M.U.L.E.

149 - M.U.L.E.

Year: 1983
Platform(s): PC
Designer(s): Danielle Berry, Bill Bunten, Jim Rushing & Alan Watson
Developer: Ozark Softscape
Publisher: Electronic Arts

"What sets M.U.L.E. apart is its incredible depth and its four-player aspect. The game is both competitive and cooperative. For example, in early rounds, smithore is a profitable resource to produce and sell, but when the mid-round meteorite strikes and a new mineral called "crystite" becomes available, most players will be tempted to try to grab land around the meteor strike and produce crystite almost exclusively. However, M.U.L.E.s are constructed out of smithore, so if the four players can't collectively agree to produce enough of it to meet planetary demand, the prices of M.U.L.E.s could skyrocket, therefore hurting everyone. It is also possible to collude with another player during the auction rounds, locking out other players from making purchases of needed resources. If that wasn't enough opportunity to screw over someone else, a player who has a lot of cash and is well into the lead in later rounds could spend his round time purchasing and releasing every single M.U.L.E. in the corral, preventing other players from developing their land. Put it all together and you have a game that is pretty fun in single-player, but an absolute blast in multiplayer." - Bob Colayco, GameSpot

148  |  150