Screenshot from the game

Terra Mater

Climb before the flood consumes everything.

Democracy

Equality

Freedom

Human dignity

Climate crisis

Nature

Physical prototype

The dams have broken and water is rising fast, swallowing villages, forests, and familiar lands. Humans carry ancestral stories while animals guard memories of the wild. Both race toward the last high ground above the flood. Your journey is shaped by fate: spin the wheel, draw tokens, and navigate sacred trees, ancient ruins, and treacherous waterfalls. Some places grant strength, others delay your climb. The higher you go, the faster the water rises. Will you reach the summit before everything is lost?

Game through culture

"Terra Mater" is inspired by the 1953 Watersnoodramp from the Beeld & Geluid archives. The rising water mechanic (adding rings every 5 minutes) directly reflects the flood and contemporary sea level rise. The game explores human-animal conflict: as climate change claims land, who "deserves" more space? Nature fights back against man-made structures. This cultural heritage becomes a lens for examining today's environmental tensions, where both humans and animals need room to exist, forcing difficult decisions about coexistence and survival.

Visit game page

Hilversum jam #04

English

Physical game

Credits

Team: Terra Mater

Instructions and controls

The game is designed for 4 players.