Smart Village

Solar panels on the rooftops, power lines strung between poles, pine trees and a river at the edge of town: Smart Village imagines rural life with modern technology built in. It is an Android game from the ICT games programme, offered here as an APK download at version 0.3.

How to play

The setting is a small village where technology such as solar power sits alongside houses, fields and forest, and the game invites you to explore it. With a world like this, the payoff comes from paying attention to how its parts connect, such as where power comes from and where it goes. Rushing past the details misses the point of the setting.

Before you install

• Use Wi-Fi: the file is about 173 MB, and a dropped mobile connection means starting the download again.
• Keep at least twice that much free space, because Android unpacks the APK while installing it.
• If the install is blocked, allow your browser under Settings, then Apps, then Special app access, then Install unknown apps, and switch it back off afterwards.

Who it's for

Smart Village fits players who enjoy exploring a place at their own pace, and it has an obvious appeal for classrooms, where the idea of a technology-powered village gives teachers something to talk about. For a bird's-eye view of a city instead, try SkyMapper, or keep the environmental theme going with Green Life.