CityVille

CityVille is an online city-building game that became wildly popular in the early 2010s. Developed by Zynga, the game allowed players to create their own virtual city and manage everything from zoning laws to tax rates. It was a prime example of a “casual game,” meaning it could be played in short bursts and required little initial skill.

Players quickly fell in love with the addictive nature of CityVille. It wasn’t uncommon for people to spend hours upon hours developing their virtual metropolis, all while neglecting their real-life responsibilities. In fact, some players were so dedicated to the game that they reportedly started calling in sick to work just to play.

But as with any game, CityVille had its fair share of quirks and oddities. For instance, the game had a strange obsession with cows. Yes, you read that correctly: cows. In order to progress in the game, players needed to collect a variety of resources, one of which was milk. However, instead of simply buying milk from a store, players had to first harvest it from their own virtual cows…which were inexplicably scattered throughout the city.

Another strange aspect of the game was the fact that houses and businesses could be instantly constructed with just a few clicks. Imagine if real-life construction projects were that easy! We’d all be living in mansions by now.

But perhaps the most bizarre feature of CityVille was the “friendly alien invasion.” At random intervals, players would be visited by a group of aliens who would offer to trade resources with them. While it was a nice break from the usual city-building tasks, one has to wonder: why were aliens so interested in our virtual cities?

Despite its quirks, CityVille will always hold a special place in the hearts of those who played it. It may have been just a game, but for a brief moment, it allowed us to live out our wildest urban planning dreams…and collect copious amounts of virtual milk.