Mini Motorways

If you've ever sat in a traffic jam thinking that you could design a better street layout, then Mini Motorways is the game for you. This is the deceptively simple puzzle game that wants you to build streets and connect homes to businesses in the most efficient way possible. Of course, that's easier said than done, and it won't take long before you realize that you're just as bad as those city planners you used to complain about. But instead of spoiling the fun, let's take a look at one of the best and most original puzzle games available on the Switch.

Like most great puzzle games, the concept of Mini Motorways is extremely simple. The goal is to draw streets in an effort to connect differently colored businesses with the same-colored houses, that way the drivers can safely complete their trips. You'll find that people from red houses can only go to the red businesses, which is also true for houses painted blue, green, orange and a whole bunch of other colors. You'll earn a point for every completed trip, but you have to watch out, because if the drivers can't get to the businesses fast enough, then the game will abruptly end and you will have failed.

What starts out simple will quickly spiral out of control as the houses get further and further away from downtown, forcing us to draw out-of-the-way streets, while simultaneously doing everything we can to avoid congestion. And that won't be your only concern, because many maps include rivers that will need bridges, as well as mountainous terrain where tunnels will come in handy.

The good news is that we're given a choice between two random items at the end of every week. This will allow us to not only earn more street tiles, but also stock up on bridges, roundabouts, street lights and more. These items are crucial to keeping traffic running smoothly and reaching the faraway houses and businesses. So much of this game is about giving the drivers different routes to take, relieving the stress of one or two main streets or intersections. The problem is that we don't have a lot of street tiles to work with, and there are constantly new houses and businesses popping up. It ultimately becomes a juggling act where you want to be thorough, but can only do so much until the end of the week. If you can even make it that long.

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One thing I like is how the items aren't always an immediate fix. Sure, adding a roundabout and street light will help, but they are usually only the band aide to a bigger problem. One of my favorite items is a freeway that can run over your city to connect the different sides. This is crucial if you have a cluster of one-colored houses that are a long way away from their respective businesses. However, learning how to use these highways is also important, because they can really mess with the flow of traffic. By solving one problem, you might inadvertently be creating a whole new one.

That's the challenge of Mini Motorways. Creating a good-looking street layout is easy, but making it workable for everybody is hard, especially when more people move to your ever-growing city. You'll go from just a few motorists on the road, to massive traffic jams because everybody is trying to go to the same few businesses. And don't think the game lets up on you, things only get tougher and more stressful with each passing week. No matter how good you think you are at city planning, this game will eventually humble you.

Thankfully, there's a lot of content in Mini Motorways. There are fourteen real-world cities to build up, including Los Angeles, Tokyo, Moscow, Zurich, Rio de Janeiro, Mexico City, Warsaw and more. But while the change in look and location may be welcome, I was a little disappointed that these cities weren't more unique. Aside from color and possibly a mountain range or two, there isn't much that separates these different locations. It would have been fun to see each city have their own unique quirk, such as a sandstorm problem in Dubai or flooding issue in Wellington.

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And that spells out a bigger problem with Mini Motorways -- it's too repetitive. No matter what the map looks like, you'll be doing almost exactly the same thing in each and every level. There's really no reason to play the Los Angeles stage differently from Rio de Janeiro, which is kind of a bummer. It doesn't help that the streets, houses, businesses and everything else looks the same, no matter where you are. Don't get me wrong, I love the clean, minimalist look and the use of colors; it's definitely a sharp looking game. However, it's frustrating that Tokyo's architecture looks identical to that in Mexico City.

The good news is that Mini Motorways controls great on the Switch. Both with a controller and the touch screen, laying down roads is easy and painless, as is switching between the different items. And you're never committed to your terrible mistakes, because erasing the streets is just as intuitive. That's ultimately what makes this game work so well. Well, that and the fact that juggling all of these streets and businesses is inherently a whole lot of fun. Sure, it's a little repetitive, but I kept coming back time and time again. And I have a hunch I'm going to be playing this for a long time to come. And that's what makes the Switch a perfect home for Mini Motorways.