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Introduction to Oiligarchy
You step into the shoes of an ambitious oil tycoon who’s juggling profit margins, drilling rigs, and a growing stack of environmental fines. As you expand your operations, your decisions have real consequences: do you invest in cleaner technology or rake in quick cash by cutting corners? It’s surprisingly engrossing to watch your little empire grow, even if that growth sometimes leaves a trail of devastated ecosystems behind.
What really hooks you is how the game forces you to wrestle with the ethical side of big business. On the one hand, you’re negotiating with shady politicians, funding PR campaigns, and squeezing more oil out of increasingly inhospitable ground. On the other, you’re confronted with the fallout—wildlife turning up dead, protests popping up, and scores of lawyer letters piling up on your virtual desk. I found myself leaning toward the dirtier, faster route at first, but guilt (and ever-climbing cleanup costs) eventually pushed me to cleaner strategies. Balancing immediate returns against long-term stability becomes a genuine tug-of-war.
By the time you’ve juggled all your permits, lobbied hard enough to sway legislation, and navigated a shifting public opinion, it’s easy to get lost in the numbers. Yet even when you’ve built a sprawling network of pipelines and oil rigs, the game’s dark humor never lets you forget the human (and non-human) toll. You’ll keep coming back for another round just to see if you can stretch your bottom line a fraction further—while hoping your conscience can keep up.