My daughter, D'Ella, gave me a three-story, mixed-used building for Christmas. I wasn't expecting it -- after all, she is only 11. In addition to a casino, the building houses a barber shop, photo studio, hat shop, coffee house and 10 residents of the Plainlake Apartments. The casino is a worry to me, though, but it brings in some good coin.
And D'Ella has proved to be a good manager. We've celebrated birthdays with some of the tenants and she has added five floors to the building in the past week - in fact, it has become a 'Tiny Tower.'
In case, you haven't figured it out by now, Tiny Tower is an iPhone game. And judging from the loyal following the game is attracting, it's more fun to be a landlord today than ever.
Even though Tiny Tower doesn't appear in the top smart phone game downloads charts, Apple last month named this addictive 8-bit-style game its iPhone Game of the Year.
Tiny Tower puts you in charge of a residential or business block of towers; you can build and furnish additional floors to attract "bitizens" (residents) and then manage their daily affairs. It's that interaction with the residents and their needs that make the game so popular.
When the game was introduced last summer by NimbleBit LLC, more than 1 million people downloaded the game and started playing in the first four days. By August, it had grown to 4.5 million players.
Judging by the throng of people playing and chatting about it online, the experience of being a landlord appears to closely match the real-life experience, with all the exhilaration and exhaustion that comes with the responsibility.
AnthonyPaul tweets: 75 bux to get the second elevator upgrade is gonna take patience and discipline. Approaching 25 stories.
Emma Pemberton tweets: #tinytower is taking over my life.
John Talerico III tweets: I've been up for 2 hours. I've been playing tiny tower and cussing at myself for not being asleep.
Tweeter Lights writes: Can't help the incessant ache that the world will collapse if my Tiny Tower doesn't get constant restocking.
Nadia asks: One of my Bitizens keeps getting questioned by the police, should I be worried?
Pete Huge tweets: #TinyTower may be killing me.
Kira Walker tweets: I'm growing tired of Tiny Tower, it is becoming a chore.
However, unlike real life, the exit strategy for owning a Tiny Tower tower is much simpler.
Joel Dueck tweets: Had to delete tiny tower after 1.5 days. It was starting to control my thought life.
Or better yet, if the life of a landlord is not for you, follow Conor James advice:
If you have a life, I recommend not downloading tiny tower. Soooo freaking addicting.
Keep up weekly on national news, trends and property leads with the Watch List Newsletter, a weekly pdf that includes other news and leads not found on the CoStar Group web news pages.
Sign up for the Watch List E-Mail Alert. A new issue is published late each Wednesday