ST. PAUL, MINN.: A 10-year-old company called “Blue Earth Interactive” has created The Bailout Game, a Web site that lets players distribute corporate hand-outs from a tiny dump truck.
After a bit of an abstruse intro, the game welcome appears. Players drive the truck down a street lined with Bear Stearns, Lehman, AIG, the Treasury and other financial landmarks, making financial decisions for each. Refusing to administer bailout triage brings up an animation about the result, and blows up the landmark. Not bailing out Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and AIG blows up several landmarks.
The game also has an “Ask a Greenspan” lifeline for the indecisive. The link brings up a picture of the former Fed chairman in various guises. One superimposes his face onto an image of Queen Elizabeth on the screen of a cell phone. “Queenspan” recommends a bail out.
A news ticker at the bottom of the game provides CNN-like headlines: “Chuck Norris weakness found: Mike Huckabee… Nation wakes up next to *ugly economy, shakes head… Barack Obama elected president, John McCain lets out sigh of relief… Rod Blagojevich voted most honest man in America… Out of work executives find solace in millions…”
The Bailout Game is viral alongside other economy-induced contests like Bush’s Billions, pitting Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi against former President George Bush in a bank robbery game, and Layoff, in which only bankers are exempt. -- Deborah D. McAdams
