Metro Rules of Conduct

Metro Rules of Conduct is a short, simple, and thoughtful game that explores the odd social interactions between public transit riders. Its creator, Kian Bashiri (developer of the equally conceptual You Have To Burn The Rope) describes it as an "accurate simulation of the Stockholm Metro where future travelers can safely learn the unwritten rules without risking making fools of themselves."

As any veteran mass-transit traveler knows, the #1 unwritten rule of public transportation is that eye contact between fellow commuters is strictly forbidden. Being caught glancing (or worse, gawking) at your metro-mates is a major offense. In Metro Rules of Conduct, you get points for sneaking peeks at other commuters' apparel and accessories, but only so long as they don't catch you looking. Press any key to start, then use the arrow keys to direct your gaze.

Thanks to our own Pyroman[FO] for suggesting this week's Act Casual pick. If you've discovered a free browser-based game we should play, send a link and description via our Contact Form.

Comments

Sweet, just over 7000 points and I made it to the end. I am the master of sneaky glances!

I was terrible at this, but then again... I'm probably terrible at it in real life too.

What a great idea for a game though.

I love games like this that make games out of common occurrences. I'll admit being one of the few people who didn't really enjoy (or get) You Have to Burn the Rope, but I liked this one. Can I beat Rabbit to the punch by saying that this would make a great iPhone game?

This is as close as anyone has come to showing what public transportation is in Sweden. Wonderful little game.

My desire to look people in the eye makes me a terror on the MBTA.

adam.greenbrier wrote:

I love games like this that make games out of common occurrences. I'll admit being one of the few people who didn't really enjoy (or get) You Have to Burn the Rope, but I liked this one. Can I beat Rabbit to the punch by saying that this would make a great iPhone game?

You could play it on the subway that way!

I have a friend who, until he met his current significant other, seemed pretty certain he would find love by making eye contact with strangers on the CTA. I'm pretty sure he was wrong.

wordsmythe wrote:
adam.greenbrier wrote:

I love games like this that make games out of common occurrences. I'll admit being one of the few people who didn't really enjoy (or get) You Have to Burn the Rope, but I liked this one. Can I beat Rabbit to the punch by saying that this would make a great iPhone game?

You could play it on the subway that way!

The meta-ness of this would make the whole experience worthwhile. Especially if you caught someone staring at your phone; you could then picture their red vision and lost points and yourself as some sort of Strongsad stick figure looking right at them.

I can't believe there are no bonus points for sneaking a peek at b00bs

fynnsky wrote:

I can't believe there are no bonus points for sneaking a peek at b00bs

Two second rule. Get in, get what you need, get out fast. I'm pretty sure it takes years to hone and develop those skills. Or you can be lazy and wear some real big, shady aviators.

Swat wrote:
fynnsky wrote:

I can't believe there are no bonus points for sneaking a peek at b00bs

Two second rule. Get in, get what you need, get out fast. I'm pretty sure it takes years to hone and develop those skills. Or you can be lazy and wear some real big, shady aviators.

For a while I thought getting caught checking them out is what was making the screen go red.

Yoreel wrote:

For a while I thought getting caught checking them out is what was making the screen go red.

Hmm... there's something intensely Freudian about that.

adam.greenbrier wrote:

I love games like this that make games out of common occurrences. I'll admit being one of the few people who didn't really enjoy (or get) You Have to Burn the Rope, but I liked this one. Can I beat Rabbit to the punch by saying that this would make a great iPhone game?

I saw You Have to Burn the Rope as a one-liner. It's something I never thought about before, once it dawned on me it made me laugh, but that's it. Way too much commentary in the blogosphere, then commentary about the commentary, then meta-commentary rabbit hole chasing ad infinitum.

I'm sorry, but the only thing I could think while playing this was "I bet if this was a mini-game in Wii Play everyone would say it's dumb."

I usually stare much longer at people on the subway than this game lets me, and usually avoid eye contact for longer too. Unrealistic!

It's extra tricky because there are no signs to read, over and over again, until you can sneak another glance. Are the Swedish subways so devoid of advertising?

This is an awesome game. I'm definitely going to be playing it more often.

how could you play it more than once? i played it twice because i didn't get it the first time round...but that's my own mental deficiency.

The little people's faces kind of scare me. They're so blank.

VDOWhoNeedsDD wrote:

how could you play it more than once? i played it twice because i didn't get it the first time round...but that's my own mental deficiency.

The little people's faces kind of scare me. They're so blank.

True... But eh, it gives me something to do when waiting for stuff to finish. It's a quick game, which I have several of those. They help pass time.

Haha, excellent game, much more ambitious than the others. "You have to burn the rope" was one of the funniest inside-jokes for any gamer. "Dance, Dance, Dance" was a pretty subversive one, and almost forcing me to become the puppet at trying to master all the button presses that get too hard for an uninitiated rhythm gamer like me.

Didn't even realize that you controlled your view using the keyboard until the 3rd phase. Tried to fail in the last 2 and couldn't even do that. I played it once. That was enough..

The instructions on using the arrow keys were pretty small and I missed them the first time. So I'm hitting letter keys and the letters are appearing and then when I hit enter a big "NO" appears. Color me confused! Mouse does nothing. So I restart and see the fine print about arrow keys. A cute little game. But a lot of boobs with ties. Do many women wear ties in Stockholm?

I ride the subway a lot, but never in Sweden. Apparently there people feel very shy about their electronics and ties, but that's not what I spend time looking at while riding.

Cheeky.