This was the very first game I played on my C64. I found it to be extremely addictive and fun to play. The graphics are extremely poor, but what do you expect from that time? The object of the game is that four (1-4 actual players so if you choose a single player game you face three AI players and if you choose to play with three human players, then there will be one controlled by AI and so on) entities compete against each other to see who can make the most money and become "First Founder".
Mule has three levels of difficulty: Beginner, Standard, and Tournament. The first two basically are the same. Tournament is the only one you can mine Crystite in. You have to set up a joystick or configure your keyboard to be a joystick to play. You basically buy a M.U.L.E., then pick a function (crystite mining, energy harvesting, smithore mining, or food harvesting) take it to a plot you have selected and set it up. Random events happen which may or may not help you. When setting a M.U.L.E. up, remember to stand on the house of your plot or the M.U.L.E. will run off. When selecting plots River=best food harvesting; Mountain=best smithore mining; Open Plain=best energy harvesting; and you need to Assay a
land to find it's crystite potential (None, Low Medium, High). A high crystite plot wil have a medium to it's north, south, east, and west and lows to its NE, NW, SE, SW. Also there will be a low plot on the other side of the medium plot. It looks like a huge plus sign.
Another thing to watch for when playing this game is the races you can choose. Each has its own strengths and weaknesses. The mechanoids (comp standard) are generally the best overall once you have the overall concept and strategy of the game down. Their drawback is that they require food and energy where as the other races simply need food. They do, however, produce more of things. One race is the fastest traveling over land. Another starts with more money. Still another wins auctions and trades more than others. One mines better. After a while you usually figure out what works for yourself the best.
Overall it's simplicity is what makes this game so sweet. Strategic use of money and resources will lead to a win, but bad things can happen. The average time to complete a game is about 15-25 minutes making it great for getting that "fix" when you need one. If you are into good old addictive thinking games this one is definitely for you.
