned.
At the end of Phase 3, the active player changes, and Phase 1 – the Starvation Phase – begins. This is where your decisions in the last turn matter.
During the Starvation Phase, stacking is reconciled based upon radioactivity levels. Units in over-stacked hexes, including friendly civilians and refugees, have a choice: flee to friendly locations, defect to enemy, or die. Remember, the active player decides.
Leaving units in an over-stacked hex gives your opponent power over life or death. Your life or theirs? Which do you think they will choose?
And on it goes… each turn the fighting continues, radiation spreads, civilians die, and the playing area gets smaller. The game ends immediately when the last unit of one side is removed from the board. Remaining forces on the board win, even if later that same turn the radiation would take them too.
Meltwater is a small game with simple components. But during its short table time the abstracted gameplay speaks volumes about the human race’s tendency to self-destruction and the futility of war. It’s an experience that stays with you long after the game has ended.
No, Meltwater is not a game for everyone. However, it is a game that everyone should experience at least once.
Words: Neil Bunker