An interesting diversion.

My computer game consumption is very limited indeed. I'm not into the first person shooters where one runs around a virtual Afghanistan with a load of people online, they just don't do it for me. Racing games interest me for about five minutes but then lose their appeal, likewise football games in the mould of FIFA and PES, I just get bored of them.

I return time after time after time to Football Manager, the depth of the game and the almost endless scenarios and variables keep me hooked, it truly is a masterpiece. The Civilization series is also wonderful, the idea of founding a nation in the stone age and progressing it to the near future, with a simple research system, diplomacy, espionage and war is brilliant.

Beyond these two, I don't really play anything else.

The other day I downloaded a game called Rulers of Nations, which is by a small developer from France , it bills itself as a 'geo-political simulator', and it is proving to be very interesting. At the basic level the premise is that you take over the reigns of any of 165 nations and run the country. I've only had a little time to tinker about with it, in parts I'm almost overwhelmed by the detail of the game, the international trade section is really quite complex. In other parts I'm a little frustrated by the lack of detail in some areas, social policy and income tax for example are a little blunt for my liking.

The real problem I've had is that my desire to effect massive changes, especially when I possess the body of Cameron (although the picture is obviously him, all the politicans have fake names), leads to massive unrest, it would appear that change in this game has to be gradual, almost as if you are creeping up on your goals without anyone noticing. In my first game as PM of Great Britain I lasted about 6 weeks until the cabinet resigned pretty much en masse and I faced a vote of no confidence in the House.

Of course, it could be that game is skewed to the statist agenda and that the only way of running a country, as far as the game is concerned, is to run it in a mirror image of France. If that is the case, then I'm wasting my time.

One thing that was hugely entertaining was taking over in Pyongyang, only for the army to come knocking on the door and saying 'you're coming with us, pal' when I tried to bring in a free press. . .