Mudcraft is designed for both core and casual gamers. It's playable as a double-clickable app or in a web browser. Here's how the game is described by its developers: "Mudcraft takes place in a whimsical, grassy backyard. A light from above shines down on a mud pit and mud life emerges.

At the start of the game, the player has two mud people. The player must direct the mud people to gather dirt and water from around the world and bring it back to the mud pit. Thus, creating more mud people, who in turn can gather additional resources. Each level in Mudcraft has its own goals and objectives, but in general the object of the game is to grow a Mud community.

"In the world of Mudcraft, there are a number of forces working against the player. For example, at various times during the game, rain or intense sunlight may come, and any exposed mud person will melt or dry, respectively. In order to avoid this, the player will to have to direct their mud people outside of harms way, or develop huts in which the mud people can escape the weather. If a mud person does melt or dry, the player can direct another mud person to revive them by dropping dirt on them or spraying water on them, respectively.

"There are various creatures in the world other than the mud people. While none are a direct enemy of the mud people, they can cause you quite a bit of grief. For example, the frogs are attracted to mud people and, thinking the mud people are food, will flick them with their tongues. This causes a mud person to drop anything they were carrying and forget what they were doing.

"While the player does not have a direct presence in the game, they control the fate of their mud people. Should something happen and all the mud people under the player’s control are all immobilized, the player loses. As long as one mud person is active, play continues."

System requirements are Mac OS X 10.2 or later, a PowerPC G4-equipped Mac or better, 256MB of RAM, 800 x 600 screen resolution. (A two-button mouse is recommended.) A five-level demo is available for download. You have to buy an activation code to unlock the other levels.