Stranded on an island game: could you get all six home?

Six strangers on a small island

Stranded at Salt Key is a short stranded on an island game about the part of survival stories that usually gets skipped: the other people. A charter seaplane goes down in a storm and ends up upside down on a reef. All six people aboard reach the beach of Salt Key, a small island with nobody on it, and nobody is badly hurt. The water is short. A search plane flies over every few days, maybe. And one of the six has hidden the plane's emergency beacon in his bag.

You are one of the six, a passenger with no special skills and no special authority. You make eight decisions over five days: what to save from the wreck in the first hour, who gets to be in charge, where the water comes from, what to do about the man with the beacon, how to spend the storm night, whether to spend the beacon's battery early or build a signal fire, what to try when you finally hear an engine, and whether to wait for help or take the raft.

How this episode plays

Two meters sit above the scene. Water is the clock. It is shown in three bands, Enough, Short and Out, and it goes down every day on its own. Some choices add to it and some cost it. The group is the second meter, in three bands: Together, Fraying and Split. It moves when people are embarrassed, ignored, sheltered or listened to, and it decides what the others will do for you when it matters.

Every choice has a short line under it that tells you what it costs before you pick. Reading never costs anything. There are no timers, and nothing happens while you think.

There are three things to carry. The signal mirror and the rain tarp come from the plane's emergency kit, if you go back to the wreck for it, and going back has its own cost. The tarp can catch rain or keep firewood dry, but not both on the same night. The third thing is the beacon, and getting it means dealing with the man who has it. How you handle that changes who trusts whom for the rest of the game.

The meters decide what is possible at the end. With Enough water, you can afford to wait for the next pass. With the group Together, people do what they said they would. A Split group has its own ideas, and so does the man with the raft.

Who is on the beach

Garrick is ex-army and in his fifties. He wants one leader, strict rules and a raft built from the plane's float, and he would like to be the leader. He is not wrong about everything.

Imani is a nurse on her way home from a long contract. She is quiet and practical, and she notices who is not coping before they do. Oduya is the pilot. He got all six of you out of the plane and has blamed himself for the storm ever since, but he knows how the search plane flies, if someone thinks to ask him.

Petra is sixteen and flying to her aunt's: quick, sharp and tired of adults deciding things for her. Laurent is a businessman with a leather bag he will not put down, and the plane's emergency beacon is in it. Why he took it, and whether he will use it for anyone but himself, depends on how the rest of you treat him.

The five endings

All Six Home, The Signal, Five Home, Days at Sea and Salt Key. Three of them end on a boat, one ends after a long time at sea, and one ends with an empty sky.

Every ending names the choice that made the difference, as "your one right choice" on a win or "your one wrong choice" otherwise. From the result page you can rewind to a key moment, such as the night you find Laurent with the beacon, instead of starting over. The endings you have found are saved on this device, so you can see how many of the five you have reached.

How serious is it?

Serious. One wrong choice can leave you on Salt Key, and the worst ending is told plainly: the plane passes and does not see you, and the story ends on the empty sky. Nobody is shown hurt, and nothing is graphic. The real danger is the people, and how fast a group of strangers comes apart when the water runs short.

It is also fiction, and it is not survival advice. Salt Key, the charter, the planes and the people are invented. Water, fire and signaling are kept deliberately vague, and nothing in the game is a real technique. If you are ever in a real emergency, at sea or anywhere else, follow rescue services and trained crews.

Who you meet

• You. A passenger on the charter. Not the strongest or the loudest, and the one the others keep looking at when Garrick stops talking.
• Garrick. Ex-army, fifties, sunburned by noon on the first day. Wants one leader and strict rules, and wants to be the leader.
• Imani. A nurse on her way home from a long contract. Quiet and practical. Notices who is not coping before they do.
• Oduya. The charter pilot. Got all six out of the plane and has blamed himself for the storm ever since. Knows how the search plane flies.
• Petra. Sixteen, flying to her aunt's. Quick, sharp, and tired of adults deciding things for her.
• Laurent. A businessman with a leather bag he will not put down. The plane's emergency beacon is in it.

Questions

How long does Stranded at Salt Key take?

About five minutes for one run. There are eight decisions, and most people play it a few times to find more of the five endings.

Can you lose before the last decision?

No. Every run reaches the last evening on the beach. Earlier choices decide how much water is left, whether the group still holds, and whether the search plane saw you, and those decide which endings are still possible.

Is this real survival advice?

No. The island, the planes and the people are invented, and the water, fire and signaling in the game are deliberately vague. It is a game about decisions and people under pressure, not a guide. In a real emergency, follow rescue services and trained crews.

Is it free, and does it save?

Yes to both. There is no sign-up and nothing to buy. Your current run and the endings you have found are saved in this browser only.