“Everyone in my office is playing this game now,” a Beijing worker says on WeChat. The Japanese mobile game titled “Traveling Frog” (旅行青蛙／旅かえる) has become a hype in China over the past week and a much-discussed topic on both Wechat and Weibo.
The game, designed by the Japanese video game developer Hit Point, was already issued in November 2017 but did not gain widespread attention in China until late January. Traveling Frog is now dominating the online mobile gaming charts.
The app is characterized by its unique design and revolves around a frog who lives in a stone cave and goes on frequent trips. Players of the game have to make sure his bag is properly packed with food. Once he goes traveling, the frog comes back with local delicacies and snapshots of his adventures.
The fact that the game itself is not very exciting, is part of its charm; many players appreciate its slow pace and cute style. Somewhat similar to the Japanese Tamagotchi which became a worldwide craze in the late 1990s, the Traveling Frog needs to be named, fed and taken care of. The frog has a ‘life’ of its own – players sometimes have to wait hours before their pet frog returns from one of his trips.
When he is not traveling, the frog likes to read in his bedroom attic. In order to purchase food and handy items for their little friend, players have to clear the garden of its wild-growing clovers.
On Chinese social media, people share their frog’s snapshots and adventures. For many, the frog is their ‘digital pet’. Some are worried that their frog might be lonely and wonder why some people’s frogs do make new friends on their travels (returning with group photos), while others only do solo travel. “What am I doing wrong?”, one player wonders.
The game is both out on Android and iOs. It is not yet available in English, but it can be found under its Japanese “Tabi Kaeru” (“旅かえる”) name.
By Manya Koetse
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