How To Play the Trolley Problem Game
Every level starts the same way. A trolley is rolling down the track and you are standing next to a lever. The top track is where the trolley goes if you leave everything alone. The bottom track is where it goes if you pull the lever.
Read what is on each track, then choose one of two buttons:
- Do nothing keeps the trolley on its current path.
- Pull the lever sends it down the other track.
The trolley rolls along the track you picked and you see what it hit. Press Next to move on. On a computer you can also press P to pull or D to do nothing.
The counter at the top keeps track of everything your choices have hit so far, whether that is people, ducks or your favorite sandwich. After the last level, you get a summary of your whole run.
What Your Score Means
Your score is the total number of things your trolley hit across all 28 levels. Some tracks hold one thing and some hold thousands, so one choice can change your score a lot.
- A low total: you dodged most of the crowded tracks. Either you are very careful or you really, really like bees.
- A medium total: you made a mix of choices and probably laughed at a few of them.
- A huge total: at least one big pile got hit along the way. It happens to the best of us.
The summary also shows how many people were hit, how many times you pulled the lever and how many times you did nothing. Your lowest total is saved as your personal best.
Tips To Improve
- Look at the numbers, not just the words. A track that says β10,000 beesβ sounds small, but it will send your total flying.
- Decide your own rules first. Some players always save people over things. Others never touch the lever. Picking a rule before you start makes each choice faster.
- Play twice. Try one run where you only think about the total, and one where you go with your gut. Compare the two summaries.
The Story of the Trolley Problem
The trolley problem was made famous by the British thinker Philippa Foot in 1967. She used it to explore a simple question: is it worse to cause something bad than to let it happen? Later, the American philosopher Judith Jarvis Thomson added many new twists to the puzzle.
Since then, the trolley problem has turned up in classrooms, TV shows and endless jokes online. The versions here are made up just for fun. No real trolleys, cats or sandwiches were involved.
