IMobsters is the latest in a string of mafia themed text-based RPGs for the iPhone and arguably the least original, but it still has some interesting features which makes it stand out from the crowd (which includes iMafia, Mafia Live, Undead Live and Rockstar Live!). Unlike many of its competitors, IMobsters is actually pretty tricky and you have to be on the ball from the start to really give yourself a chance at becoming the biggest Don!

A handy tutorial is provided to all new players once you start and can be found at the very top of the iMobster display. In this box there should be a list of certain actions you can try, with six steps to follow in total. Completing this tutorial is essential and will really help you get the feel of the game and what to do, fast.
The six steps of the tutorial includes basic information on the Missions, Equipment, Attacking and Levelling Up. It doesn’t take long to complete these and once you’ve finished you should be rewarded with five thousand dollars and the disconcerting message that one of your mafia relatives has tried to have you “whacked”! Time for revenge, I feel, so give yourself a proper mafia name and select a class for your character so we can teach him a lesson.

Classes
Choose your class carefully, as once you have made your choice you can only change if via loyalty points or resetting your character! Current classes include:
Tycoon – Allows you to gain cash faster
Muscle – Lets you heal faster
Operative – Allows you to gain energy faster.
Each of these classes has their benefits, but arguably Tycoon is the best as it will let you earn money much faster. Money is very important in the iMobsters world and you will need to get a lot of it, fast, to buy your first piece of profitable real estate! Although you can earn some money by fighting in the attack mode, or performing missions, this will not be enough to sustain yourself effectively. Once you’ve levelled up you can buy bigger and better properties and weapons – but these come at a high price tag!

The Basics

Character Status
The current condition of your character can always be seen on your main screen. These should include:
Cash – How much cash you are carrying
Experience – How experienced you are (in points) and how many more points you will need to level up.
Level – The current level of your character
Energy – You need energy to complete missions, which slowly regenerates on a timer.
Stamina – Each time you attack another player you will use one stamina point. This also regenerates on a timer.

Time
Even if you are not playing iMobsters, the game continues without you. As time passes, your character will regain health, stamina and energy until they reach the maximum. You will also receive cash from your Real Estate on a set timer.

Level
Each time you level up, your character will gain skill points and a full recharge of all your energy, health and stamina points. Levelling up also will unlock more Missions, Equipment and Real Estate. You level up by earning Experience points from attacking other players, successfully defending an attack from another player and completing Missions.

Skills
There are five types of skill available in iMobster. These include:
Attack – Makes you stronger when attacking other players.
Defence – Allows you to successfully defend more attacks.
Max Energy – Increases your maximum Energy points.
Max Stamina – Increases your maximum Stamina points.
Max Health – Increases your maximum Health points.

Each time you level up you will be awarded with three skills points, which can be spent increasing any of the above skills.

Money
When you first start playing, even if you did complete the tutorial, you will have a very small amount of money. As mentioned above, money really does ‘make the world go round’ in iMobsters, so you will have to perform some simple missions just to get some cash. Try and earn an extra two or three thousand dollars by performing some Muggings or Petty Thefts. Of course, you can try some of the harder missions right away, but this will require you to buy a weapon and will mean you have less cash to buy your first valuable piece of real estate.
As soon and you have your first couple of grand, buy a New Stand. Although the $50 an hour return may not seem like much, it’s a good first step. Keep buying News Stands until you have about four of them – you may notice their price rising each time and after four they’re no longer the best option.

Patience is a virtue in iMobsters, so kick back, relax and wait for your News Stands to make you some cash. After some time, you should have enough to buy a Shack and you should buy three of four of these the same way as you did with the News Stands. Next up is Convenience Stores! This strategy should earn you a fantastic base of real estate with little risk – which means you can save up for those fantastic-looking weapons you’ve had you eye on! With a Tycoon character and this method of play, you shouldn’t need to do many of those low-level missions and by level 4 or 5 you should have an enviable portfolio.

Part of The Family
It’s a dog-eat-dog world out there and to ensure you don’t get whacked too often, you’ll need a strong family. iMobsters allows you to group up with other iMobster players and become stronger and more protected – and less of a target for more experienced players. To be added to a Mob or add members to your Mob, you’ll need your Mob Code.

Mob Codes
Mob Codes are a 5 digit code that are used to add people to your mob and it is essential you use these as much as possible. Don’t be shy, add as many people as possible! Be aware, however, that as soon as you begin posting your Mob Code you will get a huge amount of requests in return. At present, it’s impossible to accept all of these requests in one go, like you can in other iPhone mafia games such as iMob Online or Mafia Wars. Each request must be dealt with individually and this can take a long time to do, so be prepared to suffer for a huge and powerful mob! To deal with this, I recommend that new users keep a close eye on their iMobsters game and check it frequently – so you can accept a manageable amount of requests bit by bit rather than having to deal with several hundred at once after an absence!

Starting Your Mob
Adding to a mob can be tricky, so here is a step-by-step guide on quickly bringing your gang together. Start on the Home tab which is on the bottom task bar. From there, go to ‘My Mob’, which can be found in the middle of the Home display at the very top of the column on the right side. Once My Mob is selected, you should be given some options on how to add people to your mob. The easiest way is by the Mob Code, of course, so use the top option to invite someone using their 5 digit Mob Code.

Each Mob Code is completely unique, making it ideal to post and share wherever you can to get the biggest mob possible. Try and post your code on plenty of iMobster forums and encourage your friends to do the same to ensure you get plenty of invites.

Equipment
Although equipment is very important in iMobsters, all your early money should mostly go towards buying Real Estate (See ‘Money’ section). A good strategy is to buy just enough good equipment to perform some Missions and win fights, but keep a good chunk for your investments. Although it may seem tempting to blow all your cash on cool equipment to do those tempting missions, later on in the iMobster game the money you will receive from Missions will seem petty in comparison to the huge cash that can be made with Real Estate!

Bank
iMobsters isn’t a sweet, sedate game where all players get along and you will quickly become a target for other players to try and destroy! Players can earn money, credit and experience for fighting other players, so financially you will always be at risk. Bigger and better players will often target new players and you will often lose a huge chunk of your hard-earned cash this way. Help is at hand, however, in the form of the iMobsters bank.

The bank can be found by going to the main Home page and selecting the left-hand column – under Godfather and above Hospital. Once inside, you’ll see your current balance in the bank displayed at the very top of the screen, with a text box just below prompting you deposit. In this box you can enter an amount of iMobster money to deposit – by default the game will often have the complete contents of your wallet.

Although you may rush to deposit all of your cash into the safe space of the bank, hold on a second. A ten percent fee is applied on all of the money that you deposit, which can often be a fair chunk of cash. Think carefully if you can hold onto your money without sacrificing your fee – an early player is often a target for thieves, but a more advanced player may not need to use the bank at all.