I love this game! I don’t know about others, but my game will simply say “checking for updates” indefinitely if I do not have wi-fi, so I have to argue thatwi-fi is absolutely required. I have been feeling a little salty about the fact that I can no longer choose the look for what I place in my garden. Unless you buy paintbrushes. Pretty much all game s let you choose between three options. Panthia does as well, if you pay for it. You can earn paintbrushes, theoretically, but they are very few and very far between. I think i’vehad the opportunity to win two or three. So it is not as fun to place things in my garden because I have no control as to the look of them. As someone else noted, money is not required but it is impossible to complete all the tasks in the side quests or prize islands to get the prizes. You would have to spend a good deal of money to get enough energy and crystals to complete these in the scant three days provided. I know it seems like all I did was complain, but this game is so good that the bad things really stick out like a sore thumb. The graphics are beautiful, the game play is easy and relaxing, and the side quests and prize islands add variety (even if you can't finish them). I come on and play a couple of times a day, it only takes 5 minutes or less before I am out of energy and can do no more, but I enjoy it nonetheless.

Edited-I have played this game for a while now. The floating balloons are aggravating. They float over the island blocking structures the player is trying to build. The player has to keep moving the balloons out of the way. More than once I have accidentally spent gems while trying to move the balloon. This is probably on purpose to get a player to buy more gems. Next, even though a wonder has been created, a player keeps receiving items to build the Wonder. This is a waste of energy. Then a player has bits and pieces sitting around taking up space. So a player has to merge the pieces to make more room for other pieces that go with creating another wonder. We should be able to “sell” these odd pieces back to the game. Like the coins, the more pieces merged the higher the value. Receiving energy for the pieces would be great, because the player had to spend energy to receive these worthless odds and ends. To date, I have not spent a dime. If I have objects that take 20 minutes to build, I use all my energy and build the objects prior to leaving the game to do something else. Well I am out of resources to continue building wonders. I have several items that required resources to build and all I have is 4 stick ponies (not what they are called, but what they look like). So unless I want to spend money, which I don’t have to spend, I am done. So when the advertising says play free that is up to a point. Then to continue you must spend $$$$.

This is indeed a good game (actually I’m sure it's a great game, it's just not my cup of tea, so sorry if I’m no doing it justice in how this review sounds), but the advertisement that drew me to this game said something about 100 of something. Whether that is 100 coins or gems, 100 of some other item or actually $100 worth of wheatever stuff I don't know, but I’ve gotten to the 3rd island (which is still the beginning, I’m sure) and I still have no idea when or where I’m going to recieve that 100 whatever prize from the offer. If the makers promise such a thing for a new player to recieve when they join then they’d better deliver it soon after the person joins the game if not immediately upon joining. Otherwise that’s false advertisement, and thus bad business, ehich is something I do not tolerate. When I next return to play the game the details of the offer and when I’m supposed to get it must be there (in the mailbox or whatever) or I will delete the game and not spend a single cent on this game. Developers and publishers (and any other makers) be warned that not doing what you say you will do and/or not making what that is pefectly clear will lose you a lot of customers now, and it eill hurt your reputation causing you to further lose even more customers as word gets out.That is all.

So I gave this a 4 stars because even though it’s fun and a good laid back game, it seems you are unable to complete the special side islands that come up without money unlike other games I have played where you can as long as you go on about twice a day as that’s about how many times it takes for the energy to refill. I’ve went on an hour later and still not been full energy I’ve even went on like 2 or 3 hours later and still not had full energy. Most people have jobs and families that they have to take care of and can only go on for short periods and cannot afford to throw money into a game to complete these. The normal island is great and works wonderful on completing it’s just the special islands that come up. Now as a free game it is not as bad as some of the others out there that I have found and at least you can complete things daily usually I’ve had games where to complete one thing in an area it takes days and those to me are worse. So to end I will say if you don’t mind not completing the side quest islands for free and are fine with just a fun laid back game this is a good one.