A few months ago I was preparing to sit through a boring presentation. I asked my friend if she knew any good games to play on my phone to distract me from the speaker, and she suggested the game "Neko Atsume," where the goal is to collect cats. I’d never heard of it, but it looked cute, so I decided to play it for an hour. I realized it’s not exactly a game you can play in an hour. You either get completely addicted to it or bored after one play. I’m one of those people that became addicted, checking on my cats practically 10 times a day, and I think it’s probably the best game I can have on my phone.
1. You can own up to 53 cats with none of the real life consequences that would entail.
Granted they come and go as they please, but they come by to visit you and you can’t help but be glad to see them again! I could never have 53 cats in real life and be as well off as I am now.
2. They bring you presents.
I never thought that I would get excited for a “damaged spoon” or “random seeds,” but once I realized you could collect your cat’s presents, called “mementos” in the game, my desire to collect them all grew. With that being said…
3. You can collect so much.
I was always into games where you could collect different things. In "Neko Atsume," you can collect cats, mementos, houses, toys and even wallpapers. It greatly satisfies my urge to collect.
4. You don’t have to spend real money on the game.
Even though the app is free, the obnoxious ads are nowhere to bother you during gameplay. And while it’s always an option to make in-app purchases, I’ve never found that necessary because the game still plays just as easily on the money you earn by yourself!
5. It doesn’t take up much of my time.
There have been times when I played games on my phone that I would spend an hour on. However, with "Neko Atsume" the only way cats come to visit you is if you leave the app for a little while and then come back to it later. This means that, while I may open the app 10 times a day, each time is only for about a minute to refill my food bowls to keep my cats coming back!
6. There’s no frustration attached.
I mean, yes, it can be hard when you’re trying to collect a certain cat for weeks and they still haven’t shown up. However, the game of "Neko Atsume" is meant to be cute and fun, so there are no annoying time restraints or difficult missions that always drive me crazy.
7. Everything is painfully cute.
Duh. That’s all the game is really meant for. You’re collecting cats, of course they’re all going to be cute! Even the houses and toys you can buy are cute.
8. There are rare cats to spend your time obsessing over.
From Joe DiMeowgio to Saint Purrtrick, you get all types of different cats gracing your screen. Although the rare ones are more difficult to find, it just makes it that much more satisfying when you receive their memento.
9. Whenever you find someone else who is obsessed with Neko Atsume, you have to compare everything about your games.
I always ask which cats they’ve collected, if they have all their mementos and how many fish they have.
Some people think it’s a bit odd to be obsessed with a game that’s so slow, but at least I’m involved in a game about collecting cats and not killing people!
