Plan it Green
Ages: Everyone

The game has you adding to sparse communities with additional residences, businesses, parks, recreational areas and facilities. The point is to meet set goals to enhance and increase tax income, community happiness and environmental health, with a foundation of green planning. You need to balance all of your sources and be aware of which choices meet what particular benefits in order to reach the goals. You are building new as well as upgrading old structures through several levels in the game.

Although it is a casual building game, the balance to reach your goals becomes more complex as you climb levels, which in turn unlock more elaborate details to the process. You need to earn five stars at each level, although fewer does not prevent you from continuing. You can only replay a level at each end to improve your score, for it isn't possible to return later in the game to any previous level. Personally I couldn't find the right balance on some upper levels to reach the required stars. What I felt started as a rather simple and fast game, became increasingly complex and difficult.

The game is well planned out, has helpful tutorial (a little too much sometimes) and will especially please the builder enthusiasts. What I was impressed with was, although it's purpose is to create a green community, the game doesn't contain a preachy lecture message in addition to the tasks. It was interesting to be reminded that what can please a community will not necessarily increase it's operating budget or contribute to a healthy environment. On a lighter note, it was great fun.

Download from Amazon.com or BigFishGames.com

Fun Factor: Fun in a green sort of a way
Player Friendly: Could be more challenging than one might expect from a casual game.

Reviewed by: Adison Garzon - 11/09