ICE is a strategy board game set in a frozen world where a lone city survives among endless ice and blizzards. Each summer, the city's guilds organize expeditions to the valley of the ancient ones, searching for the remains of an antediluvian civilization in pursuit of answers, prestige, or riches.

Players take on the role of archaeologists, exploring and removing tiles from the excavation site. The game features five tile levels: the ice sheet, surface artifacts, intermediate artifacts, deep artifacts, and the edifice level.

Excavating tiles allows players to collect artifacts that earn reputation points. Removed ice sheet tiles can later be used as helping actions, while edifice tiles introduce game-changing rules and legacy content that is revealed as the game progresses.

The game ends when the first edifice tile has been fully uncovered. Players then total their reputation points, and the player with the highest score wins.