Miss Management
Ages: Teen

Unbelievable, coming straight from Diner Dash, a complex social drama of office life wrapped up in a time management game. I've been there - the slacker, the Romeo, the insufferable know-it-all, and a boss that comes in, just when you don't need him, with ridiculous suggestions.

The game starts with an empty office with a solitary employee Mahavir, sleeping on the couch to avoid going home to India during a holiday break. Immediately he hits on Denise, the new office manger, and here the character is simply and quickly fleshed out. This is done with the myriad of characters that enter the scene, each with likes, dislikes and needs that rub against one another and complicate Denise's job. Nevertheless, the office must get work done and this comes in the form of colored folders that appear on Denise's desk to be apportioned out to the appropriate employee. Keeping stress levels down and employees happy - donuts help - while getting work done will make Denise a successful manager.

Time management has never been so quirky. Tasks have a duration, and Denise will have to figure how to satisfy Mahavir's goal to chat up Tara for 60 seconds when she can only stand him for 10. Or when the goal of one employee is to do no tasks that day, the other is so stressed out that he needs to take a nap and the work piles up. Now Denise gets stressed - and the day is over.

The characters and dialogue will be familiar to anyone who has ever worked in an office. The social interaction becomes more complex as the game adds more characters into the mix, and the fun part is that you know them all.

It's an ingenious game. Gamelab used the most prosaic setting - the office, put together the typical experiences we have all had and created a wonderful game. We need more of these out-of-the-box thinking in game making.

Comes in a hybrid disk that plays on both PC and Mac.

Fun Factor: You know all these characters and had to put up with them.
Female Factor: Main character is Denise and she is trying to make it all work out
Player Friendly: Game saves upon quitting - pauses when you go to other tasks

Reviewed by: Editor - 04/08