Oiligarchy

http://www.molleindustria.org/en/oiligarchy
    
     Oiligarchy is a play on the word oligarchy (a type of government where power is held by a few).  The game puts the player in the role of an oil executive, trying to exploit demand, politics, and imperialism for profit.  I tried several playthroughs, with each result ending in M.A.D.  Trying a different approach, the demand then exceeded supply and I got fired by the stockholders twice.  I participated in elections, betting on the winner based on the percentage a particular party, and achieved an "oiled" president.  It was interesting being granted access to "underground" to sanction clandentine forays in other countries for the interest of big oil through political upheavals.  I understood what the game was trying to accomplish through a satiric look at our oil dependence and at oil executives.  This is reflected in past events: from the Exxon Valdez oil spill to oil executives appearing before Congress to explain price gouging.
     The Oiligarchy Postmortem did well in explaining the goals of the game, and detailed the different endings possible (which I was unable to achieve other than the M.A.D ending).  It noted that the game did not provide a true account and activities of the oil industry, maybe this is due to the constraints that come from a flash game, but I felt it did present the crisis that is looming if our dependence on oil is not kept in check and alternative resources are explored.  The realism seems skewed towards being bad, for when I tried to influence the game towards a "green" playthrough, I could never production above demand, at best I production tied with demand for a while, but ultimately I was fired by the stockholders.  It did help to "oil" players in the political arean, in the hopes for tax breaks and oil-friendly representatives to counter environmental bills.  Expanding to other oil rich countries presents the dilema of malcontent among the locals to power hungry, militia forces.  I did not notice any con for playing the ultimate, evil oil executive when I razed villages and polluted the lakes and oceans other than a few oil platforms being protested.  I would like to have reached "retirement" with a decrease in oil addiction as noted on the Postmortem, but I was unable to attain that (which does reflect the real world problem of oil addiction as well).
     The McDonald's Game is similar to Oilgarchy, but tackles the fast food industry and its effect on the health of citizens.  The McDonald's Game is less effective because I spent more time clicking back and forth trying to resolve the problems at each juncture of a burger's journey from pasture to its place in a combo meal.  Several times I was rewarded with the incensed visage of Ronald McDonald accusing me of bankrupting the venerable company.