Ayiti: the Cost of Life

January 19, 2007 2:08 PM

Ayiti: the Cost of Life. It's a unicef propaganda flash game, but pretty fun so far as propaganda goes. Reminiscent of Oregon Trail.
(via jayisgames)
That via link has some gameplay tips, so skip it if you want to figure things out yourself.
posted by juv3nal (16 comments total)

Interesting. Rainy Season is complete. -75 Total Good.

Someone gifted us a water buffalo but we eated it.
posted by hal9k at 2:16 PM on January 19, 2007

Today seems to be "political propaganda flash game day."
posted by koeselitz at 2:26 PM on January 19, 2007

I don't remember Oregon Trail being this boring.
posted by delmoi at 3:45 PM on January 19, 2007

yeah this is kinda dull, but nicely put together. nice find?
posted by nola at 4:15 PM on January 19, 2007

I won! Kind of. Got a lot of money at the start and used a microloan to start a stall. Can't seem to find where you buy guns.
posted by Wataki at 4:27 PM on January 19, 2007 [2 favorites]

Wow. Most depressing computer game ever. Fantastic.
posted by motty at 4:32 PM on January 19, 2007

I think WOPR is right. The only way to win is not to play.

I can't get to the second year without everyone being sick or nearly sick. Either their health nosedives from working, or there's not enough money and they get sick from poor living conditions.
posted by evilangela at 4:47 PM on January 19, 2007

I love the way you get to the end and it more or less says Congratulations! The father died of tuberculosis! The mother is depressed and severely broke, having had her house blow away twice! The only hope lies with the children! The children all died of cholera two years ago! But congratulations anyway!

... and there is no way to sell the school uniform I bought for the child who promptly died. I fel cheated.
posted by Lebannen at 5:00 PM on January 19, 2007

<spoiler>

It's possible to get through with everyone healthy. The rum distilling job is a trap; the likelihood of declining health/illness is too high for it to be worth it. Check out the comments in the jayisgames link for more tips, but the key one for me was realizing the rum job sucks. Also, the market girl job is good because it has no chance for illness.

</spoiler>
posted by juv3nal at 5:07 PM on January 19, 2007

Oregon trail was the matrix compared to this.
posted by uni verse at 5:40 PM on January 19, 2007

I was hooked on Oregon Trail in the 8th grade.
posted by tracy_the_astonishing at 6:30 PM on January 19, 2007

I made everyone work until they all died.
posted by Falconetti at 10:01 PM on January 19, 2007

I prefer Lemonade Stand, but this was cute.
posted by dreamsign at 1:34 AM on January 20, 2007

Die! Bastards! Die! Is it just me or is it impossible to keep these cartoon figures alive? They get sick if they work and they get sick if they rest at home, there is no way to find a balance.

Or does this mean that the one and only savior of the world is UNICEF (and Oxfam, to a degree), and you will be stupid unless you are a Catholic? (and spottily educated if a Protestant?)
posted by Laotic at 2:13 AM on January 20, 2007

OK, I take it back. It is possible to keep them alive and well. But the game is still too short to make them into (fair trade) coffee tycoons.
posted by Laotic at 4:20 AM on January 20, 2007

I think "During this year your family was in terrible shape" is the new "You died of dysentary"
posted by Ogre Lawless at 4:42 PM on January 22, 2007