Pocket Frogs Review

Pocket Frogs is perhaps the first "freemium" game that I've played on the app store that lets you do something other than sit and wait for something to happen. As much as I like organizing crops and barnyards, it is nice to have something to play.

In Pocket Frogs, you are in charge of a frog nursery that breeds frogs and either sells them for profit or keeps them for, well, pleasure. Most of the game is just like any other Farmville-esque game, just with a few extras. You still have to wait for your frogs to hatch and "mature," there are plenty of add-ons that you can spend in-game coins on to make your habitat "prettier," and of course there are growth potions to speed up the process. If you want to really speed the game up, which is by no means necessary, prepare to shell out some dough.

While you're waiting for your little froggies to hatch though, there is a "Pond" minigame that at least gives you something to do while you wait. At first, the pond is used to mature your frog so you can sell or breed it, but it soon becomes a platform to find all sorts of goodies. While you jump around in the pond from lilypad to lilypad, you encounter gift baskets, money, and other frogs that you can breed with. Fortunately for the gamers out there, every time you breed you also gain XP, so there are ways to gain XP without waiting. Once your place becomes full though you can't take any more in, so you have to either get a new tank, or sell off some buddies.

Throughout the game, you are given little missions that ask for certain frogs. Once you get a mission, it is up to you to "create" the frog by doing some selective breeding. It's not a ton of excitement, but it is something to do.

All in all, if you are a fan of "freemium" games (you know who you are), Pocket Frogs is a pretty good option. I personally prefer more of a Sim City like experience (e.g., We Rule), but I do see the value in having something to do all the time instead of waiting for hours on end. Having a game that I can't play for X number of hours just drives me nuts, and if I'm going to spend money, I'd rather get a game that brings me constant enjoyment.