Happy Tails Animal Shelter (**** out of four) is a children’s simulation game that lets players have fun and at the same time learn about how to take care of animals. Players take on the role of a person who works at an animal shelter and are introduced to several types of animals, ranging from guinea pigs and hamsters to dogs, cats and horses. While the animals are at the shelter, they need to fed and groomed, get whatever type of exercise they need and receive treatment for any illnesses. Your character will need to check on the animals and nurse them back to health if they’re sick but will also have time to play with the animals, cuddle and have fun with them. Another part of your work is to be sure that the animals are placed in a suitable home when they’re ready to leave the shelter.

To play the game, just enter your name, and then use the cursor to walk your character around the animal shelter to become familiar with the surroundings. The shelter is a colorful place that has life-like indoor and outdoor facilities, an office and examining room, a library and a break room where you can rest or get something to eat. You need to take care of yourself as well as the animals, so you need to stop to rest and to eat during the day.

As you walk around, you may see an animal in a kennel. If you click on the clipboard attached to the kennel, you’ll find information about that animal. After reading the information, you decide whether this animal needs someone to play with it, brush it, or treat it for an illness. Plenty of help is available if the animal is sick: there’s a library with an encyclopedia filled with interesting and fun information about each type of animal, and a wise professor can also help you with treatment. The professor may also assign you a special task and evaluate your progress along the way. The attention and care you give the animals will reflect your standing at the shelter, so you need to be sure animals get whatever they need, but you can’t forget to take care of yourself while you’re there either.

The game includes fun activities and also has interesting information about the animals. The encyclopedia lists seven animal types and several categories of facts about each type of animal, such as nutrition and care, behavior, exercise requirements and type of home most suitable for them. For example, Bugs Bunny notwithstanding, rabbits don’t tolerate fresh vegetables well at all; what they actually need is a lot of hay and a small amount of rabbit food. Other information helps players discover which animals are good apartment dwellers, which ones need to be outdoors often, need a large outdoor area for exercise and much more.

The game is fun to play, and the animals and surroundings are appealing. A help menu is at hand to show players the activities and options available. Animal Shelter will appeal to children who enjoy seeing and playing with cute animals while learning some interesting and fun facts about them too.