Thoroughbred World: A unique concept doesn't always equal a great game

Thoroughbred World on Facebook gives aspiring horse trainers of all ages the chance to grow, train and care for their very own horses, but the execution is severely flawed. The basic gameplay premise is fine, but simple, as players are allowed to build their very own horse ranch, complete with barns, cottages, horse pens and training facilities, and you'll complete a fairly basic quest series to learn more about these horses and help them grow. Everything else, though, falls completely flat.

From the game's user interface that covers up a third of the game's playing area to a store menu that will float in the background even after it's closed, the technical problems within Thoroughbred World are easily the game's biggest issues. Buttons may not respond after a first click, or the game will register that click as having been placed somewhere else on the screen entirely. When things do work, you're left with overlapping menus and blurry, basic graphics that do little to help matters. Finally, playing the game in fullscreen is a blurry mess, as the graphics are simply stretched and don't take advantage of actually being in full screen.

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The game's quests are incredibly routine, and the human character designs are mostly awful, so you'll likely dread finding out what they want you to accomplish. When you do get to take a break from the rest of gameplay to experience a mini-game (disguised as a training session for your horse), these are all too simplistic, asking you to move your mouse left or right to have the horse avoid barrels, make its way through checkpoints and so on. Another game might have you clicking your mouse in the middle of a power-meter, but this is far too little variety in an already far too simplistic game.

Rounding out the package is a horse care-taking simulation that allows you to groom your horses' coats, brush their tails or clear debris from their hooves. You can complete these tasks as often as you want, and the horse will simply become just as dirty within seconds, so the effort is rather pointless.

Ultimately, Thoroughbred World is an example of how not to make a Facebook game. Everything about the experience screams of rushed production and is the farthest thing from being user-friendly or entertaining. If you're incredibly interested in horses, you can now give the game a shot for free on Facebook, but really, there's no reason for you to do so.

Click here to play Thoroughbred World on Facebook --->

Have you tried Thoroughbred World on Facebook? What did you think of the game? Are there other, better horse themed games that you've played on Facebook? Sound off in the comments!