In 2008 we had some fun with the sim challenge where we made prospective candidates play Sim City for an hour to get a feeling for their priorities. It worked quite well, but things change a lot in the course of four years. So with the election being the responsibility...

On Thursday night James Higgins, Greens for Ginninderra, took up the daunting RiotACT Sim Challenge, despite having busted his mousing wrist this week falling off a bicycle. Fortunately his pint-drinking wrist was still in good working order and he powered through a frenetic three hours and ten years of game...

The Community Alliance's Owen Saddler graced All Bar Nun on Thursday night to show off his city management skills playing Sim City 4 in front of a crowd of drunks for the RiotACT Sim Challenge. Owen's "City of Holy Light" had a terrible environment rating (and getting worse) partly as...

This Thursday at All Bar Nun in O'Connor Election08's celebrity candidate Mark Parton will be picking up the gauntlet flung down by Adam Verwey and showing off his city management skills in the RiotACT Sim Challenge. Will Mark be able to beat the city management ratings of his young...

Tonight the RiotACT Sim Challenge safari takes us to the Pot Belly on Weedon Close to see how the Liberals' Matt Watts handles city building Sim City 4 style. Kickoff is at 7pm all welcome to offer advice or just to heckle, and of course the fabulous opportunity to tell...

We're proud to announce that following Norvan Vogt's starting round last week our next contestant has committed to the RiotACT Sim Challenge Canberra. The Democrats' Greg Tannahill has confirmed that he'll take on the challenges of city building SimCity4 style in O'Connor's All Bar Nun on Wednesday 13 August....

The final RiotACT Sim Challenger was Dr Luciano Lombardo (Pangallo Independents, for Molonglo). He sat down to play last night in All Bar Nun. A serious man, Dr. Lombardo approched his task with great seriousness. After a slow start he'd put his foundations in place and let the game speed...

The RiotACT Sim Challenge is rumbling into its eleventh installment this Thursday, 7pm at All Bar Nun in O'Connor. Joining the honour roll of candidates with the courage and intelligence to face the challenge will be the Community Alliance's Owen Saddler.

After a much needed week off the RiotACT Sim Challenge is rumbling back into gear with the Greens' young gun James Higgins taking up cudgels at All Bar Nun this Thursday night to show the world just how he'd go about running a city. All welcome from seven to...

Tonight at All Bar Nun in O'Connor, from 7pm, the Independent anti-poker machine crusader, and candidate for Ginninderra, Adam Verwey will be showing off his Sim City skills for the benefit of the RiotACT readership. The action will be up on the big screen in the back room for all...

The RiotACT Sim Challenge gathers pace on Thursday evening with the Liberal candidate for Ginninderra, Jacqui Myers, becoming both the first Liberal, and the first woman, to take up the challenge in O'Connor's All Bar Nun. Jacqui will be demonstrating her priorities while building a community of Sims and you're...

Yesterday saw Jazz and a nameless clone from the Riot 501st venture to deepest darkest Tuggeranong and the very nicely appointed but almost deserted on a Monday night, Ojo Bar to observe Liberal candidate for Brindabella, David “Morgo” Morgan attempt RiotACT’s Sim Challenge to a backing soundtrack of Ojo’s selection...

Wayne Sievers (ALP for Brindabella) was a bit of a surprise packet last night in the RiotACT Sim Challenge at All Bar Nun. Despite being very tentative in the tutorials, and obviously overwhelmed at times by the information overload, he soldiered on diligently, consulted advisers both in-game and out,...

This Monday at All Bar Nun in O'Connor the RiotACT Sim Challenge Canberra is playing host to the ALP's Wayne Sievers, candidate for Brindabella. Come on down, watch Wayne show off his vision of city management, say hello to your favourite Rioters, buy me a pint if you're so inclined.

Democrat and Election08 candidate for Molonglo Greg Tannahill manned up and fronted a mob of RiotACT readers in All Bar Nun last night. We were all extremely impressed. With hard work and concentration he built a thriving city without recourse to borrowing. He advanced six years in with a population...

"The perfect metaphor for Canberra" was how The Australian described the RiotACT Sim Challenge. The 12th and final instalment of the challenge is taking place this Thursday night at All Bar Nun in O'Connor. If you've been meaning to come along to one of these, this is your last chance....

Mark Parton, Independent for Ginninderra, showed us what he was made of in All Bar Nun on Thursday night for the Sim Challenge. In the video Mark impugns the fitness for office of any candidate who has failed to take up the challenge. He also announces who he would...

Jacqui Myers, Liberal for Ginninderra, sat down to the RiotACT Sim Challenge on Thursday night to show us her Sim City 4 skills. Extensive park building was a highlight of Jacqui's urban design. Her extensive seperation of commercial, residential, and industrial areas kept pollution out of her residential areas....

The latest contestant in the RiotACT Sim Challenge was the youthful Matthew Watts, Liberal for Ginninderra in his haunt of The Pot Belly on Weedon Close, Belconnen. Matt went for an unconventional "donut" with his power generation and heavy industry in the middle of the map, a green buffer, and...

"Experience should teach us to be most on our guard to protect liberty when the Government's purposes are beneficent. Men born to freedom are naturally alert to repel invasion of their liberty by evil minded rulers. The greatest dangers to liberty lurk in insidious encroachment by men of zeal well...

Iron Man Shane Rattenbury, Greens for Molonglo, rode his bike down to All Bar Nun last night to take up the RiotACT Sim Challenge. With a team of gun Sim City players advising, Shane gave a masterclass in sustainable city development, keeping his environment rating flawless throughout. He also ran...

Thursday night saw Adam Verwey front All Bar Nun in O'Connor for the RiotACT Sim Challenge. In the course of the night it became clear that what had raised the hackles of many of you on his website was really an attempt to be himself in writing. He came...

To help you all with your future social planning here's a list of confirmed candidates coming up on the RiotACT Sim Challenge Canberra: -- Monday 25 August - Wayne Seivers - Labor - Brindabella -- Thursday 28 August - Adam Verwey - Independant - Ginninderra -- Thursday 4 September -...

The candidates are lined up, the venue is keen, the show will go on. This Thursday the Community Alliance's Norvan Vogt will sit down at a laptop in O'Connor's famed All Bar Nun (with projection onto one of the big screens) and show how good he is at running a...

Tonight a RiotACT detachment makes a rare trip south to conduct the Sim Challenge on the turf of Liberal candidate for Brindabella, David Morgan (aka "Morgo" on his facebook ads). So from 6pm they will be found in the Ojo Bar in the Hyperdome courtyard. Southern Rioters are encouraged to...

Readers who have been around for a while will know that RiotACT like to do a fairly extensive election coverage and this time round will be no exception. This year however we've got a few more ideas up our sleeve to make things a little more interesting, and interactive. The...

In our open challenge to candidates in the 2008 ACT Election the Community Alliance's Norvan Vogt was the first to man up and sit down in front of a rowdy audience in All Bar Nun to show off his city management skills. Norvan kept his population happy and managed a...

We're very excited to announce the Lego Challenge is rolling back to Duxton (O'Connor) tonight for the return of the Greens Ginninderra Candidate James Higgins who did the Sim Challenge four years ago. It kicks off at 6, you're all welcome to come down and chew the fat, heckle the...

The Canberra Times have posted a story about one Luciano Lombardo, a public servant that put his hand up for a voluntary redundancy package, then became depressed as a result of being denied. It almost sounds like a joke story. Mr Lombardo applied for one of a small number of...

Candidate Questionaire number three is now in from Adam Verwey, Independent for Ginninderra and veteran of the RiotACT Sim Challenge. It's well worth reading for the kicking he gives celebrity candidate Mark Parton. Adam's answers to your questions are online here.

If, for reasons passing understanding, the RiotACT Sim Challenge on Thursday night is failing to grab you, then here's an alternative that's drifted onto my radar thanks to Facebook. The Haunted Attics and Cathy Petocz are playing Bar 32! Music well worth checking out.

So far today just the one questionaire returned. -- Matt Watts - Liberal for Ginninderra and RiotACT Sim Challenge veteran.

RiotACT was always a huge fan of Free Range Canberra's quixotic quest for seats in the Legislative Assembly. We were particularly looking forward to seeing how their beliefs would have worked out in our Sim Challenge Canberra. Sadly we had the following reply to our invitation to participate today: Their...

Sim Challenge: The RiotACT Sim Challenge got a mention in the Weekend Australian with Christian Kerr describing it as "the perfect metaphor for Canberra and its parliament". I've taken him in about as much context there as he did us. It's not online but lurking on page 29 of the...