Addictive game lets you play subway god, weep at your inefficient creation

Have you ever scoffed at a subway delay? Rolled your eyes at yet another crowded Q train? Looked at a veiny metro map and said, “Give me five minutes and a Sharpie and I’ll show you a more efficient system?”

Well, my friend, it’s time to put your fingers where your mouth is (unless, oh god, you’ve recently been holding onto a train pole). The free, in-browser game Mini Metro lets you design your own subway system. Players simply drag and extend lines between an ever-increasing number of stations while tiny symbols wait to catch a ride. A polished version of the game will eventually be released on tablets, PCs, and Macs, but for now, the online version is fun enough.

It’s a potent timewaster, too: A cursory look by this reporter turned into a full hour of frantic clicking and cursing at traveling triangles who just want to get home to see their kids. OK, full confession: I’m playing right now.

So go on, play metro god. Throw tracks down. Dig underwater tunnels with a flick of your hand. Add cars to crowded lines. Become a subway savior or stand back and look at the horror you’ve created, you malevolent deity, you.

After you spend long, nail-biting moments watching tiny circles and triangles shake in indignation at delayed trains, you’ll never look at your commute the same way again. Here’s a trailer for the game:

Sorry to have forsaken you, lil’ furious commuting squares. I’ll do better next time.