Letting Out Your Inner Anarchist: Three Video Games With No Rules

Every gamer has those games they keep coming back to, whether for the thrill of the kill, the satisfying competition, or the sheer release of letting loose with no consequences. Better yet, while there may not be games out there that scratch certain itches on their own, some games have mods overhauling how players interact with each other and the world.

Here are three games to check out if you are looking for a little anarchy in your life.

1. Rust

Every gamer who loves survival games has at the very least heard of Rust. The base building, PvP (player vs. player), and freedom to do what you want appeal the survivalist in everyone who plays. The basic premise of Rust boils down to freedom. Want to build an empire? Convince others to join your group and dominate the server with the biggest base, best guns, and enough explosives to sink Hawaii.

Prefer to prey on the weak and helpless? Build a sniping tower near one of the points of interest (POI’s) or a spawn site. The new “nakeds” won’t stand a chance against your scoped bolt-action rifle. Even seasoned Rust players will find a challenge moving from cover to cover under your withering plinking.

Like blowing stuff up? Nothing is quite as satisfying as watching a massive structure crumble after you’ve blown out all the support walls with C4 or rockets. And if they were foolish enough to build with wood, incendiary bullets, rockets, and flamethrowers will satisfy any pyromaniac.

2. Arma 3

While the game itself is slated as a military simulator (mil-sim), you can find many, many modded servers offering a variety of game types. One of the popular modes is Battle Royale, where dozens of players are para-dropped into an arena covering several square kilometers and buildings contain everything from health packs, mines, rifles, and grenade launchers to be used in the quest for “Last Player Standing.” The play area shrinks over time, forcing players to constantly be on the move and making vehicles a primary target for anyone wanting to lay an ambush.

Other server types include the “Arma Life” games. On these Arma 3 servers, players can buy homes on the map, purchase vehicles, weapons, and more. Mining and refining various goods can be highly profitable if you like to manufacture anything from pistols and rifles to cars and helicopters. Many servers have illegal professions as well, such as drug runners, robbers, and rebels. Players are also the cops, most of which are required to abide by server laws/rules thus limiting their power (and effectiveness). Want to rob a gas station? You can. How about a bank? Or even the Federal Reserve? Or you can always harass that fisherman who just sold his haul and is heading to deposit his hard earned money.

The “Exile” mode is also quite popular among Arma 3 players. Buildings contain a variety of loot, food, clothing, and weapons either to equip or sell at one of the trade stations. The mod developers have consistently updated the game with new features, one of the latest includes a special “bullet cam” where certain bullets contain a camera so you can watch their flight. Another major feature includes base building. While older versions of the mod permitted massive structures hundreds of feet high, limitations implemented both improved the ping rate as well as the assault ability of bases. Helicopters and vehicles provide valuable transportation capacity for loot, and some even come with heavy weaponry, like.50 caliber machine guns.

3. Counter-Strike: Global Assault

Surprisingly enough, CS:GO has a game mode you might not expect to ever see. “Jailbreak” is a modestly popular mode on custom servers where the majority of the players are “prisoners” armed only with a knife while the guards are equipped with typical assault weaponry. A warden is chosen to give orders to prisoners, who must comply or be shot. Most servers have limitations on what’s acceptable for wardens and guards to do, but that’s mostly to prevent RDMing (random death match: where someone is shot for no reason). The goal of the prisoners is to escape and arm themselves with weapons, either by attacking a guard who isn’t paying attention and taking their weapon or by sneaking to the armory or one of the points a map creator might have placed a pistol.

“Jailbreak” tends to get a bit chaotic, with a lot of prisoners getting mad when shot, whether RDM’ed or not. If you play, you will probably want a mic if you want to be anything other than a prisoner as most guards are expected to take a turn (or try to) as warden. Some wardens are fun and keep the prisoners happy, others tend to have very short lives as they fail to entertain the volatile guests.

Know of any other games with few rules and fewer people who follow them? Post a title down in the comments section below!

[Featured Image by Facepunch Studios]