Overview
At a glance
Is this game right for my group?
ABG editorial scores on a 1–5 scale.
Harder to teach
High replayability
Highly interactive
Scales well
Deep strategy
How it plays
How does it play?
Steamwatchers unfolds in a frozen Europe, broken by an ice age that followed a brutal water level increase. In those hostile conditions, nomadic clans struggle to survive with the regular and puzzling outbreak of steam columns everywhere on the continent.
Core mechanisms
Key systems that shape the decisions players make.
Area Majority
Compete to have the strongest presence in areas that award control or points.
Simultaneous Action Selection
Choose actions secretly or concurrently before revealing them together.
Order Counters
Assign concealed or visible orders that determine later unit actions.
Scenario Campaign
Play linked or standalone scenarios with their own setup, objectives, and consequences.
Variable Player Powers
Each player has different abilities, restrictions, or strategic advantages.
Variable Set-up
Starting conditions, resources, or layouts change between plays.
Read the full game description
Steamwatchers unfolds in a frozen Europe, broken by an ice age that followed a brutal water level increase. In those hostile conditions, nomadic clans struggle to survive with the regular and puzzling outbreak of steam columns everywhere on the continent. These columns are a testament to intense subterranean heat sources. They free earth from the grasp of ice and allow mankind to grow food once again. These oases of heat are vital for survival...and, unfortunately, only transient. To make things worse, a strange sickness spreads around them: The Bane. It affects both mind and body, and to this day, no cure has been found. Handling it is necessary to the survival of the clans. Steamwatchers is a 2 to 5 player game in which you play as the leader of a nomadic clan. You will struggle over the geothermal resources of Europa in scenarios that last from 3 to 6 rounds. At the end of the last round of the chosen scenario, the winning clan is the one with the most geothermal resources (steam columns and farms), but a clan can claim victory before the end of the scenario by acquiring 10 geothermal resources. —description from the publisher