Alistair Aitcheson, Independent Developer, Greedy Bankers
My favourite game is Kongai, released on the Kongregate Flash game portal in 2008.
I’ve always believed that playing good games makes you smarter. So when I came to revise for my university finals, what better study-aid than a deeply strategic and hugely addictive web-game?
Developed by former Street Fighter II US champion David Sirlin, Kongai is a game of simple rules, complex strategising and sneaky mind-games. A mix of card games, fighting games and JRPG battle systems, both players make their choices simultaneously. In each round players have the option to attack and manoeuvre, as well as the option to swap a character out for a replacement, avoiding any damage that turn. However, players can also choose to “intercept”, forgoing a turn but doing large damage if their opponent tries to switch characters out. Anticipating your opponent’s decisions is core to play.
Each possible move is widely different from the others, but options are limited to a very few attacks and manoeuvres. The stats for each character are simple and obvious, so the benefits and drawbacks of each choice are clear. Every decision is meaningful and has a clear impact on the future of the battle. As a result, tension is kept high, with the mind-games never lost behind complicated statistics. What’s more, a good battle can be finished in 15 minutes, making it perfect for short revision breaks… or indeed to fit in one more battle after the previous thrilling encounter!
Just how much this game gets you thinking is hard to put down on paper, and I definitely did feel it expanding my mind. Of course, after a few too many late nights playing match after match, and study-time spent planning strategies instead of learning the Artin-Wedderburn Theorem (I was a Maths student), it became obvious that I’d become a little too addicted.
Luckily, I was able to quit while I was ahead, achieving a first-class honours. And I still credit Kongai with making me smarter!
The 100+ players that frequented the servers at its prime may have dwindled, but it’s still worth a play. At the end of that day, the reason Kongai is so addictive is through nothing other than genuinely intelligent and classy game design.
This is my favourite game.
