So I don’t think I have brought up KairoSoft or what I consider a “Pocket Game” for that matter. See the term mobile gaming has kinda died with the 3DS. The great legacy that started with Gameboy has been quietly buried. The Switch is a bit to involved to be considered Mobile Games. Ofcourse that usually being a term used for portable games at the cost of quality and performance. Not the Switch, it’s super powerful considering it technically replaced the 3DS. But there is still a demand for simpler easier to play games for quick bursts of play. Most people would consider that to be what phone games are for but as with the Switch newer phones are big beefy beasts that can run some impressive games. Yet they both have a suite of games by KairoSoft. Quirky little cute pocket games from between $5 to $13.

These games range from simple to simulation in the scope of difficulty. Full of pun humor and an art style that quickly becomes a recognizable sign of a good time most of their games have been solid time sinks. My first favorite of all of them was Hot Springs Story on the iPod Touch. I played it for hours upon hours just laying in bed not sleeping. It ate up all my time like a good pocket game should. It has the addicting gameplay of those phone games without the microtransactions and social integration that tends to plaque them. It’s single player and offline and oh so great. This sequel is exactly that and more if I am just being honest. As the first screenshot showed you start a hot springs up and slowly expand it in scope.

Unlocking new types of rooms and decorations while meeting your regulars and preforming tasks to help them out. You will slowly build a name for yourself in the town among the different types of people who will be your patrons.

Managing your funds while figuring out the best layout for your rooms to unlock themed bonuses. Making sure you have enough rooms, keep the price within the ranges your clientele can afford while you still get a nice profit, keeping your staff happy, and so much more all play out while you flip through the menus and plan out your next three big expenses.

Buying some extra space is always a good call. Gotta have a place to stick all those new rooms after all. From arcades to coffee bars and vibrating chairs for the hallway you can get so many interesting rooms to try and work in. Most of them will come from town request rewards.

Which are little self contained events. These quests, tourism groups, and special visitors are all done on the background while you keep playing. With a little overly just showing what is going on before the climax which usually has a fun little scene play out.

Tossin’ pigs, finding dogs, and yearly local culture magazines tend to take the bulk of the events. Not that I’m complaining. Me and my staff can get this done. You can steadily upgrade your rooms and services or train and level up your crew using these research points. Points you earn from repeated use of your facilities as well as your staff just earning them as the help around the hot springs. I honestly could go on and on about all the subtle little things that make this game specificly wonderful. Just I’m afraid they wouldn’t really convey to well without knowing you have played a KairoSoft game before. The simple little charm that keeps you smiling from start to save. It reminds me of early simulation games. Back when it was more about being a game than tedious levels of realism. I loved SimCity on the SNES, I enjoy SimCity 4 on PC. The difference, the fourth game has me micromanage everything from water pressure to individual income based tax brackets. That can be fun for sure, but I always prefer a more game-ified approach. If I wanted to be in urban planning, I’d do so. My hometown is pretty small I honestly think our current city planner might be that horse that lives downtown. Seriously the town grew up around this little farm that decided to never relocate so we got this horse right downtown. Which surprisingly a lot of our civic ordinances are incredibly pro horse and pro wizard.

Games like Hot Springs Story 2 are perfect for staying in all day. Since that is our life in 2020. It’s a little something you can do all day off and on while doing everything else. Watching TV, going to the bathroom, soaking in the tub, waiting on the oven to preheat, waiting on a Zoom Call, or anything else grab a few minutes of Hot Springs time. It will give you an actual sense of accomplishment each day. Something to make you feel like you are still moving forward and getting anything done besides just quarantine pizza rolls and Star Trek each night.