The game is meant to give insight to the plight of refugees in the Darfur region of Sudan, an area decimated by genocide and civil strife. The player's job is to contribute to the survival of a refuge camp. There is a selection of avatars to choose from, including a grown man, a grown woman, and children ranging from 10-14. As grown men are the first target, he is not allowed to forage for water, the first step of the game, so as the woman or any of the children, the player must make it to the well without being captured by roving Janjaweed militia. If you are captured, you receive a grave message that you were raped, killed, or face some sort of abuse at the hands of the milita.
This screenshot shows the playing field on the way to the well.
If captured, that avatar is removed from the list of choices.
If one makes it to the well, you have to make it back as well, where you can then choose to enter the refugee camp to complete various other tasks. This screenshot shows arriving at the well:
In the village, there are various tasks to complete to maintain the health of the camp, including delivering water to crops, picking up grown crops, picking up medicine, and repairing buildings destroyed by the militia. The following is a screenshot of the camp.
One cannot say the game is fun or enjoyable-- it's about genocide in Darfur! It is a game where the player is destined to lose. Eventually avatars will be picked off foraging for water, and you cannot be in the camp long without having to fetch more. While working to grow crops or repair buildings, you are continually attacked, creating more work to do. Whenever you are attacked, the game offers the player the chance to do any number of real-life activities to aid in the cause-- from writing letters, sending money, etc. Although to me it is macabre to make cartoon games about real-life tragedy, I can see that it is one way to draw attention to the plight in Sudan.
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