MiniMotorways

Genre: puzzle, city simulation, strategy, pastel palette

Release Date: 2021 

Developer/Publisher: Dinosaur Polo Club

In these days of warming climate and superlative greenhouse gas emissions, building more roads and overpasses is the last thing you would want to do. Following on the hugely popular Mini Metro, a minimalist subway simulation, Mini Motorways tackles the familiar problem of simulated city jam and congestion. I hope Mini Motorways only uses in game electric vehicles (there doesn’t appear to be any pixelated exhaust fumes).

Story:

In Mini Motorways, you connect houses to bigger buildings of the same colours by drawing (and deleting) roads, roundabouts, bridges and… motorways (or overpasses). Little cars travel from houses to buildings, from buildings to houses, waiting patiently at traffic intersections. Play around the cities of the World from Dar es  Sallam to Orange County. How long can you last before your metropolis grinds to a halt?

Playability: Pause when the world gets too frantic

Mini Motorways is a game that cares about your wellbeing in clever little ways: blind colour mode, night mode, soothing pastel palettes, less stressful option for menu transitions (seriously? 10/10)… There is a pause button when things get too frantic and before you hit Tokyo karoshi or gaming apoplexy. Relax with the soothing New Age chord progressions. No honking, no angry motorists.

Annoyance: More sustainable transport needed

A basic tenet of urban planning is that you can’t solve traffic jams with bitumen. The more roads you build, the more cars you get on the roads. Mini Motorways is characteristic of American urban sprawls, whereas Mini Metro was the epitome of European and North Asian mass transport efficiency. Unfortunately the world over, from Bangkok to Nairobi, Mini Motorways are the norm: jams that crawl night and day. Park and Ride? A merger of Mini Metro and Mini Motorways might be unplayable. However, more green and sustainable transport options could be added to the game: fast corridors for buses, cycle paths, light rail, car-pooling and sharing…

Beauty: Mondrian palette

Or is it late Matisse paper cut out collage? Relaxed and minimalist, carefully crafted, finely polished, maybe things are a little too relaxed in Wellington where Dinosaur Polo Club is based… How about a few flowers and trees, or even cute dinosaurs for the map tileset? I’ve been trying to recreate the paintings of Mondrian and Matisse with Mini Motorways. An option to save your maps as masterworks or wallpapers comes in very handy.

The Old Video Gamer’s Prattle: Mindfully relaxed and carefully crafted maxi gaming 8/10

Mini Motorways is your hygge Scandinavian Kiwi cosy gaming bubble. Grab your favourite drink, sit back, relax. After a half hour of yoga or meditation, I would feel really recharged. This is time well spent. Mini Motorways is similarly a game that does not waste your time with frivolities. A short session makes you feel you have actually played a game, rather than spend hours sorting loot in your endless inventory, waiting for your characters to level up or your armour upgrades to be forged. Mini Motorways is a game for the busy old video gamer juggling the demands of work, family and self-care. Mini Motorways scratches one’s gaming itch very efficiently, leaving more time for a get together with the lads and lasses at the pub…

If you’re into soothing gaming, try Spiritfarer, a magical contemplative adventure or Carto where your love of cute map puzzles will be handsomely rewarded.

Categories: BrainStrategy