Some families banished to the harsh wilderness. They own nothing but their coats, two dozen tools, a pile of firewood and potatoes that will last half a year. It is my responsibility to create a new society for them.

"Banished" is an indie developed strategy game, a sort of hybrid between the simulator "Sim City" and "Settlers". Here it is neither about building a metropolis or to defend the village against hostile tribes. Here you have to get the little people to survive by allowing it to live in symbiosis with nature.

In "Banished" it's the village's inhabitants which is the greatest asset. They are the workers, and assigning them different kinds of jobs for the community to flourish. Collecting raw materials like stone and iron are essential, but equally important is to expand the food supply . Woodcutter shed and planting trees, but you need a wood-cutter to produce firewood. Fishermen, hunters and farmers in turn produces food. The commercial harbor, the only gateway to the rest of the world, offers the only opportunity to trade for seeds and livestock.

At the same time one has to take into account residents' most basic needs - like giving people shelter. Otherwise, the population does not grow and during the winter they will freeze to death.

Death is also ever-present . Residents dies sooner or later, and everytime someone dies, it is a huge blow to the community. Building a cemetery can actually make the villagers happier, because then they have a place to mourn their loved ones. It is both interesting and striking how well the population mortality integrated into the game.

The basis of the game mechanics are simple but cleverly designed. The challenge of "Banished" is to try to balance the needs of residents with society's expansion - resources and raw materials must always be in phase with each other or else the village will encounter an massive starvation. There will be a reward in itself to construct new buildings, plant new seeds or build infrastructure because it takes time and hard work to gather the raw materials for the proposed projects.

The clear and helpful tutorial makes the game easy to understand and engaging. The interface is excellent designed: informative without being overwhelming, with movable and dynamic windows. "Banished" looks very plain and lack the artistic variety, but it is an unusually accommodating strategy game.

Despite it's ruthless thematics. "Banished" is rarely awfully difficult. Although uphill may be long on the highest difficulty level - it becomes relatively easy when the population passed the hundred.

But it is a challenging and entertaining strategy - at least as long as there is something to fight for. My involvement decreases abruptly once I managed to construct any building, buy all the seeds and obtain any livestock. Then there is simply no more to strive for.

Strategic basis is brilliant and well thought out, and while there are still things to build, it is difficult to tear oneself away from the screen. "Banished" has the potential to be even better, and I hope that the developer will continue adding content. It was after all, a long time ago that a citybuilding game as captivating as this one was released.