Parents' Guide to Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp

While it's generally entertaining, like so many free-to-play mobile apps, this one builds in annoying limitations (in this case, timers) that prevent you from playing as long as you'd like. Still, while fans of the original Animal Crossing could be disappointed in the smaller scope of the app, new players are bound to be charmed by its friendly, upbeat vibe. Looking at the timer thing from a positive perspective, it allows you to play only as long as you'd probably want to in one sitting, anyway. The app's simple activities -- collecting bugs, fruit, and fish -- are fun for half an hour but could get tedious if done longer than that. Of course, in addition to collecting, you also get to craft things and play errand boy or girl to a range of bossy, materialistic animals. Crafting items and making friends are inextricably linked in Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp; to befriend an animal, you have to fetch the animal whatever it wants. Mind you, these aren't your typical animals; they're very particular, and they won't visit your camp unless it has the furniture they like. So this mechanic suggests friendship depends on giving people what they want? Not a great message to send kids. Anyway, questionable philosophy aside, Pocket Camp's crafting and customizing is still fun (you even get your own custom RV), and it's fun to collect friends and visit the ever-changing shops. And while longer play sessions might cost you a few bucks, there's plenty of free fun to be had if you don't mind playing in shorter spurts. All in all, Pocket Camp is a strong addition to the Animal Crossing series and a fun way to keep yourself or your kids busy.