The FrontierVille advent calendar has opened yet another of its doors and inside is today's 12 Days of Christmas Goal, "On the Tenth Day O' Christmas." On a surprising note, this Goal is considerably easier than yesterday's, but only for you seasoned pioneers.
While anyone can buy, raise and sell 10 Adult Goats, which would take about 100 Energy and 1,950 coins total to do from scratch, only players who have reached and completed the Jackalope Lodge will be able to complete this Goal in a timely fashion. But do this and collect from the Lodge twice to be two steps closer to completing Day 10 of this 12-mission series. Lastly, all you need to do is buy and build the Snowman, which I imagine most of the game's dedicated have already accomplished.
But for those of you that haven't, the Snowman costs 100 coins from the Market to place. From there, you'll need to collect several items from friends to complete the Snowman after whacking it a few times. Finally, players can customize their Snowman with different arms, faces, hats and scarves. Constructing the Snowman will complete this Goal and inch you one day closer to that Partridge in a Pear Tree. No matter how you slice it, this Goal will take a few days to complete, but check out our guides for the Jackalope Lodge and Buildable Snowman for some tips on how to get those done quickly.
Work at home & Earn Money
Friday, January 13, 2012
Love Mafia Wars? Then prove it and join the "I Love Mafia Wars" Family
Well, do you? Then Zynga is asking you to prove your devotion and join the brand new "I Love Mafia Wars" Family for exclusive benefits. However, signing up requires what some players would deem the unthinkable: providing your e-mail and mailing address to Zynga (especially since the fiasco earlier this season). For those who are OK with giving that information up, enticing benefits await them like:
Beta access to new features and releases (you'll be one of the first)
Exclusive Contests and Prizes for members
Email notifications of upcoming features
Priority registration to MW Fan events
Periodic "Member Only" promotions
Other Benefits to come!
To guaranteed access to beta content before anyone else is certainly appealing, but is worth giving up your e-mail much less you mailing address? That's up for you to decide, but mobsters who are already interested can sign up right here. Now, if only a program like this was around when those premium MADE in Vegas tickets were still on sale. As for some of the "other benefits to come," how does early access to this supposed Mafia Wars 2 sound?
Beta access to new features and releases (you'll be one of the first)
Exclusive Contests and Prizes for members
Email notifications of upcoming features
Priority registration to MW Fan events
Periodic "Member Only" promotions
Other Benefits to come!
To guaranteed access to beta content before anyone else is certainly appealing, but is worth giving up your e-mail much less you mailing address? That's up for you to decide, but mobsters who are already interested can sign up right here. Now, if only a program like this was around when those premium MADE in Vegas tickets were still on sale. As for some of the "other benefits to come," how does early access to this supposed Mafia Wars 2 sound?
Cookie Monster YouTube game asks 'Will it Sink or Float?'
Our beloved blue fur ball from the around the corner on Sesame Street, Cookie Monster, has become somewhat of a YouTube sensation lately. And his most recent outing on the ubiquitous video site is, thankfully for you parents' sake, much more educational. In the "Sink or Float" YouTube game, Cookie Monster and his friend Emma ask for your help in testing whether five different objects will either sink or float in a tank of water.
Like most standard interactive YouTube games, clicking on one of the four options will jump you to the result, which will have another set of options toward the end of the video. More specifically, your task is to answer whether one of five items, Ernie's rubber ducky, a lemon, a lime, a coconut or a rubber band ball, will sink or float in water. The game's primary goal is to give kids a crash course in the scientific method. But if you have a fish tank (or in my case an aquatic turtle tank), just remember to keep it firmly sealed in case the little ones get any smart ideas.
With the bonafide blue beast recently attracting over 1.5 million people to his Saturday Night Live audition tape, a regularly updated video blog on Facebook and a his own Tumblr, we doubt Cookie Monster will be leaving the internet behind anytime soon. Let's just hope his future exploits are as fun as this one.
Like most standard interactive YouTube games, clicking on one of the four options will jump you to the result, which will have another set of options toward the end of the video. More specifically, your task is to answer whether one of five items, Ernie's rubber ducky, a lemon, a lime, a coconut or a rubber band ball, will sink or float in water. The game's primary goal is to give kids a crash course in the scientific method. But if you have a fish tank (or in my case an aquatic turtle tank), just remember to keep it firmly sealed in case the little ones get any smart ideas.
With the bonafide blue beast recently attracting over 1.5 million people to his Saturday Night Live audition tape, a regularly updated video blog on Facebook and a his own Tumblr, we doubt Cookie Monster will be leaving the internet behind anytime soon. Let's just hope his future exploits are as fun as this one.
FarmVille Clumsy Reindeer available as Free Gift for limited time
Thanks to our good friends at FarmVille Freak, we're happy to bring the news that the Clumsy Reindeer has returned to FarmVille as a free gift. For a short time (most likely through Christmas), players can send one another as many of these doofy reindeer as they like. Nothing says "Merry Christmas" like a reindeer that could potentially sabotage Santa Claus' midnight mission on Dec. 25 without even knowing it.
Check out our Holiday 2010 coverage right here.
Have you seen the Clumsy Reindeer in your game as a free gift yet? How many do you plan to send to your friends?
Check out our Holiday 2010 coverage right here.
Have you seen the Clumsy Reindeer in your game as a free gift yet? How many do you plan to send to your friends?
Game of the Day: Bounce Out
The game of the day rolls on and we have a classic for you. Bounce Out has been a part of games.com for several years and it's popularity never wanes. You won't be able to stop playing 'Bounce Out!', the fast and addictive game. Switch bouncy super balls around to match three or more of the same color and watch them bounce off the screen. Go for bigger combos to earn huge bonuses!
Important side note: Just by playing The Game of the Day you will be entered into a monthly drawing to win a FlipCam HD. You don't need to do anything else, just play! The more you play, the more chances you have to win. For more information on the Game of Day check out the official Game of the Day hub.
Play Bounce Out Now! -->
Important side note: Just by playing The Game of the Day you will be entered into a monthly drawing to win a FlipCam HD. You don't need to do anything else, just play! The more you play, the more chances you have to win. For more information on the Game of Day check out the official Game of the Day hub.
Play Bounce Out Now! -->
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Zynga Unleashed: CEO Mark Pincus reveals Zynga Direct platform
Zynga broke big news about where the developer is headed today in San Francisco at its Unleashed news event. First, Zynga CEO Mark Pincus approached the stage and almost immediately said that 10 products will be announced today. The most notable of which is Zynga Direct, "a platform for a direct relationship with consumers," according to Pincus. This is likely what Pincus was referring to when he first uttered the words "dog-connected world."
Zynga later elaborated on what the company CEO called "Zynga Direct" with the announcement of Project Z, an "instant social" platform that is said to be the company's attempt at independence from Facebook. The codenamed project looks to connect players immediately through zTags, usernames for Zynga game players made possible through Facebook Connect.
Starting today, players can connect to Project Z through Facebook and reserve their zTags for when the service goes live officially. After claiming your zTag, you're rewarded with zCoins, implying that this service will integrate with Zynga's RewardVille program somehow.
Project Z
Nothing more was revealed about the service, but we're going to bet Zynga made this move in response to investors' fears that the company might be too reliant on Facebook. The service is still tethered to Facebook, but at least this is a step in that direction, especially ahead of Zynga's imminent initial public offering. In fact, Pincus even said, "We're committed to one vision, one mission that hasn't changed, it won't change. We want to be the biggest macro bet on social gaming."
Zynga later elaborated on what the company CEO called "Zynga Direct" with the announcement of Project Z, an "instant social" platform that is said to be the company's attempt at independence from Facebook. The codenamed project looks to connect players immediately through zTags, usernames for Zynga game players made possible through Facebook Connect.
Starting today, players can connect to Project Z through Facebook and reserve their zTags for when the service goes live officially. After claiming your zTag, you're rewarded with zCoins, implying that this service will integrate with Zynga's RewardVille program somehow.
Project Z
Nothing more was revealed about the service, but we're going to bet Zynga made this move in response to investors' fears that the company might be too reliant on Facebook. The service is still tethered to Facebook, but at least this is a step in that direction, especially ahead of Zynga's imminent initial public offering. In fact, Pincus even said, "We're committed to one vision, one mission that hasn't changed, it won't change. We want to be the biggest macro bet on social gaming."
Zynga Unleashed: CastleVille, Hidden Chronicles, Zynga Casino shown
Wow, Zynga's not messing around anymore, huh? The company's Unleashed event is going down as of this writing, and Zynga has announced a number of new games already including CastleVille, Hidden Chronicles and Zynga Casino among others. The first of which carries the torch for the 'Ville' franchise, according to Zynga Dallas creative director Bill Jackson.
Zynga later elaborated on the news of the three games on the company blog. CastleVille will feature a character known as Antonio, and is the first Zynga and first social game with a score recorded by a 75-piece orchestra, according to Jackson. The game, which doesn't yet have a release date, will take place in a medieval world that is, according to the developer, "the most beautiful game we've ever made."
CastleVille is said to adapt to the decisions you make and the characters you meet throughout the game. According to the announcement, players will uncover different items than their friends by simply making different decisions in the game. We've contacted Zynga to confirm whether this is the realization of the recently-revealed Kingdoms & Quests, or a new game entirely.
Hidden Chronicles
Hidden Chronicles, on the other hand, is Zynga's take on the growing hidden-object genre on Facebook that will "leverage social connections, and combine that with memory and skill," Zynga GM Roy Sehgal said. Players will uncover the mysteries of Ramsey Manor in this hidden-object game, and as they discover thousands of items they will be able to decorate and customize the manor. As for the game's social features, Zynga says players will be able to send each other challenge levels, gifts within levels and compare scores.
Zynga Bingo revealed
Zynga revealed Zynga Casino, which will be a collection of casino-style games within a single app, starting with Zynga Bingo, which Zynga Poker GM Lo Toney (pictured) displayed during the event. Eventually, players will find Zynga Poker within the overarching Zynga Casino Facebook app, and players will able to use chips earned in both games across either (sound familiar?). In addition to exchangeable currency between games, players will sit in themed rooms, and the company promises that it will be easier to find friends while they're playing.
Zynga later elaborated on the news of the three games on the company blog. CastleVille will feature a character known as Antonio, and is the first Zynga and first social game with a score recorded by a 75-piece orchestra, according to Jackson. The game, which doesn't yet have a release date, will take place in a medieval world that is, according to the developer, "the most beautiful game we've ever made."
CastleVille is said to adapt to the decisions you make and the characters you meet throughout the game. According to the announcement, players will uncover different items than their friends by simply making different decisions in the game. We've contacted Zynga to confirm whether this is the realization of the recently-revealed Kingdoms & Quests, or a new game entirely.
Hidden Chronicles
Hidden Chronicles, on the other hand, is Zynga's take on the growing hidden-object genre on Facebook that will "leverage social connections, and combine that with memory and skill," Zynga GM Roy Sehgal said. Players will uncover the mysteries of Ramsey Manor in this hidden-object game, and as they discover thousands of items they will be able to decorate and customize the manor. As for the game's social features, Zynga says players will be able to send each other challenge levels, gifts within levels and compare scores.
Zynga Bingo revealed
Zynga revealed Zynga Casino, which will be a collection of casino-style games within a single app, starting with Zynga Bingo, which Zynga Poker GM Lo Toney (pictured) displayed during the event. Eventually, players will find Zynga Poker within the overarching Zynga Casino Facebook app, and players will able to use chips earned in both games across either (sound familiar?). In addition to exchangeable currency between games, players will sit in themed rooms, and the company promises that it will be easier to find friends while they're playing.
Zynga Unleashed: Dream Zoo for iOS, three HTML5 games confirmed
Seriously, who doesn't a cherry giraffe with lemon swirls? During its Unleashed news event today, Zynga's mobile head David Ko announced Dream Zoo for iOS devices, a brand new mobile game that's surprisingly not part of the rampant 'Ville' franchise. Dream Zoo is the company's first zoo-themed game in which players to maintain their own zoo and head out on safaris to find new species of weird critters.
According to the game's release trailer on Facebook, there will be over 1,000 animals to collect in Dream Zoo at launch, and players will be able to breed "champion" animals ... whatever that means. It appears that the game will at least allow players to feed and clean their friends' animals, but nothing more of the social features within Dream Zoo have been revealed. Of course, no pricing or release date has been announced yet. (Not even the studio working on the game has been mentioned.)
Zynga also confirmed that FarmVille Express, Words With Friends and Zynga Poker are available on Facebook through the mobile browser. Powered by HTML5, a relatively new web-development tool, the three games can be accessed through either of Facebook's mobile apps or through the mobile web version of the social network. Just in case there was any doubt, Zynga wrote in the announcement on the company blog, "To be clear, we're serious about mobile, and zoos."
According to the game's release trailer on Facebook, there will be over 1,000 animals to collect in Dream Zoo at launch, and players will be able to breed "champion" animals ... whatever that means. It appears that the game will at least allow players to feed and clean their friends' animals, but nothing more of the social features within Dream Zoo have been revealed. Of course, no pricing or release date has been announced yet. (Not even the studio working on the game has been mentioned.)
Zynga also confirmed that FarmVille Express, Words With Friends and Zynga Poker are available on Facebook through the mobile browser. Powered by HTML5, a relatively new web-development tool, the three games can be accessed through either of Facebook's mobile apps or through the mobile web version of the social network. Just in case there was any doubt, Zynga wrote in the announcement on the company blog, "To be clear, we're serious about mobile, and zoos."
Zynga Unleashed: Mafia Wars 2 busts a cap in Google+ Games
Given the intimate relationship between Zynga and Facebook, could this be considered cheating? During the company's Unleashed news event today in San Francisco, Mafia Wars 2 GM Erik Bethke announced that the game has launched on Google+ Games just a day after hitting Facebook. In addition to already being the first direct sequel to a Zynga game, this is the third Zynga game to be released on Facebook's new nemesis.
The game plays exactly as it does on Facebook ... only without your stable of Facebook friends to back up your turf. A move like this certainly attests to the legitimacy of Google+ as a social game platform, but it still lacks the scale that social gamers enjoy on Facebook. It seems that this dual-release approach could become a trend for Zynga, if only to shut up wary investors that question whether the company can grow beyond Facebook ahead of its initial public offering.
Gallery: Mafia Wars 2 on Facebook
Just weeks before this, Zynga released its most popular social game, CityVille, to Google+ Games. Now with three games on the competing platform, we can assume Zynga has found a loophole of sorts in its seemingly-exclusive deal with Facebook. Despite even the support of the largest social game creator in the world, we wonder whether Google+ Games can hang. It all boils down to one question: What does Google+ Games have that Facebook doesn't? Alright, aside from a lack of banner ads?
The game plays exactly as it does on Facebook ... only without your stable of Facebook friends to back up your turf. A move like this certainly attests to the legitimacy of Google+ as a social game platform, but it still lacks the scale that social gamers enjoy on Facebook. It seems that this dual-release approach could become a trend for Zynga, if only to shut up wary investors that question whether the company can grow beyond Facebook ahead of its initial public offering.
Gallery: Mafia Wars 2 on Facebook
Just weeks before this, Zynga released its most popular social game, CityVille, to Google+ Games. Now with three games on the competing platform, we can assume Zynga has found a loophole of sorts in its seemingly-exclusive deal with Facebook. Despite even the support of the largest social game creator in the world, we wonder whether Google+ Games can hang. It all boils down to one question: What does Google+ Games have that Facebook doesn't? Alright, aside from a lack of banner ads?
Soaps, Elvis and old cars to make for Facebook game nostalgia bomb
Alright, Entertainment Games, we're interested--just what in the world are you cooking up? The Langhorne, Penn.-based casual games portal and developer has hired toy car designer Mike Andrews to help out with its upcoming social game for Facebook, Google+, mobile devices and the open web. Still nothing has been directly revealed about Entertainment Games's upcoming social game project.
"It is invigorating to focus my lifelong passion for cars and hot rods in an entirely new direction by designing an innovative customization and social game experience," Andrews said in a release. "Players will be enthralled, amused, and hopefully addicted to the eternal quest for the ultimate dream car."
Andrews is best known for his 26 years of work with Mattel on the Hot Wheels line of toy cars, and it's that type of extensive experience the game creator hopes to use in its mysterious social game. Before this, Entertainment Games acquired rights to the Elvis Presley license, who will be featured prominently throughout the game. And prior to that, the company took on soap opera specialist Michael Fairman for his ability to attract the coveted 25 to 54-year-old women demographic.
So, now we know that this "retro-based social game" will make liberal use of classic cars in addition to The King and possibly some soap opera-like themes. References to the effect social games has had on the soap opera industry or how nostalgia might be a brilliant hook to bring more baby boomers into Facebook gaming, now we just want to what the hell this game is.
"It is invigorating to focus my lifelong passion for cars and hot rods in an entirely new direction by designing an innovative customization and social game experience," Andrews said in a release. "Players will be enthralled, amused, and hopefully addicted to the eternal quest for the ultimate dream car."
Andrews is best known for his 26 years of work with Mattel on the Hot Wheels line of toy cars, and it's that type of extensive experience the game creator hopes to use in its mysterious social game. Before this, Entertainment Games acquired rights to the Elvis Presley license, who will be featured prominently throughout the game. And prior to that, the company took on soap opera specialist Michael Fairman for his ability to attract the coveted 25 to 54-year-old women demographic.
So, now we know that this "retro-based social game" will make liberal use of classic cars in addition to The King and possibly some soap opera-like themes. References to the effect social games has had on the soap opera industry or how nostalgia might be a brilliant hook to bring more baby boomers into Facebook gaming, now we just want to what the hell this game is.
Sunday, January 8, 2012
Spartacus on Facebook: Tis but a flesh wound on the competition
Spartacus: Gods of Arena
When we first heard word that Starz would be releasing a social game to promote the release of its miniseries titled "Spartacus: Gods of the Arena," I was admittedly skeptical. Publisher 6waves and developer Large Animal Games have exceeded my expectations, for sure. Unfortunately, it's tough to envision this social game of the same name having life beyond the run of the miniseries. Luckily, it'll be worth some good fun while it lasts.
Join us after the break for a more detailed take on Spartacus: Gods of the Arena.
Equipment Menu
When Disney released its social app to accompany Tron Legacy and Telltale launched its Back to the Future Blitz, a clear-as-day Bejeweled clone, Large Animal Games was busy working on a legit Facebook game. And its originality shines throughout. (No, this game is not like Mafia Wars.) Players assume the role of "managing" a lineup of enslaved gladiators by training them, sending them into battle and equipping them with new weapons and armor to master the circuit of arenas in ancient Greece. Winning battles earns players denarii, the games main currency used to buy gear and more gladiators. Also rewarded for victories is a more figurative stat called Influence, which is used to rig fights on your favor and to buy premium gear. Think of it as the game's paid currency (and it operates in Facebook Credits).
In the arena, battles are largely automatic like games are in Madden NFL Superstars, but you have the ability to either Cheer or Jeer. Of course, Cheering when your gladiator lands a blow or blocks one will increase your chance of winning and bonuses afterward. Jeering the opponent when he lands a blow or blocks one will limit his chances of victory. The music and artwork are well-produced and engaging, but rip a little too much from the near-ubiquitous comic book, 300. Unfortunately, that's about for the battle system: click either of two buttons enough and you win. For some added depth, players can challenge their friends' gladiators, but its not a real-time fight that occurs.
Cheer or Jeer to win
And that's about it for Spartacus: Gods of the Arena, which is sad to say. But at least the developer did more with this property when it could have easily created a shallow advergame. The game will be a blast to play on the laptop in between episodes of the new miniseries, but there isn't much point in sticking around once the TV battles are over.
When we first heard word that Starz would be releasing a social game to promote the release of its miniseries titled "Spartacus: Gods of the Arena," I was admittedly skeptical. Publisher 6waves and developer Large Animal Games have exceeded my expectations, for sure. Unfortunately, it's tough to envision this social game of the same name having life beyond the run of the miniseries. Luckily, it'll be worth some good fun while it lasts.
Join us after the break for a more detailed take on Spartacus: Gods of the Arena.
Equipment Menu
When Disney released its social app to accompany Tron Legacy and Telltale launched its Back to the Future Blitz, a clear-as-day Bejeweled clone, Large Animal Games was busy working on a legit Facebook game. And its originality shines throughout. (No, this game is not like Mafia Wars.) Players assume the role of "managing" a lineup of enslaved gladiators by training them, sending them into battle and equipping them with new weapons and armor to master the circuit of arenas in ancient Greece. Winning battles earns players denarii, the games main currency used to buy gear and more gladiators. Also rewarded for victories is a more figurative stat called Influence, which is used to rig fights on your favor and to buy premium gear. Think of it as the game's paid currency (and it operates in Facebook Credits).
In the arena, battles are largely automatic like games are in Madden NFL Superstars, but you have the ability to either Cheer or Jeer. Of course, Cheering when your gladiator lands a blow or blocks one will increase your chance of winning and bonuses afterward. Jeering the opponent when he lands a blow or blocks one will limit his chances of victory. The music and artwork are well-produced and engaging, but rip a little too much from the near-ubiquitous comic book, 300. Unfortunately, that's about for the battle system: click either of two buttons enough and you win. For some added depth, players can challenge their friends' gladiators, but its not a real-time fight that occurs.
Cheer or Jeer to win
And that's about it for Spartacus: Gods of the Arena, which is sad to say. But at least the developer did more with this property when it could have easily created a shallow advergame. The game will be a blast to play on the laptop in between episodes of the new miniseries, but there isn't much point in sticking around once the TV battles are over.
FarmVille Official Podcast (1/24/10): Glass House announced, European adventure coming soon?
After delaying the podcast by a few days, Zynga has finally launched the latest edition of the official FarmVille podcast. As usual, FarmVille Community Manager Lexilicious was on hand to give listeners a sneak peek of some coming attractions that will be released in FarmVille in the coming weeks and months.
The most interesting bit of news came from Lexilicious' friend Charles, a British chap who gave us a very brief clue as to what to expect in FarmVille in the future - that being some "very exciting foreign news" and an "adventure." Does this mean that farmers will be able to take virtual trips overseas, where they can buy items in a new decorative theme? Or, perhaps this means that FarmVille will be given a standard neighbor, just like Frontier Jack in FrontierVille, or Samantha in CityVille, with this friend being able to help users in some way in the future. These two possibilities are just speculations, of course, but our interest is definitely piqued with this announcement.
Along with this small snippet, Lexi herself officially confirmed that the Glass House will be coming to FarmVille in the coming weeks. As we showed you in a FarmVille Sneak Peek, this building will be a new construction project that is completed in three stages. Once built, it will allow you to grow your own special crops that can be mastered. Each time you upgrade the building, you'll be able to breed even more new hybrid seeds. While a truly limitless supply of crops would of course be spectacular, it's more plausible to suspect that there will be a finite number of hybrid crops available in the entire game, but the order in which users unlock them will be different. Again, this is just our theory, and we very well may be wrong in our assumption. Either way, this seems like it will be an incredibly complex feature when it launches, so make sure to keep checking back, as we'll bring you all of the news about this feature when it launches.
As usual, the podcast also gave farmers a rundown of recent releases, so if you'd like to hear what Lexi has to say, you can listen to the podcast in full at the top of this post.
The most interesting bit of news came from Lexilicious' friend Charles, a British chap who gave us a very brief clue as to what to expect in FarmVille in the future - that being some "very exciting foreign news" and an "adventure." Does this mean that farmers will be able to take virtual trips overseas, where they can buy items in a new decorative theme? Or, perhaps this means that FarmVille will be given a standard neighbor, just like Frontier Jack in FrontierVille, or Samantha in CityVille, with this friend being able to help users in some way in the future. These two possibilities are just speculations, of course, but our interest is definitely piqued with this announcement.
Along with this small snippet, Lexi herself officially confirmed that the Glass House will be coming to FarmVille in the coming weeks. As we showed you in a FarmVille Sneak Peek, this building will be a new construction project that is completed in three stages. Once built, it will allow you to grow your own special crops that can be mastered. Each time you upgrade the building, you'll be able to breed even more new hybrid seeds. While a truly limitless supply of crops would of course be spectacular, it's more plausible to suspect that there will be a finite number of hybrid crops available in the entire game, but the order in which users unlock them will be different. Again, this is just our theory, and we very well may be wrong in our assumption. Either way, this seems like it will be an incredibly complex feature when it launches, so make sure to keep checking back, as we'll bring you all of the news about this feature when it launches.
As usual, the podcast also gave farmers a rundown of recent releases, so if you'd like to hear what Lexi has to say, you can listen to the podcast in full at the top of this post.
FrontierVille: Access Inventory, Missions, Collections, and more through new pop-up menu
For some time now, there's been a strange difference between the way you can access the various portions of your inventory in FrontierVille, and the way that you can access the Sell, Move, and Rotate buttons. For one, moving, selling, or rotating an object is as simple as clicking on the Arrow in the bottom right corner of the screen and quickly clicking the choice you want from the pop-up menu that appears directly above.
For everything else - your Inventory, Family Album, Badges, Collections, Gift Box, and Missions - you would first have to click on the Backpack in the bottom corner of the screen, wait for a new menu to appear in the center of the screen (a large menu, mind you, that is at times very unwilling to load at all), and then click on the particular icon you wanted, only to have to wait for its specific window to appear as well.
Melding the two together this week, Zynga is beginning a slow roll-out of an updated "Inventory Toolbar," according to FrontierVille Legend. This Inventory Toolbar functions in the exact same way as the Arrow Toolbar, in that you'll be able to click on the Backpack to instantly see a list of small icons appear above it, granting you one click (read: faster) access to your Missions menu, your inventory, your Badges, and so on. This may not seem like a huge change, but now that you'll have to load one less window to complete many tasks in the game, it should save everyone a bit of time overall.
Again, while most users already have the updated Backpack icon (with the small arrow in the top right corner of the icon), the actual toolbar that pops up above it may not be available to you just yet. Be patient, however, and it will come to you in time.
For everything else - your Inventory, Family Album, Badges, Collections, Gift Box, and Missions - you would first have to click on the Backpack in the bottom corner of the screen, wait for a new menu to appear in the center of the screen (a large menu, mind you, that is at times very unwilling to load at all), and then click on the particular icon you wanted, only to have to wait for its specific window to appear as well.
Melding the two together this week, Zynga is beginning a slow roll-out of an updated "Inventory Toolbar," according to FrontierVille Legend. This Inventory Toolbar functions in the exact same way as the Arrow Toolbar, in that you'll be able to click on the Backpack to instantly see a list of small icons appear above it, granting you one click (read: faster) access to your Missions menu, your inventory, your Badges, and so on. This may not seem like a huge change, but now that you'll have to load one less window to complete many tasks in the game, it should save everyone a bit of time overall.
Again, while most users already have the updated Backpack icon (with the small arrow in the top right corner of the icon), the actual toolbar that pops up above it may not be available to you just yet. Be patient, however, and it will come to you in time.
FrontierVille: RewardVille items revealed in full (many re-releases included)
Over the weekend, we gave you a sneak peek of items that we assumed would be part of FrontierVille's section of Zynga's new RewardVille rewards program. For those that are unfamiliar with this upcoming program, RewardVille will reward players for their loyalty by giving them zCoins that can be spent on (mostly) exclusive rewards in all sorts of Zynga games, including FrontierVille.
In our first look, we assumed that items like the Varmint Target and Spittoon would be a part of this RewardVille program, and that was correct. FrontierVille Legend has uncovered the complete list of initial rewards being given out for the game - all three pages of them. Most of these items are entirely new, and apparently exclusive to the RewardVille program, while others (like the Crooked Target Fence or Pet Rocks are second chance items that were first given away as part of the zLotto game that look place a few months ago. There are even some items here that were originally available in the store for Horseshoes, but have since expired from the market.
There will plenty of items to choose from (22 different items to start) ranging from just 16 zCoins in price all the way up to those costing 200 zCoins. Of course, you won't be able to earn the most expensive items in a single day, but if you'd like to take a look at the complete offerings available, meet us behind the break for screenshots.
The full list of available items at the launch of RewardVille look to be as follows:
Pet Rocks - 32 zCoins
Whiskey Jugs - 48 zCoins
Varmint Target - 40 zCoins
Spittoon - 16 zCoins
Rag Doll - 18 zCoins
Crooked Target Fence - 24 zCoins
Axe Target - 48 zCoins
Smoke Signaler - 72 zCoins
Jack-in-the-Box - 58 zCoins
Lemonade Stand - 96 zCoins
Brown Poop-cart - 77 zCoins
Duck Pinwheel - 64 zCoins
Zynga Buggy - 80 zCoins
Sewing Machine - 100 zCoins
Messy Table - 120 zCoins
Frontier Fountain - 110 zCoins
Liberty Cannon - 120 zCoins
Mystery Animal Crate - 130 zCoins
Jack Statue - 120 zCoins
Grey Squirrel - 140 zCoins
Pink Buggy - 160 zCoins
Ring of Fire - 200 zCoins
For the most dedicated of players, this list might be a little disappointing, considering how many items have actually been released in the game previously. We can only hope that with time, Zynga will create more 100% new items to add to this line-up of rewards, and we'll make sure to let you know if and when they do.
First though, Zynga has to launch RewardVille in the first place, and as the service is still a work in progress, any of these items can be removed and replaced, so keep that in mind. This serves more as a simple preview and "best guess" than as a guarantee.
In our first look, we assumed that items like the Varmint Target and Spittoon would be a part of this RewardVille program, and that was correct. FrontierVille Legend has uncovered the complete list of initial rewards being given out for the game - all three pages of them. Most of these items are entirely new, and apparently exclusive to the RewardVille program, while others (like the Crooked Target Fence or Pet Rocks are second chance items that were first given away as part of the zLotto game that look place a few months ago. There are even some items here that were originally available in the store for Horseshoes, but have since expired from the market.
There will plenty of items to choose from (22 different items to start) ranging from just 16 zCoins in price all the way up to those costing 200 zCoins. Of course, you won't be able to earn the most expensive items in a single day, but if you'd like to take a look at the complete offerings available, meet us behind the break for screenshots.
The full list of available items at the launch of RewardVille look to be as follows:
Pet Rocks - 32 zCoins
Whiskey Jugs - 48 zCoins
Varmint Target - 40 zCoins
Spittoon - 16 zCoins
Rag Doll - 18 zCoins
Crooked Target Fence - 24 zCoins
Axe Target - 48 zCoins
Smoke Signaler - 72 zCoins
Jack-in-the-Box - 58 zCoins
Lemonade Stand - 96 zCoins
Brown Poop-cart - 77 zCoins
Duck Pinwheel - 64 zCoins
Zynga Buggy - 80 zCoins
Sewing Machine - 100 zCoins
Messy Table - 120 zCoins
Frontier Fountain - 110 zCoins
Liberty Cannon - 120 zCoins
Mystery Animal Crate - 130 zCoins
Jack Statue - 120 zCoins
Grey Squirrel - 140 zCoins
Pink Buggy - 160 zCoins
Ring of Fire - 200 zCoins
For the most dedicated of players, this list might be a little disappointing, considering how many items have actually been released in the game previously. We can only hope that with time, Zynga will create more 100% new items to add to this line-up of rewards, and we'll make sure to let you know if and when they do.
First though, Zynga has to launch RewardVille in the first place, and as the service is still a work in progress, any of these items can be removed and replaced, so keep that in mind. This serves more as a simple preview and "best guess" than as a guarantee.
FrontierVille: Earn a free Apple Tree from the FrontierVille fan page
Just minutes ago, Zynga launched a new FrontierVille fan page giveaway on Facebook. We've seen a few of these in the past - giving away things like free Food energy items - or even a free Ox, but this time, the freebie is much more organic, and comes in the form of a free Apple Tree.
While an Apple Tree might seem like a fairly useless gift, as most established FrontierVille players have plenty of them to go around on their Homesteads, this is actually a fairly nice gift, in terms of monetary value, as you'll have to pay 800 coins to purchase a single Apple Tree from the game's marketplace (or 760 coins if you have the "Rithmatic" store discount school lesson activated on your account).
Plus, if this is anything like the free Ox we received towards the beginning of the month, it could be that we as players will need a lot of Apple Trees for a quest or mission that will be released in the near future, and that Zynga is simply trying to prepare us, or give us a silent warning. After all, the free Ox came at a time when users were preparing to sell 50 of them as part of the New Years Resolution missions. Could this be another preview of things to come, or is it just a coincidence?
Either way, you can claim your free Apple Tree by heading over to the FrontierVille fan page on Facebook, or by simply clicking on this link. Your free Apple Tree will load into your inventory the next time you play the game. Claim one fast - it will likely only be available as a freebie for a limited time.
Have you already claimed your free Apple Tree in FrontierVille? Do you think this item has any significance to a future mission, or is it just something Zynga has released to pass the time?
While an Apple Tree might seem like a fairly useless gift, as most established FrontierVille players have plenty of them to go around on their Homesteads, this is actually a fairly nice gift, in terms of monetary value, as you'll have to pay 800 coins to purchase a single Apple Tree from the game's marketplace (or 760 coins if you have the "Rithmatic" store discount school lesson activated on your account).
Plus, if this is anything like the free Ox we received towards the beginning of the month, it could be that we as players will need a lot of Apple Trees for a quest or mission that will be released in the near future, and that Zynga is simply trying to prepare us, or give us a silent warning. After all, the free Ox came at a time when users were preparing to sell 50 of them as part of the New Years Resolution missions. Could this be another preview of things to come, or is it just a coincidence?
Either way, you can claim your free Apple Tree by heading over to the FrontierVille fan page on Facebook, or by simply clicking on this link. Your free Apple Tree will load into your inventory the next time you play the game. Claim one fast - it will likely only be available as a freebie for a limited time.
Have you already claimed your free Apple Tree in FrontierVille? Do you think this item has any significance to a future mission, or is it just something Zynga has released to pass the time?
Friday, January 6, 2012
Game of the Day: Hidden Expedition: Titanic
The Game of the Day is hidden object game classic. Hidden Expedition: Titanic: On April 14, 1912, the great steamship RMS Titanic struck an iceberg and within hours, sank to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. As part of the Hidden Expedition Adventure League, it is your job to explore the wreckage of this once-majestic ship and collect antique artifacts for the Titanic Museum.
Click --> Play Hidden Expedition: Titanic
Important side note: Just by playing The Game of the Day you will be entered into a monthly drawing to win a FlipCam HD. You don't need to do anything else, just play! The more you play, the more chances you have to win. For more information on the Game of Day check out the official Game of the Day hub.
Click --> Play Hidden Expedition: Titanic
Important side note: Just by playing The Game of the Day you will be entered into a monthly drawing to win a FlipCam HD. You don't need to do anything else, just play! The more you play, the more chances you have to win. For more information on the Game of Day check out the official Game of the Day hub.
Game of the Day: TextTwist
The Game of the Day is going to test those old spelling skills . TextTwist: Are you word wise? Do you love SCRABBLE? Take the Text Twist challenge! Win points when you unscramble the letters to make new words. TextTwist is a classic on Games.com and people play it for hours. Join the craze.
Click --> play TextTwist
Important side note: Just by playing The Game of the Day you will be entered into a monthly drawing to win a FlipCam HD. You don't need to do anything else, just play! The more you play, the more chances you have to win. For more information on the Game of Day check out the official Game of the Day hub.
Click --> play TextTwist
Important side note: Just by playing The Game of the Day you will be entered into a monthly drawing to win a FlipCam HD. You don't need to do anything else, just play! The more you play, the more chances you have to win. For more information on the Game of Day check out the official Game of the Day hub.
CityVille stocked with a tofu burger business, community building and more
Two new shops have cropped up in CityVille along with several decorations. Zynga released a small update recently that brought the trio of shops and the accompanying decorations into the game, many of which cost just coins. Better yet, some are even free gifts on the Gift page. Of course, the best of which cost City Bucks, but what did you expect? This is a social game, people. Join us behind the break for a breakdown of all the new items.
New Businesses
Of course, the Tofu Burger and Grocery Store are Businesses. The former requires 1,100 population, costs 5,000 coins, can hold up to 125 Goods and earns 507 coins per pickup. The latter calls for 1,250 population, costs 5,750 coins, serves 130 Goods and nets 569 coins at a time.
Television Tower
The new Television Tower is a Community Building that costs 12,000 coins and provides 350 more population. After purchase, it takes six whacks to build and requires seven of your friends to fill its staff. However, you could always fill those positions at 4 City Bucks a pop.
New Decorations
Here's a breakdown of all the decorations:
-Rocket Babysitter: 200 coins, 1 percent payout
-Happy Shopper: 25 City Bucks, 18 percent payout
-Bounce Castle: 30 City Bucks 18 percent payout
-Parking Lot: 10 coins, acts as sidewalk
-Street Clock: Free Gift, 1 percent payout
-Racing Ride: Free Gift, 1 percent payout
[Via and Image Credit: CityVille Info]
Have you picked up any of these new businesses in CityVille yet? Which item is your favorite from this update?
New Businesses
Of course, the Tofu Burger and Grocery Store are Businesses. The former requires 1,100 population, costs 5,000 coins, can hold up to 125 Goods and earns 507 coins per pickup. The latter calls for 1,250 population, costs 5,750 coins, serves 130 Goods and nets 569 coins at a time.
Television Tower
The new Television Tower is a Community Building that costs 12,000 coins and provides 350 more population. After purchase, it takes six whacks to build and requires seven of your friends to fill its staff. However, you could always fill those positions at 4 City Bucks a pop.
New Decorations
Here's a breakdown of all the decorations:
-Rocket Babysitter: 200 coins, 1 percent payout
-Happy Shopper: 25 City Bucks, 18 percent payout
-Bounce Castle: 30 City Bucks 18 percent payout
-Parking Lot: 10 coins, acts as sidewalk
-Street Clock: Free Gift, 1 percent payout
-Racing Ride: Free Gift, 1 percent payout
[Via and Image Credit: CityVille Info]
Have you picked up any of these new businesses in CityVille yet? Which item is your favorite from this update?
CityVille Retail Collection: Grab those Tofu Burgers and Groceries
Many of you probably already know of the new Businesses that released today in CityVille. However, Zynga also decided to include a new Collection that can only be completed by collecting from these two Businesses. It's called the Retail Collection and it has five items: the Cash Register, Coupons, Price Tagger, something we're going to guess is called a Premium Shopping Bag (the text is cut off on both ends) and a Shopping Cart. Turning in the Collection rewards players with 3 Energy and 25 Goods, so hurry and add these items to your Wish List--I'm sure your friends are already all over these Businesses.
Check out the rest of our CityVille Cheats & Tips right here.
Have you purchased either of these Businesses yet? How do you think the Businesses and this Collection size up to the rest?
Check out the rest of our CityVille Cheats & Tips right here.
Have you purchased either of these Businesses yet? How do you think the Businesses and this Collection size up to the rest?
Lunchtime Poll: Should kids' social gaming behavior be chaperoned?
Media Chaperone, a Chicago-based web-monitoring company, has raised $1 million to help launch and fund Piggyback, its brand new Facebook app. VentureBeat reports that the new, free application is designed to allow parents to monitor their children's' behavior online with a heavy focus on social gaming and virtual goods purchases.
Through their own Facebook profiles, parents will know everything about their kids' progress in games like from achievements to level-ups to when they buy items and for how much. Sure, parents can reward them for good behavior with Facebook Credits, but we imagine they can punish them as well. While there have been horror stories of kids running amok on their parents' gaming devices and accounts, is this really the way to stop it? What happened to good old instillment of values? Is this the only insurance policy parents have left on their kids' Internet use?
Should kids' social gaming behavior be chaperoned?
Absolutely. How else am I to know what they're up to?I'll stick to teaching my kids to know better, thanks.Whatever will keep them out of my checking account!
VoteView ResultsShare ThisPolldaddy.com
Through their own Facebook profiles, parents will know everything about their kids' progress in games like from achievements to level-ups to when they buy items and for how much. Sure, parents can reward them for good behavior with Facebook Credits, but we imagine they can punish them as well. While there have been horror stories of kids running amok on their parents' gaming devices and accounts, is this really the way to stop it? What happened to good old instillment of values? Is this the only insurance policy parents have left on their kids' Internet use?
Should kids' social gaming behavior be chaperoned?
Absolutely. How else am I to know what they're up to?I'll stick to teaching my kids to know better, thanks.Whatever will keep them out of my checking account!
VoteView ResultsShare ThisPolldaddy.com
Thursday, January 5, 2012
FarmVille English Countryside prep: Hit level 20 fast using these nifty tips
In order to play the much-anticipated FarmVille English Countryside expansion (said to arrive sometime this week), you'll need to be at level 20 before you'll be able to gain access. While this won't be a problem for long-time players, newbies or a more sporadic farmer might need to do some quick leveling up in order to gain access to England as soon as its available. If you find yourself in this situation, Games.com - The Blog! offers these tips to ensure an expedited trip to your new farm across the pond.
farmvile strawberries
Plant Strawberries and/or Aloe Vera crops
Strawberries take four hours to mature and you will gain 1 XP every time they are harvested. Since you can plant and harvest strawberries up to six times in a 24-hour period (OK, you might lose a little sleep if you plant that often), you can rack up a bunch of XP points with these crops.
The same plant-and-harvest-more-often technique also works with Aloe Vera crops, which take six hours to mature.
farmville haybales level up guide
Buy Hay Bales
If you've ever wanted to create your own farm art using hay bales, this is the time to do it. Each hay bale you buy earns you 5 XP, so if you buy a bunch of them, you can gain XP like it's going out of style. Granted, this power leveling method can cost a lot of coin. If it's any consolation, you can sell the hay bales back for a fraction of the price you paid for them.
farmville collections trade in to level up fast
Trade in Collections
It took me a long time to really understand the value of Collections. I'd collect stuff and forget to trade it in. Then, I realized that, that was a mistake. Trade in the Country Kitsch, Feather or any of the other permanent in-game collections, and you'll score 250 XP (and 5,000 coins) a pop. Not bad, especially when feel the need, the need for speedy XP.
farmville ribbons level up fast
Focus on Easy Ribbon Achievements
FarmVille gives players ribbons as achievements and once you earn them, you'll also rewarded with a bundle of XP. Some of the easier ribbons to earn are Not Spoiled, Gifted!, which is earned by collecting gifts from friends (tho you'll need to hoard them until you earn the ribbons) and Local Celebrity, which simply requires you to have a certain number of friends.
Plow a field, plant a cheap crop that yields the most XP (like Soybeans), then delete. Do it over again.
This leveling up technique, often called the Soybean Method, is a little underhanded and sneaky and requires you to have lots of coins to burn. But, if you're desperate to gain XP quickly, it works.
farmville friends level up guide
Get more FarmVille friends ASAP
The more FarmVille friends you have, the more farms you'll be able to visit and the more XP you'll be able to earn.
Each farm you visit can give you up to 5 XP -- so the more friends you have, well, you can do the math.
farmville expansions- level up fast guide
Expand!
That's right -- if you've got the coins, make sure you expand your farm ASAP. These upgrades will give you more room for crops and every expansion you buy will also yield a certain number of experience points. On that note:
Store Buildings and Decorations, and use extra space for crops
Crops yield XP, decor and many buildings* don't. (*The Greenhouse is an exception -- see the last leveling tip below)
Build the Greenhouse, like, right now
If you've been putting off building the Greenhouse -- don't. It costs five coins to buy the frame and then needs a total of 12 building supplies (four of each: nails, boards, bricks) to get started creating hybrid crops. Why are hybrid crops so great? Two of them in particular -- the Strasberry (a cross between a strawberry and rasberry) and the Purple Tomatoes take a mere 2 hours to grow and yield double the XP of a regular crop.
Check out the rest of our English Countryside coverage right here.
Got any other killer tips on how to level up fast in FarmVille?
farmvile strawberries
Plant Strawberries and/or Aloe Vera crops
Strawberries take four hours to mature and you will gain 1 XP every time they are harvested. Since you can plant and harvest strawberries up to six times in a 24-hour period (OK, you might lose a little sleep if you plant that often), you can rack up a bunch of XP points with these crops.
The same plant-and-harvest-more-often technique also works with Aloe Vera crops, which take six hours to mature.
farmville haybales level up guide
Buy Hay Bales
If you've ever wanted to create your own farm art using hay bales, this is the time to do it. Each hay bale you buy earns you 5 XP, so if you buy a bunch of them, you can gain XP like it's going out of style. Granted, this power leveling method can cost a lot of coin. If it's any consolation, you can sell the hay bales back for a fraction of the price you paid for them.
farmville collections trade in to level up fast
Trade in Collections
It took me a long time to really understand the value of Collections. I'd collect stuff and forget to trade it in. Then, I realized that, that was a mistake. Trade in the Country Kitsch, Feather or any of the other permanent in-game collections, and you'll score 250 XP (and 5,000 coins) a pop. Not bad, especially when feel the need, the need for speedy XP.
farmville ribbons level up fast
Focus on Easy Ribbon Achievements
FarmVille gives players ribbons as achievements and once you earn them, you'll also rewarded with a bundle of XP. Some of the easier ribbons to earn are Not Spoiled, Gifted!, which is earned by collecting gifts from friends (tho you'll need to hoard them until you earn the ribbons) and Local Celebrity, which simply requires you to have a certain number of friends.
Plow a field, plant a cheap crop that yields the most XP (like Soybeans), then delete. Do it over again.
This leveling up technique, often called the Soybean Method, is a little underhanded and sneaky and requires you to have lots of coins to burn. But, if you're desperate to gain XP quickly, it works.
farmville friends level up guide
Get more FarmVille friends ASAP
The more FarmVille friends you have, the more farms you'll be able to visit and the more XP you'll be able to earn.
Each farm you visit can give you up to 5 XP -- so the more friends you have, well, you can do the math.
farmville expansions- level up fast guide
Expand!
That's right -- if you've got the coins, make sure you expand your farm ASAP. These upgrades will give you more room for crops and every expansion you buy will also yield a certain number of experience points. On that note:
Store Buildings and Decorations, and use extra space for crops
Crops yield XP, decor and many buildings* don't. (*The Greenhouse is an exception -- see the last leveling tip below)
Build the Greenhouse, like, right now
If you've been putting off building the Greenhouse -- don't. It costs five coins to buy the frame and then needs a total of 12 building supplies (four of each: nails, boards, bricks) to get started creating hybrid crops. Why are hybrid crops so great? Two of them in particular -- the Strasberry (a cross between a strawberry and rasberry) and the Purple Tomatoes take a mere 2 hours to grow and yield double the XP of a regular crop.
Check out the rest of our English Countryside coverage right here.
Got any other killer tips on how to level up fast in FarmVille?
Cafe World 7th Inning Snacks Catering Order: Everything you need to know
In honor of the upcoming Baseball season and Spring Training, Zynga has launched a baseball-themed Catering Order in Cafe World. This order is called "7th-Inning Snacks" and it will have you battering up our "corn dogs for a Spring Training party!"As usual, earning three stars on this order will reward you with a new, exclusive recipe that can only be unlocked through this method.
This new dish is the Ballpark Meal, which consists of some candy, a soda, and a hot dog, ready to eat at the big game. To see all of the steps required to finish this cafe order (there are four dishes to be cooked and two items to collect), meet us behind the break.
Once you start this mission, you'll need to go to work cooking four different dishes - Corndogs (a one-hour dish) a whopping 525 times, Philly Cheesesteaks (an 18-hour dish) 175 times, Rackasaurus Ribs (a 10-hour dish) 100 times, and Mystical Pizza (an 11-hour dish) 75 times. No, that isn't a typo concerning the Corndogs - you will really have to cook that single dish a whopping 525 times.
You'll be able to bring up to 12 of your friends into the catering job with you, for a total Catering Crew of 13 players. Hopefully, some of those players are fairly high level, so they have the amount of stoves necessary to crank out that many Corndogs within such a short amount of time. While you're waiting for your many, many dishes to cook, you can go about the process of collecting the two collectibles in this order: 8 Baseball Caps and 8 Baseball Mitts.
As usual, you'll earn these items by clicking on the "Ask" button and then sending individual gift requests to those friends that you think would be most willing to respond.
Luckily, as this Catering Order is quite complex, you have a longer initial time limit for the three-star rating at five full days, rather than just three. If you can manage to complete these six steps in that time, you'll receive 15 Catering Points, 7,500 Cafe Points, 200,000 coins and the Ballpark Meal recipe to cook in your cafe.
If you can finish the job in less than a week, you'll receive the two-star rating, 10 Catering Points, 5,000 Cafe Points, and 125,000 coins. Finally, if you finish at any time after the first week, you'll receive a single star, 5 Catering Points, 3,000 Cafe Points and 75,000 coins. Keep in mind that both the two and one-star ratings don't come with the free recipe, so if you need to use Cafe Cash to complete this order on time, whether or not you want the free recipe will be something to keep in mind.
As usual, you can skip any of these tasks with varying amounts of Cafe Cash (ranging from 30-36 Cafe Cash for each dish), and with the huge requirement of Corndogs, it would be totally understanding if some decided to go that route. Either way, we wish you luck if you attempt to finish this job in time - you'll likely need it.
What do you think of this complicated Catering Order? Is requiring 525 servings of a dish simply too much to ask?
This new dish is the Ballpark Meal, which consists of some candy, a soda, and a hot dog, ready to eat at the big game. To see all of the steps required to finish this cafe order (there are four dishes to be cooked and two items to collect), meet us behind the break.
Once you start this mission, you'll need to go to work cooking four different dishes - Corndogs (a one-hour dish) a whopping 525 times, Philly Cheesesteaks (an 18-hour dish) 175 times, Rackasaurus Ribs (a 10-hour dish) 100 times, and Mystical Pizza (an 11-hour dish) 75 times. No, that isn't a typo concerning the Corndogs - you will really have to cook that single dish a whopping 525 times.
You'll be able to bring up to 12 of your friends into the catering job with you, for a total Catering Crew of 13 players. Hopefully, some of those players are fairly high level, so they have the amount of stoves necessary to crank out that many Corndogs within such a short amount of time. While you're waiting for your many, many dishes to cook, you can go about the process of collecting the two collectibles in this order: 8 Baseball Caps and 8 Baseball Mitts.
As usual, you'll earn these items by clicking on the "Ask" button and then sending individual gift requests to those friends that you think would be most willing to respond.
Luckily, as this Catering Order is quite complex, you have a longer initial time limit for the three-star rating at five full days, rather than just three. If you can manage to complete these six steps in that time, you'll receive 15 Catering Points, 7,500 Cafe Points, 200,000 coins and the Ballpark Meal recipe to cook in your cafe.
If you can finish the job in less than a week, you'll receive the two-star rating, 10 Catering Points, 5,000 Cafe Points, and 125,000 coins. Finally, if you finish at any time after the first week, you'll receive a single star, 5 Catering Points, 3,000 Cafe Points and 75,000 coins. Keep in mind that both the two and one-star ratings don't come with the free recipe, so if you need to use Cafe Cash to complete this order on time, whether or not you want the free recipe will be something to keep in mind.
As usual, you can skip any of these tasks with varying amounts of Cafe Cash (ranging from 30-36 Cafe Cash for each dish), and with the huge requirement of Corndogs, it would be totally understanding if some decided to go that route. Either way, we wish you luck if you attempt to finish this job in time - you'll likely need it.
What do you think of this complicated Catering Order? Is requiring 525 servings of a dish simply too much to ask?
FarmVille Sneak Peek: Shire Horse, Shire Foal, Short Hair Cat, & Brown Dutch Rabbit
A quartet of new animals look to be launching in FarmVille in the near future, although it isn't clear exactly whether or not these animals will be releasing in the original farm, the upcoming English Countryside expansion, or both. We have our guesses, but for now things are up in the air.
Two of these animals, the Shire Horse and the Shire Foal, clearly go hand in hand. Our guess is that the Shire Foal will be made available either as an animal to purchase from the store, or as a Mystery Game prize. You'll then place the Shire Horse in your Horse Stable and will, in theory, be able to breed it for a Shire Foal.
The other two animals aren't as straightforward, and could be made available in the game in any number of ways (although our money still lies with Mystery Game or store releases). They are the gray Short Hair Cat and the Brown Dutch Rabbit. Rabbits and Cats aren't two of the most readily available animals in the game (that is, horse and cow lovers would have much larger collections than cat or rabbit collectors, as examples), so we'll be excited to see how these animals are made available in the future.
We'll make sure to give you all of the details concerning these new animals if and when they officially launch in the game. For now, meet us behind the break for a look at a couple of animations for these animals in action.
Which of these four animals is your favorite? Are you the type to buy horses just so that you friends can receive the Foals they produce?
Two of these animals, the Shire Horse and the Shire Foal, clearly go hand in hand. Our guess is that the Shire Foal will be made available either as an animal to purchase from the store, or as a Mystery Game prize. You'll then place the Shire Horse in your Horse Stable and will, in theory, be able to breed it for a Shire Foal.
The other two animals aren't as straightforward, and could be made available in the game in any number of ways (although our money still lies with Mystery Game or store releases). They are the gray Short Hair Cat and the Brown Dutch Rabbit. Rabbits and Cats aren't two of the most readily available animals in the game (that is, horse and cow lovers would have much larger collections than cat or rabbit collectors, as examples), so we'll be excited to see how these animals are made available in the future.
We'll make sure to give you all of the details concerning these new animals if and when they officially launch in the game. For now, meet us behind the break for a look at a couple of animations for these animals in action.
Which of these four animals is your favorite? Are you the type to buy horses just so that you friends can receive the Foals they produce?
FarmVille: Green Rose Crafting Mastery Signs suffer known issues
If you're like me, you likely went straight to work growing Green Roses and the appropriate accompanying crop to start mastering your themed Good in your FarmVille Crafting Cottage. We brought you a full look at these new recipes in the past, with Bakers being able to craft Green Mocha Cakes, Spa owners crafting Green Potpourri and Winery owners being able to produce Green Rose Water.
As with past limited edition recipes, rather than being forced to make it to level 100 to receive 5-star mastery for the recipe, you only have to make it to level 20. However, once users reach level 20, they've been running into a problem - their mastery sign has only a single star, rather than five.
My mastery sign [pictured] is one that is suffering from the glitch, but rest assured that it is just that - a bug. You don't have to actually reach level 100 to master this recipe (since it has limited time availability, we're thankful for that), and Zynga has acknowledged the issue over on the game's official forums. The issue is reportedly "under investigation" and we imagine Zynga will release a fix for it sooner, rather than later.
As with past limited edition recipes, rather than being forced to make it to level 100 to receive 5-star mastery for the recipe, you only have to make it to level 20. However, once users reach level 20, they've been running into a problem - their mastery sign has only a single star, rather than five.
My mastery sign [pictured] is one that is suffering from the glitch, but rest assured that it is just that - a bug. You don't have to actually reach level 100 to master this recipe (since it has limited time availability, we're thankful for that), and Zynga has acknowledged the issue over on the game's official forums. The issue is reportedly "under investigation" and we imagine Zynga will release a fix for it sooner, rather than later.
FrontierVille Doghouse Quests: Everything you need to know
Just today, we brought you the news that a new Doghouse would be coming to FrontierVille. Well, it didn't take long for that "coming soon" to turn into reality, as a series of five new Doghouse quests have started rolling out in FrontierVille. Note: This is a slow rollout, as all tend to be in the game, so if you don't see this update available in your game when you login, be patient as you should get it sooner or later.
We have the preliminary information regarding these five quests, but remember, as they are so new (and are unavailable to all users as of this writing), things are subject to change at any time.
For the first part of this quest, you'll need to chop down a few trees, and will be introduced to an "old dog," that looks to come in the form of a Basset Hound.
Chop Trees 15 Times
Clear 10 Debris
Move the Old Dog
The rewards for completing this first quest are simple - 200 XP and 100 Food.
Part II of V has you collecting a few items, but it isn't anything too overwhelming.
Visit 10 Neighbors
Have a Doghouse
Collect 15 Dog Collars
Details right now are slim as to how much the Doghouse costs or how it will be built. We assume this will be another complex building project, requiring multiple collectible items to complete, and we'll make sure to bring you a validation (or a correction, if applicable) of that prediction as soon as we know more. Meanwhile, you'll be able to ask your friends to send you the Dog Collars. Your rewards for finishing this quest are 300 XP and 100 coins.
Part III of V will be one that will likely take users quite a bit of time, if they don't participate in the ideology of having tons of adult animals on hand at all times.
Sell 30 Adult Sheep
Sell 30 Adult Goats
Clobber 5 Snakes
If you don't have enough Sheep and Goats already on your land, make sure to browse through your inventory for extras, as you might have received them from various quest rewards on the news feed and then forgot you had them. You can also simply purchase both from the store and raise them to adulthood by feeding. Finishing this quest offers you 350 XP and a Wooden Fire Hydrant, a new decorative item made available only through this quest set (as of this writing).
Moving on, Part IV of V will ask you to harvest some crops that we haven't needed since Valentine's Day.
Harvest 30 White Roses
Have 1 Peppermint Extract
Collect 15 Scrub Brushes
The Peppermint Extract is available as the trade-in prize of the Peppermint Collection, while you'll need to ask your friends to send you the Scrub Brushes to finish this quest. Doing so will reward you with 450 XP and 300 Wood.
Finally, Part V of V will finish this quest set by asking you sell more animals, and place your Dog inside its new Doghouse.
Sell 15 Adult Oxen
Place Dog in Doghouse
Collect 2 Daily Bonuses from the Doghouse
Finishing all three of these tasks will reward you with your final prizes - 500 XP and 500 coins.
While these prizes may not be the best we've seen from FrontierVille mission sets in the past, the introduction of man's best friend to the game should be more than enough to make up for the amount of item collecting or animal selling that we have to do with this one. Of course, whether or not that's ultimately the case will be up to you.
Check out the rest of our FrontierVille Cheats & Tips right here.
We have the preliminary information regarding these five quests, but remember, as they are so new (and are unavailable to all users as of this writing), things are subject to change at any time.
For the first part of this quest, you'll need to chop down a few trees, and will be introduced to an "old dog," that looks to come in the form of a Basset Hound.
Chop Trees 15 Times
Clear 10 Debris
Move the Old Dog
The rewards for completing this first quest are simple - 200 XP and 100 Food.
Part II of V has you collecting a few items, but it isn't anything too overwhelming.
Visit 10 Neighbors
Have a Doghouse
Collect 15 Dog Collars
Details right now are slim as to how much the Doghouse costs or how it will be built. We assume this will be another complex building project, requiring multiple collectible items to complete, and we'll make sure to bring you a validation (or a correction, if applicable) of that prediction as soon as we know more. Meanwhile, you'll be able to ask your friends to send you the Dog Collars. Your rewards for finishing this quest are 300 XP and 100 coins.
Part III of V will be one that will likely take users quite a bit of time, if they don't participate in the ideology of having tons of adult animals on hand at all times.
Sell 30 Adult Sheep
Sell 30 Adult Goats
Clobber 5 Snakes
If you don't have enough Sheep and Goats already on your land, make sure to browse through your inventory for extras, as you might have received them from various quest rewards on the news feed and then forgot you had them. You can also simply purchase both from the store and raise them to adulthood by feeding. Finishing this quest offers you 350 XP and a Wooden Fire Hydrant, a new decorative item made available only through this quest set (as of this writing).
Moving on, Part IV of V will ask you to harvest some crops that we haven't needed since Valentine's Day.
Harvest 30 White Roses
Have 1 Peppermint Extract
Collect 15 Scrub Brushes
The Peppermint Extract is available as the trade-in prize of the Peppermint Collection, while you'll need to ask your friends to send you the Scrub Brushes to finish this quest. Doing so will reward you with 450 XP and 300 Wood.
Finally, Part V of V will finish this quest set by asking you sell more animals, and place your Dog inside its new Doghouse.
Sell 15 Adult Oxen
Place Dog in Doghouse
Collect 2 Daily Bonuses from the Doghouse
Finishing all three of these tasks will reward you with your final prizes - 500 XP and 500 coins.
While these prizes may not be the best we've seen from FrontierVille mission sets in the past, the introduction of man's best friend to the game should be more than enough to make up for the amount of item collecting or animal selling that we have to do with this one. Of course, whether or not that's ultimately the case will be up to you.
Check out the rest of our FrontierVille Cheats & Tips right here.
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Ecotopia launches in private beta; help Harrison Ford save the world
Last month, we told you that Harrison Ford had partnered with Facebook game developer Talkie and Conservation International to create a new game, showing players just how important the environment is, and challenging them to take steps to save it. The game is called Ectopia, and this week, Talkie has started rolling the game out to a group of private beta testers.
There are some new screenshots available of the game, which looks like your average city-builder, but actually comes with a story, and environmentally conscious tasks, other than simply building houses. You'll need to clean up your city, transform power plants into eco-friendly wind farms, and even go so far as to travel to the rainforest to discover new species of animals like frogs - all in the goal of learning about nature, the environment, and ways you can protect it.
Check out the rest of the game's screens behind the break.
For more information, or for a chance to enter the Private Beta yourself, you can sign up for Talkie's email subscription list, or simply like the game's Facebook page. The entire game should be ready to launch for the general public soon, and we'll make sure to let you know when it does.
[Final two image credit: Venture Beat]
Will you play Ecotopia when it launches in full on Facebook, or are you one of the lucky members of the closed beta?
There are some new screenshots available of the game, which looks like your average city-builder, but actually comes with a story, and environmentally conscious tasks, other than simply building houses. You'll need to clean up your city, transform power plants into eco-friendly wind farms, and even go so far as to travel to the rainforest to discover new species of animals like frogs - all in the goal of learning about nature, the environment, and ways you can protect it.
Check out the rest of the game's screens behind the break.
For more information, or for a chance to enter the Private Beta yourself, you can sign up for Talkie's email subscription list, or simply like the game's Facebook page. The entire game should be ready to launch for the general public soon, and we'll make sure to let you know when it does.
[Final two image credit: Venture Beat]
Will you play Ecotopia when it launches in full on Facebook, or are you one of the lucky members of the closed beta?
Zynga's Brian Reynolds explains why console developers fail on Facebook
Brian Reynolds, Zynga's chief games designer, sure seems to have an opinion on everything, and Industry Gamers has been there to hear every bit of it. His most recent take on the social games industry offers up his opinions on triple-a game designers - like those responsible for Call of Duty, or other major console games - and why they fail when it comes to making social games.
According to Reynolds, console game developers that decide to jump into the Facebook arena do so in a backwards fashion.
"You can't just go write... Call of Duty and add Facebook functionality. You've got to make a game that's about socializing, make social the core of what you're inventing, and then build the game around that. Mostly where I see triple-A people or developers trying to get into social and then failing is where they say, 'We're just going to take game X and kind of give it a little bit of Facebook plumbing and that'll be great.'"
He goes on to explain that in order to be successful, game designers need to forget about the "triple-A" game factors, and build a social game, with core social mechanics, before they ever add in the elements that make for a great experience. He says that in order to succeed, developers need to "come in and really learn social qua social and bring their immense decades of experience to improve it from there."
It's true that many console developers have failed when it comes to creating games for the social sphere, but with games like Dragon Age: Legends, could we finally be turning a corner for good?
[Image Credit: IGN]
What do you think of Reynolds ideas? Should console developers, looking to get into the social space, work first on their games' social game mechanics before ever giving them a story?
According to Reynolds, console game developers that decide to jump into the Facebook arena do so in a backwards fashion.
"You can't just go write... Call of Duty and add Facebook functionality. You've got to make a game that's about socializing, make social the core of what you're inventing, and then build the game around that. Mostly where I see triple-A people or developers trying to get into social and then failing is where they say, 'We're just going to take game X and kind of give it a little bit of Facebook plumbing and that'll be great.'"
He goes on to explain that in order to be successful, game designers need to forget about the "triple-A" game factors, and build a social game, with core social mechanics, before they ever add in the elements that make for a great experience. He says that in order to succeed, developers need to "come in and really learn social qua social and bring their immense decades of experience to improve it from there."
It's true that many console developers have failed when it comes to creating games for the social sphere, but with games like Dragon Age: Legends, could we finally be turning a corner for good?
[Image Credit: IGN]
What do you think of Reynolds ideas? Should console developers, looking to get into the social space, work first on their games' social game mechanics before ever giving them a story?
Game of the Day: TextTwist 2
The Game of the Day has got your word games, right here! TextTwist2 : Twist again with 'TextTwist 2', the incredible sequel to one of the most popular word games of all time. Shuffle letters to form words in three all-new game modes and two of your favorites!
Click --> Play TextTwist2
Important side note: Just by playing The Game of the Day you will be entered into a monthly drawing to win a FlipCam HD. You don't need to do anything else, just play! The more you play, the more chances you have to win. For more information on the Game of Day check out the official Game of the Day hub.
Click --> Play TextTwist2
Important side note: Just by playing The Game of the Day you will be entered into a monthly drawing to win a FlipCam HD. You don't need to do anything else, just play! The more you play, the more chances you have to win. For more information on the Game of Day check out the official Game of the Day hub.
FarmVille Sneak Peek: Spring Basket blooms once again
It's time to ring in everyone's favorite season, Spring. FarmVille Feed has the first images of the upcoming Spring Basket event in FarmVille. We suspect that players will have to collect colored Eggs and Flowers for special rewards. (You know, like every collection event thus far?) Details such as the rewards in question are scarce, but FarmVille Feed guesses the Yellow Patch Cow and Flower Sheep will be making a return. Stay tuned for for the fragrant updates.
[Image Credit: FarmVille Feed]
Will you be completing this year's Spring Basket? What do you think of these collection events?
[Image Credit: FarmVille Feed]
Will you be completing this year's Spring Basket? What do you think of these collection events?
FrontierVille: Trouble with 37x37 Land Expansion Goals? Finish the Foundry first
Fox Cannon
Several disgruntled players have reported in to FrontierVille Info that they are stuck in one FrontierVille Goal: The Hideout. It's part of the 37x37 Land Expansion Goals, and players who happen to be stuck here coincidentally have yet to complete the Foundry Goals from months ago. The thing is, the Foundry Goal titled "Fox Hunt" is where players unlock and first use the Fox Cannon. While we think you can gather what must be done, we'll give a hint: In order to complete The Hideout, you must have completed the Fox Hunt from the Foundry missions. If this doesn't help, take it to the forums and hope that someone can hear you above the Canning Goal revolts.
Have you had trouble with the Fox Cannon Goals? If this didn't help, but something else did,
Several disgruntled players have reported in to FrontierVille Info that they are stuck in one FrontierVille Goal: The Hideout. It's part of the 37x37 Land Expansion Goals, and players who happen to be stuck here coincidentally have yet to complete the Foundry Goals from months ago. The thing is, the Foundry Goal titled "Fox Hunt" is where players unlock and first use the Fox Cannon. While we think you can gather what must be done, we'll give a hint: In order to complete The Hideout, you must have completed the Fox Hunt from the Foundry missions. If this doesn't help, take it to the forums and hope that someone can hear you above the Canning Goal revolts.
Have you had trouble with the Fox Cannon Goals? If this didn't help, but something else did,
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