Tiny Tower

-1.67
Slightly Bad
Price: Free
Ads: Unknown
In App Purchases: Yes

iOS App Store

Temporal Dark PatternsTemporal Dark Patterns

This game has 45 reported Temporal Dark Patterns. There are 18 votes indicating the absence of a dark pattern.

-2.96

9 votes
Daily Rewards -
9 / 0 votes
Encourages return visits every day and punishes you for missing a day.

9 votes
Wait To Play -
9 / 0 votes
In-game timers that make you arbitrarily wait for something.

8 votes
1 votes
Infinite Treadmill -
8 / 1 votes
Impossible to win or complete the game.

7 votes
2 votes
Grinding -
7 / 2 votes
Being required to perform repetitive and tedious tasks to advance.

7 votes
2 votes
Advertisements -
7 / 2 votes
Forced to watch ads or given rewards for watching ads.

4 votes
5 votes
Playing by Appointment -
4 / 5 votes
Being forced to play according to the game's schedule instead of yours.

1 votes
8 votes
Can't Pause or Save -
1 / 8 votes
The game does not allow you to stop playing whenever you want.

Monetary Dark PatternsMonetary Dark Patterns

This game has 44 reported Monetary Dark Patterns. There are 49 votes indicating the absence of a dark pattern.

-1.17

9 votes
Premium Currency -
9 / 0 votes
Exchange rate between real money and in-game currency disguises the real price of items.

9 votes
Pay to Skip -
9 / 0 votes
Spend money to avoid waiting for a timer to expire.

6 votes
3 votes
Artificial Scarcity -
6 / 3 votes
Limited time offers with unnecessary urgency.

6 votes
3 votes
Anchoring Tricks -
6 / 3 votes
Placing a cheap item next to an expensive item to make it look more affordable.

4 votes
4 votes
Recurring Fee -
4 / 4 votes
Encourages players to play as much as possible to get their money's worth.

4 votes
5 votes
Pay to Win -
4 / 5 votes
A player can spend real money to purchase something that gives them an advantage in the game.

3 votes
5 votes
Gambling / Loot Boxes -
3 / 5 votes
Spending real money to play a game of chance for a reward.

2 votes
5 votes
Accidental Purchases -
2 / 5 votes
Making it easy to accidentally spend money with no confirmation or ability to undo or refund the action.

1 votes
8 votes
Waste Aversion -
1 / 8 votes
Capped inventory forces you to destroy items or upgrade inventory. Also, having small amounts of left over premium currency.

7 votes
Power Creep -
0 / 7 votes
A permanently purchased item in the game becomes less valuable over time.

9 votes
Pay Wall -
0 / 9 votes
The game becomes impossible to continue playing without payment.

Social Dark PatternsSocial Dark Patterns

This game has 21 reported Social Dark Patterns. There are 41 votes indicating the absence of a dark pattern.

-0.24

5 votes
4 votes
Reciprocity -
5 / 4 votes
Feeling obligated to return a favor, share resources, trade an item, etc.

5 votes
4 votes
Fear of Missing Out -
5 / 4 votes
If you stop playing you'll miss out on something or be left behind and unable to catch up.

4 votes
5 votes
Social Pyramid Scheme -
4 / 5 votes
You get a bonus for inviting your friends and then they have to invite their friends.

3 votes
6 votes
Social Obligation / Guilds -
3 / 6 votes
To avoid letting down your friends, you are obligated to play when you don't want to.

2 votes
6 votes
Friend Spam / Impersonation -
2 / 6 votes
The game sends spam to your contact list or social media account.

2 votes
7 votes
Competition -
2 / 7 votes
The game makes you compete against other players.

9 votes
Encourages Anti-Social Behavior -
0 / 9 votes
The game incentivizes players to lie, cheat, or backstab other players to get ahead.

Psychological Dark PatternsPsychological Dark Patterns

This game has 29 reported Psychological Dark Patterns. There are 30 votes indicating the absence of a dark pattern.

-1.31

8 votes
1 votes
Invested / Endowed Value -
8 / 1 votes
Having already spent time and money to improve your status in the game, it's difficult to throw it away.

6 votes
3 votes
Badges / Endowed Progress -
6 / 3 votes
Reluctancy to abandon a partially completed goal, even one forced upon the player.

5 votes
4 votes
Complete the Collection -
5 / 4 votes
The urge to collect all the items, achievements or secrets in a game.

5 votes
4 votes
Variable Rewards -
5 / 4 votes
Unpredictable or random rewards are more addictive than a predictable schedule.

4 votes
4 votes
Aesthetic Manipulations -
4 / 4 votes
Trick questions or toying with emotions or our subconscious desires.

1 votes
6 votes
Illusion of Control -
1 / 6 votes
The game cheats or hides information to make you think you're better than you actually are.

8 votes
Optimism and Frequency Biases -
0 / 8 votes
Overestimating the frequency of something because we’ve seen it recently or memorably.

App Store Ratings

iOS:  (4.50) with 434,778 votes.



Recent Dark Pattern Reviews

Wait To Play reported on Oct 20, 2023
There are more and more of these over the years, things that populate every 10 minutes to every eight hours to once a day or once a week.
Competition reported on Oct 20, 2023
There seems to be no longer a sense that one must have a taller tower than others, but definitely a competition for most "Bux", most "Legendary Bitizens" (long-term and/or expensive), and most "Golden Tickets", which are all either an incentive to play constantly or spend real money.
Fear of Missing Out reported on Oct 20, 2023
There is a small thing to miss out on literally every 30 seconds in the game, and larger things a few times an hour and hourly, every hour, along with other, longer-term items, rarely offered for more than 24 hours.
Aesthetic Manipulations reported on Oct 20, 2023
The main thing is the "ta-da" sounds for accomplishing something or buying something.
Anchoring Tricks reported on Oct 20, 2023
The top purchase price for the many in-game currencies/perks is outlandish, so it makes the lower-priced one look enticing, and then there are items that can be periodically "purchased" with fewer "Bux", which affects decisions to take offers NOW, and there are many ad "opportunities" to get a paltry few of these, which makes watching offensive, inane, or violent ads seem more palatable.
Variable Rewards reported on Oct 20, 2023
There are now daily and weekly tasks that award small amounts of in-game currencies for doing more of the thing you were already doing. It feels important to finish these now.
Complete the Collection reported on Oct 20, 2023
They added "Legendary Bitizens" a couple of years ago, and I'm still far from completing those collections, even playing for hours daily (unless I spend money), and now they're hinting that they'll be adding more soon. A lot of people, including me, find them irritating (they're in the way in your tower), but many are still spending big money to complete their collections. There are also seven extra towers you can build to earn extra points and such, and I'm sure there will be more of those.
Badges / Endowed Progress reported on Oct 20, 2023
There are really only badges for one-time achievements, but they take enough time to acquire to get one hooked on the game.
Reciprocity reported on Oct 20, 2023
You can and are often expected to send "Bitizens" to your friends, and your visits to their towers earn both you and the friend an in-game currency amount.
Gambling / Loot Boxes reported on Oct 20, 2023
There is more and more of this, but it's couched in in-game currencies that you can only get by grinding or being on constantly or spending real money.


Report a Dark Pattern

Screenshot Tiny Tower lets you build a tiny tower and manage the businesses and bitizens that inhabit it!



- Make money to build new types of floors and attract bitizens to live and work inside.

- Special events and VIP visitors will earn you special perks as you build your tower towards the clouds.

- Customize the look and placement of each floor and the bitizens that live in them, and upgrade your elevator.

- Game Center integration to let you see your friends towers, back up your game and earn awards.

- See what is on your bitizens' minds by peeking at the "BitBook" virtual social network for your tower!