Here's one update I honestly didn't think we'd see come to FarmVille so soon. With the Halloween theme officially launching in the game earlier this week, we've seen yet another theme - German, or Oktoberfest - launch tonight as well. This theme is relatively small (so far), consisting of nothing but buildings and decorations that are re-releases of those items seen in a previous German theme. Whether or not we'll see any trees or specific animals launch as well is anyone's guess. For now, let's take a look at what's available so far.
Buildings
Festival Wheel - 38 Farm Cash
Festival Tent - 34 Farm Cash
I have to admit, even for its high price, the Festival Wheel (Ferris Wheel) is still one of the neatest looking items I can remember seeing launched in the game (it was originally available in last year's German event). This thing has it all - animation in the wheel itself and lights throughout as though it were at a real carnival. I'll tell you one thing: it will be hard for me not to personally splurge on one of these items for my own farm this year.
Decorations
German Gnome - 18 Farm Cash
Festival Carriage - 22 Farm Cash
Festival Gnome - 18 Farm Cash
Cider Stand - 120,000 coins
Festival Pavilion - 240,000 coins
Barrel Tub - 120,000 coins
Again, all of these items are re-releases of those seen in the game previously, so you'll want to take a few moments to search your storage for any of them so that you don't needlessly purchase duplicates (especially if the item costs Farm Cash).
It will be interesting to see if any other items release that are actually new to the German theme this year, but for now, you've got seven days to purchase any of these items that have come back around.
Are you happy to see these items re-released in the game's store, or did you purchase all of the items you wanted last year? Sound off in the comments.
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Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Empires & Allies: Embark on the Lucky Mermaid Mini-Campaign
If there is one thing social gamers like--other than free stuff, of course--it's choices. It looks like Zynga has realized this in its recent games, and now Empires & Allies is taking on that mantra with the new Little Mermaid Mini-Campaign. While on paper, this is nothing more than a series of Goals, players are given a few choices on their path to the final reward: The Golden Mermaid.
Starting from the very beginning, you're given to choice to approach this new timed mini-campaign (about two weeks) in either combat-oriented or social or construction-centric missions. Frankly, the latter already sounds kind of boring, so I'd personally recommend taking the former path.
Each path consists of five Goals with one choice along the way. But Zynga reminds players to choose carefully, as there is no turning back after you make your first and second decisions along the way.
This mini-campaign appears in your game just as The Little Mermaid anchors on the coast of your empire, and clicking on it reveals a new campaign map with several Goals. According to the developer, these Goals have more lucrative rewards than standard ones, and the final prize--should you complete all five Goals on time--is The Golden Mermaid. This is certainly not a combat unit, but is a decoration said to grant players with booming profits.
Empires Allies Little Mermaid Campaign Screen
This is a brand new approach to releasing content for the E&A team, and plans are to release more mini-campaigns like this one. So, of course, the team is looking for feedback on the forums. Here's a personal suggestion: Lose the social-centric missions and focus on the combat--perhaps even player vs player in Battle Blitz.
[Source and Image Credit: Zynga]
Check out the rest of our Empires & Allies Cheats and Tips right here.
Have you started the Little Mermaid mini-campaign yet? What do you think of this approach to new content in E&A? Sound off in the comments. 10 Comments
Starting from the very beginning, you're given to choice to approach this new timed mini-campaign (about two weeks) in either combat-oriented or social or construction-centric missions. Frankly, the latter already sounds kind of boring, so I'd personally recommend taking the former path.
Each path consists of five Goals with one choice along the way. But Zynga reminds players to choose carefully, as there is no turning back after you make your first and second decisions along the way.
This mini-campaign appears in your game just as The Little Mermaid anchors on the coast of your empire, and clicking on it reveals a new campaign map with several Goals. According to the developer, these Goals have more lucrative rewards than standard ones, and the final prize--should you complete all five Goals on time--is The Golden Mermaid. This is certainly not a combat unit, but is a decoration said to grant players with booming profits.
Empires Allies Little Mermaid Campaign Screen
This is a brand new approach to releasing content for the E&A team, and plans are to release more mini-campaigns like this one. So, of course, the team is looking for feedback on the forums. Here's a personal suggestion: Lose the social-centric missions and focus on the combat--perhaps even player vs player in Battle Blitz.
[Source and Image Credit: Zynga]
Check out the rest of our Empires & Allies Cheats and Tips right here.
Have you started the Little Mermaid mini-campaign yet? What do you think of this approach to new content in E&A? Sound off in the comments. 10 Comments
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Half of all U.S. social gamers own a game console, RockYou study says
As if we already didn't know: Some social gamers are more "hardcore" than we thought. But the next study released that attempts to drive this point home is courtesy of Zoo World creator RockYou and conducted by Interpret, a media research firm. Titled the "Social Gamer Thought Leadership Research Study," it finds that 50 percent of U.S. social gamers own a traditional gaming console.
The study, which polled over 2,00 social game fans living in the U.S. aged 18 and older with a 60-40 women to men split, also found that social gamers are more "sophisticated." To back up the claim, the study reports a quarter of social gamers prefer games with quests, and that 22 percent admit that score-sharing drives their urge to play more. Oh, and these players also spend quite a bit of time with the games.
Of the over 2,000 people polled, RockYou and Interpret found that the average social gamer spends an average of 9.5 hours playing out of the 13 average hours they spend on networks like Facebook. The average social game player, according to the study, has just over 16 real-life frieds playing these games with them and has made 20 new friends through social games. Of course, the study doesn't get into how deep said friendships are, but how could you?
The study also reports that 42 percent of social gamers would play a social game more, if offered real world rewards like coupons or gift cards. (But isn't the idea to get them to pay up?) It was just recently that Raptr discovered that a number of Zynga fans may be Halo and Grand Theft Auto fans, too. And before that, Kabam found in its own study that the hardcore crowd on Facebook is growing.
What should you take away from this influx of studies and reports? Regardless of whether you still dig tending to virtual crops or running a shanty town, many developers--even the "casual" ones--seem all but done with your farms and cities of yore.
What do you think of the numerous reports on the growing hardcore crowd in social games? How do you think this will change the industry in the long run? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
The study, which polled over 2,00 social game fans living in the U.S. aged 18 and older with a 60-40 women to men split, also found that social gamers are more "sophisticated." To back up the claim, the study reports a quarter of social gamers prefer games with quests, and that 22 percent admit that score-sharing drives their urge to play more. Oh, and these players also spend quite a bit of time with the games.
Of the over 2,000 people polled, RockYou and Interpret found that the average social gamer spends an average of 9.5 hours playing out of the 13 average hours they spend on networks like Facebook. The average social game player, according to the study, has just over 16 real-life frieds playing these games with them and has made 20 new friends through social games. Of course, the study doesn't get into how deep said friendships are, but how could you?
The study also reports that 42 percent of social gamers would play a social game more, if offered real world rewards like coupons or gift cards. (But isn't the idea to get them to pay up?) It was just recently that Raptr discovered that a number of Zynga fans may be Halo and Grand Theft Auto fans, too. And before that, Kabam found in its own study that the hardcore crowd on Facebook is growing.
What should you take away from this influx of studies and reports? Regardless of whether you still dig tending to virtual crops or running a shanty town, many developers--even the "casual" ones--seem all but done with your farms and cities of yore.
What do you think of the numerous reports on the growing hardcore crowd in social games? How do you think this will change the industry in the long run? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
FarmVille Horse Paddock: Everything you need to know
Back in the middle of August, FarmVille saw the launch of the Wildlife Habitat breeding building, and at the time we were told that six (and then seven) new buildings would be released in all. We didn't know when those buildings would eventually release, but as time passed we've been led to here. The final animal breeding building has launched in FarmVille, the Horse Paddock.
Similar to the Cow Pasture, this Horse Paddock is specifically for Horses, and it gives you an opportunity to store those horses and randomly breed those that are inside. You'll only need to have a single "type" of each Horse for it to be possible to breed a matching Foal when harvesting the building, but as of right now, a few Horses or Unicorns may not be able to be stored. (This is probably because either they're coded differently, or Zynga just forgot.)
Of course, before you can actually use your Horse Paddock, you need to build it. You'll need three building materials, two of which are new: 10 each of Logs, Saddles and Bridles. These Logs are the same logs that are used to repair/upgrade the Lighthouse Cove on your new farm, so it will be up to you to decide when exactly to divert your efforts there into building this Horse Paddock. As for gathering these ingredients, you can do so by asking friends through individual gift requests, or you can purchase them outright for 1 Farm Cash each.
Once its construction is complete, you'll be given a free Cream Draft Horse. You can store up to 20 Horses in total inside your new building, and you can have as many Paddocks as you like, provided you collect the building materials to build each on individually. With this feature also comes the ability to grow individual Foals into adults with Farm Cash. You can keep them as babies forever (as before), but if you've received a free Foal from a friend and can't wait for the Nursery Barn to grow it into an adult, you can now pay to do so outright.
Remember, both Foal and Calf mastery are coming soon to the game, if you need any extra incentive to build one of these buildings--and fast! Also, with the release of the Horse Paddock, the Horse Stable is now unavailable to buy/build from the market. You can keep your existing Horse Stable(s), but you'll also be given the option to trade in all of your Horse Stables to receive exclusive Horses and Animal Feed. Then again, as so many users lost their Cows entirely when doing the same for the new Cow Pasture building, I'd suggest holding off on that for now ... or forever.
Check out the rest of our FarmVille Cheats & Tips right here.
What do you think of the Horse Paddock? Do you prefer it over the Horse Stable, even though it has less storage capacity? Sound off in the comments.
Similar to the Cow Pasture, this Horse Paddock is specifically for Horses, and it gives you an opportunity to store those horses and randomly breed those that are inside. You'll only need to have a single "type" of each Horse for it to be possible to breed a matching Foal when harvesting the building, but as of right now, a few Horses or Unicorns may not be able to be stored. (This is probably because either they're coded differently, or Zynga just forgot.)
Of course, before you can actually use your Horse Paddock, you need to build it. You'll need three building materials, two of which are new: 10 each of Logs, Saddles and Bridles. These Logs are the same logs that are used to repair/upgrade the Lighthouse Cove on your new farm, so it will be up to you to decide when exactly to divert your efforts there into building this Horse Paddock. As for gathering these ingredients, you can do so by asking friends through individual gift requests, or you can purchase them outright for 1 Farm Cash each.
Once its construction is complete, you'll be given a free Cream Draft Horse. You can store up to 20 Horses in total inside your new building, and you can have as many Paddocks as you like, provided you collect the building materials to build each on individually. With this feature also comes the ability to grow individual Foals into adults with Farm Cash. You can keep them as babies forever (as before), but if you've received a free Foal from a friend and can't wait for the Nursery Barn to grow it into an adult, you can now pay to do so outright.
Remember, both Foal and Calf mastery are coming soon to the game, if you need any extra incentive to build one of these buildings--and fast! Also, with the release of the Horse Paddock, the Horse Stable is now unavailable to buy/build from the market. You can keep your existing Horse Stable(s), but you'll also be given the option to trade in all of your Horse Stables to receive exclusive Horses and Animal Feed. Then again, as so many users lost their Cows entirely when doing the same for the new Cow Pasture building, I'd suggest holding off on that for now ... or forever.
Check out the rest of our FarmVille Cheats & Tips right here.
What do you think of the Horse Paddock? Do you prefer it over the Horse Stable, even though it has less storage capacity? Sound off in the comments.
FarmVille Horse Paddock Goals: Everything you need to know
With the launch of the Horse Paddock in FarmVille, many farmers are probably wondering just when the matching set of goals will arrive. If you're like most, you probably don't have them in your game yet, as they are on a very slow rollout. For those that do have them, however, you'll see that this set of six goals has a 16-day time limit (perhaps less by the time these roll around to everyone), and will reward you some Horses for completing them. Here's a guide for doing just that:
Horsing Around
* Get 6 Horse Combs
* Place 1 Horse Paddock
* Buy 3 Orange Hay Bales
The Horse Combs are earned through a general news feed post. The full six people can click on this post to actually send you rewards, so you shouldn't have to ask for it twice. As for the Horse Paddock, note that this goal doesn't require you to have completed the construction on the building - just place its base. Finally, the Orange Hay Bales are available from the store for 125 coins each. Finishing this first goal, no matter how simple it might seem, actually gives you some great rewards: 50 XP, 2,500 coins and a Pink Saddled Horse. To be specific, the horse's body is white, but the saddle is pink.
There She Is, Miss Equestrian...
* Get 6 Horse Tiaras
* Buy 2 Horse Topiaries
* Harvest 10 Horses
For this one, we're not sure if Horses placed inside your Horse Paddock (or previously owned Horse Stables will count), so if you try it once and they don't, just pull some Horses out of storage and wait for them to become ready to harvest on their own. To collect the Tiaras, you'll post another item to your news feed asking all friends to help at once. You can then finish this goal off by purchasing the Horse Topiaries, which cost just 100 coins each in the store. For completing this second goal, you're given 50 XP, 2,500 coins, a single Animal Feed and a Fancy Hitching Post decoration.
Sugar High
* Get 6 Sugar Cubes
* Complete a Horse Paddock
* Harvest 100 Vegetables
It doesn't matter which vegetable crop you harvest, so long as you harvest 100 individual squares of them. While you wait for those crops to grow, you can collect the Sugar Cubes via a general news feed post, and can complete the Horse Paddock by collecting its 30 required building ingredients. Check out our guide to the Horse Paddock to see exactly what we mean. Finishing this goal gives you 50 XP, 2,500 coins and a Cream Stallion.
Horseplay
* Get 9 Carrots on Sticks
* Harvest a Horse Paddock
* Harvest 75 Wheat
Each Horse Paddock is available to harvest once every 24 hours, so if you happen to collect from one right before you receive this goal, just wait until the next day to finish this one off. In the meantime, you can post a general news post asking for the Carrots on Sticks and can harvest the wheat as well. For finishing this goal, you'll receive 50 XP, 2,500 coins, five units of Animal Feed and a Blingy Water Trough decoration. Apparently, these horses are fairly high maintenance.
Giddy Up!
* Get 9 Stylish Horse Shoes
* Master Cream Stallion to Level 1
* Harvest 50 Mint
The fastest way to master any Horse will be to make sure they're in storage, so that they can be collected from once per day (rather than once every few days when they're outside of buildings). Just place the Cream Stallion into either Horse building on your farm (that is, if you didn't trade in your Horse Stable for feed and prizes) and collect from it routinely to reach Level 1 before this goal series expires. Oh, and you guessed it--the Stylish Horse Shoes come from a general news post on your wall. Finish off this goal and you'll receive 50 XP, 2,500 coins, five units of Animal Feed and something for your avatar: a Jockey Outfit.
Saddle Up!
* Get 9 Horse Saddles
* Place 10 Horses in a Horse Paddock
* Harvest 50 Spinach
If you already have 10 or more Horses in a Horse Paddock and this step doesn't automatically complete for you, just pull them back out and replace them in the building. That should clear up any "bugs." One final news feed post will help you earn the Horse Saddles, which you can collect while waiting for your Spinach to grow, which takes 14 hours. When finishing this goal, you will have completed the Horse Paddock goal series in its entirety, and will receive 50 XP, 2,500 coins and a Chestnut Mini Stallion (a dark brown miniature horse) as your final rewards.
Just remember--these goals are on a time limit, so if you like these prizes more than those, say, for completing the Chapter 2 Goals in the Lighthouse Cove farm, feel free to prioritize any way you'd like to receive the best prizes in your eyes. Happy farming!
[Source and image credit: Zynga]
Check out the rest of our FarmVille Cheats & Tips right here.
What do you think of these Horse Paddock goals or the prizes therein? Have you received these goals on your farm(s) yet? Sound off in the comments.
Horsing Around
* Get 6 Horse Combs
* Place 1 Horse Paddock
* Buy 3 Orange Hay Bales
The Horse Combs are earned through a general news feed post. The full six people can click on this post to actually send you rewards, so you shouldn't have to ask for it twice. As for the Horse Paddock, note that this goal doesn't require you to have completed the construction on the building - just place its base. Finally, the Orange Hay Bales are available from the store for 125 coins each. Finishing this first goal, no matter how simple it might seem, actually gives you some great rewards: 50 XP, 2,500 coins and a Pink Saddled Horse. To be specific, the horse's body is white, but the saddle is pink.
There She Is, Miss Equestrian...
* Get 6 Horse Tiaras
* Buy 2 Horse Topiaries
* Harvest 10 Horses
For this one, we're not sure if Horses placed inside your Horse Paddock (or previously owned Horse Stables will count), so if you try it once and they don't, just pull some Horses out of storage and wait for them to become ready to harvest on their own. To collect the Tiaras, you'll post another item to your news feed asking all friends to help at once. You can then finish this goal off by purchasing the Horse Topiaries, which cost just 100 coins each in the store. For completing this second goal, you're given 50 XP, 2,500 coins, a single Animal Feed and a Fancy Hitching Post decoration.
Sugar High
* Get 6 Sugar Cubes
* Complete a Horse Paddock
* Harvest 100 Vegetables
It doesn't matter which vegetable crop you harvest, so long as you harvest 100 individual squares of them. While you wait for those crops to grow, you can collect the Sugar Cubes via a general news feed post, and can complete the Horse Paddock by collecting its 30 required building ingredients. Check out our guide to the Horse Paddock to see exactly what we mean. Finishing this goal gives you 50 XP, 2,500 coins and a Cream Stallion.
Horseplay
* Get 9 Carrots on Sticks
* Harvest a Horse Paddock
* Harvest 75 Wheat
Each Horse Paddock is available to harvest once every 24 hours, so if you happen to collect from one right before you receive this goal, just wait until the next day to finish this one off. In the meantime, you can post a general news post asking for the Carrots on Sticks and can harvest the wheat as well. For finishing this goal, you'll receive 50 XP, 2,500 coins, five units of Animal Feed and a Blingy Water Trough decoration. Apparently, these horses are fairly high maintenance.
Giddy Up!
* Get 9 Stylish Horse Shoes
* Master Cream Stallion to Level 1
* Harvest 50 Mint
The fastest way to master any Horse will be to make sure they're in storage, so that they can be collected from once per day (rather than once every few days when they're outside of buildings). Just place the Cream Stallion into either Horse building on your farm (that is, if you didn't trade in your Horse Stable for feed and prizes) and collect from it routinely to reach Level 1 before this goal series expires. Oh, and you guessed it--the Stylish Horse Shoes come from a general news post on your wall. Finish off this goal and you'll receive 50 XP, 2,500 coins, five units of Animal Feed and something for your avatar: a Jockey Outfit.
Saddle Up!
* Get 9 Horse Saddles
* Place 10 Horses in a Horse Paddock
* Harvest 50 Spinach
If you already have 10 or more Horses in a Horse Paddock and this step doesn't automatically complete for you, just pull them back out and replace them in the building. That should clear up any "bugs." One final news feed post will help you earn the Horse Saddles, which you can collect while waiting for your Spinach to grow, which takes 14 hours. When finishing this goal, you will have completed the Horse Paddock goal series in its entirety, and will receive 50 XP, 2,500 coins and a Chestnut Mini Stallion (a dark brown miniature horse) as your final rewards.
Just remember--these goals are on a time limit, so if you like these prizes more than those, say, for completing the Chapter 2 Goals in the Lighthouse Cove farm, feel free to prioritize any way you'd like to receive the best prizes in your eyes. Happy farming!
[Source and image credit: Zynga]
Check out the rest of our FarmVille Cheats & Tips right here.
What do you think of these Horse Paddock goals or the prizes therein? Have you received these goals on your farm(s) yet? Sound off in the comments.
Pimp Mafia Wars 2 for a chance to become an in-game character
Now that the hype for Zynga's upcoming Mafia Wars 2 has officially hit a fever pitch, the developer wants you to promote the upcoming sequel on your Facebook profile. Of course, there's something in it for you: If you choose to do it, you might be immortalized in the game as a permanent character. The contest asks you to change your profile picture to that of one the game's recently-revealed characters.
If you're interested in becoming an shill ambassador of sorts for the game, just head over to its Facebook page right here. Then, choose what character portrait you want to change your profile image to, and finally submit your email address to enter.
Remember to right-click on the image that appears to save it, then upload it to your Facebook profile. Yes, you'll have to give up your precious email, but I'd be more worried about the questions you'll get from your friends regarding your ... animated makeover.
Once you're done entering the contest, look out on the Mafia Wars 2 Facebook page for a post that reads, "Comment now for your chance to become a Mafia Wars 2 character!" Then, the rest is up to chance, it seems. Zynga hasn't given an exact time for when this News Feed post will appear, so "Liking" the fan page might help your chances of successfully entering. It's funny how companies like the big Z get you to do these things, isn't it?
Do you plan on entering this new Mafia Wars 2 contest? If you were to become a permanent character in the game, what role would you like him or her to play? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
If you're interested in becoming an shill ambassador of sorts for the game, just head over to its Facebook page right here. Then, choose what character portrait you want to change your profile image to, and finally submit your email address to enter.
Remember to right-click on the image that appears to save it, then upload it to your Facebook profile. Yes, you'll have to give up your precious email, but I'd be more worried about the questions you'll get from your friends regarding your ... animated makeover.
Once you're done entering the contest, look out on the Mafia Wars 2 Facebook page for a post that reads, "Comment now for your chance to become a Mafia Wars 2 character!" Then, the rest is up to chance, it seems. Zynga hasn't given an exact time for when this News Feed post will appear, so "Liking" the fan page might help your chances of successfully entering. It's funny how companies like the big Z get you to do these things, isn't it?
Do you plan on entering this new Mafia Wars 2 contest? If you were to become a permanent character in the game, what role would you like him or her to play? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
Game of the Day: Bubble Town
bubble town game of the dayOne shot from the chute and you'll be hooked. Bubble Town is the arcade-style puzzle game that will test your wits, not just your reflexes. Match three Borbs of the same color to knock them off. Collect the various power ups to gain an edge with special bonus abilities. But don't take too long; if the Borbs reach the Danger Zone, it'll be game over!
Join the unforgettable cast of characters for an adventure of bubble-popping proportions, just watch out for that Danger Zone. Choose to play with your Borbs grouped up in a ball or straight up. Either way, the addictive gameplay will give you hours of fun.
Click here to play Bubble Town!
bubble town game of the day bubble town game of the day
Pro Tips:
* Bank shots! These are crucial to your Bubble Town success. If you're trying to line up a bank shot, wait for a moment. A little cursor will appear to assist your aim making it easy to hit those two wall bank shots.
* Look for big drops. If you see a bunch of Borbs being held up by a couple of the same color, hitting that shot should be your top priority.
Click here to play Bubble Town!
What do you think of Bubble Town?
Join the unforgettable cast of characters for an adventure of bubble-popping proportions, just watch out for that Danger Zone. Choose to play with your Borbs grouped up in a ball or straight up. Either way, the addictive gameplay will give you hours of fun.
Click here to play Bubble Town!
bubble town game of the day bubble town game of the day
Pro Tips:
* Bank shots! These are crucial to your Bubble Town success. If you're trying to line up a bank shot, wait for a moment. A little cursor will appear to assist your aim making it easy to hit those two wall bank shots.
* Look for big drops. If you see a bunch of Borbs being held up by a couple of the same color, hitting that shot should be your top priority.
Click here to play Bubble Town!
What do you think of Bubble Town?
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