The fundraising platform United24, together with the French developer Endorah, created the Minesalt game, which reproduces the salt mines of Soledar.
Stepping up to the creation of the game was Stepan Bandrivskyi, a worker with ten years of experience in the salt mining enterprise. Bandrivskyi helped recreate the mines in Minesalt because access to the mines is impossible due to occupation, making it difficult to obtain archival materials.
The United24 team created new archives from the memories, personal photographs, and videos of the miners they interviewed. One of the workers drew a map, which they encrypted and sent to the developers.
The mines of Soledar in Donetsk region are the site of the largest salt extraction in Europe. Since February 2023, Soledar has been occupied by Russia, and the battle for this city in Donetsk region lasted for over a year. The project was launched to draw attention to the war in Ukraine and to raise funds for the reconstruction of the Velykokostromska Gymnasium, which was destroyed by the Russians.
In the game, the player must collect crystals as quickly as possible and complete a quiz at the end based on what they've seen. Among the players, the top 24 will be determined and awarded prizes. These prizes include Twitch gift cards, an Xbox Series X gaming console, and packs of "Mits. Ukrainian Stone" salt signed by Volodymyr Zelenskyy and United24 ambassadors.
Among all those who donate to rebuild the school, one hundred packs of "Mits. Ukrainian Stone" salt will be raffled off. Additionally, among participants who make a donation of ten dollars or more, ten figurines of characters from the game will be raffled off. And among those who make a contribution of $24 or more, five packs of "Mits. Ukrainian Stone" salt signed by Zelenskyy will be raffled off.
The funds collected will be transferred to the reconstruction of the Velykokostromska Gymnasium. Before the full-scale war, 250 children studied there. You can make a donation to rebuild the school on the project's landing page or via the link in the game.
