Three houses are burning, several farmers are planning an uprising. And me? I stay calm. Because I have the right tools to handle this: I just build a fire station and a police station. Shortly thereafter, the situation is back under control - and my satisfaction increases as the tax revenue of my settlement.
I like construction strategy games very much. They slow me down and give me a sense of control. Currently this love for the genre is rekindled by "Anno 1800". It is the current game of the now existing 21 years, produced in Germany "Anno" series.
"Anno 1800" makes the beginning of industrialization playable. It involves, for example, iron mining, smelting and processing into steel beams - including the associated air pollution, which reduces the quality of life of local residents.
The new part brings with it many small changes. This includes the ability to increase production in the factories - but this can lead to uprisings. In addition, appropriate to the colonial period, parts of South America settle, so my city so on goods such as coffee comes.
The colonialism is pretty much downplayed, in the game he is beautiful "exotic". "Foreign cultures" can be discovered and exploited without ever being contextualised as exploitation.
Completely nonsensical
Nevertheless, "Anno 1800" fascinates me because it looks great and does exactly what makes a good building strategy game: it suggests to the player to have everything in his hand and all the time in the world.
When I play "Anno", I know that this is completely nonsensical - and also time consuming. I'm not learning anything here, I'm not doing anything productive, my life is not different then before - progress is only on screen.
But that's not bad, because building-strategy games tear me out of the uninterrupted goal-oriented everyday life. Here I am thinking difficult about my potato cultivation, which ultimately leads to a functioning distillery and then - through the liquor sale - to the prosperity of my settlement. And all for nothing and nothing. What a recovery.
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Building game from Germany: This is "Anno 1800"Within this futility I am the ruler of all political, social and economic systems. I'm in control - a control I've only got for the rest of my life.
In "Anno 1800" I have the answer to every question, every problem, every uprising, every scarcity, an antidote. I can do great things here and plan my way there meticulously. And of course, not just a small settlement, but a metropolis. My citizens should be the most satisfied, my buildings the most monumental.
There are five levels of population in "Anno 1800". The game makes me start as a farmer and after a few hours of free play - there is also a campaign - become an investor who sips champagne and walks in and out of the big banks.
One principle of "Anno" is that there must be enough of everything, but not too much. Even if the craftsmen rule - the third level of the population - there are still enough farmers to keep enough wood chopped. The balance that is so often missing in life, I can produce here.
Hardships and hopes
As I play, I zoom in and out, watching my inhabitants closely. How they rush through the streets, as they all know exactly what they have to do. I know their needs and hopes and try to live up to them. I know from experience but also that often does not go immediately, so are building strategy games.
Sometimes I just have to wait and let the virtual development run its course - must give up the control again. Then I watch as my cargo ship, filled with sausage and soap, slowly heads for the office of my trading partner. I'm looking forward to the money I'm about to spend, wondering how to best spend it - and there it is again, that deep inner calm.