I enjoy this game because it is different. It scratches an itch you'll find in few other places (namely dwarf fortress) - and it certainly won't be as accessible as this title. After a couple hours I had my first prison. It didn't run very well, but it was neat watching the inmates start showing patterns reflecting their personality. I had this one guy who had a drug problem - I assigned a K9 unit to the outside of the visitation center just for him. I could look at the contraband view and see that he got smuggled some drugs from the infirmary and hid them in his bed, which was pretty neat!
Later that night, I had this guy suddenly pop up outside because he had dug a tunnel - he got away, but I started randomly doing cell block checks while the prisoners where in the showers. I discovered a serious problem with control over spoons and put metal detectors outside the canteen ... fun stuff!

Pros -
Emergent, unique gameplay
Devs are completely open about the progress of the game, and whitewash nothing. They even post there bugtracker online - that takes balls.

Cons -
Bugs. It's in alpha, be aware of this. I had to toss a map and start over because I had a section permanently sealed off I could not use.

I enjoy this game because it is different. It scratches an itch you'll find in few other places (namely dwarf fortress) - and it certainly won't be as accessible as this title. After a couple hours I had my first prison. It didn't run very well, but it was neat watching the inmates start showing patterns reflecting their personality. I had this one guy who had a drug problem - I assigned a K9 unit to the outside of the visitation center just for him. I could look at the contraband view and see that he got smuggled some drugs from the infirmary and hid them in his bed, which was pretty neat! Later that night, I had this guy suddenly pop up outside because he had dug a tunnel - he got away, but I started randomly doing cell block checks while the prisoners where in the showers. I discovered a serious problem with control over spoons and put metal detectors outside the canteen ... fun stuff! Pros - Emergent, unique gameplay Devs are completely open about the progress of the game, and whitewash nothing. They even post there bugtracker online - that takes balls. Cons - Bugs. It's in alpha, be aware of this. I had to toss a map and start over because I had a section permanently sealed off I could not use.