A garden that attracts animals
JardinMagic was released in 2008 as a game you played in your browser, in French, English and Spanish. It billed itself as the first online gardening simulation. Players ranked in a top list, talked on a forum, and voted for the animals that would arrive next.
The garden kept growing
Over the years, new animals arrived, some of them chosen by the community in a vote. By the end, more than 120 could find their way into your garden.
The original video
A look at the original game in action.
From the archive
The website wore two looks over the years, and the game itself was never far.
The farm: a windmill, tulips and a donkey. The blossom grove: a panda under cherry trees. The savanna: an elephant, zebras and palm trees. Dusk on the savanna. A river between rows of tulips. The forest: a bear, a deer and mushrooms.
The idea was simple
You made your garden, and your garden attracted animals. You prepared the ground (grass, sand, water or earth), planted with a shovel, watered with a can, cleaned with a rake, and checked every plant's gauges with a magnifying glass. Time ran much faster than in real life, with days, nights and the occasional rain. Each animal needed certain plants, sometimes even certain objects, before it decided to come. If it felt at home it stayed until the end of its life, or became food for a bigger animal.
Animals are not bought. They choose to come!
« Les animaux ne s’achètent pas, ils choisissent de venir ! »
JardinMagic is the cycle of life within reach.
« JardinMagic, c’est le cycle de la vie à votre portée ! »
From the original's how-to-play page, 2009
From 2008 to today
The new JardinMagic keeps the idea of creating a garden that attracts life, but rebuilds it as a living ecosystem where animals have their own needs and behaviors.
Make your garden and it attracts animals.
Build an ecosystem and discover what chooses to live there.
The idea that animals choose to come was already written on the original's how-to-play page. It has been waiting ever since.