May

29

ElectroCity: Game Day

Filed Under Social Studies 

If you’re a fan of SimCity, you’ll find ElectroCity interesting. It’s really just a simplified version of the classic video game.

You are mayor of a small town in New Zealand, and your job is to grow your town while keeping taxes, demands for energy, tourism, and the environment all in balance. The game assumes, as Mayor, that you have a large role in all aspects of the growth of your town including development of energy and food production, as well as tourism and a few others. Effectively you centrally plan almost everything, which (at least from a Canadian’s perspective) is not really realistic.

My major complaint with the game is that it’s too short. It lasts for 150 turns, so just when you’re getting into it it ends. A larger, longer version of the game would be great.

Despite that, it’s a neat look at urban planning and town growth. As annoying as its short length is, it does make the game managable from a teaching point of view (Sim City can go on for a while).

It’s a great game and worth a look.

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