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Gardenscapes
Feb. 17th, 2020 07:29 amSome days I wonder what I'm doing with my life, whether it's spending almost 20 years on an unfinished art degree or passing level 5000 of Gardenscapes.
Never heard of Gardenscapes? Trust me, you've seen the ads:
I used to play Words With Friends pretty heavily and Words With Friends played ads for Playrix games pretty heavily. They are Fishdom, Homescapes, Gardenscapes and Township. Eventually repetition breeds familiarity and I broke down and installed Homescapes and Gardenscapes. Both are match 3 games where you win levels to repair a mansion. Homescapes is not as interesting to me as Gardenscapes--the game play is sluggish in comparison.
The amount of ads in Words With Friends was a total turn off. Homescapes and Gardenscapes have no ads and it's easy to see why--Playrix is rakin' in the dough, I tell ya! I swear they throttle competition game play on the last day to encourage people to spend money. The amount of turns per level lowered, which also encourages people to spend money. Rewards are timed to keep you playing as much as possible. Sometimes you just need one or two more moves to win a level, which you can do if you hit "play on" and...pay money!
Other than the obsessive gambling feature, both games feature pleasant music and pretty graphics along with challenging puzzles and team competition to round out simple, straightforward storylines and mini-mysteries. After a while, the charm of Austin, your butler, and his friends, family and neighbours grows on a person. Most games ultimately fulfill some fantasy. If your fantasy is to have friendly neighbours and a helper who just gets all the chores done, well, this game is for you!
I do have to mention that if you are a new player, you'll encounter Master Akira around level 800 when the Asian themed garden is opened. Cringe ahead! Master Akira is a horrible Asian stereotype who talks backwards like Yoda and goes on about chi and balance and such. It seems the game as has gotten away from this in later levels, but the beginner gardens can be converted to a cultural theme. There's a Dutch theme, Greek theme, Western theme, tropical theme and a Mesoamerican theme.
Playrix must have realized that it made a huge misstep with creating a Pan-Asian themed garden. Unfortunately Asian cultures tend to get smushed together and that's exactly what Playrix did.
If you haven't started, please don't. It's a hard game to quit! I can quit anytime...but not today because the gold brick bonus challenge is on. Maybe after that...no...because soon it will be St. Patrick's Day and I have to win all the decorations for the mansion. Oh man...send help...or money! :-D
Never heard of Gardenscapes? Trust me, you've seen the ads:
I used to play Words With Friends pretty heavily and Words With Friends played ads for Playrix games pretty heavily. They are Fishdom, Homescapes, Gardenscapes and Township. Eventually repetition breeds familiarity and I broke down and installed Homescapes and Gardenscapes. Both are match 3 games where you win levels to repair a mansion. Homescapes is not as interesting to me as Gardenscapes--the game play is sluggish in comparison.
The amount of ads in Words With Friends was a total turn off. Homescapes and Gardenscapes have no ads and it's easy to see why--Playrix is rakin' in the dough, I tell ya! I swear they throttle competition game play on the last day to encourage people to spend money. The amount of turns per level lowered, which also encourages people to spend money. Rewards are timed to keep you playing as much as possible. Sometimes you just need one or two more moves to win a level, which you can do if you hit "play on" and...pay money!
Other than the obsessive gambling feature, both games feature pleasant music and pretty graphics along with challenging puzzles and team competition to round out simple, straightforward storylines and mini-mysteries. After a while, the charm of Austin, your butler, and his friends, family and neighbours grows on a person. Most games ultimately fulfill some fantasy. If your fantasy is to have friendly neighbours and a helper who just gets all the chores done, well, this game is for you!
I do have to mention that if you are a new player, you'll encounter Master Akira around level 800 when the Asian themed garden is opened. Cringe ahead! Master Akira is a horrible Asian stereotype who talks backwards like Yoda and goes on about chi and balance and such. It seems the game as has gotten away from this in later levels, but the beginner gardens can be converted to a cultural theme. There's a Dutch theme, Greek theme, Western theme, tropical theme and a Mesoamerican theme.
Playrix must have realized that it made a huge misstep with creating a Pan-Asian themed garden. Unfortunately Asian cultures tend to get smushed together and that's exactly what Playrix did.
If you haven't started, please don't. It's a hard game to quit! I can quit anytime...but not today because the gold brick bonus challenge is on. Maybe after that...no...because soon it will be St. Patrick's Day and I have to win all the decorations for the mansion. Oh man...send help...or money! :-D
