Super-Serious Games

Via Wired: Two Serious Games that simulate the sensitive situation in Israel are coming out soon: "Global Conflicts: Palestine" (can't say I like the name), and PeaceMaker.

The article gets points for mentioning a game I used to love to play in high school: Balance of Power: "In 1985, Balance of Power tackled Cold War brinkmanship under a thermonuclear threat." In that game, if you tried moving against, or even talking to, a nation friendly to the enemy (say Cuba or Poland, if you're playing as the U.S.), you would get a very angry call with a leader with his finger on the button. You had to keep the keep the Cold War cold while making geopolitical advances (i.e. spreading your influence worldwide). Nuclear war was, of course, game over. It was definitely a fun way to get a feel for the tangled nature of Cold War politics.

I'm hoping these new games will show, in an objective manner, the complex nature of what's going on in Israel.

--YY