Hammurabi

.: By: Mike :: Device used: iPAQ H3650 :: July 16, 2000 :.

Hammurabi pits you as the leader of the ancient land of Sumeria. Your task as ruler is to manage the available resources as efficiently as possible, and the challenge is to last ten years without being sacked for incompetence.

To be a good leader means feeding your people - mass starvations are, unsurprisingly, not a good way to gain points in the popularity rankings. The interface is deceptively simple, being text-only and displaying all the information that you need to see on one screen. As leader, you must decide whether to sell or buy land as well how the available food should be distributed.

As with all such strategy games, the secret is finding the perfect balance. Too much land and you might not have enough villagers to get the most out of it; too little, and you won't produce enough to feed your hungry population. Give too much of the available food to the people and you won't be able to produce enough for next year; give too little and people will die of starvation.

This game is by no means an epic showstopper of a game, nor does it try to be. Think of it more as an alternative to Solitaire, something to while away a few spare minutes you might find during the train journey to work. Guaranteed to tax your brain and if it all gets too much, it's still good fun seeing how many villagers you can kill off in one year!

.: Game category: Strategy Games :: Reviews Index :.