A business sim is about planning and growing, but sometimes you just want to do something with your hands. So the city year came with a whole bag of small games.
Hands-on work
- Soldering: hold the button to heat the joint and let go at exactly the right moment. Too short is a cold joint, too long burns the board.
- Bed calibration: slide a sheet of paper under the nozzle at every corner and turn the knobs until it drags just right. Every 3D printing fan knows this feeling.
- Wiring: connect the coloured dots without crossing wires.
- Sanding: sweep across your print until the layer lines are gone.
Out in town
- Haggling at the market stall: accept the offer, ask for more or wait for the next visitor. Ask too much and they walk away.
- An RC race around a little track.
- A pitch, where you pick three products that impress an investor.
- A safety inspection and, on Christmas night, a gift run through town.
Shadow puzzles
Our favourite: the Puzzle Book with twelve shadow puzzles. You see a shape from the front, the side and the top, and you build a 3D object that casts exactly those three shadows. You build it block by block in the same 3D editor you use for your designs. Click a face to add a block, right-click to remove one, and use the Front, Side and Top buttons to check your work.
It sounds simple. The Lantern proves it is not.
To be fair
These minigames are a first version. Some are fun right away, others still need some tuning. Playtests will tell us which ones stay.