Most idle collection games ask for an app download, an account, and eventually a subscription just to keep hoarding pixelated creatures. Animal Game skips all of that. It runs entirely inside the Shortcuts app, tracking a growing menagerie of 107 animals through nothing but taps, timers, and the occasional QR code trade with a friend.
Inside the shortcut
Open the shortcut and you land on an eight-option Main Menu: Go Hunting, View Animals, Go to Shop, Game Completion Progress, View History, Gifts, Settings, and Show Guide. Hunting is the core loop. Tap it and the shortcut rolls a random number to decide whether you walk away empty-handed, catch an animal from one of four rarity classes, or stumble onto a cash chest, and whichever outcome lands, a cooldown starts before you can hunt again.
The Shop is where the collecting turns into strategy: claim a daily reward that grows the longer you keep a streak alive, buy or sell animals for cash, or pay an escalating fee to refresh what’s on offer.
Installing it
- Tap Add Shortcut on this page to open Animal Game in the Shortcuts app.
- Scroll the preview to the bottom and tap Add Shortcut again to confirm.
- Run the shortcut once so it can set up your save data. Animal Game reads and writes through the Files app, so allow access when it’s requested.
- Turn on Hunt Reminders in Settings afterward if you want the Reminders app to nudge you the moment a cooldown ends.
Putting it to work
Every session still opens at the Main Menu. View Animals sorts your collection by class and catch date, with a small price tag icon marking anything currently sitting in the Shop. Gifts covers trading: generate a QR code so a friend can scan it to receive animals or cash, or save that code to Photos and send it however you’d normally share a picture. Game Completion Progress keeps a running tally toward all 107 animals, and Settings holds the Hunt Reminders toggle plus a full game reset.
FAQ
Do I actually need the Reminders app for this to work?
Only if you switch on Hunt Reminders in Settings. Leave that toggle off and Animal Game runs fine without ever touching Reminders.
What happens if I hunt again before my cooldown’s up?
The shortcut just tells you you’re too tired and shows the exact time left, so nothing about your progress gets docked for trying early.
Can I lose animals I’ve already caught?
Only by selling them yourself in the Shop, or by running Reset Game in Settings, which wipes your whole collection, cash, and history at once.
Is the in-game money tied to my Apple ID or a card somehow?
No, it’s a self-contained currency that only exists to buy, sell, and refresh animals inside Animal Game, with no connection to any real payment account.
