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App of the week: Habitica

By Sylvia Lorico

Pretend real life is a role-play adventure with Habitica. Free on Android and iOS, this app allows you to improve your habits by turning your tasks into things you can conquer, fantasy-game style.

Habitica gives you points as you complete tasks which you can then use to level up and buy armour and weapons for a character.

There are three different types of tasks listed in the app: habits, which can be completed multiple times a day, dailies, which repeat on certain days, and to-dos, which need to be completed once.

The app lists some defaults for each category (such as exercise in the habits section), but you can add your own tasks to each category, specify difficulty, set due dates or organize them with filters based on categories like health or creativity.

Once you complete a daily or to-do, you can check it off on the app. For habits, you can either tap the plus sign if you followed it, or tap the minus sign if you failed to do it.

Completing tasks daily makes you level up faster and unlock features like pets, skills and quests. Failing to maintain a habit or finish a daily task makes you lose health or points. Habitica users can interact with friends and other players. Under the social section of the app there are- three subsections. The Tavern section allows you to chat with other players who are using the app. Party allows you to form teams with other friends who use app. Guilds are public groups you can join. They range from habit-achieving groups to groups that share similar interests. Within guilds or parties, users can team up with other players to go on quests or challenges. Those who complete the most habits under challenges win special items.

In quests, members battle as a team against monsters and bosses. Those who go on quests with other members must work to keep their tasks in check. If one team member fails to keep up with their habits or dailies, the current monster deals damage to all players.

The app allows more features as you reach higher levels. At level three you are able to hatch “pets” which can be levelled up into “mounts.” By level 10, you can pick your “class.” You can choose to be a warrior, mage, healer or rogue.

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