My Recent Addictive iOS Game Experience

I've been downloading quite a bit of iOS games recently because I was on the road most of the time in January and they were my entertainment during transit. I'm really not picky, so I download and play anything and everything. But one game in particular stands apart from the other, not so much in terms of gameplay, but more so in the collectibles.

This game is called "Tsum Tsum" by Disney and Pixar. It has a simple concept where player is required to connect 3 or more of the same Tsum Tsum. The game nice and short, usually takes about 1-2 minutes per round. Like I said before, the addictiveness of the game is not on the gameplay, but rather on the collection of the cutesy looking Disney and Pixar characters called the "Tsum Tsum". Each character has its own specific special power where it will help player to achieve high scores and collect the necessary coins to purchase more Tsum Tsum. The kicker is, the player does not get to choose which character for purchase, it is completely randomize by the game. Therefore, in order to collect all the characters, players are required to invest hours and hours of game time.

If you want to check this out, the link below will lead to the game at the Apple AppStore. This game is also available with Android device, so go try it out.

LINE: Disney Tsum Tsum
https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/line-disney-tsum-tsum/id867964741?mt=8

Side note: Disney is also selling the plushie version of these Tsum Tsum at their stores for various price point, and I've been collecting them as well. My only hope is that Disney will one day figure out a way to connect the plushies with the in-game collection; where a player can purchase a store plushie to activate that same Tsum Tsum in game. That way, I don't have to rely on the randomness and get all my favorite characters. Perhaps this will also drive sales for the plushies and download rate for the game!

Addictive Games

From the Angry Bird 3-stars mania, to Candy Crush Saga obsession, and then to the most recent Flappy Bird infinite sensation (and its clones), we can conclude that addictive games have their place in our heart; or at least in our smartphone. This pattern is obvious, addictive games are here to stay and will be continually appears in different form.

This actually sparked my curiosity, so I started to scout for articles related to addictive game. And I found this blog by NICK BILTON, Disruptions: Using Addictive Games to Build Better Brains, listed on the The New York Times. Apparently, there are researches and studies done on the effect of addictive games. Although the article did not provide details on how and what benefits do addictive games have on us, but at least it indicated video games does have the potential to “make our minds stronger, faster and healthier.” I guess we just need to stay tuned and see what constructive developments spur out from these researches.

Here is the [link] to Nick’s article.