You Must Build a Boat

The short round length and simple, lizard-brain gameplay makes it ideal for either the commute or the commode. Dedicating more attention to it than that may prove to be a bit tedious (not least because of the simple, repetitive music) and the design lends itself far better to touch controls for mobile devices than a mouse, so your better bet is to grab it on the phone and take it with you places.

Each round of You Must Build A Boat is short, but I always get at least a bit of gold, or some of the other resources necessary to keep my aquatic menagerie growing. I keep wanting to go back for more in the same way I always want another cookie, and that’s an impulse I distrust. It’s not a feeling unique to this game, but it’s there and it’s dragged me back for so many hours I experienced a version of the Tetris Effect–when everything in your house starts to seem like it belongs at one end, lined up in neat rows.

Despite the slight drop-off toward the end and the low replay value, You Must Build a Boat is a great experience while it lasts. For a good six to nine hours, building a boat will indeed become the most important task in your life. Your addiction to this game will burn white hot for a couple days, then drop off after completion.