Food Force: The UN's Game to Show how the World Food Program Works

I came across this game when I was looking at the Wikipedia page on Serious Games. This game, actually published by the United Nations World Food Program (WFP), is decidedly serious. The player must distribute food to a country that has been stricken by drought , due to natural and man-made causes. Ideally, the country will not only recover, but also regain self-sufficiency. While playing Food Force, the player learns about what the WFP's mission is, as well as how prevalent the problem of world hunger is.

The game is free with both Windows and Mac versions. A high score table is available if you want to upload your scores, and there are lesson plans for teachers available on the site.

There are six missions, which all take place on the fictional island of Sheylan (located somewhere in the Indian Ocean). A short description of each follows:


1. Air Surveillance: Flying about in a helicopter to locate the people that need food.








2. Energy Packs: Attempting to create a balanced diet of rice, cooking oil, beans, sugar and salt with a budget of only 30 cents per day.






3. Air Drop: Trying to overcome difficulties and successfully drop food supplies in a target zone.





4. Locate and Dispatch: The player must find and purchase the necessary supplies then match them with the area that needs them.






5. Food Run: Lead a food convoy to a distribution center, while coping with landmines, roadblocks, and downed bridges.







6. Future Farming: Using available food supplies to help a village recover. Choices for investments are made between nutrition training, schooling, "food for work" and HIV/AIDS treatment. The goal is to create self-sufficiency over 10 years.




Most of the game-play is arcade-like, with the emphasis on information rather than entertainment. It is difficult to see who the audience is, since the information seems aimed at middle school or above, while the level of game play is very elementary. The graphics are quite good, and the program runs well on a Mac, but there is only so much play you can get from driving a truck around or dragging bags of food from one spot to another. This game might be useful for a quick look at the worldwide problem of hunger, but I doubt most students will get much from playing the game itself.