Fish Tycoon

I have a love hate relationship with this game. It irritates me, but I am addicted to it. I got it for the kids, but they really could not care less.

On one hand it is relaxing, I would almost compare it to watching the yule log burn on television during the holidays. Okay, that's not really a 'pro', so I will try again. It is, a great non violent game. My kids like it. I say 'like' because they did'nt say they hated it, but they don't really ask to play it, ever. I actually watched my daughter yawn and blink her eyes while playing. Dramatically.

If you are not familiar with Fish Tycoon, here is the breakdown. You start with a fish tank. A virtual, screensaver-looking fish tank. You are provided with $300.00 "Isola" dollars. You also get a handful of fish eggs. When you drop them into the tank, they hatch and then you can breed them try to find the 'magic breeds', where you will be able to sell them to earn more Isola dollars. Sounds pretty fun right? Yes it is, but only for the first few minutes...What I am saying is , although a great theory, and a unique idea, why oh why would the makers of Fish Tycoon have this game set in real time. Alright they say real time, I really don't know how long it takes fish eggs to hatch, but come on! This game takes two hours before you can really play! Yes, you drop the eggs in the water, and wait!

Imagine this scenario,a six year old, and a ten year old, coming off the school bus..."Guess what kids, I got this great computer game, we are going to go play it after dinner! Its going to be so much fun! You get to create magical fish, run a fish store!"
Imagine the excitement! Then imagine the look on their little faces, after fourty five minutes, and no fish! The people over at Big Fish Publishing, must not have kids.

Maybe I am over reacting. I did, just last week start up a batch of real life sea monkeys, those took about four days to hatch. But I only paid $3.00 for them. Also, it is true, children need to learn patience. I explained this to them. They understood. But , they lost interest.

When I turned the game on the next morning, there they were. Six little dead fish. No one was around to feed them. Am I joking, I kid you not. I actually had to 'discard' of the dead fish, and start over. I felt so guilty.

Apparently I have a lot of issues with this game. But I must admit, after two weeks, I have a couple of cool fish, I learned some tips and tricks, but the kids really do not care. I guess it is my game now.