Crane game: drive the crane at the Paola Building Site

Off Paola Hill, a block of flats is going up under a yellow tower crane. In Malta Living, the free life sim played in your browser, you can now walk in. Put on a hard hat at the gate and you can climb into the cab, rake the foundations or stack the delivery. It's a crane game inside a whole life, and every job players do puts the block up a floor at a time.

What's inside

You come in off the street at the gate. Then:

• The gate. The rack of hard hats. Put one on (free) and you're signed in on site for the day.
• The site office. Godwin, the foreman, with today's lift plan and the progress board: "Floor 5 of 8".
• The crane cab. Aisha, the signaller, waits at the foot of the crane.
• The foundations. Wet concrete to rake level.
• The lay-down yard. Pallets of blocks, cement, timber and steel.
• The viewing window. A long window in the hoarding. Anyone can watch the crane from here, hard hat or not.

Driving the crane

A crane shift is three lifts. Hold ◀ or ▶ to swing the load over the striped pad, and hold ▼ to lower it. The catch is the wind: it pushes the load to the right, and every swing sets it rocking. Let it settle, allow for the wind, then lower it. Touch down over the pad and nearly still and it lands on the pad.

A shift pays €14, once a day, whatever lands where. Land all three on the pad and it's a clean shift, which counts for the week's Safety stars board.

If you want the crane as a job, with ranks and a proper wage, that's crane operations in Jobs. The cab is the quick way to try it.

Bring a friend to signal

Real crane drivers often can't see where the load lands. Their signaller can. Here it's the same. If a friend is at the site while you're in the cab, they can tap Signal · free. They see the pad and the load, and call ◀ Left, Right ▶, ▼ Down or ✋ Stop. You don't see the pad any more, only their calls. Both phones share the hook and the calls through the game, so it really is a job for two. Afterwards you're a little closer, as with any game you play together.

The foundations and the yard

• The foundations: twelve ridges of wet concrete. Rub each one flat (or tap it) before it sets at 25 seconds. Free, and good for Fitness.
• The yard: the delivery arrives in a muddle. Stack it heaviest first, so the crane can lift each piece off the top: steel beams, a pallet of blocks, cement bags, timber, water pipes, a box of tools. Each has its weight on its label. Free, and good for Tech.

The block players build

Every finished job, in the cab, at the foundations or in the yard, puts the block up a little. Each player's first three a day count. It takes 15 to finish a floor. Four floors were up before players came; the eighth tops it out. Then there's a topping-out party at the site for three days (free: Fun and Social), and the finished block stays on the map for everyone to see. It's the same idea as the Msida Skatepark, built together, but with your hands instead of your euros.

Paola sits just inland of the Grand Harbour, between Marsa and Tarxien (Paola on Wikipedia). Nearby, wash your car at the Msida Charging Point on the way home. New here? Read what Malta Living is, or play Malta Living free and head to Paola.

Questions people ask

How much does a crane shift pay in Malta Living?

€14, once a Malta day, at the Paola Building Site. A finished shift pays whatever lands where.

Do I need a job to drive the crane?

No. Anyone with a hard hat can do a shift in the cab. Crane operations in Jobs is the full career, with six ranks.

How does signalling work?

A friend at the site taps Signal while you're in the cab. They see the pad and call it in; you see only their calls.

What happens when the block is finished?

At the eighth floor it tops out: a topping-out party at the site for three days, and the finished block stays on the map.