Tag rollen som en lus mellem to negle: anfører for en gruppe bærere på en europæisk ledet Afrika-ekspedition i 1800-tallet, på en farefuld rejse ind i “Mørkets Hjerte”. I dette usædvanlige pick up and deliver-spil skal du lede dine mænd igennem uhyrlige strabadser og levere ekspeditionens mange kasser med ammunition og forsyninger, imens du i hemmelighed planlægger flugten for nogle af dine folk, før det måske er for sent. Hvordan vil du møde ekspeditionens trængsler og prøvelser? — og kan du overliste dens mange krav?

“Juma bin Hamisi lod blikket glide over det urolige hav, mens skibet stævnede mod Congo-flodens munding. En brise fra Zanzibar bragte minder om hjemmets palmer og krydrede markeder, men hans tanker var tungere end lasten om bord. Han havde underskrevet kontrakten med Stanley i god tro, men dybt i sit sind anede han, at junglen ville kræve mere, end nogen mand kunne bære. Hans mænd stolede på ham—mænd hærdede af sved og blod, men allerede nu kunne han fornemme deres tvivl, ligesom sin egen. De var alt for få, og kasserne for mange. Menneskehandleren Tippu Tib havde lovet Stanley flere mænd – men hvilke? Mænd som skygger; handlede kød og sjæle? Selv somalierne og sudaneserne forekom ham fremmede i både ansigt, sprog og sind. Jumas mænd, Zanzibars stolte sønner, bar dog den tungeste byrde. “Hvad er en kontrakt mod sult og frygt?” tænkte han. Han vidste, at nogle af hans mænd ville søge friheden i nattens skjul. Hvis han kunne guide dem væk fra marchens rædsler, ville han gøre det, selv om det krævede list og tavshed. Måske, i junglens mørke, ville skæbnen selv give dem en chance.”

“Burden” bygger bro mellem historiens mørke realiteter og spillernes strategiske valg. Dette usædvanlige take på “pick-up and deliver”-spilgenren levendegør ekspeditionen til Emin Pashas undsætning, der fandt sted 1887-89. Som spiller er du både et vidne til begivenheder du må prøve at fortolke men ikke selv har direkte indflydelse på, og samtidig skal du balancere pligt og opofrelse med dine skjulte ambitioner om at gøre en forskel for dine mænd. Som en lus mellem to negle står du midt i dilemmaet mellem europæiske krav og afrikanske skæbner.

Ambitionen har været at give spilleren en oplevelse, der både underholder og udfordrer, samtidig med at den vækker til eftertanke. Spillet er ikke bare mekanik eller konkurrence; det er en rejse gennem moral, ansvar og overlevelse. Hver gang du som spiller lykkes med at lade en bærer slippe væk, er det en lille sejr for menneskeligheden i et univers præget af umenneskelige og uhyrlige prøvelser; livet set som en nådesløs rejse, hvor man kommer til at spilde alt for megen tid på at efterstræbe og slæbe rundt på alt for mange “ting”, der bringer alt for dyrebare ofre.

Tid: 120-180 min

Take on the mantle of an African contractor and leader of a group of porters through the trials of a grueling European expedition into central Africa in the late 19th century. In this unusual take on a “pick-up and deliver”-game, you must guide your men on a perilous overland journey into the ‘Heart of Darkness’, deliver the expedition’s ammunition and supplies, while you secretly plan escapes for some of your men, before it may be too late. How will you face the horrors of the journey? —and can you outwit its relentless demands to meet your own ends?

“Juma bin Hamisi leaned against the ship’s rail, staring at the horizon where the blue sea met the endless sky. The wind whispered tales of Zanzibar, of bustling markets and ocean voyages, but his thoughts were heavy. The contract he’d signed with Mr. Stanley promised silver and security, yet Juma knew the truth: the jungle beyond the Congo was no place for promises. He thought of his men—Zanzibari porters, brave and weary. They trusted him, but what could trust weigh against hunger and the white man’s whip? They were much too few men, and the boxes much too many. Tippu Tib’s dealings reeked of chains, and Juma hated the idea of relying on a slave trader’s men. Even the Somali and Sudanese contingents seemed foreign and strange to him in their faces and their souls. It was Juma’s men, who took the heaviest toll, who carried the expedition on their backs. “If it must be so,” he thought, “I will see some of them return home, even if the jungle must swallow their trail.” A quiet plan took shape in his heart, born from years of navigating hardship: a chance for freedom hidden in the horrors of the march ahead.”

“Burden” bridges the dark realities of history with the strategic decisions of the players. This unusual take on the classic “pick-up and deliver”-game brings to life the Emin Pasha Relief Expedition of 1887-89, immersing you in a journey into the ‘Heart of Darkness’. On one hand, you will be a witness to the events, as you carry the white man’s baggage and obey his rules, and on the other an active agent, placed in a strange place on a grueling march, challenged to interpret and create meaning of the harsh rules imposed on you. Can you balance duty and sacrifice with your hidden ambitions, caught between the relentless demands of European authority and the fragile hopes of African lives?

The ambition has been to provide the player with an experience that both entertains and challenges while also provoking thought. The game is not merely about mechanics or competition; it is a journey through morality, responsibility, and survival. Each time you, as a player, succeed in helping a carrier escape, it is a small victory for humanity in a universe marked by inhuman and monstrous trials—a life seen as a relentless journey, where far too much time is spent chasing and carrying around far too many "things" that come at far too great a cost.

Time: 120-180 min