Turmoil offers players a visually charming, tongue-in-cheek take on the simulation genre inspired by the 19th-century oil rush in North America. Before we dive into the gameplay, let’s discuss the oil rush of the 19th century a little bit. This gives the game much more depth and makes Turmoil a more exciting game. We start around the 17th century, in which Native Americans had known of the oil in western Pennsylvania, and had made some use of it for many years before the mid-19th century. Early European explorers noted seeps of oil and natural gas in western Pennsylvania and New York. Interest grew substantially in the mid-1850s as scientists reported on the potential to manufacture kerosene from crude oil if a sufficiently large oil supply could be found.

Gameplay:

Fast forward to the 19th century, and the first commercial oil wells were operational. They were often used for reproduction of earlier stated kerosene to light lamps and such. The rise quickly followed this in the popularity of whale oil. But the average white-collared American discovered a taste for the black oil. All over America, oil fever spread like wildfire. So time to get a taste of the rush and rivalry of the time as you earn your way to becoming a successful oil entrepreneur. As you make money digging up and selling oil, the town will grow along with you, just like it did in the good old days.

Before you can start drilling oil, you’ll have to lease land at the town auction and search for oil. The first piece is automatically divided, but the ones you want after this first one have to be bought. Each piece of land holds a certain amount of oil, and the higher the oil in your neighboring plot, the higher the chances that it contains oil as well. Time to bring in the big bucks, since the AI knows this as well. It sometimes can be quite lucrative to get a ‘less’ oil-rich piece of land to make a quick buck to buy some investments, then to pay 6000$ for a bit of land. It’s all up to you! When you arrive at the leased plot, it’s time to build a rig, pull out some dowsers and create an efficient pipe network, and bring up the oil to store it in silos. Sell the oil at the best times to maximize profits. Then buy essential upgrades in town to cope with rock, gas, and ice. Acquire more town shares than your competitors in a bid to become the new mayor.

Turmoil – The Heat Is On

Included in this version is the ‘Heat Is On’ DLC, which adds a brand new map (divided into three sections), with a new town, new resources, and much more. The main catch behind this new game mode is the addition of magma chambers.  It turns the game into a more dynamic one since it’s not only possible to upgrade pipelines – but to increase oil flow by running pipes through gas and magma chambers. More oil, means more money – so let’s start digging. In addition to this, you can stop in town to play cards with some of the townsfolk, collect treasures, and explore the whole new area.