Last updated on January 20th, 2026 at 09:40 am
Virtual Villagers: Origins – Simulation Game Review
Virtual Villagers: Origins is a Simulation/Entertainment/Family game from LDW Software, LLC, first launched in 12th April 2012.
It’s rated 9+ and currently has 2,529+ ratings on the App Store.
What Makes Virtual Villagers: Origins Stand Out
FREE Full version! No purchases are required to play the complete game, although we have included some optional purchases to speed the game up or make it easier. The game is a thank you to our loyal fans, and hopefully will be an introduction to the Virtual Villagers series to anyone who has not enjoyed them yet! To make it even more fun and interesting, we have added exciting new features never before available in Virtual Villagers. Have you ever wanted to make all of your villagers like running or keep your favorite villager young forever? Now you can! ENJOY!
Virtual Villagers: Origins is based on the original first chapter of the award-winning Virtual Villagers series from the creators of Fish Tycoon and Virtual Families. Come see the sensation that started it all on the famed and mystical island of Isola!
Care for and nurture a tribe of little people by teaching them the basics of survival. Grow a small village in your device: your little villagers have food needs, housing needs, technologies to research and diseases to fight! As the village grows and prospers, the villagers become curious about their mysterious island home and the secrets it holds. Aside from guiding the villagers' day-to-day lives, help them explore and restore the island. How will you lead your tribe?
More about Virtual Villagers: Origins:
- Real-time gameplay: new surprises every time you turn the game on!
- Hundreds of unique and customizable villagers.
- Breed your villagers and raise your own tribe
- Unique and unpredictable "Island Events" to keep you on your toes.
- Uncover mysteries and milestones as you unravel the hidden story of Isola.
- Control the destiny of your survivors! Create your own adventure.
- Amazing original soundtracks and ambient sound effects.
The game continues to progress in true real time, even when your device is turned off, so don’t forget to check in regularly to care for your tribe, help them gain skills and technology, and enable them to discover the secrets that lay waiting for them. How will you lead your tribe?
Virtual Villagers have been awarded with:
- Sim Game of the Year – Game Tunnel
- The Zeebys – Gamezebo
- Parents Choice Recommended Award
- iParenting Media Award
Recommended for people who enjoy casual simulations and adventure stories like the Lost TV series and Survivor!
Visit our Official Virtual Villagers site at www.VirtualVillagers.com for instructions, strategy guides, and much more!
This Simulation game offers engaging gameplay and regular updates for mobile players.
Player Feedback
As a newer release, Virtual Villagers: Origins is building its player community. Early feedback suggests .
Recent Updates & Development
Latest Update: 19th September 2017
Recent improvements include:
This app has been updated by Apple to display the Apple Watch app icon.
Hello Virtual Villagers fans!
We've updated the classic Virtual Villagers: Origins to support the latest devices and iOS versions! With nearly three million downloads since we've launched this title (and many, many more across the Virtual Villagers series), we want to make sure that you can continue playing your favorite apps on the newest devices. Explore and discover the magical island of Isola while nurturing a tiny tribe that lives in your pocket!
Revisit Virtual Villagers: Origins today, and unlock Isola's mysterious puzzles!
Download & Availability
Virtual Villagers: Origins is available through the official App Store for iOS devices.
Get Virtual Villagers: Origins on App Store
Requirements: Requires iPhone 5s / iPad Air / iPad Air (Cellular) / iPad Mini 2 (Retina) / iPad Mini 2 (Retina, Cellular) / iPhone 6 / iPhone 6 Plus / iPad Air 2 / iPad Air 2 (Cellular) / iPad Mini 3 or later.
Compatible with iPhone and iPad devices.
Player Experience Highlights
Community Insight:
This was our favorite game that our mom had on her computer when we were little! We played all of them when each one came out. We were so excited to find them in the App Store! And, honestly, it still holds up. 10/10.
Ive played this a long time ago. However we were a kid and was never interested in it too much. So we mainly peaked while our dad was playing. We always loved the 5th game that was about tribes. But anyways. We recommend this game completely. The only tip Id give (dont look any further than this if you just arnt interested in tips) is research of food should come first.
The game is super fun. We, of course, looked up the puzzle solutions. Make sure you put points into science early on! Have most villagers focus on it! The points you need are doubled, but the game is really fun. And it can either go on forever, or have a definite ending. Its a lovely game.
We have played this game since we were a kid! It has SO much potential. It keeps crashing & we dont think anyone keeps up w this game anymore. We are so sad! We keep losing all our progress.
We have loved this game for over a decade we played it with our grandma on pc in the early 2000s, such a hidden gem.
But when we were putting the villagers to clean the well, but they werent.
We cant remember how many times Ive tried but we finally did it, we are so happy, thank you for making this game and keeping it in the App Store.
We love this game! Ill play it for a long time, take a break, but always come back to it.
We love this game. Ive played it since we were a little kid and having it on our phone is great. We wish we could pause time during the week while Im working and only have time pass over the weekend so our villagers dont die while Im away. Over all great game tho.
We have been playing this game since like 2012 on our grandmas computer and every so often Ill come back to it. Im truly obsessed with it and forget how fun it is until we get into it again. Theres also a wiki in case youre like us and get nervous when the little choices pop up.
We like the game when Im bored we seen it before but we didnt wanna download it cuz we thought it was boring its fun fr we like it it just passes the time and thats more important to us you gotta know the game to have fun.
Is very engaging without any annoying ads or pop ups.
Really fun game great game for strategy players and or puzzle people we definitely recommend.
We love love love this game the very first time we played these games was back in the days before you could buy your resources or tokens. Back then you had to figure out how to solve the puzzles. We got through all of the games and now we are starting over to solve the puzzles again. LDW GAMES ARE by far the best adventure games P.S for all of you players if you go to settings you can slow the game mode down (or speed it up) that way your village wont starve if you have to stay away from the game for a while. Ie.. If you work and can only spend short periods of time in the game. We hope this helps.
Love playing all their games they have cute graphics and gameplay we dont know why people are complaining about bugs in the game. They just dont know how to play. We have played all your games through out the years and know what to do already.
It said that a villager improved at breeding and we watched a male go in and thought someone went in before him. We waited to see who came out to see which villager would have a baby he came out by himself. Had a good laugh.
Our only complaint is that they stopped producing them. Seems like even the good die young. Just like Ratchet & Clank.
We love this game. This game will always have a special place to us. Our mother loved all of the virtual villagers games. Every single one. She would play on her PC. Every time a new one came out we got it for her. This one was her favorite. She passed away 2 years ago. We did not realize these games were available for mobile until just the other day. We were so excited! We immediately thought of her and how she used to get so excited about her villagers mastering tasks or figuring out a puzzle. Anyway, this game is awesome and Im glad its still available. Please make more.
We love this game it is so addicting! We used to play this as a kid and it is still just as fun.
Played this game years ago, bit it was our mom's progress. Got it on android, but got it again a few days ago. We love how one villager is 15, and was born losing hair though.
Havent played this game since PC! Im over excited to be able to play this game every where we go.
Very good game!1!1!1!1!!1!!!!1!! Friend on discord enjoy v much. Discord kittens like!!1!1!1!!!!!!!!! Thamk u and keep coming. WHEN NEW UPSATE?!1!1???1.
Glad they made this into an app! Loved it as a kid.
We loved this game sm we played it all the time on our tablet but it got removed, we dont know why but we loved it sm add it back.
Its a great game its really fun and has a lot of goals / fun puzzles to be excited about. Pro tip- focus on the farming first.
We have payed this game sense we were very young and we still love and play it.
Ive been playing this game since before it was available for iPhones. It can be a little slow paced compared to other new games but we still find ourselves coming back to it like an old comfortable friend. Its a good game when you just want to relax and chill out. Its been a long while since the last virtual villagers game came out and we hope the developers will consider either updating some of the existing versions to add more items or create another virtual villagers game. We believe a new one would be VV6.
We love this game! The soundtrack, characters, landscape are memorable. It gives us more of an idea of how God loves us. When a character dies it is a bummer. There are plenty of puzzles which are achievements in the game such as create a lagoon, finding the fish of fertility, and 14 others. We cant wait to play the successors to this game and anything LDW software creates.
We love this app. Its one of our favorites to play.
We first found VV on a Big Fish CD when our wife was in the hospital. After playing a few days we were looking for some help and discovered their forums. Back then the games were primarily inexpensive, but highly entertaining, games designed for computer use. When it went mobile we started playing on our old iPad. That tablet died, we bought a new computer, and in general we just quit playing. But we have a brand new iPad Air, and we are looking forward to spending some time with an old friend. See you around, maybe in FanFiction over in the LDW forum.-Rockmower.
Please update the games for the latest phones and dont let them die, theyre our favorite.
Its a great game if youre bored and you dont know what to do in your house it and it does not require Wi-Fi.
Omg we use to play this game when we were younger, Im 24 now and just downloaded it. Im excited.
Most important thing we think one should keep in mind: 100 food is actually very low. Seems like a game where you should always have SOMEONE foraging lol. It seems much easier than Virtual Villagers 2… As we have not suffered a villager wipe out in this one, nor have we come close lol.
Like others, played this on our PC all the time. First few times it took us forever, trying to figure out the puzzles. At the time the animation was top notch. Now its more nostalgic.
We beat the game when we were younger, and am now coming back to play it again. Nostalgia + fun = awesome.
We've played this game for years, and we have the most fond memories. To know we can play it on our iPad, makes us so happy. The graphics were much better in our memory, but they are still holding up pretty well for how old this game is. 10/10, one of the best games of our childhood.
Wow this game is simple and easy to operate; we love it. The only thing we wish that they would include is a what am we supposed to do list more of how do we do what Im supposed to do. LOL There are several tests to complete and while they sound simple figuring out how to do it is the challenging part; however, when you think about it, if you were one of the villagers living there it would be complicated to try to figure out how to do some of the task required. So that is why we say it is a great game regardless.
This one has the to be the best one out of all of em. Could be get another island on this one(the tree of life) or something.
Then we needed to get more memory – so went to laptop. Not sure if we played on laptop but we remember having to go back & forth to get hints when we got about 3/4 through the game. Now Im stuck on playing on a very small screened cell ( much rather have a bigger screen (!!) . 1st time tried to load game – loaded fine but it wouldnt let us play- so we deleted the app. Just put it back in today ( along with the 2nd, 3rd and we will add the 4th at a later date. Have to say- much more fun with a m u c h larger screen!! Still we like the series. Only 1 issue we see so far- we think its the 2nd or 3rd game in the series- doesnt give a way to exit out the game or put it on pause( so game wont run you out good while you are not playing.
Love these games. Been playing since the beginning.
We dont understand why people are hating on this game. Its freakin AMAZING! Ive been playing nonstop for about 4 hours!!! Love it! The only thing Id recommend is pets. Like a pet could come in a crate. Like an domesticated wolf or cat.
This game is awesome! We have lots of ideas for games you could make 1: a animal version of this game (you would play as an animal ) like a wolf or a elk with its pack or herd and that there would be a first person mode witch would be more realistic. Also when a animal has a baby its pregnant first then it births out a litter. Please consider our idea we would appreciate if you did :).
We love that we can have all our villagers working on something while we eat or something and they improve while Im gone!! We have both the games and its a GREAT substitute for village life since they took that game down ^w^ please continue to add to this game or make more games.
This game is sooooo much fun and really takes patience.
This is the first game we ever played when we got our iPod touch. Please update it. We cant purchase anything from the App Store on our XS Max. Im guessing its the firmware 13.4.1. A lot of still enjoy this game and have shown it to our children to play. Thank you.
We are so glad this finally got this on the iPad. Loved this on desktop.
This is probably the best version of the game in our opinion keep it up.
This game is a literal icon. Its so fun! We love every aspect of it; mystery, families, stranded-ness, tribe-y, etc. 11/10! Its been one of our favorite games since it came out.
User feedback from Apple App Store
App Details
- Version: 1.0.3
- Size: 40.20 MB
- iOS: 8.0 or later
- Languages: EN
- Content Advisory: Infrequent/Mild Mature/Suggestive Themes
- Developer: [LDW Software, LLC]()
Last updated: 19th September 2017 | Genre: Simulation, Entertainment | Developer: LDW Software, LLC