I do find this game cute, but there seems to be a lot less to do than in the VV series. There were 16 puzzles in each of the VV series, but in this game I have:

--Figured out how to fix leaky appliances
--Figured out how to fix flaming applicances
--Figured out how to water the flowers
--Figured out how to fix the birdbath, the walls and the floors

and there doesn't seem to be a lot more figuring out to do, although if there is, I'd love someone to tell me.

I've made my people pick up all the socks & wrappers, pull all the weeds and clean up all the dirty spots. I've trained them to work, to sleep, and to not spend too much time watching television. Trying to micro-manage them just irritates them and isn't much fun for me.

A few times a day, I open up VF, have 'em pick up any weeds/socks/wrappers/dirty spots/lost TV remotes, buy food if they need it, check the store for fixing supplies, check e-mail if there is any (usually taxes, professional fees, spam or library fees) and then close VF again.

Am I missing something? Or is this all there is? I mean, it's cute, but once it's set up, it's a 5-10 minutes/day game.

I feel like the real pleasure in this game is watching your people grow up. Watching what happens in simulated real life. It's not hard to figure things out, no, but I can watch my little family growing and learning for hours.

Well, they're growing -- the kids are getting bigger, the parents are getting older and eventually grayer. The adults are filling up their career bars towards promotions, but I don't see any real change in their behaviors. The 2 year old and the 17 year olds all play computer games, board games and play with the toys. Yeah, the older kids do homework which the younger ones don't, but it doesn't change the rest of their behavior, and the change happens so slowly that as mentioned, 5-10 minutes/day seems like plenty.

It feels more like something you watch than something you play.

Again, I'm not unhappy with it, exactly, I'm just trying to figure out if there's anything else I can do beyond watch them.

If you set the younger kids on the desk in the kids bedroom, they will also study/do homework.

Also, have you worked on the collections at all? That's one main reason I keep mine open.

Yeah, I've got a few things collected, but the collectibles don't appear often enough to keep me looking constantly. I just take a look around when I open up the game. And unlike in some of the VV games where you desperately need food in the early game sometimes, they don't help in any immediate sense.

This won't answer your question, but I hope you can help me with mine. You've fixed the bird bath? I can't figure that one out, can you give me some advice?

There's something in the store that you have to buy before you can fix the birdbath. If you look at the items for sale, it'll be pretty obvious what it is, and if you don't see anything that's obviously for fixing a broken bird bath, you need to wait 'til the store refreshes.

Once you've got the item, think about how you lifted heavy objects in the virtual villagers games.

I'm feeling along the same lines as you folks. This game is kind of boring. Hope they hurry up with VV4.