Tap Fish
by Jonathan Lonczak
Apr 22, 2011 9:00 AM –
Install
Tap Fish now on Android! Welcome to Tap Fish, you are only taps away from owning multiple aquariums, where you can decide what fish to grow, to sell, and to breed! Raise beautiful baby Clown Fish, feed them to see them grow, and decorate your tanks with exotic tropical plants and sea reefs. Easy and simple as 1-2-3. (Don’t forget to clean your tanks!) But what do you get when you breed?
- Blowfish + Clown Fish = ?
- Piranha + Yellow Longnose = ?
- Leafy Sea Dragon + Longfin Bannerfish = ?
Price: Free
Pros & Cons:
Pros
- Create your own collection of virtual fish tanks and populate them with the fish of your choosing!
- Breed different kinds of fish together to create rare and valuable new breeds!
- Tap Fish has an excellent library of add-ons for your fish tank. Including coral reef, deep sea vegetation, pirate ships, and other marine life. Killer Whales!
- Tap Fish gives new content for the holidays with new seasonal fish and items!
- Excellent graphical interface does an incredible job simulating a fish tank on your Android device!
Cons
- Some content can only be unlocked through “Fish Bucks.” This content is only easily accessible if you buy these “Fish Bucks” from the developer.
- Application force closes when trying to run on Motorola Xoom.
- Cannot sync fish tanks between multiple devices.
Features:
Tap Fish is a virtual aquarium game with a similar play style to games like Farmville or Farmtown available on Android and iOS. In Tap Fish you are a loving Aquarium owner who is trying to create the most exotic aquarium possible. In order to achieve this goal you need to buy and sell fish to save up coin which you spend to import the most exotic marine life.
Upon first beginning the game the player only has enough money to purchase some very basic and plain looking breeds of fish. As the player continues to buy, sell, and breed fish he is able to save up more and more coin which can be used to purchase higher level and more exotic fish. The breeding concept is very interesting in this game because it allows the player to experiment and create new breeds of fish that were not previously accessible in the game. As the player breeds these extremely rare varieties of marine life he can sell them for a higher than average profit in coin.
The player needs to make sure that the fish tank is clean. This can be difficult given the large number of fish in the fish tank so you should check in on your tank after 3 or 4 hours . This helps to increase your fish’s happiness level. Another way to increase the happiness of your fish is to give them new environments to play in. You can purchase any combination of plants, coral, castles, carnivals, and even a sunken pirate ship!
If you have friends that play Tap Fish you can add them to your friends list and visit their fish tanks as well. While you are visiting you can feed their fish and clean up their fish tanks. In return you will gain a little bit of experience and coin.
Tap Fish is a free game but there is a lot of content which is only unlocked through the use of the elusive “Fish Bucks.” ”Fish Bucks” are another form of currency like coin, but “Fish Bucks” can only be received for free by performing actions like rating Tap Fish on the market, following Tap Fish on Twitter, or becoming a fan of Tap Fish on Facebook.
Coin and “Fish Bucks” can both be purchased through Paypal or Google Checkout, if you don’t want to spend the time to earn them in game. For 20 “Fish Bucks” it costs $1.99 and for 500 coins it costs only $0.99.
Watch on Mobile
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Tap Fish Neighbors Aquarium
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Tap Fish – School of Fish
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Tap Fish Tank 1
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Tap Fish Tank 2
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Tap Fish Breeds 2
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Tap Fish Breeds 2
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Tap Fish Menu
Fun Factor:
Tap Fish is a fun game to check in on a few times a day. Longer periods of game play are less rewarding because all of the fish take time to grow. The shortest amount of time it takes for a baby fish to become an adult is 4 hours. This ensures that Tap Fish will never consume too much time in one gaming session.
The game allows for a lot of personal creativity in how the fish tanks are decorated and populated. This game will definitely appeal to anyone who likes to create their own virtual environment and share it with others.
Addictive:
Tap Fish is definitely addictive. In order to get more coins and experience you are forced to come back every 3 or 4 hours to clean your tank and feed your fish. With all the various kinds of fish, scenery, and marine life that you can purchase for your tank this game has a high replay value. This game has the same kind of addictive value as games like Farmville or Farmtown and will keep you coming back for more.
Graphics:
Tap Fish has excellent graphics. The game has hundreds of different models of aquatic wildlife. Each of these shows exquisite attention to detail, with a variety of designs and colors. The game looks excellent on all of my Android Devices except on the Motorola Xoom. Tap Fish force closes on launch when used on the Xoom. Hopefully this will be fixed in future software updates.
Accelerometer, Vibration & Sound:
Tap Fish includes sound effects in game. These include the sound of bubbles escaping from the bottom of the tank, the sound of fish swimming, or the sound of the tank being cleaned. However, it does not include a music track. The lack of music adds to the realism of the virtual fish tank. A music track would also be inappropriate for a game that averages about 10 minutes of play time for the maximum gaming session.
The game does not make any use of the accelerometer or the devices vibration controls. The inability to view the game in portrait mode is annoying when trying to feed your fish out at the supermarket. The developer only allows you to play in landscape mode. I believe the developer did this because most fish tanks are horizontal and not vertical in real life. However, this does make it more difficult to engage in casual game play while out in public.
The game does not cause any haptic feedback. Perhaps the developer could have incorporated this with the basic menus, but it would be difficult to work it in to game play. I don’t think that the lack of haptic feedback is a detractor to the game.