Wanna Be the Best at 'Kim Kardashian: Hollywood'? 5 Tips From an A

Image: Mashable, Christina Ascani

Are you an aspiring diva? Do you dream of the glamorous lifestyle, but the best you can do is marathon a season of Keeping Up With the Kardashians? If you love that lifestyle - or love to hate it - it's possible you've already been sucked in to Kim Kardashian: Hollywood.

But if you aren't sure how to best maximize your time when you play, Mashable has you covered. We spoke to one man who went from nobody to the top of his A-List in the three weeks since the game was released.

SEE ALSO: How Kim Kardashian's iOS Game Could Make $200 Million This Year

Calvin Stowell said he downloaded the game as soon it was released in late June. 'I've never watched the show, but you really can't avoid Kim. She's absolutely everywhere. I knew I had to try it.'

Stowell said he was able to climb to the top of his game's leaderboard, which includes all his friends and connections, in a matter of a couple weeks. (Each game is its own universe, but you can compete against your friends if you add them from Facebook or Apple's GameCenter.) He currently has 68.8 million fans - the currency for fame and success in Kim's world - which he says is the game's maximum.

The biggest surprise? Stowell said he only spent about $10 on Kim Kardashian: Hollywood.

'I spent an iTunes gift card for $10 to buy a house in Malibu,' he said. 'I felt so guilty afterward.'

So how do you become the most famous of all your friends? Here are the tips to rise to the top.

1. Know the types of currency

Kim Kardashian: Hollywood has multiple rewards, and each can be earned different ways.

Money: The most obvious here are the little green dollar bills that fly to the ground whenever you successfully complete an activity. Money can be earned from almost anything, and is spent on everything from travel, to dates, to less-luxurious items of clothing or accessories. It's the easiest thing to obtain, surprisingly, so it will only take you so far.

Experience: The other most commonly dropped item, signified by a little yellow silhouette. Experience is important, because places in the game like Hollywood, Miami and Vegas only become accessible when you level up.

Energy: Signified by little blue lightning bolts, you need energy to do almost anything in the game world. Activities like dates, photoshoots or working all require energy to do various tasks, from 'checking make-up' (2 energy) to 'folding shirts' (3 energy) to 'smiling with your eyes' (4 energy). Every time you use energy, it must replenish, and it takes 5 minutes for one piece to come back. That often means waiting to finish an activity until you have enough energy available, so make sure you have an abundance before you start an activity.'I play in spurts,' says Stowell. 'I'll play for five minutes then wait two and a half hours, play another five minutes and wait.' Unless you want to spend the money to buy extra energy, which the game will happily sell you, time your play so that you can maximize each session.

K Stars: K Stars are the most premium currency of the game. They are handed out sparingly; you might earn one to two per level. These are used to unlock the nicest haircuts, clothes, accessories and cars in the game, which you can never purchase with real money. If you want anything nice in Kim's world, you'll have to fork over real dough to get it.

2. Dates are key to your success

'For the first week I was playing, I didn't know how to ask anyone on a date. My first boyfriend in the game dumped me because he said I wasn't asking him out enough,' Stowell said.

Dates are a huge way to expand your fan circle, and you can ask your current crush out on one by entering any bar or restaurant and tapping the heart over the table. But Stowell said dating around is actually encouraged by the game's mechanics; it gives dramatic rewards in fans for the first two levels of relationship status, which can be attained quickly. But Stowell said it takes so many dates to reach the next level and another fan boost, it's less time consuming to start a new relationship.

'There is no backlash for dating around, so you should do it,' he said.

3. Take the high road

Your game introduces a rival very early that varies depending on your gender. That person will harass you throughout the game in Twitter fights. Stowell said as much fun as mud slinging can be, Kim Kardashian: Hollywood gives you bigger rewards for playing nice.

'I actually lost fans after throwing a drink in my rival's face,' he said.

4. Tap, tap, tap everywhere

Kim K's Hollywood may be a light on mechanics, but it keeps players busy by forcing them to tap everything in sight. You collect money and experience as soon as it drops, and other rewards for completing tasks. One of the hints on the in-game screens actually says that tapping to collect these items causes your energy to rejuvenate a little faster.

Poking around has other benefits. Stowell said a lot of times you can just find money lying around, including by snooping in people's luggage at the airport.

5. Time your play

Stowell said the most important thing, because of the game's energy system, is to keep the game on your schedule.

'I don't start a big event right before I'm about to go to bed, since I'll need to check in on it every so often,' he said. 'If you do poorly on an event, you lose fans, so you don't want to fall asleep in the middle.'

Events will tell you how long you have to complete them, which involves doing energy-sucking activities during an allotted time period to fill five stars. If you run out of energy before you've filled the stars, it means waiting around for your meter to refill.

BONUS: We Played the Kim Kardashian Game, So You Don't Have To