Did anyone ever play furry-paws ? I know, the name is off-putting. It is not about furries, though.

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It is a website / play and click game that involved you being a dog breeder and having dogs that you could breed and then train in specific sports that the breed you chose was good at (or any sport, really).

It is quite immersive and complex- for a play and click game online, I found it quite fascinating when i first came across it as a teenager.

Pleasantly, it is still around today. It teaches you (interestingly enough) about real life dog genetics and dog breeds. There is even a mini game on the site that is a dog genotype/phenotype trivia quiz styled game.

To add to the idea of the importance of genetics, furry-paws has its own system that it uses to show you the quality of the dogs genetics by rating the Hips, Eyes, Ears, etc.

The range of the health markers each dog has in its description goes from poor-fair-good-excellent. Excellent being what you are effectively striving for in each dog you produce.

I love anything that has to do with genetics, especially phenotype and genotype. I am not an expert on the subject, but the topic genuinely amazed me as a child and it still intrigues me now.

[random tangent besides the topic at hand] I watch fancy mice genetics videos for fun on youtube, my favorite channel being Cardamom Mousery the owner has a relatively small youtube channel but she has so much knowledge on mouse genetics (I don't even own any fancy mice, though I used to lol).

Anyway,

The goal was to get dogs with only "good" and "excellent" health ratings, along with rare coat colors.

All 'excellent' traits is considered a well-bred dog. You still have to look at the genetics with a magnifying lens for dogs rated "perfect" all throughout, though, because sometimes it is a matter of dominant genes expressing themselves in a certain way, and the quality of the dog might be lower than perceived (If I remember correctly, the genes that determine quality in furry-paws were the 'Hh' genes).

If you decided to compare two dogs of the same breed with all excellent traits, one would most likely come out on top in terms of genetics, despite both showing all "excellent" traits.

The depth to the game is what makes it so fun and easy to come back to. I have been playing it for years on and off. Admittingly I forget to play for years at a time but I come back to it when I remember. This is a game you play for ten, fifteen minutes at a time each day. It gives you a routine if you have school work for example. And something that I would look forward to after schook work growing up, and in college, after completing canvas assignments.

Yes, adults can play this game and not be too bored, (if they like the topic of genetics and dogs) at the same time, it can be played by kids.

A superficial layer of the game is easily understandable while the more complex side still connects itself with the more superificial details (if that makes any sense).

To get better pedigree lines, you have to breed high quality dogs with high quality dogs. Anyone can understand that, which is what makes the several layers of depth to the game very engaging when you eventually get to them.

It has a small community of like minded people, and there are a substantial amount of dog breeds to choose from. There is a forum where you can also converse with other players, either about topics in game or about life.

In the game, since you are a dog breeder, you are presented with a kennel. Your kennel has to be leveled up with time, either by you training your dogs and winning in competitions (to earn money) or various other side quests that you can do that level you up and make you money at the same time. The first time you play you pick your dog of choice, but you can buy any dog breed at any time,so long as you have the space and the money.

There are different 'jobs' thag your kennel can specialize in, which means you get bonuses in those sections when you eventually interact with them in the game. Selections such as veterinary, sports, or even breeding. The latter simply giving you the ability to produce better quality dogs to sell to other players or to continue your line.

What do you think? Would you play this game? Or have you before?