Tap Zoo Guide
The complete guide to the popular Pocket Gems game made for the iPhone/iPod Touch
Coins and Stars
You have two forms of payment in Tap Zoo: Coins and Stars.
Earning Coins
Coins can be earned as revenue in the game from animals and other rewards. There are several ways to earn coins in the game:
- Collecting revenue from Animals. Revenue can be collected whether the animal was puarchased, nursed or crossbred.
- Being awarded for leveling up. However, you need to have an A to be rewarded. A report card grade of B or below will get you nothing.
- Collecting trash from your zoo or your neighbors' zoos
- Healing animals from your neighbors' zoos. You won't get much from these last two, but if you're waiting, you might just as well gather some coins.
Tip: Reinvest your earnings. This may just be stating the obvious but you need to spend money to earn money. Just don't go buying useless stuff that has no return of invenstment such as decor.
Earning Stars
In contrast to being able to earn coins multiple ways in the game, stars can only be bought as an in-app purchase through your iTunes account - yes, for real money!
There are also occasional offers to sample Apps when you start up Tap Zoo, but these seem to be rare. When you do sample those apps, you may be awarded either stars or coins.
Tip: Never use stars to speed up the game. Whether you're waiting for a piece of land or for an egg to hatch, don't use up your stars, they will eventually cost "real" money. So here, time is defnitely money.
Tip: Use stars wisely. Review the Animal Chart in this guide to determine which Animals and Items to purchase using stars to generate the most revenue.
Tip: Although there aren't much free stars, you can gather enough to get either 4 Koalas (144 stars for 4) or 4 Peacocks (86 stars for 4). If you check the Animal Buying Guide, these generate large amounts of coins, giving you nearly 2 million coins per day for Koalas and another 2 million coins per day for Peacocks. Save your stars for these animals or consider buying them first. Peacocks are available at Level 15, Koalas are available at Level 21.
Purchasing Coins or Stars
If you're tired of trying to earn coins or just don't have the time, you can purchase a whole bunch with real money. Simply tap the Coins and Stars button to purchase as many coins and stars as your wallet will allow you.
Doing so not only speeds up the game, but enables you to purchase items using stars which cannot be earned in the game. The Phoenix for example costs 753 stars, and so far, Tap Zoo doesn't advertise enough free apps to try out to get that many stars.
Purchasing through the Coins and Stars option is what is called an "In-App Purchase". It still requires you to type in your iTunes password when purchasing, but beware that that your iPhone/iPod will remembers your password for 15 minutes after you have typed it in. This has been a problem for parents of children (or for the parents themselves) to not realize that once an app is downloaded on the device, other apps or in-app purchases can be made for 15 minutes without needing to re-enter the iTunes password.
Tip: Turn OFF in-app purchases if your iPhone or iPod is used by your children or if you never intend to purchase coins/stars in Tap Zoo. This will prevent you from accidentally purchasing coins or stars. To turn off in-app purchases follow these steps: Step 1: Tap your iPhone's/iPod's "Settings" App. Step 2: Select "General". Step 3: Select "Restrictions". Step 4 (Optional): Enter your passcode. Step 5: Select "Enable Restrictions". Step 6: Select "In-App Purchases" and ensure it is switched to "OFF".
Tip: Accidentally purchased the wrong animal with your hard-earned stars or coins? Just as long as you haven't exited the game yet, use the "Load" option in the "Others" menu to reload your zoo in the exact state when you last started or saved your game.