As a little girl, I wanted a house full of pets. My mother, on the other hand, vetoed every indoor pet except fish. That’s because they were my dad’s fish. My sister and I owned pet gerbils and hamsters, even a dog. I never dreamed about owning a horse. My 6 year old dreams of horses and unicorns. She draws them frequently, in many variations of pink.
While we can’t create a pink horse or a unicorn, my daughter and I have been raising our own horses in the Facebook game Horse Haven. In Ubisoft’s game, we raise and breed our cute virtual ponies. When they’re old enough, we can even visit other towns and compete. My horse Rosie needs to eat, drink, and be groomed. See my cute little horse family above?
Like most games I’ve played on Facebook, Horse Haven is pretty easy to play. The first time I played the game, a tutorial walked me through basic steps like feeding and caring for the horses. I learned how to buy a carrot patch so I could feed my horses treats. Once Rosie was old enough, I was able to breed her. Now Sophia has her own little foal, Llavendar (don’t ask). Besides taking care of my horses, I can improve my ranch by clearing trees and weeds and adding different buildings like additional stables or a riding pen.
That’s the gist of the Horse Haven. It doesn’t require a lot of thinking to care for the horses. When the horses are thirsty, I just lead them to the water trough. The reverse side of the game’s ease is that it can become repetitive. Those horses are demanding! I should be happy that I don’t have to clean up horse manure. The game does offer quests such as building a compost bin or clearing 10 trees off your ranch. Because this is a Facebook game, you’re encouraged to invite your friends to play so you gift items to each other.
I’m not fond of Facebook games that want me to invite my friends to join me. I guess I’m missing the point of Facebook games, since it’s a social networking site. However if my friends are already playing, then I don’t mind adding them. I haven’t added any friends to Horse Haven yet, and I’m enjoying the game on its own.
Edited to add: Now that I’ve added some friends to my game, it’s even more fun. I can request help and build more things! It’s nice to visit their ranch and see their horses too.
Since my daughter loves her virtual horses, I foresee some mommy daughter time playing Horse Haven. It’s perfect for us to play during her little brother’s naps. Not too complicated but still plenty to do with our ranch.
Thank you to Ubisoft for sponsoring this blog post. Please click here to learn more about Ubisoft. I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective. All opinions are my own. #UbiChamps
Screenshots are from my own ranch, Applecheeks.