The Democratic Alliance has launched DemocraCITY, a strategy game on social media platform Mxit, which it describes as a hybrid between SimCity and Tamagotchi, in an effort to convince voters to make their mark for the party in the upcoming general election.

In a statement, the DA says each game runs for 72 hours, with players being constantly prompted to make strategic decisions that influence the happiness levels of citizens in the game.

The party intends running the game for three weeks.

“Good governance earns extra points and bad governance leads to bad ratings. For those given to corruption, it’s a short road to game over,” the statement says.

“Players have the option of collecting tax, stealing public funds and upgrading their cars and houses,” it continues. “Players can also spend it on job creation, law enforcement, infrastructure and social initiatives. Activities and decisions are weighted in terms of their impact on the population’s sentiment.”

According to the party, a significant number of Mxit users are keen gamers, making DemocraCITY “an obvious mechanism for seeing campaign ideas and information”.

“The gaming conventions are also well understood, making the game fit-for-purpose within the Mxit environment,” it says. “Due to the interactive nature of the game, engagement levels are a lot higher than if we were to use static app content or traditional Mxit advertising campaigns only.”

According to the DA, DemocraCITY has had 73 843 visitors and 31 342 active players since it was launched last Thursday. Almost 34 753 DemocraCITY games have been played so far, with 378 user comments. Players can win airtime and bursaries.