On the Road

On the Road is a managerial simulation in which six players (either human or AI) become the manager of a forwarding agency. The basic goal is to generate as much profit as possible; the specific winning conditions can be set before starting the game. There are also other options, the most significant being if the police controls speed, weight and the night driving ban in Austria.

Gameplay is completely menu based with a graphical representation of the office, this means clicking on the telephone brings up the telephone menu and so on. There are a big variety of things to take care of, e.g. insurance, employment, buying or selling trucks, managing the assignments, watching the financial status or expanding into other European cities. Other options present themselves in the city: a bank for making loans and paying bills, the court and lawyer agency for dealing with (or starting) law suits, an airport to fly to other cities and a company specialised on illegal deeds.

A speciality compared to other managerial simulations with this scenario is that the player has to communicate with the drivers over a radio to give specific orders. Also the player has to take periods of rest to prevent health problems. Choosing reasonable rest times is an important aspect of the game because the competition has free game during those periods. During the resting times the player sees a map of Europe and what happens to the own drivers - for emergencies, the game can be re-entered prematurely to the next full hour, of course with negative health consequences.