Great Concept but Confusing Game

How I Use It

I used this game with my students as part of a unit on the environment and the relationship between humans and the the environment. This game has great potential-- it had a lot of information and opportunities for students to learn content. Unfortunately, most of my students (and I) became frustrated by the game. The interface is a bit confusing (how do I stop adding roads and go back to the main page) and hard to navigate. Though you could go full-screen, the bottom controls took up a lot of space and made it hard to see all your buildings. I couldn't tell if I was doing well and what I should be doing next. There probably was an incentive to pay attention to the greener options, but it wasn't obvious and I (and the students) focused mostly on making money out of our houses (and waiting for houses to be built). Furthermore, it had a lot of reading and there was a sense of urgency that encouraged me not to read the directions/hints. Most of my students just gave up playing it.