H2 Interactive Co. Lawn Mowing Simulator: Road Test

Don’t expect edge-of-your-seat thrills from this lawn mowing simulator for the PlayStation. But it is oddly therapeutic...

Unusual: Lawn Mowing Simulator

WHAT IS IT? Possibly the dullest video game ever. It’s a lawn mowing simulator!

AS IN, YOU CUT GRASS? Yup. Your avatar in this PlayStation game starts out as a sole trader but the idea is to build a business with tidy mowing work for your clients. It’s all set in a bucolic English village.

HOW DO YOU PLAY? You select a ride-on mower, adjust various parameters like blade height and speed, then go up and down, up and down, with the gentle rumble of the mower and birdsong in your ears. You earn money by doing a neat job and finishing on time; you’re deducted money for silly things like running over flowerbeds. As you progress you can buy add-ons like stripe rollers, mulching kits and strimmers.

IS IT FUN? My 13-year-old son, a gamer, was baffled by the complete absence of weapons at first. But after playing for half an hour he announced: “It’s actually really therapeutic, Dad.” Aww, I thought, and went outside to mow the actual lawn (#IRL, kids!)

SO IT’S A WHOLESOME WAY TO TEACHCHILDREN ABOUT HONEST WORK? Well, I wouldn’t go that far. Later on I heard howls of laughter from the gaming area – my son and his mates were taking turns to mow big penis shapes into a lawn. Boys, right?

$24.95, playstation.com