As someone who played Animal Crossing on my Nintendo DS as a kid, I was thrilled to hear about the mobile game which recently came out on the Apple App Store. The game, titled Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp, has many of the same features that I and many others love about the old games. You walk around collecting things like fish, fruit, and bugs, which you can give to animals in exchange for money or other items. Then, you can use those resources to buy or craft furniture or expand your house (which is a camper in this version of the game). All the while you make more animal friends who give you more stuff. It’s easy. Sometimes I wish real life was like Animal Crossing, and here’s why:

1. Money falls out of trees

Yes, if you shake random trees in Animal Crossing, sometimes money falls out. If this happened in real life, you would find me wandering through the woods shaking all the trees.

2. People give you all sorts of stuff when you do favors for them

These animals literally give you money and other helpful items just by handing them things like butterflies and apples. If I handed one of my actual friends a butterfly expecting payment I highly doubt they would be amused.

3. All you really have to do is talk to people and you get rewards

Sometimes if you just walk up to an animal and select “Let’s talk” or “Tell me a story” they will go on about something then give you a present. It’s really too easy and I did nothing to deserve this.

4. You have tons of pocket space

Animal Crossing gives you a certain number of slots to store things in your inventory, and it’s an absurd amount of space if we’re being realistic. Who can carry 100+ items in their pockets, including twenty oranges and ten squids? And when that inventory gets full you can just sell a few beetles real quick. It’s not realistic at all, but would be so incredibly convenient.

5. You have no responsibilities

The expectations are not very high in Animal Crossing. You may have to pay off a loan from your last camper expansion, but there’s no rush. You can fish all day if you want or talk to whoever you like. You could just run around shaking trees for all I care.

If you’re a fan of Animal Crossing or are a new player, happy playing! I’m right there with you enjoying the new mobile game. Enjoy the easygoing break from real life.