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Parents' Guide to

Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp

By Neilie Johnson, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 8+

Fun mobile sim promotes friendship, materialism.

App iPhone , iPod Touch , iPad , Android Free Simulation Games
Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this app.

  • Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp App - Screenshot #1
  • Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp App - Screenshot #2
  • Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp App - Screenshot #3
  • Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp App - Screenshot #4
  • Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp App - Screenshot #5

Community Reviews

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age 6+

Based on 3 parent reviews

mr S.
mr S. Adult
May 19, 2020
age 4+

We loved this title. But a big concern

Our class loved this title. Kindergarten & 5th grade. But the problem is. Scammers. We dealt with 2 scammers in each class with this. They said. We will give you bells for your crown. They never gave bells....
iwolfv18
iwolfv18 Adult
June 12, 2019
age 8+

LOVE THIS GAME!

For someone who doesn't enjoy games, let alone keep on longer than 4 minutes on my phone. This game is the only game that has stayed on my phone ever since it came out. I'm close to 30 and I enjoying playing this game. Sure it involved using money for certain things (if you want the fancy things), but otherwise from that, you don't really have to worry about anything. This game is age appropriate for pretty much all ages and it's fun for those who likes adorable animals.
See all 3 parent reviews

Privacy Rating Warning

  • Unclear whether personal information is sold or rented to third parties.
  • Personal information is shared for third-party marketing.
  • Personalised advertising is displayed.
  • Unclear whether data are collected by third-parties for their own purposes.
  • Unclear whether this product uses a user's information to track and target advertisements on other third-party websites or services.
  • Unclear whether this product creates and uses data profiles for personalised advertisements.
Learn more about our privacy ratings

What’s It About?

ANIMAL CROSSING: POCKET CAMP is a mobile simulation game set in the colorful world of Animal Crossing. In it, players create personal avatars and set up their own camps in various themed styles: cool, cute, sporty, or natural. Camps can be fancied up with amenities (tents, picnic tables, tree swings) and custom-crafted furniture ordered with Leaf Tickets, a currency earned by performing favors for Pocket Camp's sentient animal residents. Much like other Animal Crossing games, the focus is on collecting resources in order to build and customize your individual home base. A new "friend" mechanic allows you to raise your player level by befriending animals and leveling up those friendships. Players can also befriend other players, either by "friending" them upon meeting their avatar in-game, or by inviting them via username or Nintendo ID.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (3 ):
Kids say (16 ):

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.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about what keeps games popular over a long time. What keeps you interested in a series?

  • Discuss how favors play into friendship. Should you have to do things for people to make them like you?

  • Think about how you make friends in real life versus in online games. What's different about the two?

App Details

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