Everyone’s a loser in Strait of Hormuz game that simulates global crisis
Summary
Ars Technica reviews Bottleneck, a browser-based newsgame that simulates shipping through the Strait of Hormuz amid a global energy crisis. Players act as a maritime coordinator, selecting which ships pass daily and confronting trade-offs like Iranian tolls and geopolitical tensions, with real-world news articles and shipping data embedded to ground the scenario. The piece highlights the game's development—built in 17 days with an AI coding tool—and its use of over 125 linked articles to illustrate how the crisis translates into energy, fertilizer, and food security impacts.