Browser game of the week: Corporation Inc

It turns out running a business is hard. Like, a real pain in the ass. All the annoying employees wanting food and water and janitors and whatnot. If you've been contemplating opening up your own business, or if you already own one but for some reason want to pretend like you own another one, you might want to check out Corporation Inc, a business management game that blends the likes of Simtower and the Sims into one neat little package.

The game starts with you plotting out a nice piece of land to start your business. Then you start hiring employees, building elevators, hiring a (presumably) annoying IT guy and suddenly, before you know it, you've got some operations happening. You'll have a wide array of employee types to choose from, and doing research gets you more choices. You'll also need to promote workers, manage efficient work areas and make sure your supervisors are streamlining productivity.

Okay, this is probably starting to sound less like a game and more like work, but rest assured, there is a certain gaminess about Corporation Inc. More than the likes of Farmville anyway. Numbers and symbols are popping up all over the screen, employees are getting pissed off, water coolers are being placed. It's all in a days work for a good CEO to take care of all the problems, and it's your job to do it.

It ends up being surprisingly fun and easy to get into, although a few of the symbols are a bit frustrating to figure out at first (a crossed out box for instance, which I think meant I needed more IT guys). It's also a great way to spend waste away your afternoon at work, especially if you're one of those undertrained and overworked workers. Maybe if you do well enough you can convince your real boss that you're ready for that promotion.

Play it here.