TOM FRANCIS
REGRETS THIS ALREADY

Multiwinia Mathematics

Here’s an interesting stat: if you play the 49MB demo of Multiwinia, you’re more likely to buy the game than you are after any other Introversion demo.

Here’s a slightly sad one: you probably haven’t. The game’s gone weirdly unnoticed, despite being great. Alarmingly few people are trying the demo in the first place, according to Chris, so the fact that it’s brilliant isn’t counting for much.

It’s a simple strategy game that unfolds in five or ten minutes, depending on the map, and you play it against bots or other people. I’ve found that I like the bots: they fall for my ploys, they don’t gang up on me as much as humans, but they still have me worried throughout, and occasionally win the day.

The fundmantals are about groups of stick men being spewed out of capturable spawn points at regular intervals. But while there’s plenty of strategy in how many of those you direct where, most of the spectacular insanity that makes the game compelling comes from a completely different source.

Crate drops are random in timing, placement and content, but contain powerful weirdness. You can summon the nuclear subs from DEFCON, the horrible digital ant hills from Darwinia, a flamethrower turret, or a Cannon Fodder deathsquad. You can also unwittingly unleash a race of Evilinians, a fractal forest, or a gigantic UFO from the future.

And it’s so pretty you’ll think it’s Christmas.

Here’s a nice stat: Google Analytics tells me that James readers are 800% cooler than the general internet populace. That means a good percentage of people reading this have tried the demo and bought the game. So I leave this as an exercise for the reader: if you’ve got it, played it and liked it, say so somewhere public.