Pocket Mine [iOS/Android]

Enjoy casual games on your smartphone and/or tablet? Then you’re really going to ‘dig’ Pocket Mine. This free app has been sucking a good chunk of my time with the simple gameplay (consists solely of digging, digging, and more digging) and adorable characters. If the turns weren’t limited to a max of five at a time, I’d be on Pocket Mine 24/7!

Pocket Mine Goal & Gameplay

In Pocket Mine, you’re a little miner. Tap the screen where you want the miner to dig. The ultimate goal of the game is to dig as deep as possible before your pick breaks. To do this, you collect special booster cards, try to find power-ups, collect and trade-in artifacts, and use awarded funds to continually upgrade the pick.

• Characters
  There are several characters to choose from and each has a unique ability. Unfortunately, you need a lot of rubies to unlock these characters. With the rubies provided at the start of the game, I was only able to unlock two of them. I usually play as the goblin – he’s not the cutest miner but he doubles the cash I earn.

• Power-Ups
  As you dig, certain squares will reveal power-ups. Bombs, drills, health refills, gold, and crate radars are among some of the ones you’ll find. These power-ups will make digging go faster or be more profitable.
• Picks
  The pick can only be used so many times before it breaks. Upgrading the pick lets you get a few extra whacks out of it.
• Artifacts
  Sometimes you’ll run across an unmarked crate. These may contain collectable artifacts. These artifacts can later be exchanged for booster cards. You should be able to trade these with friends but more on that later.

• Booster Cards
  For each round, three booster cards are assigned. The cards vary in value and type and affect the power-ups you’ll encounter during that round’s dig. These can be shuffled if desired. Similar cards can be fused together to make them even more valuable/powerful. You’ll find these in treasure boxes or you can trade artifacts collections for them.

• Cash, Treasure Boxes/Keys, Rubies
  There are three types of currency in Pocket Mine. Cash is the one that easiest to accumulate and basically equates to your ‘points’ for any level. Cash is used to upgrade the pick, shuffle booster cards, and fuse booster cards. Keys are given if you complete the bonus goal for the level, such as breaking so many iron blocks. These are then used to unlock treasure boxes which can contain cash, special booster cards, or rubies (which is VERY rare). Rubies are the hardest to acquire aside from in-app purchases with real money. Rubies help you unlock characters, extend your digging depth, and pretty much everything else.

Social Aspect

One feature that I hope to see improved in the near future is how the app interacts with Facebook. By now it’s pretty apparent that people do not want their notifications full of game invites, nor do they want their profile wall plastered with newly achieved game badges. However, Pocket Mine developers somehow ‘missed the mem0’.

Instead of only challenging Facebook friends that already play the game, the app constantly requests for you to invite people and post on your wall. I get the fact that the development team would like more players but this is not the best way of getting them. The app also falls short in properly detecting connected friends that are already playing. That’s pretty sad when it comes to trying to beat their scores and trading treasures. You can also sign in with an Amazon account but that’s kind of buggy. If the social network connectivity is fixed, Pocket Mine’s popularity will really flourish.

Download Pocket Mine Now!

This free app is available for both Android and Apple devices and is appropriate for all ages. I love the graphics but the music can be grating on the nerves. I’d highly recommend silencing it and just adding in your own sounds effects when things blow up, at least that’s what I do 🙂

Pocket Mine is a super easy game that’s happy and kind of quirky. However, this casual game will be one you’ll be firing up again and again.