Solveig pointed to the stop smoking game at tobakkdreper.no, and after a quick play I have to say it’s pretty cool, as political or argumentative web games go. It’s a strategy game, done in Flash, where you play a tobacco baron and win the game by choosing how to develop and market your cigarettes. Target children, poor people or stupid people? How much nicotine, how many other awful substances? What do you want your ads to look like? How many lobbyists will you buy to convince the WHO not to ban smoking? It looks attractive too. After a very quick play (I’m busy!) my only criticism would be that it appears to be very easy to win – I made heaps of money with little work or effort. But that, of course, may be part of the message they want me to take home.
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Tobacco Baron (Norwegian)
Jill Walker points out a rhetorical game that simulates a tobacco empire, Tobakkbaronen. The game seems elaborate and high in production value, but it’s all in Norwegian, so I’ll just quote from Jill’s commentary on it: It’s a strategy game,…