Tamagotchis, Pokemon, and Furbies are three famous examples of virtual pets that we can’t manage to get enough of.
Consider the no-cost Touchbar Pets app if you want a virtual pet but don’t have a MacBook equipped with an integrated Touch Bar on your laptop. You just need just a few steps to get the pet and then use its Touch Bar to walk, feed, or engage with it.
Here’s how you can get active Touchbar Pets, as well as the best way to adopt your very first pet.
How to get Touchbar Pets?
Download the app from the developer’s website.
1. Visit the Touchbar Pets homepage and click the blue “Download” button.
Touchbar Pets is free to download. Ahhzo; skitching by William Antonelli/Insider
2. Save the .zip file to your computer, and then double-click it to extract the “Touchbar Pets” app.
3. Open the app and press “Play.”
Click “Play” to get started. William Antonelli/Insider
4. You’ll be given two options: “Adopt Pet” and “Existing Pets.” Click adopt to make a new pet. Once you’ve adopted a pet and closed the app, you can come back later and click “Existing” to see the pet again.
5. In the “Adopt Pet” menu, you can give your pet a name, pick its species (you can have a dog, cat, rabbit, or hamster), and pick its color (white, cream, black, or brown).
Click “Create,” and you’re ready to start.
Design your pet and then create it. William Antonelli/Insider
6. You will be navigated to the main menu, and a tutorial will appear. Click through it to learn how the game plays, or check out our guide below.
How to play Touchbar Pets?
After the tutorial, your new pet will appear in the Touch Bar, along with four different stats.
- Health tracks how close your pet is to death. If you go too long without feeding it, this will go down, and eventually hit zero.
- Hunger tracks if your pet needs food. Letting this drop makes your pet less healthy.
- Tokens are the currency in Touchbar Pets. Earn them by taking your pet on walks, and spend them on food, toys, and other collectibles.
- Mode tells you how you can currently interact with your pet. “Design” lets you place props in its habitat, “Eat” lets you feed it, and “Play” lets you give it toys.
On the menu at top, there is an inventory of six slots and five choices below it. Each one has their own purpose and significance.
The main menu offers five choices. William Antonelli/Insider
Shop
Here’s where you’ll use the money you earn. You can purchase food, accessories for your animal’s home as well as toys. Each animal has its individual preferences and dislikes. Make sure you go through the description of each item.
Each item is described as a prince. William Antonelli/Insider
It’s important to note that toys and food are for single-use only. Once your pet plays with them, they’ll vanish, and you’ll need to purchase them again.
If your pet is killed and you want to pay 150 tokens, purchase the “RevivePotion,” which will return it to fully healthy.
Walk
Most users spend the most time in this interactive section. Press and hold your finger on the opposite side of the animal’s habitat to stroll around for a specific time (you can choose from “Short,” “Average,” and “Long”). Throughout the stroll, keep your fingers on the Touch Bar.
After completing the walk, you’ll be awarded tokens for $50, $100, or $200, based on the walk’s distance. Complete the entire walk to receive the prize, which is only handed out at the end.
You have the chance to uncover hidden treasures on the route. There is a 50% chance of finding a treasure chest every 250m and obtaining a gift by tapping the treasure box. There’s also the possibility that you’ll encounter trash that might or might not be filled with treasure after wiping it.
Pen
This option puts you in “Design” mode and lets you embellish your pet’s surroundings with different things.
Click on an item in your inventory, and then tap on an area within the habitat to position it in design mode. It’s crucial to keep in mind that none of the props is important; they’re only intended to make the environment look cute.
Mode
The “Mode” button has two icons that you can select through a simple click.
The game is currently in the “Eat” setting when the icon for eating appears on your keyboard. With this function, you can select a specific food item from the menu and select anywhere in the environment to place it in the desired location. If your pet spots it, he’ll rush to it and eat the food. As you’d expect, this is the method to ensure that your pet’s appetite and health are in-check.
When the tennis ball symbol is selected, you can switch to “Play” mode. The pet will come to you when you choose an item from the collection and then tap it to put it down. They will examine the toy and engage in play.