Why, hello Facefolks! It's Mr. Cheats here with the down-low on the things you shouldn't know.
By now I'm sure you've heard about FrontierVille, a Wild West themed game, where you play a pioneer and turn a humble plot of land into a bustling town. Oh yeah, in this game you can get married and have pioneer babies, too! Before you start a family, however, you have to create a place for everyone to live -- a staple of pioneer living -- a cabin. And to build that cabin you're going to need friends to give you supplies.
In an attempt to make things easier, you can sent building materials to your friend using this list of quick links. IMPORTANT: There's a catch, you can only send materials that are available in your free gifts section (each person can send two different types of materials at a time, these rotate week to week).
Long gone are the days when you could send any type of supply to friends when you want. Sigh. But you will have access to all these materials at some point or other, and these are the links required to get them going. So find out which items you can send, and then click on those items below and start delving out building materials like you're some kind of old timey Home Depot.
frontierville building supplies- bricks frontierville building materials -- hammer frontierville building materials -- nails
frontierville building materials - paint bucket frontierville building supplies -- hand drill
BONUS TIP: If you're on the hunt for supplies, you can send a link like this to your friends. http://apps.facebook.com/frontierville/gifts.php?giftRecipient=YOUR FACEBOOK ID NUMBER. All you need to do is add your 15-digit Facebook ID number at the end of the URL and copy and paste it on your friends' Facebook walls/email/in the comments below to let them know that you are on the hunt for supplies.
Check out the rest of our FrontierVille Cheats & Tips right here.
Earn Money from Home
Monday, February 13, 2012
The Pool Party House Has Arrived To YoVille
http://i8.aijaa.com/b/00329/6340290.png
It's Summer time!! The New Pool Party House has been released in YoVille (36 YoCash). A perfect home for entertaining in the warm summer months. Head on over to the YoVille Realtor's Office to take a tour of this special home! Goodbye Hollywood, Hello Malibu!!! Time for fun under the sun!
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This article originally appeared on YoVille Lounge.
It's Summer time!! The New Pool Party House has been released in YoVille (36 YoCash). A perfect home for entertaining in the warm summer months. Head on over to the YoVille Realtor's Office to take a tour of this special home! Goodbye Hollywood, Hello Malibu!!! Time for fun under the sun!
front
This article originally appeared on YoVille Lounge.
Social game currency increasingly popular for crowdsourcing payments
Social game players are used to doing virtual work (i.e. harvesting fake crops) for virtual money (i.e. Farmville cash). But that concept has taken a strange twist recently: players exchanging real work for virtual cash.
The fake-money-for-real-work idea is becoming increasingly popular, according to a recent San Francisco Chronicle profile on crowdsourcing company Crowdflower. The company offers its proprietary Swag Bucks as payment for a variety of menial, hard-to-automate tasks such as verifying and categorizing search results or evaluating tweets as "positive" or "negative."
Those Swag Bucks can then be exchanged for everything from cash and gift cards to, increasingly, virtual currency for use in social games. In fact, CrowdFlower CEO Lukas Biewald says he expects virtual currency payments to reach $1 million this year -- up from a mere $50,000 last year.
That's a bit surprising, since the company's virtual currency offers aren't nearly the best deals on offer. For the same "Swag Buck" price as a $10 Farmville gift card, you could get almost $15 in PayPal cash or over $20 in Amazon gift cards. The fact that more people are taking the social gaming currency instead says something about the addictive appeal of these games, I think.
The fake-money-for-real-work idea is becoming increasingly popular, according to a recent San Francisco Chronicle profile on crowdsourcing company Crowdflower. The company offers its proprietary Swag Bucks as payment for a variety of menial, hard-to-automate tasks such as verifying and categorizing search results or evaluating tweets as "positive" or "negative."
Those Swag Bucks can then be exchanged for everything from cash and gift cards to, increasingly, virtual currency for use in social games. In fact, CrowdFlower CEO Lukas Biewald says he expects virtual currency payments to reach $1 million this year -- up from a mere $50,000 last year.
That's a bit surprising, since the company's virtual currency offers aren't nearly the best deals on offer. For the same "Swag Buck" price as a $10 Farmville gift card, you could get almost $15 in PayPal cash or over $20 in Amazon gift cards. The fact that more people are taking the social gaming currency instead says something about the addictive appeal of these games, I think.
New Facebook game seeks to manage real-world diabetes risks
Using virtual Facebook games to improve your real life is getting dangerously close to becoming a trend. First it was The Life Game, which linked in-game success to user-defined real-world goals. Now it's HealthSeeker, a just-announced game focused on healthier eating and lifestyle choices.
While HealthSeeker is focused on helping and educating people with Diabetes (it's sponsored by the Diabetes Hands Foundation) the introductory video stresses that anyone can benefit from the healthy changes encouraged by the game. As in The Life Game, gaining experience points in Healthseeker involves accepting and performing "missions" that involve simple changes in your everyday life -- such as using vegetable oil instead of butter in cooking, for instance.
The social element comes in via "kudos" that you can send to friends to encourage them on their missions or "challenges" that you can issue to urge friends to become healthier. Ideally, the social pressure will make you more likely to stick with the changes than if you were just "playing" alone. Of course, there's always the risk you'll just lie about your success online instead of admitting your failure to your friends. Stay strong, health warrior. Stay strong!
While HealthSeeker is focused on helping and educating people with Diabetes (it's sponsored by the Diabetes Hands Foundation) the introductory video stresses that anyone can benefit from the healthy changes encouraged by the game. As in The Life Game, gaining experience points in Healthseeker involves accepting and performing "missions" that involve simple changes in your everyday life -- such as using vegetable oil instead of butter in cooking, for instance.
The social element comes in via "kudos" that you can send to friends to encourage them on their missions or "challenges" that you can issue to urge friends to become healthier. Ideally, the social pressure will make you more likely to stick with the changes than if you were just "playing" alone. Of course, there's always the risk you'll just lie about your success online instead of admitting your failure to your friends. Stay strong, health warrior. Stay strong!
Quote of the Moment: WoW without the "WOW!"
"Using Farmville as an example, I only needed to play it for a couple of hours to realise how closely it's modelled on an MMO framework. Everything from the grinding 'quests' and achievements system, through to peer competitiveness and in-world currency. The trouble is, Farmville doesn't quite have the thrill factor of a hard core MMO. It's not a fair comparison, but the point is that it's hard for Farmville to keep innovating so that the endless tasks don't seem frustrating or even pointless.
I've spent many an hour doing pointless / frustrating things in World of Warcraft for example – but it didn't seem that way as there was always an enticing goal at the end of it. Sure, Farmville offers bigger an better houses / sheds / farming equipment but it wears thin pretty quickly. The challenge for social virtual worlds, like gaming more broadly, is keeping it interesting, and it seems there's still some work to do. There's also the issue these social worlds aren't truly socially interactive: when my avatar can chat and farm with my neighbour, then I'm starting to get interested again."
- The Metaverse Journal Blogger Lowell Cremorne discusses one of three reasons social games don't interest him as much as traditional massively-multiplayer games
I've spent many an hour doing pointless / frustrating things in World of Warcraft for example – but it didn't seem that way as there was always an enticing goal at the end of it. Sure, Farmville offers bigger an better houses / sheds / farming equipment but it wears thin pretty quickly. The challenge for social virtual worlds, like gaming more broadly, is keeping it interesting, and it seems there's still some work to do. There's also the issue these social worlds aren't truly socially interactive: when my avatar can chat and farm with my neighbour, then I'm starting to get interested again."
- The Metaverse Journal Blogger Lowell Cremorne discusses one of three reasons social games don't interest him as much as traditional massively-multiplayer games
Friday, February 10, 2012
This inspired Sushi to try on the Cleopatra wig himself. (Note to new readers: Sushi is a boy, but he cross-dresses and acts like a girl sometimes.) He wasn't sure if the glossy black wig suited him, but he had fun trying on some other wigs as well.
Which one do you think suits him best?
YoVille newly released Moroccan Bathroom furniture
New Moroccan Bathroom Items have been added to the YoVille Furniture Store. Items include Moroccan Bath Tub (9 YoCash), Sconces (2 YoCash), Bathmats (300 Coins), Tissue Boxes (200 Coins), Toilet Paper Holder (200 Coins), Bath Cabinets (850 Coins), Standing Sinks (4 YoCash), and much much more! Head on down to the Furniture Store and create yourself a Wellness Bathroom Suite Moroccan style!
Take a look at the complete selection after the jump.
yoville moroccan bathroom furnitureyoville moroccan bathroom furnitureyoville moroccan bathroom furnitureyoville moroccan bathroom furnitureyoville moroccan bathroom furnitureyoville moroccan bathroom furnitureyoville moroccan bathroom furnitureyoville moroccan bathroom furniture
This article originally appeared on YoVille Lounge.
Take a look at the complete selection after the jump.
yoville moroccan bathroom furnitureyoville moroccan bathroom furnitureyoville moroccan bathroom furnitureyoville moroccan bathroom furnitureyoville moroccan bathroom furnitureyoville moroccan bathroom furnitureyoville moroccan bathroom furnitureyoville moroccan bathroom furniture
This article originally appeared on YoVille Lounge.
YoVille summer outfit designs and Moroccan Clothing arrive
New Moroccan Items have arrived in YoVille along with Summer Outfit Designs by Angela_tiredmom76 and PMTown in the Fashion Store. Beaded Tops, Skirts, and Sandals to name a few for the Gals, and Jeweled Hats, Capes, and Gold Trimmed Outfits for the Guys. Head on down to the Fashion Store to spice up your look and add to your wardrobe!
Take a look at the full array of items after the jump.
yoville moroccan clothingyoville moroccan clothingyoville moroccan clothingyoville moroccan clothingyoville moroccan clothingyoville moroccan clothingyoville moroccan clothingyoville moroccan clothing
This article originally appeared on YoVille Lounge.
Take a look at the full array of items after the jump.
yoville moroccan clothingyoville moroccan clothingyoville moroccan clothingyoville moroccan clothingyoville moroccan clothingyoville moroccan clothingyoville moroccan clothingyoville moroccan clothing
This article originally appeared on YoVille Lounge.
New YoVille Rares in Mystery Packs
yoville rares yoville rares
Feeling lucky today? Head to the YoVille Furniture Store and get a couple of mystery packs. Both coins and YoCash packs were updated with new rares. The 4 YoCash pack now has a golden piano while the 2500 coin pack has a magic crystal ball. Remember that opening a mystery pack doesn't necessarily mean that you are going to get a rare item. Go ahead and tell us what you got from your pack.
This article originally appeared on YoVille Lounge.
Feeling lucky today? Head to the YoVille Furniture Store and get a couple of mystery packs. Both coins and YoCash packs were updated with new rares. The 4 YoCash pack now has a golden piano while the 2500 coin pack has a magic crystal ball. Remember that opening a mystery pack doesn't necessarily mean that you are going to get a rare item. Go ahead and tell us what you got from your pack.
This article originally appeared on YoVille Lounge.
YoVille: New way to grab the Free Blue Balloon
This is an official post by Zynga's Platinum Ninja.
We saw that there was some confusion about how to get the exclusive handheld blue balloons so we will be making it easier to rally your friends through a discoverable balloon in YoVille. You may find a wandering blue balloon floating around town! It's known to hang out at the stores, your friends homes, or even your own.
Once you click on the balloon you will be given the chance to then "Rally your Friends" as before. Click the "Rally your Friends" option and then share and a Feed will be posted to your wall. Remember rallying your friends and posting this feed not only brings more awareness to the cause but also increases your chances on getting your hands on this exclusive Handheld Blue Balloon. If you get 10 friends to click in on this feed you'll receive a handheld balloon to keep and wear as much as you want!
yoville free blue balloonyoville free blue balloon
So don't forget to click on this balloon when you find it around YoVille and Rally your Friends!
- Platinum Ninja
This article originally appeared on YoVille Lounge.
We saw that there was some confusion about how to get the exclusive handheld blue balloons so we will be making it easier to rally your friends through a discoverable balloon in YoVille. You may find a wandering blue balloon floating around town! It's known to hang out at the stores, your friends homes, or even your own.
Once you click on the balloon you will be given the chance to then "Rally your Friends" as before. Click the "Rally your Friends" option and then share and a Feed will be posted to your wall. Remember rallying your friends and posting this feed not only brings more awareness to the cause but also increases your chances on getting your hands on this exclusive Handheld Blue Balloon. If you get 10 friends to click in on this feed you'll receive a handheld balloon to keep and wear as much as you want!
yoville free blue balloonyoville free blue balloon
So don't forget to click on this balloon when you find it around YoVille and Rally your Friends!
- Platinum Ninja
This article originally appeared on YoVille Lounge.
Twilight theme arrive in Cafe World & PetVille -- Is YoVille next?
Zynga updated Cafe World with items from the vampire movie, Twilight. The items that were added are kind of similar to the ones that are usually released on Halloween. They also include decorations like the Twinkling Vampire (Edward) and Transforming Werewolf (Jacob). PetVille players are also expecting a coming soon Twilight theme.
I'm sure you've guessed where this is going. Do you think a Twilight theme is coming soon to YoVille? We're talking about modern houses, werewolves and who knows, maybe fancy cars?
This article originally appeared on YoVille Lounge.
I'm sure you've guessed where this is going. Do you think a Twilight theme is coming soon to YoVille? We're talking about modern houses, werewolves and who knows, maybe fancy cars?
This article originally appeared on YoVille Lounge.
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Social Game Fads: Enough with the cute lost animals already!
Social Game Fads is a new series where we take a look at some of the unoriginal game mechanics that are being reused over and over again in our favorite Facebook games. Are you getting bored of the same ole' thing? We are too, and we're exposing some of the copycats who are to blame.
Just about every game on Facebook does this, regardless if it's an animal game or not. "Oh no! This adorable little baby sad crying animal has been abandoned on your farm/zoo/island and needs your friend's help in order to rescue it!". Whether your play Facebook goes or not, you've seen this. The animals started out looking like regular animals, and over time the eyes have gotten bigger and bigger, the baby animals are getting cuter and cuter, and they're all looking sadder and sadder.
In this mechanic, the game will tell you that a lost/hurt/abandoned/wandering animal has appeared and you need to ask friends to rescue her. When friends click on the wall post that you make, they will get to claim the pet. Basically, the player gets nothing out of this except the gratification of 'saving' this poor adorable little critter and the feeling of helping their friends get a new animal. It seems like animals are constantly finding themselves lost and in trouble and in need of your help. Where do they come from?
In fact, Zoo World is built almost entirely on this concept. Animals are always appearing on your zoo and in need of rescue, and there is even a reward for having tons of people rescue your animal. Virtually every game is to blame for pulling on our heart strings and using the power of adorable sad animals to get us to post to our wall.
Do you post every sad animal you see to your wall? Do you like saving animals, or are you sick of this in Facebook games?
Gallery: Save The Lost Animals
Just about every game on Facebook does this, regardless if it's an animal game or not. "Oh no! This adorable little baby sad crying animal has been abandoned on your farm/zoo/island and needs your friend's help in order to rescue it!". Whether your play Facebook goes or not, you've seen this. The animals started out looking like regular animals, and over time the eyes have gotten bigger and bigger, the baby animals are getting cuter and cuter, and they're all looking sadder and sadder.
In this mechanic, the game will tell you that a lost/hurt/abandoned/wandering animal has appeared and you need to ask friends to rescue her. When friends click on the wall post that you make, they will get to claim the pet. Basically, the player gets nothing out of this except the gratification of 'saving' this poor adorable little critter and the feeling of helping their friends get a new animal. It seems like animals are constantly finding themselves lost and in trouble and in need of your help. Where do they come from?
In fact, Zoo World is built almost entirely on this concept. Animals are always appearing on your zoo and in need of rescue, and there is even a reward for having tons of people rescue your animal. Virtually every game is to blame for pulling on our heart strings and using the power of adorable sad animals to get us to post to our wall.
Do you post every sad animal you see to your wall? Do you like saving animals, or are you sick of this in Facebook games?
Gallery: Save The Lost Animals
Happy Aquarium releases new decor to get your sharks in the mood
Happy Aquarium Shark tank decor
After a very sharktastic week in Happy Aquarium, where Crowdstar gave away a Rare Rainbow Shark, and then put out four friendly Limited Edition sharks in the store (which has since, sold out), there's now shark decor.
You can find the Beware of Shark sign as a freebie on the gifts page. As for tank ambiance, the Deep Blue gravel costs 35 Pearls or 21 Facebook Credits ($2.10 USD, which is currently a 63% discount), while the tank wallpaper Deep Blue costs 36 Pearls or 30 FB Credits ($3 USD).
After a very sharktastic week in Happy Aquarium, where Crowdstar gave away a Rare Rainbow Shark, and then put out four friendly Limited Edition sharks in the store (which has since, sold out), there's now shark decor.
You can find the Beware of Shark sign as a freebie on the gifts page. As for tank ambiance, the Deep Blue gravel costs 35 Pearls or 21 Facebook Credits ($2.10 USD, which is currently a 63% discount), while the tank wallpaper Deep Blue costs 36 Pearls or 30 FB Credits ($3 USD).
Bejeweled Blitz fans say 'If it ain't broke, don't fix it!'
Bejeweled Blitz new stats screen
Bejeweled Blitz 600k noviceEvery time a game makes a change, it's not without controversy. The puzzling basics of PopCap Games' Bejeweled Blitz was a winner three years before Facebook itself came into existence in 2004. Players of the game have also been climbing steadily this past week.
Well, today, PopCap whipped out a new acheivements system with a flourish, which features 131 ranks, where the first hundred have corresponding badges, the oldest being the "Elder Bejewelian". (But you can go higher than Rank 131, since PopCap admits they simply "ran out of cool names at that point.") Even without checking out the revamped game, the first thing I knew was that the change will upset veteran players.
When Bejeweled Blitz finally got the 25k bar to work, it meant that people had to deliberately play badly to fill it up again. Another issue was when they allowed players to hit beyond 500k, but didn't introduce the 500k Star Medal 'til much later, prompting players to try again. All these things happened because the new features couldn't be applied retroactively. And then they had to go and introduce the Boosts system, which injected the game with a freshness we didn't think was possible, but it definitely lowered the bar for newbies to score higher than previously before.
The immediate reaction by fans to this latest change is that the screen has SHRUNK. By this, I doubt they mean the play area. Because I've noticed that the player roster on the right has this unpleasant varnished look to it, indicative of a smaller screen size. And yet, this isn't so important as how silly it is for a player like me, to have scored over 620,000 points at one point, reduced to the rank of Novice. Oh well, at least the race to the top will be fun.
Bejeweled Blitz 600k noviceEvery time a game makes a change, it's not without controversy. The puzzling basics of PopCap Games' Bejeweled Blitz was a winner three years before Facebook itself came into existence in 2004. Players of the game have also been climbing steadily this past week.
Well, today, PopCap whipped out a new acheivements system with a flourish, which features 131 ranks, where the first hundred have corresponding badges, the oldest being the "Elder Bejewelian". (But you can go higher than Rank 131, since PopCap admits they simply "ran out of cool names at that point.") Even without checking out the revamped game, the first thing I knew was that the change will upset veteran players.
When Bejeweled Blitz finally got the 25k bar to work, it meant that people had to deliberately play badly to fill it up again. Another issue was when they allowed players to hit beyond 500k, but didn't introduce the 500k Star Medal 'til much later, prompting players to try again. All these things happened because the new features couldn't be applied retroactively. And then they had to go and introduce the Boosts system, which injected the game with a freshness we didn't think was possible, but it definitely lowered the bar for newbies to score higher than previously before.
The immediate reaction by fans to this latest change is that the screen has SHRUNK. By this, I doubt they mean the play area. Because I've noticed that the player roster on the right has this unpleasant varnished look to it, indicative of a smaller screen size. And yet, this isn't so important as how silly it is for a player like me, to have scored over 620,000 points at one point, reduced to the rank of Novice. Oh well, at least the race to the top will be fun.
FarmVille Potato Onion Bread recipe change
In another minor update tonight, the Potato Onion Bread Recipe time has been changed.
The time of the Recipe has increased from previously 30 minutes to now the cook time of 6 hours.
This originally appeared on FarmVille Freak.
The time of the Recipe has increased from previously 30 minutes to now the cook time of 6 hours.
This originally appeared on FarmVille Freak.
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Mafia Wars Secret Drops: Gift random bonuses and rare loot from these hidden briefcases
A new, unannounced feature had been found in Mafia Wars called "Secret Drops." These little briefcases, much like the Secret Stash, allows players to send random, rare items and bonuses to their friends after finding a secret drop location through random activities.
So far, we've only been able to find Secret Drops through robberies, but according to Mafia Wars Maniac, this feature can be dug up through doing jobs and collecting from properties as well. Unfortunately, there has been no official word from Zynga yet, so these Secret Drops could appear anywhere.
Find out what these new Secret Drops could reward you and your friends with after the break.
As for what your friends can find after you send out a Secret Drop, the image above suggests they'll have a chance at finding boosts to robbery success rates, double XP bonuses, Reward Points, increases to Attack and Defense and increases to cash drop rates. As for loot items, here's what some tipsters to Mafia Wars Maniac have found:
Knockout
Knockout: 51 Attack, 23 Defense
Blue Sky
Blue Sky 55: 25 Attack, 50 Defense
Love Sick
Love Sick: 27 Attack, 51 Defense
[Image Credit: Mafia Wars Maniac]
So far, we've only been able to find Secret Drops through robberies, but according to Mafia Wars Maniac, this feature can be dug up through doing jobs and collecting from properties as well. Unfortunately, there has been no official word from Zynga yet, so these Secret Drops could appear anywhere.
Find out what these new Secret Drops could reward you and your friends with after the break.
As for what your friends can find after you send out a Secret Drop, the image above suggests they'll have a chance at finding boosts to robbery success rates, double XP bonuses, Reward Points, increases to Attack and Defense and increases to cash drop rates. As for loot items, here's what some tipsters to Mafia Wars Maniac have found:
Knockout
Knockout: 51 Attack, 23 Defense
Blue Sky
Blue Sky 55: 25 Attack, 50 Defense
Love Sick
Love Sick: 27 Attack, 51 Defense
[Image Credit: Mafia Wars Maniac]
FarmVille: Send one billion gifts and Zynga will donate another $100k to Haiti
In just four days, FarmVille's School of Choice campaign for Haiti has reached its goal of 400 million virtual gifts exchanged. These gifts were part of a Limited Edition collections feature, where no purchases were required. By simply playing FarmVille, players were able to contribute. Zynga will now fulfill its promise to send $100,000 USD to "L' Ecole de Choix", a new K-12 school and community center that they're building in Mirebalis, Haiti. Additional funding will also be provided from sales of the virtual Sweet Beets; plus, Facebook is willing to give up their earnings from those sales as well, and as you can see in the above image, the total of player donations has risen to $561,461 USD.
FarmVille The School of Choice Haiti donation reaches 40 million
Now Zynga has set a new benchmark -- if players reach the exchange of 1 billion virtual gifts, then Zynga will sent another $100,000 USD to the school.
FarmVille The School of Choice Haiti donation reaches 40 million
Now Zynga has set a new benchmark -- if players reach the exchange of 1 billion virtual gifts, then Zynga will sent another $100,000 USD to the school.
Facebook is down, then back up, then down again today
Facebook has been going down, then coming back up and then down again -- for the second day in a row. There were reports of a similar outage yesterday, which was blamed on a "third party networking provider."
If you desperately need a FarmVille Fix, you can point your browser to FarmVille.com instead, which seems to be working just fine.
facvebook slow or unavailable twitter
Update (4:12 p.m.): Facebook Twitter post says the social network "maybe be slow or unavailable for some people because of site issues."
Update (5:45 p.m.): Facebook is back (for now) - you may resume your regular farming activities. For those of you worried about your virtual farms, crop withering and puppy hunger was turned off during the down time.
If you desperately need a FarmVille Fix, you can point your browser to FarmVille.com instead, which seems to be working just fine.
facvebook slow or unavailable twitter
Update (4:12 p.m.): Facebook Twitter post says the social network "maybe be slow or unavailable for some people because of site issues."
Update (5:45 p.m.): Facebook is back (for now) - you may resume your regular farming activities. For those of you worried about your virtual farms, crop withering and puppy hunger was turned off during the down time.
FarmVille fan site drama! FVFan takes on FarmVille Feed
Running and hosting a fan site dedicated to a favorite game can be a lot of fun, but when the game in question is one as popular as FarmVille, situations can escalate quickly. Like when FVFan.com owner Kendall wrote a post today in response to what he says are personal attacks from Dan Farthing, owner of FarmVilleFeed.com.
Within the post, Kendall explains his reasons for leaving FarmVille Feed (emphasized later as FarmvilleFEEEd, for whatever reason) and later starting FVFan, most importantly Farthing's constant pleas for donation money to keep the site running. Kendall, "called him out on making donation threads" and was banned from posting to the site. Since he began his one-man show, Kendall claims that Farthing has threatened him with attempts to take down FVFan for using images that were also found on FarmVille Feed.
"A little lesson in copyright law, he doesn't own any images that he publishes," Kendall said. "Zynga owns them all. He can put his little FarmvilleFEEEd [watermark] all over them, but Zynga owns the images."
Since that rebuttal, the FVFan owner claims that it hasn't stopped, "SOMEONE from making fake account[s] up and saying HORRIBLE things..."
Kendall's next step? Considering his legal options (yikes!). Geez, can't we FarmVille fanboys just get along?
Within the post, Kendall explains his reasons for leaving FarmVille Feed (emphasized later as FarmvilleFEEEd, for whatever reason) and later starting FVFan, most importantly Farthing's constant pleas for donation money to keep the site running. Kendall, "called him out on making donation threads" and was banned from posting to the site. Since he began his one-man show, Kendall claims that Farthing has threatened him with attempts to take down FVFan for using images that were also found on FarmVille Feed.
"A little lesson in copyright law, he doesn't own any images that he publishes," Kendall said. "Zynga owns them all. He can put his little FarmvilleFEEEd [watermark] all over them, but Zynga owns the images."
Since that rebuttal, the FVFan owner claims that it hasn't stopped, "SOMEONE from making fake account[s] up and saying HORRIBLE things..."
Kendall's next step? Considering his legal options (yikes!). Geez, can't we FarmVille fanboys just get along?
Mafia Wars God Father Title Glitch: A sneak peek at future content?
In what has been nothing short of a storm of hot tips, hidden features and now glitches in Mafia Wars, a tipster to Mafia Wars Maniac has found himself with a title that currently doesn't exist in the game: "God Father." While glitches like these happen more often than players run out of energy, this particular error could hold quite a lot of meaning for the future of Mafia Wars.
Normally, title glitches occur when someone receives or loses a title that already exists in the game, but this situation involves content that doesn't exist... yet.Could this be a leak of future content, such as the area that is set to release some time after the Mafia Wars: MADE event in Las Vegas (remember, attendees are getting early access to that content)? This could also be one of the special items attendees receive for going to the event or it could just be another meaningless glitch.
Zynga has been contacted for comment. Stay tuned for possible updates.
Normally, title glitches occur when someone receives or loses a title that already exists in the game, but this situation involves content that doesn't exist... yet.Could this be a leak of future content, such as the area that is set to release some time after the Mafia Wars: MADE event in Las Vegas (remember, attendees are getting early access to that content)? This could also be one of the special items attendees receive for going to the event or it could just be another meaningless glitch.
Zynga has been contacted for comment. Stay tuned for possible updates.
Friday, February 3, 2012
Mafia Wars Italy Achievements are merely a game of numbers
Mafia Wars Italy Achievements
When a new city come to Mafia Wars, every digital mobster knows what that means: Achievements. Italy is no exception with nine new displays of prowess to obtain. On a boring note, these achievements are generally connected to things you're going to accomplish in Italy through normal play anyway, though there are a few gems that will require some serious effort. You'll gain Achievements like "Viva Italia!" by simply playing through Italy's five Regions, but "Bread and Circuses" is going to take quite a while and an obscene amount of Stamina.
Find the last five Mafia Wars Italy Achievements behind the break.
Mafia Wars Italy Achievements
The numbers game continues with the next five Achievements, some of which aren't even possible to tackle yet like "Rome is Burning." (We'll have to wait until Robbery in Italy goes live before that happens.) Unfortunately, the other Achievements require either simple albeit tedious tasks like upgrading properties and completing Ruby Mastery of Regions 1 through 5 or accumulating lots of Lira to finish Centurion. It's too bad that most of these Achievements require little to no effort aside from those that can't even be accomplished yet. Hopefully in Regions 6 through 8 we'll find tasks that require more effort or are at least more interesting.
When a new city come to Mafia Wars, every digital mobster knows what that means: Achievements. Italy is no exception with nine new displays of prowess to obtain. On a boring note, these achievements are generally connected to things you're going to accomplish in Italy through normal play anyway, though there are a few gems that will require some serious effort. You'll gain Achievements like "Viva Italia!" by simply playing through Italy's five Regions, but "Bread and Circuses" is going to take quite a while and an obscene amount of Stamina.
Find the last five Mafia Wars Italy Achievements behind the break.
Mafia Wars Italy Achievements
The numbers game continues with the next five Achievements, some of which aren't even possible to tackle yet like "Rome is Burning." (We'll have to wait until Robbery in Italy goes live before that happens.) Unfortunately, the other Achievements require either simple albeit tedious tasks like upgrading properties and completing Ruby Mastery of Regions 1 through 5 or accumulating lots of Lira to finish Centurion. It's too bad that most of these Achievements require little to no effort aside from those that can't even be accomplished yet. Hopefully in Regions 6 through 8 we'll find tasks that require more effort or are at least more interesting.
CSI: Crime City on Facebook: CSI goes social in new Ubisoft game
Although CSI: Crime City on Facebook is still officially in beta, it may well be one of the best uses of a licensed property in casual gaming. The game focuses on the original CSI series set in Las Vegas. Several characters make an appearance to help you along the way. Including Dr. Raymond Langston (Laurence Fishburne).
Crime City begins with a tutorial case, called "Sweet Revenge," that introduces you to the tools of your detective trade as well as the game's interface. Each case starts out with an animated scenario to set up the crime scene. The tutorial actually shows you who committed the crime, but leaves you without the motive. Later cases will be much more ambiguous, only introducing you to the characters before presenting the crime scene.
Each crime scene is laid out like a grid, with several squares that you can investigate. Typically, crime investigations like this would force your to click over every thing aimlessly. This grid system serves as an excellent guide, which helps to keep tedium down and fun levels up. Although squares may have blood, fibers or prints on them, they may not necessarily hold pieces of evidence. The game employs an energy meter. Depending on what kind of square you investigate, ranging from a blank square to a square with blood spatter, you will have to pay an energy cost. You only get 1 extra energy point every minute and thirty seconds so you will want to make your investigations count.
On a positive note, even if your search comes up empty, you will still gain experience points regardless of what square you click on. Gamers can uncover clues during their search, which are arrows pointing them in the direction of evidence. Each crime scene tells you just how much evidence there is to be found. However, it behooves you to search the entire area so that you can get more experience points and uncover special funding (extra cash) and energy boosts.
Energy boosts come in the way of focus challenges for special items like coffee. In these mini games you will have to match several patterns while racing against a clock. It's extremely difficult to make over four matches. If you get two matches, you will earn yourself a small coffee that gives you an extra 20 energy points. Four matches will earn you a medium coffee that gives you an extra thirty energy points.
Each location has milestones, like searching a certain percentage of the location for evidence. Every time you cover an additional 25% of the scene, you will get a bonus for added experience points.
Gamers have an array of investigative tools at their disposal including the luminol tool to investigate traces of blood and tweezers to pick up fibers. Once you find evidence you will need to take it back to the crime lab for analysis. Your crime lab starts off completely barren, except for a workbench manned by Dr. Langston. You have to save up funding to buy a Chemical, Light table, DNA, Ballistics and Microscope station. These can all be upgraded at a later time.
What's a very nice social tool in this game is the ability to travel to your friends' crime labs in order to use their investigation stations. Instead of doing all the work in your office, or exerting all of your funds at once, you and your friends can divide up different crime stations. That way you can work your way up the levels faster and marshal out the analysis work. Gamers can also purchase UbiCredits (Ubisoft money) for quick in game boosts.
At the end of every case, gamers will click "turn in case" when they have amassed enough evidence. You also get a speed rating so if you're doing this at work you probably wont earn as much. After you complete your first case you will open up the rest of the cases in Case Set 1. Gamers will also see at least three more case sets that can be unlocked. Now, you can work on multiple cases simultaneously as you wait for evidence to be analyzed in your crime lab.
Several options are still unavailable in this beta release. You can't customize your agent or view your collections yet. Also, game items coming soon include memorabilia, insects, supplies and cold cases.
CSI: Crime City is definitely one game worth checking out on Facebook. In each case, the story also gives you the occasional witty remark moments, as characters make light of the case. This added touch helps to bolster the overall experience of being an online CSI detective.
Crime City begins with a tutorial case, called "Sweet Revenge," that introduces you to the tools of your detective trade as well as the game's interface. Each case starts out with an animated scenario to set up the crime scene. The tutorial actually shows you who committed the crime, but leaves you without the motive. Later cases will be much more ambiguous, only introducing you to the characters before presenting the crime scene.
Each crime scene is laid out like a grid, with several squares that you can investigate. Typically, crime investigations like this would force your to click over every thing aimlessly. This grid system serves as an excellent guide, which helps to keep tedium down and fun levels up. Although squares may have blood, fibers or prints on them, they may not necessarily hold pieces of evidence. The game employs an energy meter. Depending on what kind of square you investigate, ranging from a blank square to a square with blood spatter, you will have to pay an energy cost. You only get 1 extra energy point every minute and thirty seconds so you will want to make your investigations count.
On a positive note, even if your search comes up empty, you will still gain experience points regardless of what square you click on. Gamers can uncover clues during their search, which are arrows pointing them in the direction of evidence. Each crime scene tells you just how much evidence there is to be found. However, it behooves you to search the entire area so that you can get more experience points and uncover special funding (extra cash) and energy boosts.
Energy boosts come in the way of focus challenges for special items like coffee. In these mini games you will have to match several patterns while racing against a clock. It's extremely difficult to make over four matches. If you get two matches, you will earn yourself a small coffee that gives you an extra 20 energy points. Four matches will earn you a medium coffee that gives you an extra thirty energy points.
Each location has milestones, like searching a certain percentage of the location for evidence. Every time you cover an additional 25% of the scene, you will get a bonus for added experience points.
Gamers have an array of investigative tools at their disposal including the luminol tool to investigate traces of blood and tweezers to pick up fibers. Once you find evidence you will need to take it back to the crime lab for analysis. Your crime lab starts off completely barren, except for a workbench manned by Dr. Langston. You have to save up funding to buy a Chemical, Light table, DNA, Ballistics and Microscope station. These can all be upgraded at a later time.
What's a very nice social tool in this game is the ability to travel to your friends' crime labs in order to use their investigation stations. Instead of doing all the work in your office, or exerting all of your funds at once, you and your friends can divide up different crime stations. That way you can work your way up the levels faster and marshal out the analysis work. Gamers can also purchase UbiCredits (Ubisoft money) for quick in game boosts.
At the end of every case, gamers will click "turn in case" when they have amassed enough evidence. You also get a speed rating so if you're doing this at work you probably wont earn as much. After you complete your first case you will open up the rest of the cases in Case Set 1. Gamers will also see at least three more case sets that can be unlocked. Now, you can work on multiple cases simultaneously as you wait for evidence to be analyzed in your crime lab.
Several options are still unavailable in this beta release. You can't customize your agent or view your collections yet. Also, game items coming soon include memorabilia, insects, supplies and cold cases.
CSI: Crime City is definitely one game worth checking out on Facebook. In each case, the story also gives you the occasional witty remark moments, as characters make light of the case. This added touch helps to bolster the overall experience of being an online CSI detective.
Mafia Wars Italy Mastery Rewards: Defeat the bosses for powerful items
Boss Di Rossi
Di Rossi's ShotgunWhile Zynga might have outdone itself with the new job paths, properties system and boss fights in Mafia Wars Italy, we know that all you really want to see is the new Mastery Items. The proverbial carrot on a stick, the Mastery Items are the ultimate goal in the new Mafia Wars cities. So, here's a sneak peek at all five Mastery Items obtained by beating the pulp out of their owners.
Let's begin with Roma's Mastery Item, Di Rossi's Shotgun, an attack-heavy weapon:
Bronze: 75 Attack, 51 Defense
Silver: 85 Attack, 57 Defense
Gold: 96 Attack, 63 Defense
Ruby: 107 Attack, 69 Defense
Find the rest of Italy's drool-worthy Mastery Items after the break.
Boss Aldo Adriano
Aldo's Palermitan HorseTo lay your filthy mitts on Palermo's Mastery Item, Aldo's Palermitan Horse, you'll have to take down the scheming, manipulative Boss Aldo Adriano:
Bronze: 55 Attack, 82 Defense
Silver: 64 Attack, 95 Defense
Gold: 73 Attack, 108 Defense
Ruby: 82 Attack, 121 Defense
Don Del Brenta
Del Brenta Cane SwordIn Venzia, you'll need to defeat Don Del Brenta in a duel before swiping his Del Brenta Cane Sword, a defense-heavy weapon:
Bronze: 48 Attack, 88 Defense
Silver: 56 Attack, 103 Defense
Gold: 64 Attack, 118 Defense
Ruby: 72 Attack, 133 Defense
Volovino Twins
Italiano GazzettiMastering Milano and defeating the Volovino Twins will reward you with the Italiano Gazzeti, an attack-heavy Italian police cruiser:
Bronze: 96 Attack, 71 Defense
Silver: 111 Attack, 79 Defense
Gold: 133 Attack, 89 Defense
Ruby: 148 Attack, 98 Defense
Don Enzo Casazza
Enzo's MonacleLastly, in Napoli you'll have to pummel Don Enzo Casazza for Enzo's Monocle, which oddly enough is a high-defense piece of armor:
Bronze: 74 Attack, 104 Defense
Silver: 84 Attack, 121 Defense
Gold: 94 Attack, 138 Defense
Ruby: 104 Attack, 155 Defense
All in all, these Mastery Reward are impressive, but we expected some higher stats considering Las Vegas rewards like the Experimental Exosuit had over 200 Attack power at Ruby Mastery. While this is most likely because these are the earlier Regions in Italy, slightly higher stats would give even better reason to pick up these items .
Di Rossi's ShotgunWhile Zynga might have outdone itself with the new job paths, properties system and boss fights in Mafia Wars Italy, we know that all you really want to see is the new Mastery Items. The proverbial carrot on a stick, the Mastery Items are the ultimate goal in the new Mafia Wars cities. So, here's a sneak peek at all five Mastery Items obtained by beating the pulp out of their owners.
Let's begin with Roma's Mastery Item, Di Rossi's Shotgun, an attack-heavy weapon:
Bronze: 75 Attack, 51 Defense
Silver: 85 Attack, 57 Defense
Gold: 96 Attack, 63 Defense
Ruby: 107 Attack, 69 Defense
Find the rest of Italy's drool-worthy Mastery Items after the break.
Boss Aldo Adriano
Aldo's Palermitan HorseTo lay your filthy mitts on Palermo's Mastery Item, Aldo's Palermitan Horse, you'll have to take down the scheming, manipulative Boss Aldo Adriano:
Bronze: 55 Attack, 82 Defense
Silver: 64 Attack, 95 Defense
Gold: 73 Attack, 108 Defense
Ruby: 82 Attack, 121 Defense
Don Del Brenta
Del Brenta Cane SwordIn Venzia, you'll need to defeat Don Del Brenta in a duel before swiping his Del Brenta Cane Sword, a defense-heavy weapon:
Bronze: 48 Attack, 88 Defense
Silver: 56 Attack, 103 Defense
Gold: 64 Attack, 118 Defense
Ruby: 72 Attack, 133 Defense
Volovino Twins
Italiano GazzettiMastering Milano and defeating the Volovino Twins will reward you with the Italiano Gazzeti, an attack-heavy Italian police cruiser:
Bronze: 96 Attack, 71 Defense
Silver: 111 Attack, 79 Defense
Gold: 133 Attack, 89 Defense
Ruby: 148 Attack, 98 Defense
Don Enzo Casazza
Enzo's MonacleLastly, in Napoli you'll have to pummel Don Enzo Casazza for Enzo's Monocle, which oddly enough is a high-defense piece of armor:
Bronze: 74 Attack, 104 Defense
Silver: 84 Attack, 121 Defense
Gold: 94 Attack, 138 Defense
Ruby: 104 Attack, 155 Defense
All in all, these Mastery Reward are impressive, but we expected some higher stats considering Las Vegas rewards like the Experimental Exosuit had over 200 Attack power at Ruby Mastery. While this is most likely because these are the earlier Regions in Italy, slightly higher stats would give even better reason to pick up these items .
Treasure Isle Halloween Spirit Maps have seven spooky isles to explore
Treasure Isle Halloween Spirit Maps
New decorations and a giant pumpkin for our home islands was fun and all, but what a true treasure hunter really wants is uncharted lands to explore. Finally, you can have just that with seven new isles added to Treasure Isle in the Halloween Spirit map. These brand new islands not only bring fresh adventures, but new collections of treasures as well.
There are four new collections to complete, but you'll have to search beyond the break to find a list of them.
Butterscotch Drop Candy Apple Candy Corn Chocolate Bar Peanut Butter Cup
This first collection, the Candy Cauldron, is a common one that will reward you with 1,000 coins and 100 XP once completed. Not to mention it'll rot your teeth right out:
Butterscotch Drop
Candy Apple
Candy Corn
Chocolate Bar
Peanut Butter Cup
Big ears Funny Eyes Health Mask Red Nose Plastic Teeth
Altering Accents is an uncommon collection filled with goofy Halloween costume accessories that once completed will net you 10,000 coins and 100 XP:
Big Ears
Funny Eyes
Health Mask
Red Nose
Plastic Teeth
Black Cat Rat Snake Spider Worm
The third, rare collection is Creepy Crawlies, which consists of enough critters to give you shivers ten times over. Once you face your phobias (wimp), enjoy another 10,000 coins and 100 XP:
Rat
Black Cat
Snake
Spider
Worm
Eggs Firecracker Flaming Bag Smoke Bomb Toilet Paper
Finally the ultra rare collection is known as Petty Pranks, though depending on the context we wouldn't consider Firecrackers "petty." Here are the five treasures:
Eggs
Firecracker
Flaming Bag (of what?)
Smoke Bomb
Toilet Paper
Free Gifts
To keep treasure hunters going on the seven new isles, there are also four new Free Gifts available that will each give a small Energy boost.
New decorations and a giant pumpkin for our home islands was fun and all, but what a true treasure hunter really wants is uncharted lands to explore. Finally, you can have just that with seven new isles added to Treasure Isle in the Halloween Spirit map. These brand new islands not only bring fresh adventures, but new collections of treasures as well.
There are four new collections to complete, but you'll have to search beyond the break to find a list of them.
Butterscotch Drop Candy Apple Candy Corn Chocolate Bar Peanut Butter Cup
This first collection, the Candy Cauldron, is a common one that will reward you with 1,000 coins and 100 XP once completed. Not to mention it'll rot your teeth right out:
Butterscotch Drop
Candy Apple
Candy Corn
Chocolate Bar
Peanut Butter Cup
Big ears Funny Eyes Health Mask Red Nose Plastic Teeth
Altering Accents is an uncommon collection filled with goofy Halloween costume accessories that once completed will net you 10,000 coins and 100 XP:
Big Ears
Funny Eyes
Health Mask
Red Nose
Plastic Teeth
Black Cat Rat Snake Spider Worm
The third, rare collection is Creepy Crawlies, which consists of enough critters to give you shivers ten times over. Once you face your phobias (wimp), enjoy another 10,000 coins and 100 XP:
Rat
Black Cat
Snake
Spider
Worm
Eggs Firecracker Flaming Bag Smoke Bomb Toilet Paper
Finally the ultra rare collection is known as Petty Pranks, though depending on the context we wouldn't consider Firecrackers "petty." Here are the five treasures:
Eggs
Firecracker
Flaming Bag (of what?)
Smoke Bomb
Toilet Paper
Free Gifts
To keep treasure hunters going on the seven new isles, there are also four new Free Gifts available that will each give a small Energy boost.
Social City Raffle Offers Spooky Mystery Manor, Halloween Prizes
A spooooooky new Halloween Raffle has been added to Social City, offering you a chance to grab a total of nine different Halloween-themed buildings and decorations for use in your town! Like other raffles, this one will cost you City Bucks, at a cost of 8 City Bucks per spin. For that price, you'll earn one of eight different decorations or buildings, and if you manage to collect all eight, you'll earn the especially spooky Mystery Manor as a final prize.
This Mystery Manor offers 50,000 Happiness Points to your town, and is animated with creepy bats flying around the home's tower and flashing lights that illuminate the windows. In addition, placing the Manor in your town will generate small vans that will drive around your city's streets, with these vans resembling the Mystery Machine of Scooby Doo fame.
Remember, each and every spin offers the same chance at any one of the eight items, so there is a big possibility for duplicates once you've started to build up your collection of Halloween themed items.
This Mystery Manor offers 50,000 Happiness Points to your town, and is animated with creepy bats flying around the home's tower and flashing lights that illuminate the windows. In addition, placing the Manor in your town will generate small vans that will drive around your city's streets, with these vans resembling the Mystery Machine of Scooby Doo fame.
Remember, each and every spin offers the same chance at any one of the eight items, so there is a big possibility for duplicates once you've started to build up your collection of Halloween themed items.
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Earn 2 free FarmVille Farm Cash from Best Buy promotion
Along with the Office for Mac promotion now available in FarmVille (your mileage may vary), all users can now get their hands on an extra 2 Farm Cash, absolutely free, just for taking part in the new Best Buy holiday shopping survey.
As usual, this cross-promotion activity can be found underneath the FarmVille gameplay area. You'll click on the "Sponsored Link" window, as seen at right, and will then be shown a new window, where you'll answer a series of survey questions about holiday shopping and deals on various electronics. At the end of the two question survey, you'll receive your two free Farm Cash.
Reload your game, and you should see your virtual wallet increase by two. If you are one of the lucky farmers that play FarmVille on a Mac, as mentioned in the last promotion, this could mean a possible 4 free Farm Cash overall, for little more than a few minutes of your time.
As usual, this cross-promotion activity can be found underneath the FarmVille gameplay area. You'll click on the "Sponsored Link" window, as seen at right, and will then be shown a new window, where you'll answer a series of survey questions about holiday shopping and deals on various electronics. At the end of the two question survey, you'll receive your two free Farm Cash.
Reload your game, and you should see your virtual wallet increase by two. If you are one of the lucky farmers that play FarmVille on a Mac, as mentioned in the last promotion, this could mean a possible 4 free Farm Cash overall, for little more than a few minutes of your time.
Let the new Happy Pets Kangaroos hop into your life
Hey Happy Pets players! Are you an exotic pet owner in Happy Pets? Do you like being of the first to get your hands (or paws) on the newest species of animals released in the game? If so, you'll want to pull out your pocketbook to get ahold of one of the game's newest Kangaroo pets.
There are six new Kangaroos available to purchase from the store, and lucky for all of us, they are permanent additions to the game. That's right - no limited edition quantity limits or time limits to worry about. Take your time saving up the 60 Facebook Credits ($6.00 US) to purchase one of these cute little hoppers.
The Kangaroos come in basic colors: Grey, Orange, Yellow, Black, White, and Brown, and all of them grow to adulthood in a matter of 7 days, so long as they are fed regularly, at a rate of at least once every 16 hours.
Unfortunately, if you're wanting a bright and colorful Kangaroo, this release doesn't have you're looking for. However, knowing CrowdStar, we wouldn't be surprised if another wave of Kangaroos was released some time in the future that will provide more variety to those who want it.
There are six new Kangaroos available to purchase from the store, and lucky for all of us, they are permanent additions to the game. That's right - no limited edition quantity limits or time limits to worry about. Take your time saving up the 60 Facebook Credits ($6.00 US) to purchase one of these cute little hoppers.
The Kangaroos come in basic colors: Grey, Orange, Yellow, Black, White, and Brown, and all of them grow to adulthood in a matter of 7 days, so long as they are fed regularly, at a rate of at least once every 16 hours.
Unfortunately, if you're wanting a bright and colorful Kangaroo, this release doesn't have you're looking for. However, knowing CrowdStar, we wouldn't be surprised if another wave of Kangaroos was released some time in the future that will provide more variety to those who want it.
It Girls releases new limited edition Couture fashions
Hey It Girls! Do you like collecting the latest in limited edition fashions in CrowdStar's It Girl? If that's the case, then you should head over to the game's catalog, as you can now find five new clothing pieces available to purchase with Facebook Credits.
The items are fairly varied, in terms of theme, are are simply called "Couture" fashions. Here's the list of newly released items, along with their stats.
Cobalt Romance Dress - 34 points - Classy Casual / Night Life / Black Tie appropriate - 57 Facebook Credits ($5.70 US)
Silver Lining Hot Pants - 21 points - all but Black Tie - 48 Facebook Credits ($4.80)
Dreaming in Pink Skirt - 21 points - Outdoor / Casual / Classy Casual / Night Life - 48 Facebook Credits ($4.80)
Black Bon Jovi Tee - 17 Points - Beach / Outdoor / Casual / Night Life - 41 Facebook Credits ($4.10)
White Bon Jovi Tee - 17 Points - Beach / Outdoor / Casual / Night Life - 41 Facebook Credits ($4.10)
The items will only be available until they sell out from stores, but as of this writing, there are at least 1,300 of each left, so it seems like you'll have plenty of time to decide. Still, it's better to be safe than sorry, so you might consider shopping now, just to be sure.
While not in any particular theme, these items should be more than enough to help you win any Showdowns you might find yourself in, especially for lower level players.
The items are fairly varied, in terms of theme, are are simply called "Couture" fashions. Here's the list of newly released items, along with their stats.
Cobalt Romance Dress - 34 points - Classy Casual / Night Life / Black Tie appropriate - 57 Facebook Credits ($5.70 US)
Silver Lining Hot Pants - 21 points - all but Black Tie - 48 Facebook Credits ($4.80)
Dreaming in Pink Skirt - 21 points - Outdoor / Casual / Classy Casual / Night Life - 48 Facebook Credits ($4.80)
Black Bon Jovi Tee - 17 Points - Beach / Outdoor / Casual / Night Life - 41 Facebook Credits ($4.10)
White Bon Jovi Tee - 17 Points - Beach / Outdoor / Casual / Night Life - 41 Facebook Credits ($4.10)
The items will only be available until they sell out from stores, but as of this writing, there are at least 1,300 of each left, so it seems like you'll have plenty of time to decide. Still, it's better to be safe than sorry, so you might consider shopping now, just to be sure.
While not in any particular theme, these items should be more than enough to help you win any Showdowns you might find yourself in, especially for lower level players.
City of Wonder will soon leap into the Atomic Age!
In an announcement this afternoon, City of Wonder developer Playdom announced a hotly anticipated content expansion in the popular title. This announcement concerns the future addition of the Atomic Age in City of Wonder, a new age of technological advancement and breakthroughs, that will be accompanied by quite a few new items and features.
For those that are unfamiliar with the term, the "Atomic Age" or "Atomic Era" are terms used to describe the time period following the detonation of the first nuclear bomb in 1945.
So far, we know that there will be more than 30 new buildings released (apparently) at launch of the Atomic Age, along with new technologies (things to research in the Research Tree), new Marvels and more!
Could this mean we see the addition of an Atom Bomb to the military battles between civilizations? Could we see space flight as an option in the research tree? The options seem to be limitless for how far the game could advance in the future, but we're definitely looking forward to seeing this newest set of items and features, when it launches in the game "soon."
For those that are unfamiliar with the term, the "Atomic Age" or "Atomic Era" are terms used to describe the time period following the detonation of the first nuclear bomb in 1945.
So far, we know that there will be more than 30 new buildings released (apparently) at launch of the Atomic Age, along with new technologies (things to research in the Research Tree), new Marvels and more!
Could this mean we see the addition of an Atom Bomb to the military battles between civilizations? Could we see space flight as an option in the research tree? The options seem to be limitless for how far the game could advance in the future, but we're definitely looking forward to seeing this newest set of items and features, when it launches in the game "soon."
FarmVille Fun House: Everything you need to know
For the past week, we've known that a Fun House would soon be coming to FarmVille, and we've been speculating for some time as to what the item would actually do.
Tonight we find that out, as the frame for the Fun House is now available to purchase from the store. Meet us behind the break for a full look at how you can make your own Fun House on your farm.
The Fun House frame can be purchased from the store's Buildings tab for 5,000 coins. The base is quite large, so you might have to move some things.
From there, you'll be able to build the Fun House by collecting the three major building ingredients: 18 each of Wooden Boards, Nails, and Bricks. To be clear, if you click on the "What is this?" button on the Fun House in the market, you are told that the building only requires 10 of each item, but as we can clearly see below, the requirement is 18.
You'll start out with just one ingredient as a boost to get you going, and can then click on the "Ask for More" button associated with each item to be sent to a reverse of the game's free gifts page, where you can send a request to your individual FarmVille friends, in the hopes that they will answer your call for help and send you the item you need. Remember, this only allows you to send requests to those who have that particular ingredient available to send in the first place, so don't worry about not getting what you want.
As usual, if at any time you'd like to stop waiting for your friends to send you items, you can purchase the rest of the required ingredients for 1 Farm Cash each. That's 53 Farm Cash in all, if you chose to only go that route.
Once completed, the Fun House will add a ...unique decorative touch to your farm, but as of this writing, it unfortunately doesn't serve any other purpose rather than being a decoration.
All told, with the recent release of the Turkey Roost, and the release of Orchards, many users already had one or two items on their "To-Build" lists. With the Fun House only making that list longer, it's not surprising why some users are already lashing out at Zynga for making a building that requires so many ingredients, yet serves no purpose.
Either way, if you're the type that simply can't let a building pass you by unfinished, or perhaps you simply really like the look of the completed building, you'll want to make sure to start building the Fun House now, as it will only be available until the end of the game's Country Fair celebration - just 17 days.
With the FarmVille Fun House already causing a bit of a controversy among users, we'd love to hear your opinions on the item. Will you take the time to build the Fun House, or will you save your building ingredients for the Turkey Roost or extra Orchards?
Tonight we find that out, as the frame for the Fun House is now available to purchase from the store. Meet us behind the break for a full look at how you can make your own Fun House on your farm.
The Fun House frame can be purchased from the store's Buildings tab for 5,000 coins. The base is quite large, so you might have to move some things.
From there, you'll be able to build the Fun House by collecting the three major building ingredients: 18 each of Wooden Boards, Nails, and Bricks. To be clear, if you click on the "What is this?" button on the Fun House in the market, you are told that the building only requires 10 of each item, but as we can clearly see below, the requirement is 18.
You'll start out with just one ingredient as a boost to get you going, and can then click on the "Ask for More" button associated with each item to be sent to a reverse of the game's free gifts page, where you can send a request to your individual FarmVille friends, in the hopes that they will answer your call for help and send you the item you need. Remember, this only allows you to send requests to those who have that particular ingredient available to send in the first place, so don't worry about not getting what you want.
As usual, if at any time you'd like to stop waiting for your friends to send you items, you can purchase the rest of the required ingredients for 1 Farm Cash each. That's 53 Farm Cash in all, if you chose to only go that route.
Once completed, the Fun House will add a ...unique decorative touch to your farm, but as of this writing, it unfortunately doesn't serve any other purpose rather than being a decoration.
All told, with the recent release of the Turkey Roost, and the release of Orchards, many users already had one or two items on their "To-Build" lists. With the Fun House only making that list longer, it's not surprising why some users are already lashing out at Zynga for making a building that requires so many ingredients, yet serves no purpose.
Either way, if you're the type that simply can't let a building pass you by unfinished, or perhaps you simply really like the look of the completed building, you'll want to make sure to start building the Fun House now, as it will only be available until the end of the game's Country Fair celebration - just 17 days.
With the FarmVille Fun House already causing a bit of a controversy among users, we'd love to hear your opinions on the item. Will you take the time to build the Fun House, or will you save your building ingredients for the Turkey Roost or extra Orchards?
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Mafia Wars Secret Santa mission ushers in the Holidays for a limited time
For the next five days, Zynga will be ushering in the holiday season in Mafia Wars via the Secret Santa limited time mission. This mission will be available to complete for the next 5 days, however, your own time limit for completing mission will likely not match this overall time limit, so as to allow you to complete the mission multiple times if you so choose (and have time to do so).
The mission requires you to find four mafia members to help you, and you can ask for their help by simply posting a news item to your wall. The possible rewards for this mission are quite varied and are high in number. There are two "Grand" or "rare" prizes associated with this event - a D-07 Proximity Mine worth 70 Attack and 39 Defense points, and a Field Rider motorcycle which has 21 Attack and 71 Defense stats.
There are six uncommon items and six common items available to win. For those unfamiliar with these kinds of special event or timed missions, once it is successfully completed, your pool of participating mob members can receive multiple items from this prize pool, with you earning a slightly bigger portion, since you were the leader, or initiator of the mission.
We're sure this won't be the last time we see something related to the holidays released in Mafia Wars, but it is a nice teaser to tide us over until (if) something bigger does come along.
The mission requires you to find four mafia members to help you, and you can ask for their help by simply posting a news item to your wall. The possible rewards for this mission are quite varied and are high in number. There are two "Grand" or "rare" prizes associated with this event - a D-07 Proximity Mine worth 70 Attack and 39 Defense points, and a Field Rider motorcycle which has 21 Attack and 71 Defense stats.
There are six uncommon items and six common items available to win. For those unfamiliar with these kinds of special event or timed missions, once it is successfully completed, your pool of participating mob members can receive multiple items from this prize pool, with you earning a slightly bigger portion, since you were the leader, or initiator of the mission.
We're sure this won't be the last time we see something related to the holidays released in Mafia Wars, but it is a nice teaser to tide us over until (if) something bigger does come along.
FarmVille Holiday Tree looks to be returning for 2010
During the Winter Holiday event in 2009, FarmVille players were able to build and expand their very own Holiday Tree in a collection event with friends that saw users passing around wrapped Christmas presents through free gift requests and wall posts. Only once the holidays actually hit did those presents become available for unwrapping, and they account for the many Reindeer, Ornaments, Snowflakes and other decorations that you might have noticed on your veteran friends' farms - those items that aren't available in the store currently.
With the winter holiday season now firmly in place, the question becomes whether or not we'll see a new Holiday Tree released in the game, or whether the tree from 2009 will be making a return. We can now make a pretty strong guess that the latter is indeed the case, as something very interesting has happened to the Holiday 2009 trees that are still on users' farms.
Regardless of how much progress you made on your tree last year (that is, whether or not you reached the 100 present limit), all of that progress has been erased, and removed from the tree, reverting it back to its original state (that being the tree image in this post). Hovering over the tree still shows your present progress from last year (in my case "0/100 Presents Inside"), but the tree is simply tiny.
As of this writing, the tree is unable to buy in the store, if you're a new player who doesn't yet have one, and there are no gifts to be found to send on the free gifts page. So for now, this all seems to just be a preliminary step by Zynga to prepare the game for the "re-release" of the tree, so that all users are on an even footing.
We'll be sure to let you know when the Holiday Tree 2010 collection event starts in the game, so keep checking back with us for more.
UPDATE: After reporting on this development yesterday, we've heard reports, and have witnessed personally, the Holiday Trees from 2009 going through seemingly random bouts of being complete, and being small (as in the picture above). We'll be sure to let you know when there is a definitive answer to this conundrum, so keep checking back.
With the winter holiday season now firmly in place, the question becomes whether or not we'll see a new Holiday Tree released in the game, or whether the tree from 2009 will be making a return. We can now make a pretty strong guess that the latter is indeed the case, as something very interesting has happened to the Holiday 2009 trees that are still on users' farms.
Regardless of how much progress you made on your tree last year (that is, whether or not you reached the 100 present limit), all of that progress has been erased, and removed from the tree, reverting it back to its original state (that being the tree image in this post). Hovering over the tree still shows your present progress from last year (in my case "0/100 Presents Inside"), but the tree is simply tiny.
As of this writing, the tree is unable to buy in the store, if you're a new player who doesn't yet have one, and there are no gifts to be found to send on the free gifts page. So for now, this all seems to just be a preliminary step by Zynga to prepare the game for the "re-release" of the tree, so that all users are on an even footing.
We'll be sure to let you know when the Holiday Tree 2010 collection event starts in the game, so keep checking back with us for more.
UPDATE: After reporting on this development yesterday, we've heard reports, and have witnessed personally, the Holiday Trees from 2009 going through seemingly random bouts of being complete, and being small (as in the picture above). We'll be sure to let you know when there is a definitive answer to this conundrum, so keep checking back.
FrontierVille Sneak Peek: Winter Holiday Pink Tree, Happy Holidays Sign, & Sad 'Lil Tree
If you thought the first real wave of Winter Holiday decorations in FrontierVIlle would be the end of the game's celebration for this year, think again, as we've come across some new leaked images, revealing a trio of additional decorations that may or may not be coming to FrontierVille in the near future.
The items are the Pink Tree (similar to FarmVIlle's Pink Tree decoration), a lighted Happy Holidays Sign (which will match nicely with the lights that can be placed on the ground, or with the lighted "Tend Here" sign), and a Sad 'Lil Tree, giving a nod to Charlie Brown's classic tree with a single red ornament.
No word yet as to whether or not these items will officially be released in the game, or where you'll be able to find them. They could be mission rewards, they could be available to purchase in the store, or they could even be free gifts (granted, that's highly unlikely) - so keep that in mind.
Check out the rest of our Holiday 2010 coverage right here.
The items are the Pink Tree (similar to FarmVIlle's Pink Tree decoration), a lighted Happy Holidays Sign (which will match nicely with the lights that can be placed on the ground, or with the lighted "Tend Here" sign), and a Sad 'Lil Tree, giving a nod to Charlie Brown's classic tree with a single red ornament.
No word yet as to whether or not these items will officially be released in the game, or where you'll be able to find them. They could be mission rewards, they could be available to purchase in the store, or they could even be free gifts (granted, that's highly unlikely) - so keep that in mind.
Check out the rest of our Holiday 2010 coverage right here.
FrontierVille Sneak Peek: Axe Target, Spittoon, Varmint Targets & More
Today has been a great day for leaked images from FrontierVille, as we've come across another set of items, this time (apparently) unrelated to the current Winter Holiday theme in the game.
These items appear to all be decorative, and come in the form of an Axe Target, a Spittoon, a log with Varmint Targets attached to the top, a Sewing Machine, and a Duck Pinwheel that will likely spin in the "wind" of the game as an animated item.
Will these be the items that are released after the Winter Holiday theme and season as a whole comes to a close in the game? Or, could these be the rewards we'll receive from some new, as of yet unknown mission - perhaps timed missions, even? It's all very up-in-the-air at this point, so your guess is as good as ours.
Remember, there is no guarantee that these items will officially be launched in the game, or how they will be earned, or their prices (where applicable), so keep that in mind.
These items appear to all be decorative, and come in the form of an Axe Target, a Spittoon, a log with Varmint Targets attached to the top, a Sewing Machine, and a Duck Pinwheel that will likely spin in the "wind" of the game as an animated item.
Will these be the items that are released after the Winter Holiday theme and season as a whole comes to a close in the game? Or, could these be the rewards we'll receive from some new, as of yet unknown mission - perhaps timed missions, even? It's all very up-in-the-air at this point, so your guess is as good as ours.
Remember, there is no guarantee that these items will officially be launched in the game, or how they will be earned, or their prices (where applicable), so keep that in mind.
Warimals brings the browser-based war of cats vs dogs to Facebook
Rocket Pack, the creators of Warimals have brought what was once just a browser-based game detailing the "only war that ever mattered", the one between cats and dogs, to Facebook. You'll play the game by choosing your side - whether you'd like to be a Cat and fight the Dogs, or vice versa. Choice made, you'll be allowed to customize your in-game avatar, or "General" in your army from a selection of options, and will be able to jump head-first into the fight for dominance over the enemy species.
Gameplay itself begins by being informed that the enemy has stolen your backyard, and you need to reclaim it. For the sake of the argument, I chose to side with the Cats, so your own experience may look a bit different if you choose to play. This portion serves as the tutorial, getting you up to speed about the game, and ends with you reclaiming the backyard as your own home base.
As Warimals truly is about fighting a war against the enemy, you'll be able to enter into battles by choosing your units (up to four per battle to start) and then sending an all-out-attack on the enemy fortifications. Battles take energy to start, which refills over time. Once in a battle, you'll click on your units' pictures to send them into the battle.
Battles are waged in a "tower defense" fashion against other real world players, with most involving a set path that your troops can walk on, that the enemy has defended with various military equipment - in this case troops of their own, or even mouse traps or beehives (and other wacky items). They can even place buildings that spawn new troops over time. Once your army comes upon an enemy unit, or even just a building, they will automatically begin to attack, slowly draining the life bar of the item until the enemy is defeated.
You'll gain cookies for your victories, with cookies being the main currency in the game. You'll use these Cookies to add defensive and offensive items to your own backyard. In this way, you'll be required to continue fighting the enemy in order to earn supplies that can be used to defend your base.
There are also quests that you'll complete over time by simply playing the game. These can be anything from placing a certain defensive item in your backyard, or attacking a certain number of enemies. These quests will reward you typically with more cookies, experience points, and even items you can put in your backyard.
As you level up, you'll gain the ability to attack certain bosses, and if you win, you can claim their land for yourself (this land will have a different design, and a different path for your troops to defend). Of course, bosses will typically be a higher level than you are, and they won't just let you walk into their land without a fight, so you'll need to prepare for battle before sending your troops in. Once you move to a new Backyard, the items in your current base will be added to your inventory, so you don't lose anything in the process.
As Warimals is still in its Alpha state, you may have to fight some bugs, along with fighting either cats or dogs, but the game looks to have a lot of polish and replayability, which is something every Facebook game definitely needs.
If you'd like to start your own war against cats or dogs, head over to the Warimals page on Facebook.
Gameplay itself begins by being informed that the enemy has stolen your backyard, and you need to reclaim it. For the sake of the argument, I chose to side with the Cats, so your own experience may look a bit different if you choose to play. This portion serves as the tutorial, getting you up to speed about the game, and ends with you reclaiming the backyard as your own home base.
As Warimals truly is about fighting a war against the enemy, you'll be able to enter into battles by choosing your units (up to four per battle to start) and then sending an all-out-attack on the enemy fortifications. Battles take energy to start, which refills over time. Once in a battle, you'll click on your units' pictures to send them into the battle.
Battles are waged in a "tower defense" fashion against other real world players, with most involving a set path that your troops can walk on, that the enemy has defended with various military equipment - in this case troops of their own, or even mouse traps or beehives (and other wacky items). They can even place buildings that spawn new troops over time. Once your army comes upon an enemy unit, or even just a building, they will automatically begin to attack, slowly draining the life bar of the item until the enemy is defeated.
You'll gain cookies for your victories, with cookies being the main currency in the game. You'll use these Cookies to add defensive and offensive items to your own backyard. In this way, you'll be required to continue fighting the enemy in order to earn supplies that can be used to defend your base.
There are also quests that you'll complete over time by simply playing the game. These can be anything from placing a certain defensive item in your backyard, or attacking a certain number of enemies. These quests will reward you typically with more cookies, experience points, and even items you can put in your backyard.
As you level up, you'll gain the ability to attack certain bosses, and if you win, you can claim their land for yourself (this land will have a different design, and a different path for your troops to defend). Of course, bosses will typically be a higher level than you are, and they won't just let you walk into their land without a fight, so you'll need to prepare for battle before sending your troops in. Once you move to a new Backyard, the items in your current base will be added to your inventory, so you don't lose anything in the process.
As Warimals is still in its Alpha state, you may have to fight some bugs, along with fighting either cats or dogs, but the game looks to have a lot of polish and replayability, which is something every Facebook game definitely needs.
If you'd like to start your own war against cats or dogs, head over to the Warimals page on Facebook.
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