Fish Farm For iPhone & iPad

You’ll be a fish out of water if you don’t spend the bucks

The Tamagotchi has a lot to answer for. Since its debut back in 1996, a plethora of game creatures have reared their furry heads, with the likes of Nintendogs being popular releases. Marine life, it seems, is now getting its own virtual look-in, with the iPhone proving fertile ground to watch computerised fish swim around an imaginary and nicely decorated tank.

Out of the sims available on the iPhone, Fish Farm is by no means a poor contender. Offering you the chance to breed and raise your own fish, this comes with a variety of easy-to-use options after it has set you up with its basic tank. Simply tap on the + icon in the bottom-left of the screen to bring up the options menu. Here you can choose from a variety of actions, such as feeding your fishy friends by tapping on the screen and watching the virtual flakes fall, and even knocking on the tank. You can bring up stats about your scaly creatures, which you can name yourself, and even change the background scenery, too.

Quite obviously, staring at two or three fish for hours on end will likely see you wishing to drown yourself in the tank out of sheer boredom. The fun here is in getting a tank packed full of interesting animals and breeding them, selling them, and then upgrading your tank. But these will all cost you money. Real-life, hard-earned money. It’s great that this app is free to begin with, but if you want a truly great tank, it’s going to cost you. While 1,000 in-game dollars will only set you back 59p, the dollars don’t last long. Of course, raising fish well will make them sell for more, but you have to wait for a long time for the fish you can afford with the free in-game dollars to start reaping you in-game money. In short, you are going to want to purchase extra coins to make this even vaguely exciting.

Despite the cost shortfall, it’s nonetheless a very simple experience, with a great deal to offer those who already love animal sims. For all others, it’s frankly a bit of a bore, offering nothing particularly new or exciting. But hey, try it out for yourself — it’s free (sort of) after all.