simcity

Here we are, more than a full year since its horrific launch and subsequent PR nightmare, and EA and Maxis are in the midst of rolling out the once "impossible" offline mode for SimCity.

As of drafting this post, the SimCity servers are offline as Maxis is pushing the update out, doing a round of QA and then flipping the switch for the general public.

I'm glad that the offline mode is finally here, if only with a few hours left to wait, but I'm genuinely curious about whether or not enough fans will be willing to try the game again. I know I personally deleted SimCity a few weeks after its tumultuous launch, cast it aside in my memory and haven't touched it since.

That's a crazy thought for me, someone who pumped hundreds of hours into the other games in this franchise.

Now that the offline mode is here? I'm hesitating to try it out. Will it be enough to swing this game from mediocre to good? I'm not sure.

SimCity's servers should be locked and loaded later today. They might even be live by the time you read this post. Will you be firing up your copy to give it another go now that offline play is here? Or, have you had enough of this SimCity to last a lifetime?

Use a chess clock to keep track of move and play times
Tick tock

Use a chess clock to keep track of move and play times

These chess clocks feature dual clocks for players to control their own timers, and loud alarms so everyone knows when time is up. These clocks can be used for other 2-person games, like checkers, that may benefit from a game timer.