GAME
OF THE
DAY
7 Billion Humans
Automate swarms of workers
Imagine what humans could do if we all worked together. End hunger, cure disease—and, in 7 Billion Humans, solve puzzles.
In a world where machines do all the work, people have become bored and restless. To help them, the machines have constructed a massive office building and given every human on Earth a job. You’re the boss of all these workers, and they’ll do whatever you say. Uh-oh.
Each office floor is home to a puzzle. To crack it, you’ll need to assign tasks to your workers, like moving small green cubes to new locations or navigating across narrow platforms surrounded by bottomless pits.
The game provides a number of different commands that you place in a timeline. The Step command, for example, orders them to walk in a specific direction, while pickUp orders them to pick up objects. The trick is to arrange the commands in the right order so your workers don’t accidentally fall into those pits. It’s essentially the basics of computer programming, wrapped in a clever package.
The stylish visuals of this sequel to Tomorrow Corporation’s memorable Human Resource Machine recall the developer’s prior work. Big-eyed, cartoonish humans look like they haven’t slept in weeks. They’re cute enough that you’ll almost feel bad if you accidentally order them to jump off a platform to their doom.
And 7 Billion Humans is filled with wonderful, laugh-out-loud details. Tap the workers, for example, and they’ll provide stray bits of dialogue. “I think I’m being catfished,” says one, “but it’s nice to have someone to talk to.” Another asks, “This is the future. Where are all the phaser guns?” Considering the often intense difficulty of the puzzles, these humorous touches really lighten the mood.
Which, as any employer knows, is crucial. After all, a happy worker is a productive worker—and with 7 billion at your disposal, expect to do amazing things. Power to the people!