You won't win Let's Play: Ancient Greek Punishment, that's the point

Pippin Barr first hit our radar in September when he made a game so boring it couldn't be ignored -- and it seems he's done it again. And again. And again. Barr's games are made to be simple exercises in thought and social commentary; at least we hope they are, because otherwise they're simply extremely tedious and don't offer any reward for effort exerted.

His most recent installment, Let's Play: Ancient Greek Punishment, offers insight into the futility of desire and mankind's attempt to thwart the powers that be, whether they're godly, psychological or stemming from ritualistic self-abuse. Or it's just a series of games that will really piss you off. We haven't quite decided yet.

Let's Play: Ancient Greek Punishment tells the tales of Sisyphus, Tantalus, Prometheus, Danaids and Zeno through the clever use of the G and H keys, pressed rapidly and continuously until you tire and your punishment is enacted. ~~Peregrin Took's~~ Dr. Pippin Barr's other titles include Trolley Problem, ZORBA and All's Well That Ends Well, and they're no less, ahem, enlightening than Let's Play: Ancient Greek Punishment.

Reader Comments (23)

Yes, but does it activate on steam?

Now I found a use for two drinking birds I have lying around.

WHY WON'T YOU GO UP THE HILL, BOULDER?!?

But Pippin, did Frodo give up in face of the mighty lord Sauron? Heck no, he "thwart[ed] the powers that be"!

Play the Zeno one for long enough and you'll get "ALMOST HALF-WAY" to "HALFWAY". It's raining outside, don't judge me

@Azurist I did it too man. I have no excuse. I thought it was the only game possible to beat, since there's no number between 99.999999999 and 100 (except my adding more 9s).

I laughed. Pretty funny overall.

@(Unverified) I too was a victim of being almost there...

@Azurist

I did the same thing. Once I realized they only had 14 digits after the decimal point I wanted to see what would happen when I filled them all up with 9s.

Make fun of me if you want, but I think this is a pretty good example of a simple art game. It's not fun to play, but that's the point! It gets across the tedium of those stories by letting you undergo the different types of torture yourself. Even if it's not a traditional "game" in the sense that there's no way to win or really anything you can do, I think it's a great example of how game elements can breathe life into an experience.