DODGING LANDMINES

The Escape from Thinktank games retailing at 499, turned out to be a gripping thriller. The 9x9 play grid of treacherous terrain littered with landmines is what my two agents must get through to escape into the safety of the crowded city. In two-player mode, I commandeered my agents with an impossibly inadequate arsenal of four one-time use only landmine diffusers. Standing between my agents and safety is the “Squad”. Controlled by my opponent, the squad has a formidable armoury of 10 landmines – five live, and five fake. I’ll never know the difference till I step on one!

In a glorious double team run, my man agent reached the end of open land, with just one move into the safety of the city. The lady agent was a few paces behind, but hopelessly cut off. I deployed my landmine diffusers too soon. I had no sense of which mines on the grid were live, and which were duds. The lady agent was boxed in, and as it turned out, whichever way she went, she would be blown to bits.

At a time when humanitarian groups are lobbying hard for the elimination of land mines, it could be argued that The Escape is a politically incorrect game. But from a battle strategy adventure perspective, it’s difficult to not be drawn right in. You need strategies to traverse the terrain in crab-like diagonal moves, with agent and mine diffusers travelling in tandem. My plays tended to suicidal idiocy. No escaping a sorry end! — The author may be contacted at

arup_kavan@yahoo.com

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