And still way better than a stick insect. And while the novelty wears off sooner than you'd hope, while it lasts, this is a top-notch casual game. When aliens attack, the cursor changes to a target, and you have to press the directional buttons to blast them clear of your precious fish.īy a few levels in, Insaniquarium is functioning at a crazy pace, with the screen crammed with fish, pellets, and extras, let alone the alien attacks. Why? Heaven knows, Mulder and Scully never investigated this phenomenon. Sorry, did we forget to mention them? Every so often one or more aliens appear and try to kill your fish. Insaniquarium revolves around this resource management, which has to be carried out at an increasingly frantic pace. So at this point, you need to keep buying new guppies in order to keep the carnivores alive, as they won't eat pellets. So when you earn a certain amount of cash, you can start buying food upgrades to make your fish grow faster, and also boosting the number of pellets you're able to drop at once.īetter still are the carnivorous fish who, yes, gobble up your guppies one by one, but poo gems that are worth more money. Getting a bit dull? Don't worry, Insaniquarium is all about constantly introducing new features and obstacles to ramp up the, well, insanity levels. Later in the game, there are oysters, swordfish, seahorses and others, each offering their own benefits. The first extra is a snail, who wanders along the bottom of the tank grabbing coins for you. To complete each level, you have to save up enough dosh to buy three pieces of an egg, which reveals a new 'extra' for your tank, and also takes you to the next level.

Build up enough cash, and you can buy another guppy to add to the shoal, who in turn needs to be fed till he's as big as the other two. It was originally published by PopCap Games, but later taken up by a number of other publishers and based on Insaniquarium, which is similar, albeit simpler. Much like real life, except without the solemnity of a toilet-flush funeral.Īt the start, the game revolves around collecting the coins that are, ahem, expelled from your fish, by moving the cursor over them as they fall to the bottom of the tank. Insaniquarium Deluxe is a 2001 computer game, created by Flying Bear Entertainment. If a fish doesn't get enough, it'll look a bit poorly, go white, and then die. You start with a couple of guppies swimming around, so you have to move your cursor around the tank dropping pellets – only one at a time, mind – to help them grow bigger. The aim is to maintain a colourful home aquarium by fattening your fish up with pellets, and then using the money they dump to buy more fish, better food, and a host of other upgrades. Obviously, mobile games aren't always the most reliable guide to the ins and outs of marine biology, but Insaniquarium Deluxe seems fairly trustworthy. If I'd known fish crapped coins, I wouldn't have asked for a stick insect for my 10th birthday.

Game insaniquarium