Backstories: Alone Under the Ice Game Review

Analog Adventures in the Alps

Despite a long workday, I’m always down to play some games. However, it can sometimes be a chore to set something up and/or learn something new. Backstories: Alone Under the Ice offers a narrative experience with practically no setup or rules overhead.

What would you do if you lost your brother in the icy mountains?

The landscape of “choose your adventure/murder mystery” games is quite busy, ranging from Suspects: Claire Harper, Eternal Investigator, Alibi: 3 Intricate Mysteries, and Cold Case: End of the Line, to the popular Exit and Unlock! series. Backstories, from game designers Jules Messaud and Anthony Perone, takes a different spin, as players are resolving a mystery rather than solving a murder.

The art—by Cyrille Bertin, also known for the Unlock! titles—is instantly recognizable. Without spoiling the plot, the initial task is to search for a missing brother in the French Alps. Players start in a ski lodge refuge with multiple options to kick off the story.

Throughout the game, players can take on status effects (ranging from frozen to injured to mistrusted) and accumulate objects that could become useful at the right moment. The “panorama” is a set of up to six cards that…

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