Happy Jack

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Posted by Bobbie | Posted in cure | Posted on 25-10-2007

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Jack of All Tribes Game Review

Trapped in the past by a freak accident, Jack has become the prophesied savior of an ancient tribe in Jack of All Tribes! Help the friendly tribe set up their homes and create thriving villages. Keep the villagers happy with food, drink and entertainment. Protect them from natural disasters and aggressive barbarians. Help these fun and quirky people achieve their potential in this exciting time management game.

In this game, you play the part of Jack, an unwitting time traveler. After scoring a free amusement park ride ticket, you find yourself taking a ride back through time and plunging into a primal world. You meet a beautiful tribal princess who informs you that you are the prophesied savior who will lead the tribe and defeat their enemies. She quickly puts you to work managing the tribe and organizing their activities.

Jack of All Tribes is a village-building time management game similar to the hit Roads of Rome series. You guide villages as they progress and become prosperous centers full of happy and productive people. You help them build homes, resource-producing buildings, entertainment buildings and defenses. In addition, there are the occasional crises that need to be solved and lost treasure to be found.

The game is divided into different levels, with each level getting you to explore a different part of this primitive land and meeting a new tribe of people desperate for your help. One chieftain might need your help in putting out fires, another might need help in driving off savage invaders, while a third might need you to gather enough food to feed his starving tribe. These objectives form part of each level's goals that you need to achieve before the timer runs out.

You start most levels with very little: a couple of villagers, a basic campfire and a few resources such as wood and food are usually all you'll get. The villagers are very versatile though. They can be instructed to construct buildings, chop wood, harvest food and man buildings such as the lumber mill and pig farm. However, they have needs that have to be met. When they are hungry, you have to send them to the campfire to eat (assuming of course that you have enough food in store). They also need to be kept happy and entertained, and fueled with good old fashioned alcohol!

The villagers can construct a whole bunch of buildings, from houses that attract more villagers and pig farms that produce food, to a bar that provides drinks and statues that make your villagers happy. However, these buildings require you to have enough resources in store before they can be constructed. The good thing is you only have to worry about 3 resources: wood, cash and food. Building construction usually requires both wood and cash, while food is needed to feed your villagers when they get hungry. Wood is obtained by chopping trees and from the lumber mill, while food is obtained via picking berries, harvesting crops and via farms. Cash is obtained from the villagers when you provide them with housing, drink and entertainment.

The villagers can perform other tasks too, such as manning production buildings such as the lumber mill. You can queue a string of tasks, and the villagers will scurry about trying to complete them. Sometimes, your buildings will catch fire. You will then have to quickly assign the villagers to put the fire out or risk having the buildings destroyed. You will also face the occasional attack by rival tribesmen. To prevent them from hurting your people and destroying the village, you need to fend them off by repeatedly clicking on them. Later on, you will be able to train a dinosaur who will help you fight off the barbarians (as well as give your villagers free rides around town)!

Throughout the game, you will also stumble across various "relics" that appear to be amusement park rides that got teleported back in time the same way you were. You get to play mini hidden object games, searching the wreckages for various items. Some of these items will also help you in your village-management tasks, giving you bonuses such as increasing your villagers' fire-fighting speed and reducing their hunger levels.

Jack of All Tribes is a fun and engaging game, packaged in a beautiful and charming style. Master your time management and task prioritizing skills as you help these lovable tribesmen prosper and defeat their enemies. You will love Jack of All Tribes if you like similar time management games such as the Roads of Rome series.

Rating: 4.0/5.0

You can read more about Jack of All Tribes and try the game at http://gamepudding.com/r/jack-of-all-tribes.html

About the Author

Steven maintains the time management game review website at http://gamepudding.com/ - a website devoted to strategy, simulation and time management games for the PC and Mac. You can read game reviews, download games and play them online.

The Who - Happy Jack