Guides · · 3 min read
Car wash game: the Msida Charging Point's new inside
Plugging in your car used to mean standing by a charger. Now the Msida Charging Point has an inside you walk around while the bar fills, and at the back there's a car wash game: thirty seconds of scrub and rinse that leaves your car shining on the map. It's in Malta Living, the free life sim played in your browser.
What's inside
You come in off the Msida seafront road. Along the back are three charging bays, each with its charger, two of them with a car plugged in. Then there are four corners to spend the wait in:
- The lounge. A vending machine with a coffee (€1.20), a Coke (€1.50), a bottle of water (60c) or a snack bar (€1.30), and a screen showing your charge, the Msida weather and the next ferry to Valletta.
- The drivers' bench. Rita, the cab driver, waits here between fares. Sit down and swap tips: it lifts your Social, and if another player sat on the bench in the last 10 minutes and is still at the charging point, the two of you get a little closer.
- The car-wash bay. The arch, the rollers and the hose. More below.
- The palm bench. A bench by the marina, under the palm, to watch the masts while the car charges. Free.
Joseph, the steward, is still at the bays untangling cables, and stretching your legs is still free.
How the car wash works
Tap Wash your car in the bay. It's €5, and you need a car of your own (any car: petrol or electric). Then you have 30 seconds and six dirty patches:
- Scrub. Rub a dirty patch, or tap it three times, until it foams.
- Rinse. Switch to the hose and rinse the foam off. A green ring round the patch shows how long the soap has before it dries.
- Shine or streak. Rinse it in time and it shines. Let the soap dry first and it leaves a streak, worth half.
The game adds it up as a shine from 0 to 100%, from "Still dirty" to "Showroom shine". Any shine at all and your car sparkles on the map for a day whenever you drive it.
Wash it with a friend
If a friend is at the bay while you're washing, they'll see Help rinse · free. They take the hose and rinse while you scrub. Washed together, your car shines for two days instead of one, and the two of you get a little closer, as with any game you play together. One helper a wash, and they have three minutes from the start to join.
Meeting at the charging point is easy: it's on the road through Msida, between Sliema and Valletta. It's a natural "I'm at…" spot for drivers, and for anyone in a club arranging a night out.
The cleanest cars
There's a board in the bay: the week's cleanest cars, each player's best wash of the week. It starts again every Monday. There's no prize, only the board, so wash as often as you like.
Why charge in Msida at all
An electric car costs 2c a km on a trip that starts at a charger, and 5c from anywhere else, so it pays to set off from here. Everything about buying and running a car is in cars, bikes and scooters. The prices in the lounge are real vending-machine prices, as everywhere in the game (real places, real prices). Next door, the Msida Skatepark opens on Monday 2 November.
Msida sits on the harbour between Valletta and Sliema, around its yacht marina (Msida on Wikipedia). New here? Read what Malta Living is, or play Malta Living free and drive to Msida.
Questions people ask
How much is the car wash in Malta Living?
€5 a wash, at the Msida Charging Point. Helping a friend rinse theirs is free.
Do I need an electric car to use the car wash?
No. Any car of your own can be washed. Charging is for electric cars; the wash is for everyone with a car.
How long does my car stay shiny?
A day after the wash, or two days if a friend helped you rinse it.
What is the drivers' bench for?
Sitting with other drivers while you charge. Sit there within 10 minutes of another player and you both get a little closer.
