Wasting Time

You would have thought I'd have wasted enough of my life on Brain Game (and Brain Game 2: Stress Management!) but I've found yet another game to waste time by. It's on my phone (and also available on the DS lite). It's called Zoo Keeper and the premise is quite simple like all the best games.

"Your objective is to erase the animal symbols that fill up the screen by aligning them three or more in a row or column, while trying for a high score by erasing them in a combo. The Level ends when each different animal symbol has been erased. Symbols are aligned by swapping one tile with one next to it. If this makes a line of three or more matching tiles with either of the swapped tiles, the tiles stay in this position and the line disappears. If no line of three or more matching tiles is formed, then the tiles swap back to their original position. Lines can be horizontal or vertical, and combinations can mean that many lines disappear at the same time."

I do have a number of ethical problems with it though! It seems you are not a very good zoo "keeper" but an excellent killer as the animals disappear as if blown up. It is a Japanese game and will all know that some of their attitudes to animals are questionable (especially whales!). The second issue is in relation to industrial relations - when you lose you are berated by your boss thrusting a phallic like cigar at you and yelling abuse such as "I'll get the cleaning lady to do your job"" or "You are definately fired!". I'd certainly join a union and complain if I was talked to like that!

See for yourself and play online here (it is in Japanese though!)