a comparative report that informs them on any newsworthy events such as how well (or how poorly) each company's stock prices are doing and any tragedies or executive promotions. As chosen executive(s) (you can hire more as the game progresses) gain experience, they're considered higher-level and sometimes gain additional traits (bonuses like the ones they start out with—as a Banker, Whiz Kid and so on). Each round players attempt to acquire a larger portion of the market (represented by tiles on the game board). Doing this involves carrying out executive orders and negotiating to acquire the start-up companies that occasionally pop up around the game board. Gameplay The game takes place on a map that represents the market share of all the competing companies. Each player in the game is a CEO of a software company. Legal, security, and computer attacks are common in the game. Competition comes from the fight over market shares (map squares). A CEO builds their initial buildings and puts their product into the market. Once on the market, a product's quality will determine its dominance in the market. Dominance in the market provides income to build additional buildings, bid for takeovers, or launch different kinds of attacks against the competitors. Reception GameSpot reviewed the game in 1999, awarding 6.3 out of 10. Main criticisms included the shortness of the campaign, limited scenarios and lack of replayability. However, the multiplayer mode was deemed "about as much fun as turn-based multiplayer games can be". The graphics were also highlighted, with a well designed interface and inventive visuals. In Game Revolution, the game was awarded a B+. The gameplay, multiplayer mode and interface were praised, while the main criticisms included the start difficult and the "poorly explained manual". Reviews PC Gameworld - 85/100 Game Revolution - B+ GameGenie - 80/100 MobyGames - 64/100 GameSpot - 6.3/10 Gamepower - 2,5/4 Allgame.com - 3/5 Gamecenter - 3/5 IGN - 5.2/10 Gamespot UK (Pre-2003) - 4/10 References External links Tom Clancy's ruthless.com at MobyGames 1998 video games Business simulation games Multiplayer and single-player video games Red Storm Entertainment games Tom Clancy games Tom Clancy's Power Plays Turn-based strategy video games Video games developed in the United States Windows games Windows-only games