Don't Move The Tauren!

Why I think Don't Move the Tauren! is the greatest game ever made. Don't Move the Tauren! is a Warcraft III mod by LlamaGui, and it...is...awesome. The mod is actually pretty old; I played it at least two years ago. Even so, Don't Move the Tauren! has remained one of my favorite mods ever since.

Before reading this article, I would highly recommend you first play Don't Move the Tauren!, especially with as many people as possible. Of course, you will need a copy of Warcraft III.

Why is this game so genius? Because it explicitly defines itself. The title is, "Don't Move the Tauren!" And that means, "if you move the Tauren you lose." Players are confused, "Wait, what? So, we don't move the Tauren? Is that it? Am I missing something?" Are you? Beneath the blatancy is a most impressive subtext. Even though the title is the directions, people still doubt the gameplay. Not that their doubt isn't justified. Because the rules for the game are so inanely simple, players wonder if, in fact, they are the rules at all.

And what begins as a noobish state of confusion quickly becomes a war of mind games. Chat messages are flung back and forth as players try everything in their power to convince their opponents that moving your tauren is, indeed, the way to win. My favorite is, "seriously, their is a win zone in the corner, run their without dying and you win. I just didn't want to be cheap because I've played before." Watching other players fall for your ridiculous antics is nothing short of hilarious. And that's why LlamaGui's Don't Move the Tauren! is the greatest game ever made.

image from Blizzard Fan Art