vBonsai
vBonsai is a tree simulator. As with other
simulation games, the goal of the game is left up to the player.
Keeping your tree alive is a requirement but your secondary goal
is your choice. This can be shaping the tree to your whim,
obtaining the highest score, or just keeping it alive as long as
you can.
The game's year starts at 1610AD as it is thought
that the oldest living Bonsai tree known was under cultivation no
later that that year. It is believed that the Sandai Shogun No
Mastu, part of the Japanese Imperial collection, is the oldest
living Bonsai.

Can you keep your tree alive until present day?
Game Play

This is the TOOL button. Once a lock is
established on a cell of your tree, you can actuate the tool
indicated in the picture.

This is the SCHEDULE button. It will show a menu
there the frequency of watering and fertilizer application can be
set as well as how long the tree will age when you tap the GO
button. This menu will disappear after a few seconds by itself.

This is the GO button. Your tree will grow when
you tap GO. How long it will grow per tap is set in the menu
accessed by the SCHEDULE button.

This is the GAUGE. It indicates the status of the
tree. S for STRESS, W for WATER, F for FERTILIZER.
STRESS goes down as the tree grows unhindered and
up as it is trimmed or shaped. The STRESS at the mid-line of the
GAUGE causes the tree to grow the most. WATER usage is based on
the size of the tree and the season. More heat in the summer means
more evaporation. Control moisture with the WATER frequency in the
SCHEDULE menu. Too much or too little WATER hurts the tree. Marks
on the W portion of the GAUGE indicate levels to avoid. Maximum
growth occurs when the F GAUGE is maxed but anything higher than
75% burns the tree. So it will vary efficiently grow dead foliage
thereby effecting the over all health of the tree.

This is the POINTER. Use the tip of it to select
branches for pruning or shaping. When the tip is close to a cell
of the tree, the POINTER will establish a lock on the cell
indicated by a small RED circle and the TOOL button will turn
GREEN. Tap the TOOL button for effect.
Tips
Dead foliage must be trimmed off before they will grow again.
Dead foliage that is allowed to stay on the tree damages the health
of the tree.
Trees
that don't have enough foliage will die.
The larger the tree, the more WATER and FERTILIZER is required to
keep it alive. Trim the tree to manage intake of those resources.
A double tap on the TOOL button that indicates the SNIPS will
stop that branch from growing back. Trim it back a little further
with one tap to get it the grow again.
Be sure your
GAUGEs are stable before you allow the tree to grow
for a decade at a time. If you accidentally tapped GO and the tree
is growing a whole decade out of control, quickly tap the SCHEDULE
button and change the time to grow to a month and the growing till
stop.
If
your tree mysteriously starts to die when the GAUGE shows levels
within normal parameters, then it is too big. The tree is planted in
a pot that can only support small trees. In real bonsai care, this
would mean the pot is rootbound and you would trim the roots. In
this game, you just need to trim the branches and keep your tree
small.
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