M.U.L.E.

About

M.U.L.E. is a competitive strategy game where players manage resources on a frontier planet. Each turn you claim land, trade goods, and deploy mechanical laborers to harvest food, energy, and rare minerals. Your choices directly impact the game, low food means shorter turns, while energy shortages slow production. Alongside resource management you can sabotage opponents by releasing wild M.U.L.E.s hunt a dangerous Wumpus for cash or gamble at the casino to boost your funds. The goal is to outlast rivals through careful planning or ruthless tactics. What sets M.U.L.E. apart is its clever balance of cooperation and betrayal. Players must trade goods to survive but the casino’s random payouts and hidden Crystite deposits keep every session unpredictable. Released in 1983 it remains a standout in retro strategy circles praised for its deep mechanics and replayability. With support for up to four players in co-op or competitive modes it’s a timeless test of economic cunning and risk-taking.

Storyline

IRATA. A New World rich with opportunity. For wealth. And power. And you can become the richest, most powerful inhabitant of the newly discovered planet by owning the most land, mining the most precious metal, and supplying the most food and energy to all the peasants - otherwise known as your opponents. To win you need MULEs (Multiple Use Labor Elements), kind of mechanical donkeys which do your dirty work: growing food, mining, and producing energy. MULEs are critical, so you want to get as many as possible as cheaply as possible. And by the way, treachery is acceptable. So use it when needed. Then sit back and enjoy your wealth and power, OH MIGHTY RULER!