Love the game... But it's really not ready for release!

Also, you can absolutely choose whether or not to spend donuts...all depends on your willingness to live without premium items. I haven't spent a dime, partly because the game is a bit glitchy, but mostly because I don't like the a la carte payment method. I would have paid $5 dollars for the entire game in the app store, but that's not the way EA wants it to work (and they're clearly making much more money this way). Their decision, my choice. Thank goodness for all the people who DO spend money, and I love looking at their towns, but all the server issues, etc., would annoy me a whole lot more if I had invested $100+ in this game. So I don't. :D