The game incorporates elements of collectible card games, whereby the player constructs a deck of cards earned from previous matches for the deployment, outfitting, and tactics of human and ironclad troops to achieve specific victory conditions.

The game was released for Microsoft Windows, OS X, and Linux-based computers in September 2013, and later for Android devices and the PlayStation 4.

The game is set in an alternate history at the onset of the American Civil War in 1860, and follows the story of Maxwell and Joseph, who are both employed by the United States Navy's Bureau of Steam Engineering.

Other maps may feature different goals such as holding out against an enemy barrage for a number of turns, preventing the opposite side from scoring enough victory points to win.

In addition to the game's campaign mode which can be played alone or in cooperative multiplayer, certain maps have puzzle challenges, where the player must find a way to achieve victory with a specific set of cards given to them.

Zachtronics announced the game in August 2012,[1] and was released through Steam for Windows, OS X, and Linux computers on September 18, 2013.