Darkwater Horror Runs Beneath the Ice, Together

Your submarine is yours to build. Buy rooms, arrange the deck, and invest in cabins that help with hacking, stealth and other strategic options. When an enemy vessel shows up, you take direct control of the onboard systems: one of you pilots, one handles sonar, one loads torpedoes, harpoons, decoy mines and depth charges. You can also negotiate with rival vessels, but be ready for war. And when talking fails, there is always the manned torpedo: ride it into the enemy hull and deliver the ultimate in-person surprise. The sub fights are a highlight, and no two play out quite the same way.

Fuel is the whole game. You dock at dilapidated underwater facilities, step out of the sub, and strip the place for everything not bolted down. Some outposts are flooded, some hide a bomb you need to defuse before the water comes in, and all of them hold something that would rather you left. Infected divers, deep-sea angler fish and alien crabs patrol the dark, so you carry a sledgehammer, a blow torch, a pistol or a shotgun, and you decide how much is worth the risk. Make sure the crew has room to carry the fuel canisters home. Without them, you do not travel.

You can run the whole operation solo, but Darkwater is built for a lobby. One friend decides to test a torpedo indoors, the hull becomes a suggestion, and the plan falls apart in the funniest way possible. It is tense, it is scary, and it is very funny, often within the same minute.