hackGames: What Is Simpsons Tapped Out?
What is “Simpsons Tapped Out”?
Is it a video game? A cartoon? Or an expensive prank by the creators of “The Simpsons,” in which they’re getting back at us for decades of snickering at their expense? It’s hard to say, but the Simpsonized version of Springfield seemingly does not have enough people living in it. Meaning that you can make money buying and selling real estate until your SIMDollar signs are all green.
The game, which launched in August 2012 and has had a few updates since, is available for iOS and Android users. But only the iOS version can be played for free; the game charges 99 cents after that to get more of Springfield’s landmarks. “Tapped Out,” as it’s called by its players (and by us), is a freemium game, meaning you don’t have to pay anything to play but there are monetary transactions involved.
Here’s how it works: After establishing your Springfield — which anyone can do — you then build up your town and manage its citizens’ needs. You keep them happy by placing familiar buildings like Mr. Burns’ nuclear power plant or Moe’s Tavern (although he doesn’t serve Duff Beer anymore). You also earn money by selling garbage or other real estate, and you can use that cash to place new buildings.
Now, we’ve heard from folks who say they didn’t have a fun experience playing “Tapped Out” as little as 10 minutes in. But those people are almost certainly terrible town planners. It’s all about planning ahead for your SIMDollars and then maintaining your town as it grows. That means making sure there’s enough room for the trash trucks to get through and plenty of trees to make oxygen so your townsfolk don’t suffocate from toxic air pollution.
Product Details & Analysis
#1: It’s Free (Mostly) The first thing you’ll see when opening up “Simpsons Tapped Out” is that the game is free. But only for a little while, as we’ll discuss further down in this story.
#2: It’s Built Largely on Nostalgia
You probably have fond memories of “The Simpsons,” which debuted good ‘ol boy Homer Simpson back in 1989. So you may be inclined to play this new mobile game and rebuild your own version of Springfield. And there’s nothing wrong with that! Just remember not to spend any money once you’re playing; there are plenty of ways to get rid of money later without spending it first.
#3: You Can’t Play for Very Long Without Making an In-App Purchase
The thing about freemium games is they’re, well … free. But you can’t play them for long before you’re asked to spend some money. And in the case of “Tapped Out,” that point comes after creating your first character, which is only a few minutes into the game.
#4: It’s Like SimCity for Newbies
The goal of “Simpsons Tapped Out” is to make Springfield look as much like its TV counterpart as possible. That means building up your town by placing familiar buildings and landmarks from the show while keeping your townsfolk happy at the same time. You can even alter Homer’s house if you want! (We wouldn’t know; it didn’t seem very fun to us.)
#5: It Can Be Addicting Once You Get Started
“Tapped Out” is intended for people who like to build things and keep them maintained. (To be fair, there are a lot of games like that.) It’s not as if you’re racing against anyone in the game; it’s more about the experience of building a virtual Springfield. That can get addicting once you get going.
#6: Don’t Play “Tapped Out” on an iPhone 4s or iPad 3
One useful tip we learned from some helpful readers? If you have an iPhone 4S or an iPad 3, don’t play “Tapped Out,” because it didn’t work well with those devices when the game first released. The company behind Tapped Out has since fixed these issues, though reports still surface of crashes, bugs and other problems.
#7: You Can Help Your Friends in the Game — Or You Can Attack Them
One downside to building up your own Springfield is that you can’t see what anyone else has built. But if you ally yourself with another player, then you can help each other out by sending over items like donuts or hammers. Or you can send things like bombs and make them unhappy instead. It’s personal choice!
#8: “Tapped Out” Is Majorly Addicting (But That May Depend on the Player)
Speaking of addicting games … we have friends who spend untold hours managing their towns in “Simpsons Tapped Out.” And others who play it for about five minutes and then delete it from their iPhones. It’s all a matter of your own personal tastes, since this is a game intended for people who like to build things and manage them over time.
#9: The Game Gets Updates Regularly
That may sound obvious, but it’s worth mentioning because the developers behind “Simpsons Tapped Out” update their app every few weeks or so with fun new content (like Halloween costumes) and bug fixes. And sometimes those updates include in-game events that make doing certain tasks easier (such as rebuilding Homer Simpson).
#10: You Can Play Free If You Don’t Mind Waiting
One downside to freemium games — besides any issues you might encounter with crashes, bugs or other problems — is they tend to be slow. That’s because the idea behind a freemium game is that you willing spend real money to speed up things like waiting for buildings to be built or characters to be created. In “Tapped Out,” those in-app purchases start at $0.99 and go up from there depending on what you’re trying to do with the game.
#11: What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Stronger
As far as we can tell, anyway — or makes your character stronger, anyway! We were not individually killed by anything during our trials of “Simpsons Tapped Out,” so we cannot confirm this statement beyond a reasonable doubt … but it seems fairly logical.
#12: There Are Always Bugs (If You’re Online)
Online games, for all their benefits, are a double-edged sword. On the one hand, they’re great because you can play with people from all over the world. On the other hand … sometimes those people cause problems. For example: We read and hear about occasional lag issues in “Simpsons Tapped Out,” and there’s no guarantee that anyone else will be on your server at any given time when playing the game (which areas it fun to connect with strangers). So yes — expect bugs online just as you would everywhere else!
#13: You Can Lose Hearts by Playing Too Much
One of our biggest fears when we first started playing “Tapped Out” was that we’d lose control of our characters and they’d run off into the virtual sunset. This is not a problem. (Unless you don’t pay attention to what’s happening in your Springfield.) But after playing for long periods of time, you will lose hearts if you fail to log back in or complete tasks that are available to you.
#14: There Are Ways to Earn More Hearts
If you’re losing hearts at an alarming rate and need more — or just want some extra ones for fun — then the following tips from our friends at Cheat Code Central can help: Play “The Simpsons” trivia game on Facebook; make sure it’s the official one from Fox Interactive Media, though — not a copycat app! Watch videos on YouTube; there are plenty of options out there — especially when it comes to “Simpsons Tapped Out” videos! Connect with other players; playing with others, especially if you’re using Facebook or social media accounts to do so, will give you lots of free hearts!
#15: Your Characters Come in All Ages (And That’s a Good Thing!)
In “Tapped Out,” there are several different ages of characters that can be created and placed into your Springfield. And while each age group has its own strengths and weaknesses, this is a huge plus for the game: It means you can have an old man with gray hair next to a baby in sunglasses and diapers. And that … is awesome.