Crater Craft Farming And Building Game App. Review

Crater Craft is a new free game app from 55pixels and it's set in an imaginary world where teams of robot creatures, or crafters, use resources to create useful or decorative objects, furniture and even buildings. Regular readers will know I'm a big fan of games, but I can rarely justify the time, so I was more than happy to take this job. As it turns out, you can dip into Crater Craft for 5 minutes if that's all you have spare, you never have to commit any period of time, which for me is ideal.

In Crater Craft you manage a crater, running the farm and building a little community with your team of crafters and various visitors who call by to stay. Together you work to create buildings and furniture to make the crater and guest houses nice. You have to provide the crafting equipment and resources by farming, digging and trading.

You start by personalising your little character. It's a bit limited - there's no curly hair for example, but it's a new game. There are also extra options that unlock later on as in-game rewards. There's a walkthrough when you first launch the app. and gameplay is easy to pick up.

This is a farming simulator which runs in it's own version of real-time, so you plant and then harvest when crops are ripe. The only way to 'instantly' finish projects is by spending crystals, which are limited. Crops don't grow food, they grow materials for crafting. Food isn't necessary in Crater Craft, nor sleep. Your character and crafters are very easy to care for.

As the game progresses and you get better at it, everything speeds up and 'levels up' - getting bigger and more impressive. You can grow supersize and special plants, upgrade buildings and even your crafters.

You acquire crafters as prizes for completing challenges or by spending 450 crystals. They are usually picked at random and each has their own talents. Crafters increase in level by combining with another crafter similar to themselves - this costs nectar, the smaller currency in the game, and takes time. You also lose a crafter. Once upgraded each crafter is able to make new items to place in your world.

Currency is important. Nectar is easiest to earn and is usually collected via minigames, hives and selling items, or collecting items for visitors staying in your guest house. You earn stars for looking after guests, in mini-games and other challenges. Crystals are found in mini-games and earned as rewards for larger in-game challenges, such as harvesting plants.

The app. is free, but if you wish you can make cash transactions to buy crystals and extras to boost your game or get a head start. I haven't and I've only had a couple of times when I've had to wait to be able to move on. There's always the slower route...

This is an online-based game, time continues when you aren't there, so set your workshop and lab making something before you close the app. and it'll be finished in your absence. This makes it quite morish, because you know you can keep popping into it and pick everything up and set it all in motion, and go do something else for an hour. It's not taxing or stressful, especially if you are used to playing something like The Sims, which requires constant attention while it runs.

Other players are important too. It's actually quite hard to progress through earlier levels unless you trade in the shop. Sell furniture your crafters make and you can even earn crystals. It works very well and 2/3 time you can find what you need. It's a good cheaty way to empty your pockets if you are carrying lots of things you don't need. Just sell them.

You also get to check out 3 other player's rooms every so often and earn crystals for rating them - especially if you match the average vote so far. That is a nice touch - it stops people being mean just for the sake of it. I've played way too much... But, I take my reviews seriously.... My tag is in the screenshot, so you're welcome to add me and we can compare harvesting awards...

This has been great fun. I'm rarely able to justify spending time playing games and I've enjoyed playing Crater Craft. I'm sure I'll have a huge hotel complex within weeks. I already put in a recycling centre...

You can download Crater Craft for IOS or Android and if you have more plants and flowers in your little house than I do - I definitely want to see it!

Tips:

The game saves constantly, so you don't lose anything if you get a phone call while you are playing or lose signal.
Focus on getting matching crafters and combining to Level 2 as you go along, or you'll reach a point where you have no choice and it takes 3 hours to upgrade each crafter.
Sell furniture in the warehouse to earn crystals or in the market for nectar (it unlocks early in the game). Sell other things for nectar and to empty space in your pockets.
Keep an eye on the challenge rooms as often rarer furniture and toys etc are needed to complete them.
Upgrade a couple of squares of soil to grow supersize and rarer plants.
Do big jobs, like upgrading buildings, overnight.
Do jobs for your visitors and they'll reward you handsomely.

 I was paid for my time to do a proper review of Crater Craft.