Humane Society enlists Fluff Friends on the iOS to save real pets

Back in 2008, Mike Sego's Fluff Friends was one of the most popular games on Facebook. It changed hands several times, passing to Social Gaming Network, and then Mindjolt when the latter acquired SGN last April. It was Mindjolt SGN's decision to finally close Fluff Friends last month, citing technical issues with Facebook code changes that made it impossible for the game to run without "an entire rebuild from the ground up."

Before they shut it down, however, Inside Social Games reported that Mindjolt SGN planned to port Fluff Friends to the iOS. Now the popular Facebook game is back from the dead, but with a makeover and a new purpose -- to aid the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) in their fight for animal welfare as "Fluff Friends Rescue".

This isn't the first time an animal advocacy group is enabling charity with a social game. Australia's Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) commissioned a game called RSPCA Animal Shelter last May with a very similar concept. In Fluff Friends Rescue, if you buy a HSUS-branded item with real money, you can guarantee that all of it will go towards HSUS' Animal Rescue Team.

You can grab Fluff Friends Rescue for free at the App Store, and according to AppAdvice, it's a lot of fun. (The only downside is there's a major bug that can cause the game to crash every 30 seconds for the 4th generation iPod Touch.) Mindjolt SGN also plans to make the game available on the Android and other social networks, which means Fluff Friends Rescue might just appear on Facebook. Final plans for the game will include Petfinder, a feature that will allow players to search for pet adoptions and buy real world pet merchandise.

Are you one of hundreds mad that Mindjolt SGN gave up on Fluff Friends on Facebook to focus on an iOS version? Does it make you feel better to hear that this new iOS game promotes a good cause? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment