Play SimCity with real data in free Aussie game Run That Town
Become the mayor of Melbourne
Think you could run your town better than your local politician? Reckon you'd be a popular mayor because you'd make ice cream free and ban dubstep? Let's see, shall we?
The Australian Bureau of Statistics has recently launched an iPhone app called Run That Town, which lets you play city simulator with genuine Aussie census data.
You are hired as the head honcho of any Australian town - from Sydney suburb Bondi to the tiny tourist town Pemberton - and have to accept or reject proposals based on what would make the most people happy.
You get to see the town's population data - including info on gender, age, employment, transport, education, income, and home ownership - before making your choices.
So, you don't want nightclubs in a place filled with pensioners, and you won't get much of a popularity bump by creating a raft of jobs when 90 percent of your citizens are employed.
You also have to consult with positive and negative campaigners, manage a war chest of funds, and work fast to enact your changes before your term is up. You can also read the local papers to see how your decisions have been received.
Run That Town is a top-quality app, with cute isometric graphics and witty Aussie voice acting. It's a free app (and don't worry - you can't bail out Bondi with in-app purchases) for iPhone, and it's out right now.
Kotaku.au