Fantastic Blognanza!

WARNING: No t-shirts are contained in this post.

In addition to the delightful pun, ElectroCity is a free online Flash game that has value: not merely entertainment value, but social, educational, and environmental (at the very least). Potentially a lot for a seemingly simplistic game to accomplish, but ElectroCity pulls it off with ease. If you’re in the mood for a refreshing gaming experience, I highly recommend playing ElectroCity.

A sample game board of ElectroCity with windfarm, seaport, and ski resort.
The goal, simply put, is to develop the area surrounding a small town in any way you see fit. The land is your sandbox; as long as you don’t bankrupt your town, you can continue playing. Because you start out with little money, your options are limited. But as you earn revenue through taxes, tourism, and industry, you can afford some extravagances. Once the game is completed, you are scored based on four criteria: security of your energy supply, your popularity, the size of your city, and the quality of the environment. Every single decision you make has tradeoffs. If you choose to use windpower, your energy supply won’t be stable but neither will you damage the environment. If you choose to build an airport, you’ll pollute the environment and pull a lot of energy from the grid but will also spur growth of your city. These tradeoffs are what make ElectroCity not only fun and interesting, but also a realistically simplified model of reality. The way we choose to develop land has real, long-lasting effects on all aspects of our lives.

Link: [ElectroCity]