Frostpunk: A Survival Simulator That Teaches Hard Leadership Lessons

Hello everyone!

Too-to-do-too-too-too-do-to!

Do you hear music?

Let’s dive into the world of computer games we love! I’ll kick things off with the strategy game “Frostpunk.”

The Setting

The story unfolds in an alternate history. In 1886, the British Empire was experiencing unprecedented advances in steam technology. A global environmental catastrophe occurs, and the world literally freezes over. The government builds gigantic furnaces in the Arctic. A small group of people, led by the Captain, reaches one of these furnaces. They must survive the harshest conditions, and you, the Captain, must lead them through these challenges.

Survival Under the Storm

This game isn’t entertainment, but a simulator of a small group in extremely harsh conditions. The temperature will constantly drop from a “comfortable” -20°C to -70°C. Moreover, after six weeks, the Storm will hit the valley. The temperature will drop to -120°C, making it impossible to even leave the shelter. Anyone will immediately freeze to death. The player (Captain) must prepare for the Storm.

People start without resources, shelter, food, or technology. Every hour of delay in decision-making leads to defeat. There are never enough people, not enough coal, wood, or medicine. The Captain must decide where to assign people, how to resolve intra-group conflicts, and how to anticipate potential future problems.

You have to send children into the mines, hang dissenters, and mix sawdust into their soup to make it through another day. Typically, you choose between bad and worse.

I’ve lost many times. But it’s not how many times you fall, but how many times you get back up that counts.

The game offers several scenarios. I’ll focus on just one.

The Fall of Winterhome

In “The Fall of Winterhome,” you inherit a fragile city recovering from mutiny, with a dying furnace and an evacuation vehicle to prepare.

This scenario teaches players to mix truth and lies to people in a sophisticated way: that the furnace can be fixed, that there’s enough room on the transport for everyone, and that you (specifically you) and your family will definitely be evacuated. And when people no longer believe the lies, players need to have trusted people with batons on hand. I’ve tested it: if you tell people the truth, anarchy quickly ensues. Doomed people quit their jobs, while others try to capture the evacuation vehicle. In short, the success depends on maintaining hope for as long as possible.

Next, a player needs to decide whom to evacuate and carefully remove them from the city’s economy to prevent the city’s collapse. And no, it’s not women and children. Children will die on their own if they aren’t accompanied by qualified adults. This is also what the game teaches: the life of an adult in a critical situation is more important than the life of a child.

The Final Act

When the transport departs, the drama’s final act begins. The remaining people in the ruins of the city live out their last days. They try to turn up the heat to survive for a few more hours, but ultimately, the ruins are strewn with frozen corpses.

The game vividly illustrates the well-known saying, “We can afford to be democratic as long as we have plenty of food and women.”

What games can you recommend?