Multiple-Use Labor Element. M.U.L.E. That's what they call it. A nightmarish, kludgey amalgam of robotic motivators and manipulators designed to accomplish a variety of tasks, and none of them very well.

And now, he's your only friend out here in the wilderness of Planet Irata. The Federation has sent you and 3 other planeteers to this forsaken place to pave the way for mass colonization. It's up to all of you to extract, refine, and process the raw materials necessary to bring the colony up to acceptable standards. Of course, it definitely wouldn't hurt to be the most successful colonist, even if it means shorting your fellow planeteers and profiting off their hardships...but get too greedy and the lot of you will spend the rest of your lives sleeping in a tent, surrounded by nothing but desolate wastes and those $%#*#&$ M.U.L.E.s...

Planet M.U.L.E. is a game of exploration and economic development for 4 players (human and artificial intelligence alike). The standard game takes place over 12 rounds, each lasting a month in game terms. At the end of the game, if the total net worth of all 4 players is $60,000 or more, the player with the most wealth is declared the "First Founder" and wins the game.