When you first look at Moshi Monsters there should be something that stands out to you above and beyond almost all other youth-orientated social worlds -- the consistently excellent art. Reminiscent of the work of Pete Fowler or designer vinyl toys, it's instantly pleasing and attractive, with clear crossover potential outside of its intended market. After all, I don't think I'd have spent so much time looking after my monster if I wasn't simply captivated by the way he looks.

If you'll have an initial reservation, it's got to be the limited customization of your monster. With only 64 color combinations per monster there isn't a lot of space to be completely unique in the world, but with luck that will be expanded on greatly for the future official launch.

As cute as the monsters and world are, when you get down to it, Moshi Monsters is a very simple experience. It seems entirely geared towards quick daily visits rather than attempting to snare the user into spending a lot of time in the world -- ten minutes or so a day is easily enough to play your daily puzzles, check on your monster and your friends, and purchase any new goods if you're feeling flush.

As a result, as a tool to get me to do daily arithmetic (something I'd never usually bother with!) Moshi Monsters is a great foil. That's not to say I haven't struggled with some aspects of the beta. After 10 days of taking care of my monster, I've run into errors causing my puzzles to stop working mid-way 4 times, and with only one chance each day, it's been frustrating to say the least. The world has been stable otherwise.

It's also unfortunate that the items that you purchase for your monster's home (such as a dartboard) have no use other than as decoration. Your monster, although he'll wander about his room, will never interact with anything, and spends most of his time standing about staring into space – though they'll occasionally emit a random pithy comment.

Another slight problem is the complete inability to get rid of items that you've purchased but don't want -- I foolishly purchased two sets of the same window, and now I'm running out of Rox to pay for food, I bitterly regret it!

Though the world is geared towards a short play time, I have to admit that currently, that decision just isn't satisfying. Even when I've managed to get my puzzles to work I've noticed that they repeat quickly, and other than posting messages on other player's boards, there just isn't much to do! This kind of complaint would lead me to dismiss the world out of hand usually, but the art style is so interesting (and the monsters so fun) that it's hard not to just wish for more to keep you in the world on each visit, and for more ways to connect with your monster.

For example, Flutterby Field and En-gen are both fun little mini-games (particularly En-gen, which is a nice twist on the usual "match 3" games) but there isn't much impetus to play them, as your monster doesn't take part. It seems like a missed opportunity.

Of course, a lot of these complaints come from the perspective of an adult player. Looking at the world from the viewpoint of a parent or child, there is a lot to like. The interface is intuitive. The community is as closed as can be -- I expect children will mostly only interact with others that they already know -- and it's easy for parents to keep an eye on, especially if they keep a monster themselves.

Although it's currently in beta, Moshi Monsters is a world which is artistically fully realized, and is therefore very attractive to new players. Sadly, many players will find themselves waiting for the designers to catch up with the artists to gain full enjoyment from it, but as a daily timewaster I can think of few worlds which can compare.