Nick Wade

Captain Forever is a masterpiece in game design. The basic concept is simple: take control of a small space ship and survive. It's an old one done many times before. What makes it special is that you don't specifically have to destroy anything else, but for what you do, you can claim any useful parts of the wreckage to attach to your own ship. Greed sets in quickly. The temptation to attack is overwhelming. They have better parts than you, and you want what they have. What you take makes you more powerful, and the more powerful you become the larger the ships you can take on. It's not easy though - everything you have can be destroyed in a split second by another ship. You must be cautious, but arrogance is required if you want better parts. It takes a lot of skill and luck. It's brilliant. You find yourself totally engrossed, and with practise you can go from nothing to having the greatest ship ever. But what to do then?

The game costs $20 and is available to play online. There are 3 episodes. The latest one, "Impostor" having just been released which has a nice twist on the concept. The first episode is free and acts as a good introduction.

You really need to go play this to understand why I would call it a masterpiece. It is such a neatly wrapped game, bringing in all the best elements of what makes a game great. I especially like that you can achieve so much in a short period of time. You get all the sense of accomplishment in a fraction of the time it would take to complete a typical mainstream title. If you're good at it, that is.