If your greatest desire as a small child had been to turn into a werewolf and go rampaging around eating people, then the app “Werewolf Tycoon” is for you. The game lets you actually control the werewolf and its ravenous adventures.

“Werewolf Tycoon,” is a free app released in 2014 by Joe Williamson and Sam Twidale for Android and iOS. It is simple, but incredibly entertaining. You control a werewolf in the park and your main goal is to eat as many people as possible, but avoid getting caught.

Each level, or “night”, begins by you hiding in a bush behind a bench. Once some innocent person comes strolling by, you press the screen to pop out of the bush and run over to the person, then tap the person in order to get dinner. You can return to hide any time by pressing the bush.

The level ends once the sun rises and your score is calculated based on the number of people you ate.

Naturally, if other people see you as you are eating someone, they start screaming and running. (And they also start screaming and running if they just see you). If they run off the edge of the screen, then they are counted as “witnesses” for the night. As a result, more people enter the park in the next night, and it becomes harder and harder to avoid being seen.

After some time, reporters start coming to the park to try and get a photo of you. If even one reporter manages to get a photo of you and escapes being eaten, the army gets called in to exterminate you, so it is key to eat the reporters first. A little icon helpfully pops up if a reporter gets a photo so you can prioritize the order of your gobbling.

If the army gets called in, the game is essentially over. Soldiers surround your bush and shoot you almost seconds after you emerge (and yes, there is a sort of cheat to survive, but you can figure it out by yourself).

So in the game you have to balance eating and hiding. If you spend all your time running around, then inevitably some people escape (there is also a lamp by the bench that lets people see you much more easily). But if you hide too much, then you die of starvation.

The app’s strong point is it’s easy controls – it is not by any means a frustrating or particularly convoluted game, and is perfect for the couple of free minutes before the next period starts. The graphics are also a major plus – being charmingly retro, but also clear and detailed.

But the feature that most separates it from other similar games is the hilarity the developers inject into the entire premise. After almost every night, a front page of a newspaper, The Daily Obituary, is displayed on the screen, bearing headlines such as “Full Moon Every Night: Scientists Baffled – Some experts suspect plot convenience” and “Mysterious Deaths at Park Bench: Police warn people to stay away. Too bad they won’t listen.”

The hints include gems such as, “Humans taste great deep fried or terrified,” and “You are death on padded feet.” Even the generic pop up that requests you to rate the game has a newspaper proclaiming that the wolf is running for president and needs votes.

It is this sort of fourth-wall breaking, self-conscious humor that has me smiling to myself, and gives the game a unique spin on a very old, tired concept. I highly recommend “Werewolf Tycoon” as a lighthearted game for passing the time. And besides, that werewolf really needs supporters so it can become president.