Gameplay

The first time Petz 3, 4, or 5 is launched, players begin the game at the Adoption Center. They will also be brought back here when the game is launched with no adopted petz in it. The Adoption Center is a yellow house in a garden-type setting. At the Adoption Center, like everywhere else in the game, the player uses their mouse to navigate around the screen. By clicking 'Pick a Pet' on the house, players are faced with a list of Breedz to choose from. After selecting the desired breed by clicking its name, said breed will come walking out of the Adoption Center doors as a puppy (age 12 on the PetzA brainsliders). The player may now play with the pet with limited actions (as you may not take pictures or take your pet anywhere in the game until it is adopted), adopt the pet, or place the pet back into the Adoption Center by right-clicking on the pet and dragging it to the door of the Adoption Center.

In order for the player to unlock more interactions with the pet, they may click the 'Adopt Now' button on the house. When clicked, the player will be be prompted with a message explaining the responsibility that comes with owning a pet. The player will have the choice to click 'Proceed' or 'Cancel'. Canceling will close the window and take you back to the Adoption Center, whereas clicking 'Proceed' will open a new window in which the player will be able to choose the name of their new companion. After typing the desired name, the player will click 'Okay' and face the Adoption Pledge. The pledge goes through a quick rundown of the responsibilities of owning a pet, the type of care the player must provide to their pet, and the consquences if they fails to meet the pet's needs. After the player agrees by clicking 'Adopt', they will be escorted into the Living Room playscene. The game becomes less restricive of the player's actions and allows the player to navigate throughout the game and take pictures of their pet either by clicking the Camera button on the Carrying Case or by using the spacebar on their keyboard. Players may also interact with their new companion by clicking and holding down their left mouse button to stroke and praise their pet, or click and hold down their right mouse button to pick up their pet. Petz will respond accordingly to their personality and genes. Most petz do enjoy getting stroked, but not all petz enjoy being picked up.

Players may now navigate to other Playscenes by clicking the 'Go To' button on their carrying case and selecting a room from the drop down list. In Petz 4, players have the choice to visit the Adoption Center, Clothes Closet, Toyz Closet, Backyard, Beach, Family Room, Kitchen, Arabia, Gypsy Circus, Snow Scene, South Seas Island, Wild West, Playpen, Custom Scenes, or the player's very own desktop. All the various playscenes contain different interactions. The Clothes Closet provides the player with clothes that they can place on their pet by clicking and dragging the item onto their pet. The Toyz Closet has toyz that a player can bring out to better interact and excerise their pet, as well as treatz and a food dish to reward or feed their pet. Players may place toyz to take with them by placing them in their Carrying Case (by dragging the toyz into the blue shelving units that are enabled or hidden by clicking the arrow button next to the 'Go To' button). The rest of the playscenes are different areas for the player to explore with their pet. In Petz 5, the Clothes Closet is replaced by the Salon and the Toyz Closet has been removed. In Petz 5, players must explore playscenes and participate in minigames to earn toyz. Toyz may be placed in the Carrying Case. The Carrying Case in Petz 5 acts like the Toyz Closet. It allows the player to have an unlimited supply of whatever is placed in it, unlike the Carrying Case in previous versions. Not everything found in the Petz 5 game can be added to the Carrying Case, but a majority of it can.

Petz Lifespan
In the Petz series, the player gets to watch their pet grow up into an adult. Raising a pet to its adult age unlocks new interactions. A pet adopted from the Adoption Center is adopted as a puppy or kitten (age 12 on the PetzA brainsliders). The pet will have a puppy bark or kitten meow, be slightly clumsier, and appear smaller in size when compared to its adult counterpart. Petz grow slightly each real-time day if the game is opened. Petz will begin to take on adult characteristics when they reach age 50 on the brainsliders. When a pet is recognized by the game as an adult, the pet's bark or meow will mature. The game will allow new interactions, such as breeding with other petz.

To breed a pet, you will need one male adult, and one female adult of the same species (dog or cat). Players may not mix Catz and Dogz, but are free to mix any of the Breedz with eachother. As the petz interact with eachother, they grow bonds. Some petz don't get along with one another, much like in real life. They may show anger or aggression by nipping or fighting. If petz like eachother, they will show positive interaction. They may fall in love, which may later lead to breeding. Petz who fall in love usually will show affection by licking, play tackling, sharing toyz, following, or gazing. When two petz mate, a large, red heart will appear on screen. The game will now register the female as pregnant. As time progresses, she will begin to wobble and gain weight. In three real-time days, she will give birth.

In Petz 4, petz will always have one puppy or kitten per mating. In Petz 5, it will range from 1 to 4 puppies or kittens. After the mother has given birth, she will bring out her offspring. Newborns (age 6 on the brainsliders) cannot walk or see for the first few days. They will appear very small and will rely on mother for milk. As more real days pass, they will grow and later be able to leave their mothers side. In Petz 5, the mother will be restricted to the Nursery playscene as her offspring grows. Once the offspring reach aged 12 on the brainsliders, they are seperated from the mother and both mother and children will be forced to leave the Nursery.

Offspring will take the genetics of both parents, mixing them much like in real life. Sometimes, breeding mutations occur, and the pet may be born a different color than the parents. This can occur in low and high generation petz. Inbreeding is allowed in the Petz series, and doing so increases the likeliness of getting a breeding mutation to occur. Petz will not age over 100 on the brainsliders, and they do not die. The only way for a pet to leave a player's game is if the pet feels neglected enough to runaway.