Some of us are the sort of players who want a nice quick fix at the end of a long day of busyness. And some of us in that category also particularly enjoy a degree of management, planning and financing in our games. But seriously, after all those hours of work, it would drive me crazy to engage in a detailed simulated business, city, theme park, or what else. You get the idea.

Now that’s where Alice Greenfingers fits the bill.

This is simplicity, accessibility and management fun in its essence. Arcade Lab knows not just what players like to do in a game, but how players feel while they do that. They did it good – Alice Greenfingers is fast, very easy to learn and hassle-free. You’re given a concise welcome followed by clear directions on how to get playing. The controls and interface are incredibly intuitive, and the whole game only requires your left mouse button, with no compromise on efficiency. And the result? The time it took me from double-clicking the game icon to planting my tomatoes to selling my first harvest was just three minutes. I’m not kidding.

A beauty in this lies in your ability to set the pace of the game. If you can keep up with it, go ahead and plant as many plots as you can handle. You’ll be able to generate more income, and afford a greater variety of plants and animals sooner, as well as more sophisticated tools to further increase your productivity. If you like it slow and easy, you can devote more time to arranging your plots in orderly straight rows or maybe a more aesthetic diamond. And for those really serious about turning your garden into the next botanical paradise, there are landscaping features like ponds available later on in the game.

However, to some players who often prefer a level-based approach, the “sandbox” simulation of Alice Greenfingers may turn a little disappointing after a while. The flow of the game is continuous, which means there aren’t any periodically defined goals serving challenges. And once you’ve reached the point where every purchasable item in the shop has been made available, some players may be tempted to just call it a game.

The graphics may not have that shiny, attractive appearance many others games do, but that’s because the nature of the game calls for that earthly look to create that calm and leisurely atmosphere. Even with all that farming and maintaining and harvesting going on, the music and crisp sound effects (like the chirping of birds, and the flowing of water) make the garden a relaxing one to work in.

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(1 votes, average: 4 out of 5)

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