If starting a deadly worldwide epidemic sounds like a good time to you, Outliers has an app for that.
Plague Inc. is a popular new phone app that gives users a realistic look at a disease outbreak and the means taken to try to stop it. For just 99 cents, smartphone users can download Plague Inc. and attempt to create a simulated disease and spread it worldwide.
Strategy, of course, is important. The game instructions advise that a country with an airport or seaport and lots of land neighbors is a good place to start your outbreak, especially if it's a poor country. Evolving your disease to be more powerful is another tip.
Also, players have to “be prepared for the human counterattack. Humans don't just roll over and die.” After a player has created a disease, the game advises: “To win, you must evolve and spread across the world—wiping out all humans in the ultimate plague!”
With more than 15 million downloads so far, the game has caught the attention of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The game creator has spoken at CDC events and the agency allowed its name to be included in the game sending out mock alerts.
Outliers found that in just minutes, all of mankind could be destroyed. Now that's a killer app.
Follow Outliers on Twitter: @MHOutliers
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