Building the Great Wall of China app review: a time management game set in ancient China

Introduction

Building the Great Wall of China by Nordcurrent is a cute-looking and addictive time management game. You need to manage your workers while they collect food, build helpful buildings, and of course, build parts of the Great Wall of China. Each level has its own set of challenges that need you to plan ahead before finishing the wall. All of these gameplay mechanics are time-based, and the quicker you finish the wall (and the other objectives), the more stars you will receive.

Watching your Workers Run Around

In this game you basically tap on a task that you want to have done. You will need make sure that enough workers are available and that you have enough food and other resources needed for the task at hand. Sometimes the road to your resource are blocked, but planning ahead and making sure every resource is available to you  will get you that desired three star rating.

The first few levels of the game start out simple enough, but the more upgrades that become available to your camp, the more tasks you will have to manage and the harder it gets. Throughout the game, power-ups become available to collect. This involves planning as well, as sometimes you’d need your workers for other tasks.

 

Collections, Mini-Games and the Full Game

While playing the game, you will collect all kinds of artifacts. The main artifact is being built by finishing levels while others are collected as part of a level’s challenges. Sometimes during a level, lightning will crash down on one of your building. This means you will have to make one of your workers repair these buildings, taking again more time, and adding a layer of difficulty to the game. Small mini-games have been woven into gameplay as well, such as defeating a dragon that threatens your land.

The free version of the game comes with eight levels. For $4.99 you can unlock the full game, featuring 30 new levels, all kinds of extras and new story line videos.

 

Pros and Cons

Pros

• Fun time management game
• Feels like you make a huge impact on the life of these workers
• Easy to learn but hard to master
• Improve your planning skills

 

Cons

• Only eight levels in the free version
• Sometimes hard to see what needs to be done next

 

Conclusion

Building the Great Wall of China is great fun to play, and it makes you feel like you are actually building this wall and helping your workers out. Too bad the free version only has eight levels, but if you want to play more, you can pay to unlock the full game. The app is only compatible with iPad, which is fine as the game would be nearly unplayable on iPhone due to the small graphic style used. If you’re searching for a nice quick game, this might be the one for you!