As you will know from my previous posts… I spend a LOT of my night times awake. With a child who simply DOES NOT sleep, I seem to spend the majority of my time sat in a small nursery chair breastfeeding in the dark. As lovely as these moments can be – the cuddles, the bonding, the vulnerability.. sometimes… don’t shoot me for saying, they are, well…. a little boring. As a result, I spend a lot of the time glued to my phone in a desperate attempt at keeping myself awake enough to function.
I have played nearly all the obvious classics on my phone, but as of last month, I now have a new addiction – Crater Craft from 55Pixels. I was invited by 55Pixels to try it out and wasn’t entirely sure what to expect. On the first night of downloading Neve had a sickness bug, and as such, I was awake all night. I get incredibly anxious when she is ill, so playing a game really helps distract me and keep me calm. By the end of the weekend, I’d got to Level 8!
What is it?
So what is Crater Craft? If you think of Hay Day and Farmville you will be on the right lines.
At the beginning of the game you are given your own crater, with a small plot of land and a house with no furniture. Using your crafters, (super cute little characters who can build and create all different kinds of furniture), and the power of nectar, you can grow plants which can be used to build (and trade) furniture and earn crystals.
As your house grows and players rate your interiors, you earn more crystals which can be reinvested into your home to grow more floors, and furnish guest houses for when friends come to stay.
The more crafters you earn and collect (selecting them in a somewhat blind bag fashion!), the more opportunities you can create for your crafter!
The main features of the game include:
- GROWING plants using Nectar to harvest raw materials
- CRAFTING beautiful items or even rarer materials
- DECORATING your house and earning precious stars
- COLLECTING a workforce of crafters
- CHATTING with other players in real-time
- VISITING other players’ Craters
- HUNTING Nectar from neighbouring Craters
- SELLING materials and items in a real-time marketplace
- STYLING and customising the look of your character
What I love about it?
Unlike some games of this nature, Crater Craft is extremely chilled, and as such, I find the game play somewhat therapeutic. It has a calm pace, making it perfect for dipping in and out of when you have a spare moment, and whilst there is an option for in app purchases, they aren’t something that you have to consider all the time in able to proceed. This would drive me insane. To date I have not had to consider any purchases in order to continue game play and am now on level 12. So far at least, there have been no major waiting periods which would have left me frustrated or considering payment in order to speed up building time.
I love the way that Crater Craft guides you through at the beginning – during those early levels the characters have a little narrative to help guide you in the right direction. This is really helpful and is just the right amount of dialogue.
Crater Craft is very addictive – trying to harvest enough of a particular crop in order to grow that elusive piece of furniture for your house is somewhat compelling, with the added benefit of being able to play the mini games such as hunting for nectar and the ball drop for an extra daily prize. You are also set little challenges, such as collecting a shopping list of particular items in return for a prize, or keeping your guests happy by responding to their requests.
I enjoy checking out others rooms to earn additional crystals and attempting to make mine as attractive as possible – maybe part of the reason I like this element so much is that our house most of the time is an absolute pig sty, and in a virtual world at least its nice to be fully in control of how the furniture is laid out, without a small person emptying lego over the floor every time your back is turned.
I love how Crater Craft uses your brain. Unlike some of the addictive puzzle games, this one actually requires a bit of thought, logic and planning!
Best of all, the app is free to download from the app store HERE.
What I would change?
Overall there isnt much I would change about Crater Craft, and as the reviews on the apple store confirm, this game has been a real hit with almost everyone who has downloaded it (bar the odd upgrade issue).
Sometimes you can get a little stuck – your warehouse is full and you need to sell some items in order to make more storage space, and yet until someone buys it you cant move forwards – this doesn’t take hours, but if you are in the middle of a game it can be frustrating to have to wait. I tend to find things sell faster in the evenings, probably because it is a live store, and more people are probably playing in the latter part of the day.
Overall Crater Craft has been a very welcome distraction and successfully kept me awake during night feeds. It would also be perfect for passing the time waiting for school pick ups or on the train to work!
If you fancy downloading Crater Craft and giving it a go, feel free to add me as a contact and come and check out my crater – My Player Tag is #5877e66! I happen to think its looking pretty snazzy (even if I do say so myself!) 🙂
*This is a collaborative post*
