If you want to play a really, REALLY popular game, follow in the footsteps of millions of gamers and check out Pet Society. It centers around creating your own virtual pet and then rising through many levels to succeed in a spectacular way. There are, of course, ways to ‘cheat’ in this virtual world and we will discuss two of these … but they’re 100% legal so there’s no danger of being banned from the game.

Your first step is to create your own pet, your avatar, who will represent you in the Pet Society world. There are a myriad of choices which will result in some wild looking pets (have you ever seen pink or purple animals?) It’s important to be thoughtful about your creation because you will be taking care of your little darling and it’s important that you like your critter. If you don’t, you’ll be more likely to quit the game.

Once you have your pet, don’t even think about retreating to your home and living a life of isolation. To ‘win’ in Pet Society you will need to accumulate points and money and you can’t do that without interacting with other pets and their owners. This IS a social interaction game after all and there are many rewards for being friendly.

There are a lot of places to go in Pet Society. For instance, if you love tools and ‘toys’, drop in at the Gadget shop. If you love sporting events hang out at the Stadium and if your hair is a bit shaggy, don’t forget the Beauty Salon. Your precious pet is, naturally, welcome everywhere even in places where animals aren’t normally allowed.

In every computer game there are challenges and obstacles to advancement and Pet Society is no exception. Currently there are a total of 47 levels and, naturally, all new players must start at the very bottom with nothing. If you acquire enough points you can move up in the game all the way to the exalted spot of ‘Ruby Super Pet’, the top of the heap and the highest level of the game. Before getting too excited, though, know that a massive number of points is required: 420,000! If you want to be a Pet Society Super Star it’s obvious that acquiring points must be your #1 priority. That’s the way to move fast.

Since scooping up points is so important, it’s smart to take shortcuts whenever you can. It’s always possible to learn the hard way – though experience – but that involves time and a heap of mistakes. Successful players who have played superbly have shared ‘cheats’ that are totally legal but will help you move up through the levels much faster.

#1: The coveted currency in Pet Society is ‘Paw Prints’ and you can grab large number of these in the Mystery Shop. Once you and your pet arrive, purchase some Effect Away potions. Take these home and have your pet drink them because you will receive 17 Paw Prints for every potion (s)he drinks. And don’t worry about your pet’s health because these potions are harmless so allow him to drink as many as you can afford. It’s a shortcut to lots of Pet Society money.

You can always earn extra money by cleaning dirty pets. It may not sound inviting but it’s easy and lucrative. So take your pet and go wandering around the shops and public buildings, searching for dirty, yucky pets who could use a bath. They’re easy to spot because they’re surrounded by flies! There is a Soap icon on your screen so click it and clean off the poor fly-tortured pets. Then, repeat by clicking on your Refresh button – and the pets will be filthy again. You can repeat your cleaning and make even more money. Keep this up until you’re tired of cleaning pets.

These are just of the ways to wrack up lots of Pet Society points. But it brings a dilemma … will you spend your money on the many luxuries offered by the game, or will you ferociously save to rise up the levels? The stores and shops offer an enticing array of goodies and they change every week so there are always new temptations. But those kinds of choice are what make this game so much fun!

In case you are not thinking about gaining a lot of Pet Society money, you should not play mainly because you will definitely never be a Pet Society master.