A Puzzling Experience
Growing up, did you ever own an ant farm? Buy some sea monkeys? There's a great sense of empowerment to be had when you know that you, and you alone, controlled every element that made up their lives. Whether you chose to drown them or help them thrive was completely up to you. Playing the dirt with your ants may have been fun and all, but what if I told you that you could be there at the beginning of a grand new civilization, helping some hapless villagers discover new skills, increase their population, and thrive as a whole new society? This is exactly the case in the truly innovative and addictive Virtual Villagers.
Determine the Villagers' Fate
They will not be able to survive without your omniscient perspective and omnipotent hand. Assist the little villagers as they find the ability within themselves to forage for food for the first time, research innovative technologies, build new buildings, and so forth. These lost souls have been cast onto the mysterious island of Isola, and perhaps most interesting of all, they continue to live, learn, and thrive even when the computer is off!
In order to navigate through the newfound village, you simply click on hold onto a piece of ground, dragging it to the appropriate area. The same can be said about moving your villagers around: in fact, this is exactly how you teach them new skills.
Improve their Skills
Pick up the strongest and smartest, and place the little villager next to a half-built hut. Persistence is key, as you may need to place this person there several times before they figure out how to build a hut. The same can be said about farming, research, and so forth. When you click on any particular person, you have the opportunity to view (and customize) their details. Here, you see their name, age, gender, and level of skill in farming, building, research, healing, and yes, even breeding. It's important for the villagers to mate if there is to be any hope for their newfound society's survival!
Solve the Puzzles
As this is a completely foreign land that has not been fully explored for a very long time (the new villagers start out in half-built town, presumably left by the last people to live there), there are many mysteries to unlock. There are sixteen puzzles in all to solve. When you achieve these milestones, the villagers are treated to an additional element that will aid in their survival. One such thing is clean water to drink.
A Complete Civilization
When they first wash upon the shores of Isola Island, the little villagers are lost and confused, scared and disoriented. It is up to you for them to find their way and establish a whole new life here. They must learn a wide range of skills -- collecting food, discovering new innovations, creating new lodgings, even finding faith -- in order to thrive here. Your task is to care for their every need so that they may help themselves!
The intuitive point-and-click interface is incredibly easy to pick up and understand. The lush graphics transport you to an unknown world, full of mysteries to unlock, areas to explore. And who can resist the charming appeal of the naive villagers as they find out how to forage for the first time, bond with one another for the first time... There are always new tasks to reveal, new skills to learn, new villagers to see. With all these levels of understanding and enjoyment, you will never run out of reasons to play Virtual Villagers.
