No one knows why she became famous, but she is, and you cannot not know her: Kim Kardashian. I follow Kanye Wests wife on Instagram, but I have never watched the tv-show Keeping Up With The Kardashians nor have I got her selfie book on my coffee table. However, Kim Kardashian is an intriguing woman, especially her mobile game that -according to developer Glu Mobile- has been good for a 200 million dollar revenue in just one year.

That game is called Kim Kardashian: Hollywood and it is all about trying to be as famous as possible. The fact that this game is so super popular is the main reason to try it, but the cool animation style also got me interested. It is cartoony, it is charming.. After downloading the free game I am happy to start off making my own character. The shape of the lips, the color of the eyes and of course the outfit: everything must be done to start the virtual friendship with Kim K as soon as possible.

Friends with Kim
When Kim came in the store where I sell clothes, we immediately became friends after I gave her some great advise about a piece of clothing. Giving her free stuff might also have helped, a friendship for life is born! Before I know it Kim invites me to a photoshoot and my character gets pulled into the modeling world. Not long afterwards Kim advises me to get an agent so I do not have to worry about getting new gigs. Before I know it, I am flying out to Florence to do a magazine shoot, while travelling back to Los Angeles three times for my birthday bash, a meeting with another agent and some more work in the clothing store. Great, but it is pretty tough on your fingers.

“Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap!” Thank the lord this mobile game Kim Kardashian: Hollywood only takes up a little time, because if it was different you might lose your finger tips. At all gigs you do, you will have to use energy. Those energy levels can be checked out in the special meter in the top of the screen, and they run out very swiftly. The effort you are making, such as waiting for the background of your photoshoot to be changed or making small talk with people during a press moment in a restaurant, is transferred into stars. Dependant on how much you tap and how much energy is left, you will get a certain amount of stars for the event.

Finish what you have started 
It is so annoying though! When you start something, you have to finish it, right? Well, that is exactly what this game is trying to keep you from doing. When your energy is gone, you will have to continue with the event after half an hour, when you have regained some energy (every five minutes you get one energypoint). As events can sometimes take a few hours, you might have to check your phone a few times before you can get the 5 stars that are needed to complete the event successfully. And as always, this is the reason why Kim Kardashian: Hollywood gets such extremely high amounts of dollars every darn second: you can pay for those energy points. But, as we say in Dutch, this is mopping the floor with the tap open, as the invested five euros are gone within a matter of minutes and those events keep on coming.

Another reason why it is difficult to understand why people keep on playing this game, is that it is very tough. People are talking trash about your outfits or your photo shoots on fake social media platforms, without you being able to really make a difference the next time. You just do you thing, get that 5 star score, but still the audience is not pleased with your tough tapping. And that is what it is all about: getting as many followers as possible and become an A list star. This game is useless; there is hardly any choice in what you can and can’t do and how your relationships with other people evolve. You are just living for all the events you have to go to, as you will need the money to buy clothing, invest in an apartment or to be able to travel to events. This game might be called Hollywood, you often fly to Miami, Florence and Las Vegas.

Gifts
I might come across a bit negative now, and I am, but it is not all as terrible as that moment when Kanye spoiled the award ceremony for Taylor Swift. Everyday you receive a piece of clothing or a different in-game gift from Kim and the game has a collection of clothing that enables you to make fun outfits. What I also really enjoy is how the game makes you pick on what type of gender you are into. I went on multiple dates with the very charming Michelle, but my character could still go out and flirt with guys. That should come natural in video games, and it does happen more often, but it is a positive sign that a huge and very well-known game like Kim Kardashian: Hollywood offers this sexuality thing as the norm.

Let me make it clear to you, I am amazingly good at playing apps that are totally useless: I’ve been playing Disney Tsum Tsum for almost a year and there were times when I was looking after an alien called Pou that seemed to be drawn with Paint. Kim Kardashian: Hollywood however, presents an annoying mix of not being in controle, constantly having to tap your screen (there is not much else to do) and getting judged with every step you take. If that is a reproduction of the glamourous life of a Kardashian, then I do not understand why the Kardashians would think this is an entertaining game.

Or, let’s put it differently: I do not get that other people find this game entertaining. Why do people play Kim Kardashian: Hollywood? Whyyy!? Worldwide this game has been played for over 35.000 years and the game has been started up over 3 billion times. I am going to remove this game from my phone asap, cause with my level 8 I already added too much time to this number. Back to the real world, where I have a steady number of social media followers, even when I am wearing jogging pants.