ngmoco We Rule: An iPad Game with Twitter-like Stickiness, Unreliability & Hey, What Happened to the Magic Cauliflower?

ngmoco’s “We Rule” is a free game for the iPad (and iPhone/iPod touch). I’m told it is essentially Farmville (Facebook game) clone. Having never played Farmville myself, “We Rule” has, in my view, a lot in common with Twitter. Both products are extremely sticky. I’ve tried to quit playing “We Rule” a couple of time unsuccessfully. I keep coming back to it despite the fact that its servers are extremely unreliable (like Twitter) and its rules seem to change now and then (like Facebook).

“We Rule” is one of the quirkiest games I’ve ever played. For example, it has a social component. But, I’ve never been able to friend more than 3 other players. And, there doesn’t seem to be a way to remove a “friend” who is no longer active (and therefore deadwood from a virtual commerce point of view). Then, there’s the issue of the Magic Caulifower that appeared sometime around the time I hit the mid-teens level of play. This allowed a once a day harvest that provided a lot of experience points and gold. Unfortunately, it disappeared when I hit level 21 (or thereabouts). Tip: Consider buying and planting orange groves. Magic Cauliflowers reportedly reappear for those who get to level 40. That could take a long while, however.

Finally, there are three versions of “We Rule” for the iPhone (original, Red, and Gold) and two for the iPad (original and Gold). All versions are free. ngmoco charges for “Mojo”. But, I’ve never felt the need to spend actual money for it. I can’t figure out what is different between these versions after a quick read of their product descriptions.

Flaky, unreliable, randon rule changes. But, ultimately, it remains an entertaining casual game that keeps me and other returning to it day after day.

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