Phone Story

Phone Story is a game for smartphone devices that attempts to provoke a critical reflection on its own technological platform. Under the shiny surface of our electronic gadgets, behind its polished interface, hides the product of a troubling supply chain that stretches across the globe.

Once upon a time, there were minerals resting in the bowels of the earth. One of these minerals, called coltan, is found in most electronic devices. The majority of coltan’s world supply is located in Congo, a country torn by a brutal civil war. The increasing demand of coltan produced a wave of violence and massacres in Congo. Military groups enslaved prisoners of war, often children, to mine the precious material.