World of Fourcraft makes New York 'hood loyalty fun again

When Napoleon tried to invade Russia in 1812, his armies froze to death and he suffered a terrible, morale-crushing defeat -- and now you can too, all from the comfort of your favorite New York neighborhood! World of Fourcraft is an innovative app that turns New York's five boroughs into a giant game of Risk through the clever use of Foursquare.

Users pledge loyalty to a team and check in to their chosen boroughs, which is similar to moving a plastic Risk soldier to that area, to build up their armies. An algorithm then decides who owns what based on these check-ins. As of the end of June, USA Today reported World of Fourcraft had roughly 100 players and Manhattan was winning. But as Napoleon knows, winning streaks can change rapidly and without warning. Or maybe he just couldn't see the signs. (Because they were high up.) (And he was short.)