Gardenscapes: New Acres
| Gardenscapes | |
|---|---|
 The protagonist, Austin the Butler. | |
| Developer(s) | Playrix |
| Publisher(s) | Playrix |
| Platform(s) | Android, iOS |
| Release |
|
| Genre(s) | Puzzle |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Gardenscapes is a free-to-play game released by Playrix in August 2016.[1] It is available on iOS and Android. The game combines simulation elements and traditional match-3 mechanics.
Gameplay
Gardenscapes is a match-3 puzzle game, where the core gameplay is based on swapping two adjacent elements to make a row or column or group of at least three elements. Every level has a goal, examples of which include collecting a certain number of elements (e.g., pears, flowers, apples, glasses of lemonade, mystery sacks, berries, fishing floats), locating garden gnomes, digging up emeralds, setting off firecrackers, or removing ivy. Gardenscapes consists of a number of areas. By completing match-3 levels, players earn stars and coins to complete tasks and progress through the storyline by unlocking new areas (e.g., Treehouse Area, Fountains Area, Maze Area).[2] Players are challenged to complete different tasks and use a wide range of decor items to create their own unique garden with the help of Austin the Butler. Players have the opportunity to make friends with in-game characters, follow them on an in-game social network, and have the company of an animated dog.
Gardenscapes: new areas task and activity summary
Gameplay features multiple areas in the garden. Each area requires players to reach one or more goals that lead to task completion over one or more days. The successful completion of a task results in players receiving stars that, when accumulated, can be used to complete activities in each area of the garden.
Activities require the successful completion of one or more levels. Some activities impose a time delay on players; other activities result in players receiving awards of coins or boosters (I.e:., shovels, bombs, bundles of dynamite, TNT, rainbow blasts) or both. The successful accomplishment of all activities in each area results in a “completed area.” Completing an area requires one or more days. With the exception of Area 1 Day 1, each day ends with a requirement for players to complete at least one level to advance to the next day or the next area.
Reception
More than 7.5 million people play Gardenscapes every day. Facebook named it the game of the year in 2016.[3] As of April 2017, ZDNet estimated that Gardenscapes had been downloaded to Android devices more than 10 million times, ranking it #11 on the Android game download list, and had produced total revenue exceeding $150 million.[4] By November 2017, total downloads had exceeded 92 million.
Gardenscapes, along with other games by Playrix have been increasingly coming under criticism on the internet for displaying misleading advertisements that depict gameplay that is false and nothing like the game itself.[5] Several reddit forums are dedicated to this. For instance, many ads for Gardenscape depict action gameplay that is completely unlike the app itself. In late-2019 a change.org petition was set up to "Stop false mobile game advertising", that cited Gardenscapes as a prime example.[6][failed verification]
References
- ^ "Playrix has become Europe's quiet giant in mobile gaming". venturebeat.com.
- ^ "Deconstructing Gardenscapes' big pivot to success". deconstructoroffun.com.
- ^ "Gardenscapes by Playrix is Facebook's game of the year". venturebeat.com.
- ^ "These 25 wildly popular Android games are raking in the most cash from in-app purchases". zdnet.com.
- ^ "Why Mobile Games Use Fake Ads? One more point". StoreMaven. 2019-10-24. Retrieved 2020-05-09.
- ^ "Why We're Stuck With Fake Game Ads: They Make Big Bucks". YR Media. 2019-03-20. Retrieved 2020-05-09.