My Free Zoo

Although they are seen as cruel nowadays, zoos used to be the only way people got to see rare animals back in the day. Even so, people are much more considerate about the size of the enclosures, which is why many animals require special habitats and even climate control in certain cases. However, that is much much easier to take care of things in a virtual environment.

My Free Zoo is a casual simulation game in which you get to be in charge of a zoo as you try to expand it and attract more visitors in order to earn more money. The game is designed to be as simple as possible in terms of mechanics and interface, so you can get the hang of things in a matter of minutes. On the other hand, there’s enough complexity for the experience not to become boring too quickly.

You start with a simple enclosure and only a handful of visitors, and the goal is to get more cash in order to afford rarer animals. However, every type of animal requires different kinds of food in order to be happy, and some require bigger living spaces as well. Naturally, some of the upgrades only become available later on in the game, so you have plenty of work ahead of you.

Although the animals are your biggest worry, there also the fact that your zoo must be easy to navigate and provide visitors with a few other facilities and shops as well. You are in charge of this aspect too, which means that it’s up to you to create the roads and place every facility around the park. There are also all sorts of events spread throughout the seasons which bring even more variety to the whole thing.

Since the game is designed to be enjoyed by casual players as well, everything about the interface is as simple as it gets. You only have to click on stuff in order to interact with buildings and the menus, while the camera is just as simple to operate, albeit a bit too slow sometimes. You can find out everything you need to know about the interface and how to manage your zoo from the tutorial in the beginning.

My Free Zoo is not exactly a revolutionary simulator, but it features enough variety to keep you busy for a few hours every now and again. You can also compete with other players over the Internet.