Sim City (and similar "sim" games) gives you the power to create and manage cities, but what would happen if you encountered NIMBYism ("not in my back yard") at every turn? Such is the premise of Sim Nimby where the only power you are given is to be frustrated [Vice].
The game itself is a static image of a 90s-style, Sim City-like management sim. If you click on anything, an alert message pops up: "ERROR. CAN'T BUILD IN NIMBYVILLE", followed by a quote from, presumably, a local NIMBY. Weeks and Nass came up with 54 different anti-development slogans. Some are exaggerated NIMBY talking points for effect and humor—"The only thing urban I want to see in my neighborhood is Keith Urban"; "Apartment buildings cause crime. Where do you think the people who killed Batman's parents lived?"—while others—"This is a NICE neighborhood", "Public transport would transport the public here"— could well be said at a community meeting anywhere in the U.S. any day of the week. Nass's personal favorites are "Housing? Surely there must be other ways to deal with the unhoused," "Sorry, but I've devoted my life to the most pressing issue of our time: anti-bike activism" and "Keep our local fiefdom weird."
The "game" was created by Owen Weeks and Steve Nass, two Brooklyn copywriters who wanted to make a statement on the hypocrisy of so many NIMBYs who, for instance, decry homelessness in one breath and then move to block affordable housing in their area.
[H/t GoodGodMan on Twitter]
Image: Screengrab of Sim Nimby game, Owen Weeks and Steve Nass.
