- Build and upgrade your camp
- Sing to attract campers
- Watch out for the Angry Raccoon
In Pond Pals, you play as Aaron, an adorable little frog who's making his dream of owning glamping grounds come true. You’ll sing your froggy heart out to draw guests, unlock new meals to serve, and hire employees as you build your critter camp empire.
After a wandering critter leaves Aaron a few gold coins when he hosts them for the night, the young frog realises it may be time to finally build the campgrounds of his dreams. While you start out with one flimsy tent, you’ll soon expand your Lilypad-based camp to include multiple campsites and leisure activities, like the lazy river. Once unlocked, campers can go tubing on the lazy river for some nice leisure time.
Several leisure areas have yet to be added at the time of writing this. These include the Frog Karaoke and Capybara Onsen. However, the developers assure that these areas will be added soon.
Gameplay is pretty much what you’d expect from a cosy management sim. Host campers and serve them a meal to earn coins. You’ll then use the coins you earn to unlock new campsites and upgrade items, meals, and staff members. With each new meal you unlock, you’ll also unlock a new visitor.
For instance, unlocking mangos as a meal adds Pink, a pink frog, to your list of potential campers. Campers will leave trash behind along with their payment. Be sure to tidy up after them to keep your camp looking clean and serene.
As you upgrade your camp, you’ll earn charm points. You’ll need to increase your charm level to gain access to higher-level tents, meals, and decorations, which in turn net you more charm points.
It’s vital to continue to bring in new customers. Luckily, Aaron can attract new campers by singing. Tap on Aaron repeatedly to make him sing. This will draw campers to your gates. If all your campsites are full, remaining campers will wait at the front gate for their turn. You can also recruit a frog choir to help draw in crowds.
Beyond building your glamping grounds, be on the lookout for collectables like butterflies, bugs, and random objects. Finding these items will net you some coins. Some collectibles can only be found in certain seasons or times of day.
You can check the current season and time by tapping the small circle featuring a sun or moon and viewing the guide that pops up. Collecting these items doesn’t add much to the sim, but it does provide a nice little break from camp management.
You’ll also need to watch out for the angry raccoon. This rage-fueled little fellow will scare your customers away. When he appears, keep tapping on him until his health diminishes and he disappears. He can be pretty annoying, as you’ll need to relentlessly tap the screen while he runs around terrorising guests.
Pond Pals is a cute and cosy little simulation game that lets you build your own glamping grounds. You’ll enjoy decorating your camp, unlocking new meals to draw in new customers, and searching for collectibles as you make Aaron’s glamping ground owner dreams come true. While the angry raccoon can be a tad irritating, overall, Pond Pals is a chill sim that fans of the genre are sure to love.
Pond Pals review - “Build your froggy glamping empire”
Pond Pals is a charming sim in which you build your glamping paradise, unlock new meals and campers, and search for rare collectibles.
Jack Brassell
Jack Brassell is a self-proclaimed nerd with a lifelong passion for storytelling. An aspiring author, Jack writes mostly horror and young adult fantasy. She is currently working to attain an associates degree in game design.