Viva Pinata (2006) is a strategy garden simulation where you tend and care for 60 different piñata animals. Play involves interacting with the Pinata themselves, but also creating the right environment to attract new creatures and helping them thrive. It stands out for the simple joy of gardening, only here it's about creating environments that suit different animals rather than plants.

You work to make the garden a perfect home for you Pinata with a range of gardening tools to plough, sow seeds, create ponds and sculpt the land. Do this well and more animals will appear, who in turn need nurturing to be happy and to procreate.

As you progress you realise not all the animals live in harmony. Also, to procreate and multiply they need certain conditions to be met. You also need to deal with predatory intruders who foil your plans and make life uncomfortable for your Pinata.

The result is an endearing game about pet care and the lived environment. It's simple enough for young players to enjoy, but also has a deep complexity that requires long-term planning if you want to see the really rare Pinata.

Our examiner, Andy Robertson, first checked Viva Pinata 3 years ago. It was re-examined by Jo Robertson and updated 2 weeks ago.