Friday game

[Mumpo]

Been a while since we've had one of these. So here's something to help make the Friday tedium a little more bearable.

Papers Please

The communist state of Arstotzka has ended a 6-year war with neighboring Kolechia and reclaimed its rightful half of the border town, Grestin.

Your job as immigration inspector is to control the flow of people entering the Arstotzkan side of Grestin from Kolechia. Among the throngs of immigrants and visitors looking for work are hidden smugglers, spies, and terrorists. Using only the documents provided by travelers and the Ministry of Admission's primitive inspect, search, and fingerprint systems you must decide who can enter Arstotzka and who will be turned away or arrested

This is, I think it's fair to say, a game that's supremely 'on theme'. It's set in 1982, and the pixelated graphics convey an air of sparse Communist utilitarianism. The game has a 'work as play' ethic that makes it grimly enjoyable whilst presenting a rigorous test of concentration and resolve. As the days progress, the bureaucratic state imposes more and more entry conditions for the various classes of prospective migrants, meaning further documents to check as the border control process becomes entwined in red tape. And all this must be done as the clock ticks away... make too many mistakes, and the authorities will ensure a new officer is rapidly installed.

There's humour in the game too, and plots that develop as the days go by. Some characters will become familiar. There are plenty of downbeat elements, too - witness, for example, the consequences of not bringing home a sufficient wage...

Free beta version (plays seven game days)

Full version (a paltry six quid - go on, treat yourself)

[Wouter D]

Friday game

I guess that reviving a 20-month old thread would qualify me as being late to the party, but it seems that the party could do with some more people.

Finally picked this up a few days ago, and it's pretty good. It's a very effective simulation of how quickly you get dragged down in the morally questionable defense of "I'm only doing my job". If you do the morally right thing though, such as letting the young wife follow her young husband into the country to build up a new life even though she doesn't have the right documentation, your pay gets docked and maybe you cannot afford the medicine your sick son requires.

In my first run, I accepted a huge bribe from shady people. My neighbors reported that I was splashing cash around, which got me arrested. Thanks a lot, neighbors. In my second run, I was sentenced to hard labor for shooting an innocent passer-by with a tranquilizer gun (which makes some sense in the context of the game, but was rather the worst of both worlds; should have either killed him or let him be). In the third run, I managed to escape to Obristan with my entire family. Snowy pastures at last. In the fourth run, I overthrew the government. Such fun.

Glory to the new Arstotzka.