At the center of the story 60 Seconds! turns out to be an American family from a 1950s suburb where air raid sirens sound all the time. Players have 1 minute to collect everything they need and run to the fallout shelter. Don't forget about other family members, although the value of these freeloaders is debatable. Once the family gets to safety, the format switches from a third-person perspective to a visually innovative approach. Relatives are sitting in the basement with all the collected items. Among them may be a radio, a pistol, an axe, first aid kits and rations – water and soup.

The plot of “60 Seconds!” develops through reading a journal that recounts random events, few of which are pleasant. The family is kept alive by treating illnesses and injuries and by providing food and water. Depriving relatives of basic benefits will lead to their death or denial of asylum. Keeping your family alive with food is only part of the equation. Supplies are limited, so someone needs to go into the wasteland to gather more supplies. At times, each of the heroes may be too sick, injured, or insane to go after the loot. Then you will have to rely on the help of rescuers.

Random events also put people at risk. The radiation has made the rats more aggressive, and they may try to steal the soup. Mutant cockroaches are also dangerous, but what kind of nuclear apocalypse would there be without them? A knock on the door could be anything. It could be the military coming to save everyone, or people masquerading as firefighters collecting canned goods, but having a rifle will make these beggars leave quickly. You may ignore the knock on the door, but curiosity may get the better of you.