Neko Atsume: Kitty Collector (2014)

There was a cat in my garden. I gave him some food because he looked hungry. More and more arrived. Now my garden is full of cats. They make me buy them toys, boxes to sit in and pillows to sleep on. Every now and then the catkingpin Tubbs comes by. I try to appease his appetite by feeding him Frisky Bitz. This seems to be enough... for now.

Slowly they're taking over more and more of my house. They're in my living room now. I can't see the tv anymore, so I entertain myself by taking pictures of any newcomers and adding them to the great catbook. This book is the last and only evidence of what happened here. I'm not sure if anyone will ever read this. I hear them calling now. I've got to go. Beware: Our furry overlords have arrived.

For something that isn't even really a game, Neko Atsume is highly enjoyable!

I'm not much of a phone gamer, but like everyone else and their pikachu I installed Pokémon Go the other day to check it out. I got bored with it quickly. I saw a friend comment on twitter "I don't have time to find pokemon, there's new cats out on Neko Atsume!". So I installed that game instead.

Neko Atsume is hardly a game. Every day you put out toys in your yard, and put some tasty food down to entice local neighborhood kitties to come pay you a visit. Then you take pictures of them. So you're kind of a cat creeper. The kitties leave you sardines as tips (?) which you can use to buy more toys.

See? Hardly a game.

But whenever I open up the app and see new and different kitties with the toys, I have to suppress an excited squeal. I love looking at what I can buy next, the little playtime animations and the different cats and their characters (Tubbs!). Also, in order to play it you only need to open the app a few times a day - the kitties come and go in the background. Best of all, I can just sit in my lazy chair at home while doing it.

Sorry, pokémon, I'm hunting kitties!