For those of you that like collecting Animal Feed for your Animal Feed Trough in FarmVille, you'll appreciate the fact that Zynga has now added a new animal to the list of those available animals that will randomly walk into your small barn. The animal is the Reindeer, which has been released a free gift earlier this year, but was first seen as a full animal release in FarmVille during last year's Winter Holiday celebration.
As the Reindeer is currently unavailable to purchase in the store, and you weren't playing the game last year, you'll want to make sure to take advantage of this opportunity. You'll need to collect 20 bundles of Animal Feed to activate your Trough to draw an animal in, and you can earn feed by having your friends send it to you through gift requests, or by earning it through clicking on friends' wall posts.
Since this is a Holiday related animal, it is possible that the Reindeer will only be available to find in the Trough for a limited time. Yes, the Turkey from Thanksgiving is still available, but do you really want to take the chance of losing out on a Reindeer just because you waited too long to collect Animal Feed? No, I wouldn't either.
Make sure to fill that Animal Trough and good luck finding a Reindeer on your own farm!
Friday, January 13, 2012
FarmVille Snowman / Snowball Fight: Everything you need to know
Recently, we showed you some leaked images from FarmVille's as-of-then unreleased Snowman and Snowball Fight activities that would be coming to FarmVille this holiday season. Well, the time is now for these features to go live, as the Snowman and Snowball Fight features have now begun rolling out to users across the game.
You'll know that this feature has launched in your game when you visit your farm and see the large pop-up like the one above. This lets you know the basics of the feature - you'll be able to visit your friends' farms and start a snowball fight with them. When your friend retaliates (throws a snowball back), those snowballs will start to form enough of a mound for you to build your own Magical Snowman.
For all of the details concerning this new event, meet us behind the break. To start, simply click on the "Okay" button on the pop-up at the top of this post, and then wait for your game to switch into Placement mode. This allows you to place a very small pile of snow on your Farm. Think of this pile of snow as the beginnings of a wonderful Snowman, or as the base for any one of the previously released "Buildables" in the game. From there, you'll be able to share the news that you're building a Snowman with friends.
Your Snowman will need to be constructed using various building materials. In the first step of the construction (there seem to be four stages of completion in all), you'll need to collect 10 Piles of Snow, and a single Snowman Scarf. You can collect these items by clicking on the "Ask for more" button associated with that particular item.
From there, you'll see a window like the one below, where you can post on individual users walls (the available list of users is randomly generated by the game) with a request to send you either Snow or a Scarf. Unfortunately, this will limit your progress, as you can't choose the individual friends that you'd like to ask, and out of the three people I personally could choose from, only one actually plays the game. It's presumable that many users will end up with the same sort of situation in their own games.
Luckily, there is another aspect to this feature, which comes from the actual Snowball Fight portion of this event. Once you have the Snowman on your farm, you can visit your neighbors' farms to see a new window appear asking you if you'd like to throw a snowball at that friend. This is done by simply clicking on the "Share" button, watching the animation of the flying snowball, and then posting a news item to that friend's wall alerting them that you've hit them with a Snowball.
Your friends can then retaliate, creating a true snowball fight - nay, war, sending snowballs back and forth amongst friends for the duration of the event.
As you collect snowballs, your Snowman will grow through four stages of completion: He will start as a Pile or Snow, and then move into Smiling Snowman, Dapper Snowman, and eventually Dancing Snowman stages. Once completed, it's assumed that the Snowman will actually dance, just like Frosty the Snowman from the classic children's story.
So what are you waiting for? Don't you want a Dancing Snowman on your farm? Start throwing Snowballs at your friends and build your very own Snowman while you can!
You'll know that this feature has launched in your game when you visit your farm and see the large pop-up like the one above. This lets you know the basics of the feature - you'll be able to visit your friends' farms and start a snowball fight with them. When your friend retaliates (throws a snowball back), those snowballs will start to form enough of a mound for you to build your own Magical Snowman.
For all of the details concerning this new event, meet us behind the break. To start, simply click on the "Okay" button on the pop-up at the top of this post, and then wait for your game to switch into Placement mode. This allows you to place a very small pile of snow on your Farm. Think of this pile of snow as the beginnings of a wonderful Snowman, or as the base for any one of the previously released "Buildables" in the game. From there, you'll be able to share the news that you're building a Snowman with friends.
Your Snowman will need to be constructed using various building materials. In the first step of the construction (there seem to be four stages of completion in all), you'll need to collect 10 Piles of Snow, and a single Snowman Scarf. You can collect these items by clicking on the "Ask for more" button associated with that particular item.
From there, you'll see a window like the one below, where you can post on individual users walls (the available list of users is randomly generated by the game) with a request to send you either Snow or a Scarf. Unfortunately, this will limit your progress, as you can't choose the individual friends that you'd like to ask, and out of the three people I personally could choose from, only one actually plays the game. It's presumable that many users will end up with the same sort of situation in their own games.
Luckily, there is another aspect to this feature, which comes from the actual Snowball Fight portion of this event. Once you have the Snowman on your farm, you can visit your neighbors' farms to see a new window appear asking you if you'd like to throw a snowball at that friend. This is done by simply clicking on the "Share" button, watching the animation of the flying snowball, and then posting a news item to that friend's wall alerting them that you've hit them with a Snowball.
Your friends can then retaliate, creating a true snowball fight - nay, war, sending snowballs back and forth amongst friends for the duration of the event.
As you collect snowballs, your Snowman will grow through four stages of completion: He will start as a Pile or Snow, and then move into Smiling Snowman, Dapper Snowman, and eventually Dancing Snowman stages. Once completed, it's assumed that the Snowman will actually dance, just like Frosty the Snowman from the classic children's story.
So what are you waiting for? Don't you want a Dancing Snowman on your farm? Start throwing Snowballs at your friends and build your very own Snowman while you can!
Earn 2 free FarmVille Farm Cash from Coca-Cola promotion
Keeping the tradition of free Farm Cash in FarmVille going, Zynga has launched a new cross-promotional activity with Coca-Cola, that can be found underneath the FarmVille gameplay area. This isn't the first time we've seen Zynga partner with Coca-Cola, as a Cafe World promotion was launched back in October.
At any rate, this newest FarmVille promotion will see users earning 2 free Farm Cash for completing a short activity. To begin, simply click on the Sponsored Link window, as seen at the right of this post (here is the link of the activity, if it never loads on your own game - if it doesn't work for you, then you'll need to wait for the activity to appear on your own account).
A new window will load, where you'll see a short trailer for this activity - you'll see six locked bottles of Coca-Cola, and when you click on them, you'll see game tips about FarmVille (basic tips concerning game elements like upgrading vehicles or visiting neighbors), and you'll then be allowed to submit your progress and are offered a free coupon that you can send to your friends via the official Coca-Cola Facebook fan page.
You must click on the button within the promotion to launch the fan page in order to finally earn your 2 free Farm Cash, which will then be added to your account in the game (if it doesn't show up automatically, a simple game refresh should force it to appear.
At any rate, this newest FarmVille promotion will see users earning 2 free Farm Cash for completing a short activity. To begin, simply click on the Sponsored Link window, as seen at the right of this post (here is the link of the activity, if it never loads on your own game - if it doesn't work for you, then you'll need to wait for the activity to appear on your own account).
A new window will load, where you'll see a short trailer for this activity - you'll see six locked bottles of Coca-Cola, and when you click on them, you'll see game tips about FarmVille (basic tips concerning game elements like upgrading vehicles or visiting neighbors), and you'll then be allowed to submit your progress and are offered a free coupon that you can send to your friends via the official Coca-Cola Facebook fan page.
You must click on the button within the promotion to launch the fan page in order to finally earn your 2 free Farm Cash, which will then be added to your account in the game (if it doesn't show up automatically, a simple game refresh should force it to appear.
Official FarmVille Podcast (12/17/10): Pig Pen Expansions, Winter Countdown details
In this week's official FarmVille podcast, FarmVille Community Manager Lexilicious gave users a sneak peek at some of the upcoming features that will be launching in FarmVille in the coming days and weeks. Here's a recap of this week's details.
First, Zynga will soon be launching a Greeting Card contest. Similar to the Baking Contest, this Greeting Card contest will ask aspiring artists to create a FarmVille themed card (either in the real world, or through Microsoft Paint, Photoshop, or another photo editing program). The prizes for this contest will be 1,000 Farm Cash, 1 million coins and any limited edition FarmVille item of your choice. We'll be sure to give you all of the details of this contest as soon as it launches (presumably on the forums).
Another upcoming feature will be the introduction of Pig Pen expansions. These expansions will allow you to upgrade the capacity of your Pig Pen from 20 to 40 pigs. As a result, you'll be able to hold more slop, and send more pigs truffle hunting at once.
The New Year's Party feature that we gave you a sneak peek of last week has also been officially confirmed. This will be a social event, with the more friends you get to attend resulting in better rewards. Some of these rewards include new crops, new clothes for your avatar, and a new pony.
Sometime after December 25, a Winter Countdown will begin. Each day you login, you'll be able to ask for and give an item from FarmVille's old Winter Holiday theme to/from friends. If you unlock all 12 of these items (that is, login each and every day and participate for that 12 day time period), you'll receive a special, apparently exclusive animal as a prize.
Finally, Lexi confirmed that the FarmVille team is hoping to add the coin purchasing option for the 28x28 land expansion to the game sometime after the new year. There was no announcement as to how much it would cost, but she did confirm that the team was working on it.
For those that love listening to the FarmVille Podcast in full, you can check it out at the top of this post. The next FarmVille podcast is scheduled for release on January 7, and we'll make sure to bring you all of the details therein after it is released.
First, Zynga will soon be launching a Greeting Card contest. Similar to the Baking Contest, this Greeting Card contest will ask aspiring artists to create a FarmVille themed card (either in the real world, or through Microsoft Paint, Photoshop, or another photo editing program). The prizes for this contest will be 1,000 Farm Cash, 1 million coins and any limited edition FarmVille item of your choice. We'll be sure to give you all of the details of this contest as soon as it launches (presumably on the forums).
Another upcoming feature will be the introduction of Pig Pen expansions. These expansions will allow you to upgrade the capacity of your Pig Pen from 20 to 40 pigs. As a result, you'll be able to hold more slop, and send more pigs truffle hunting at once.
The New Year's Party feature that we gave you a sneak peek of last week has also been officially confirmed. This will be a social event, with the more friends you get to attend resulting in better rewards. Some of these rewards include new crops, new clothes for your avatar, and a new pony.
Sometime after December 25, a Winter Countdown will begin. Each day you login, you'll be able to ask for and give an item from FarmVille's old Winter Holiday theme to/from friends. If you unlock all 12 of these items (that is, login each and every day and participate for that 12 day time period), you'll receive a special, apparently exclusive animal as a prize.
Finally, Lexi confirmed that the FarmVille team is hoping to add the coin purchasing option for the 28x28 land expansion to the game sometime after the new year. There was no announcement as to how much it would cost, but she did confirm that the team was working on it.
For those that love listening to the FarmVille Podcast in full, you can check it out at the top of this post. The next FarmVille podcast is scheduled for release on January 7, and we'll make sure to bring you all of the details therein after it is released.
Cafe World Treats for Kids Catering Order: Everything you need to know
Zynga has teamed up with Save the Children, an organization working to stop childhood hunger, for their latest Catering Order in Cafe World. The Catering Order is called "Treats for Kids," and while you can complete the order without actually taking part in any sort of charity or donation, the game will provide you with an opportunity to donate to cause, along with offering you some pretty nice incentive to do so.
The Catering Order can be found as the very last order currently available in your "Catering Business" Menu. There are five tasks that need to be completed therein (cooking three dishes, and collecting two items), and you'll have three days to complete the order once you start in order to receive the 3-star prize, which includes unlocking access to a brand new recipe.
Want to see how your donation to Save the Children can affect this Catering Order? Meet us behind the break for all of the details.
First and foremost, as we said, you can complete this order without donating anything to charity. However, if you choose to donate, you'll be taken outside of the Cafe World gameplay screen, where you can donate a single $5 gift. In doing so, you'll be given a free, limited edition "Save the Children" trophy, in the shape of the organization's logo, and you'll receive a 'head start" on this Catering Order, as one of the tasks will be completed for you automatically (no mention was made as to which of the five steps that would be - we're hoping it would be the largest).
Either way, the Catering Order can be completed by serving three dishes and collecting two collectibles. The three dishes are the Triple Berry Cheesecake (a 12 hour dish), Chocolate Cream Pie (10 hour dish) and Pumpkin Pie (12 hour dish). You'll need to serve Triple Berry Cheesecake 123 times, while Chocolate Cream Pie and Pumpkin Pie need to be cooked only 54 times.
While you're cooking, you'll need to collect 10 Ribbons and 10 Mini Santas. Both of these are done by clicking on the "Ask" button next to that item and then choosing the individual Cafe World neighbors that you think would be most likely to help you.
You can only bring five other people (by default) into this mission with you, for a total Catering Crew size of six people, including yourself. That being the case, this will probably end up being one of the more difficult orders, so we'd like to remind you that you don't have to accept the order before you start cooking dishes. Your best bet would be to set all of your stoves to cook Triple Berry Cheesecake 12 hours before you'd like to start the Catering Order. Then, you'll have your own head start to finishing the job, as you've saved yourself 12 hours of cooking time.
With a three day time limit for a 3 star rating, 12 hours is a long time indeed. If you can manage it however, you'll receive 3 Catering Points, 2,268 Cafe Points, and 51,030 coins, along with unlocking the new Homemade Almond Toffee recipe. If you can finish within 5 days total, you'll receive 2 stars, 2 Catering Points, 1,620 Cafe Points, and 36,450 coins. Finally, if you simply finish the order at anytime after five days have elapsed, you'll receive a single star, 1 Catering Point, 972 Cafe Points, and 21,870 coins.
Since this catering mission has to do with a real world charitable donation, we'd assume that we won't be around forever (as most events like this in Zynga's games tend to expire after a few weeks). Either way, make sure to start this mission soon if you'd like the best chance of success, and it is likely that the sooner you start, the more likely it will be for your friends to also work on the mission, thus allowing you to coordinate your efforts and stand a chance of finishing within the three day time limit.
The Catering Order can be found as the very last order currently available in your "Catering Business" Menu. There are five tasks that need to be completed therein (cooking three dishes, and collecting two items), and you'll have three days to complete the order once you start in order to receive the 3-star prize, which includes unlocking access to a brand new recipe.
Want to see how your donation to Save the Children can affect this Catering Order? Meet us behind the break for all of the details.
First and foremost, as we said, you can complete this order without donating anything to charity. However, if you choose to donate, you'll be taken outside of the Cafe World gameplay screen, where you can donate a single $5 gift. In doing so, you'll be given a free, limited edition "Save the Children" trophy, in the shape of the organization's logo, and you'll receive a 'head start" on this Catering Order, as one of the tasks will be completed for you automatically (no mention was made as to which of the five steps that would be - we're hoping it would be the largest).
Either way, the Catering Order can be completed by serving three dishes and collecting two collectibles. The three dishes are the Triple Berry Cheesecake (a 12 hour dish), Chocolate Cream Pie (10 hour dish) and Pumpkin Pie (12 hour dish). You'll need to serve Triple Berry Cheesecake 123 times, while Chocolate Cream Pie and Pumpkin Pie need to be cooked only 54 times.
While you're cooking, you'll need to collect 10 Ribbons and 10 Mini Santas. Both of these are done by clicking on the "Ask" button next to that item and then choosing the individual Cafe World neighbors that you think would be most likely to help you.
You can only bring five other people (by default) into this mission with you, for a total Catering Crew size of six people, including yourself. That being the case, this will probably end up being one of the more difficult orders, so we'd like to remind you that you don't have to accept the order before you start cooking dishes. Your best bet would be to set all of your stoves to cook Triple Berry Cheesecake 12 hours before you'd like to start the Catering Order. Then, you'll have your own head start to finishing the job, as you've saved yourself 12 hours of cooking time.
With a three day time limit for a 3 star rating, 12 hours is a long time indeed. If you can manage it however, you'll receive 3 Catering Points, 2,268 Cafe Points, and 51,030 coins, along with unlocking the new Homemade Almond Toffee recipe. If you can finish within 5 days total, you'll receive 2 stars, 2 Catering Points, 1,620 Cafe Points, and 36,450 coins. Finally, if you simply finish the order at anytime after five days have elapsed, you'll receive a single star, 1 Catering Point, 972 Cafe Points, and 21,870 coins.
Since this catering mission has to do with a real world charitable donation, we'd assume that we won't be around forever (as most events like this in Zynga's games tend to expire after a few weeks). Either way, make sure to start this mission soon if you'd like the best chance of success, and it is likely that the sooner you start, the more likely it will be for your friends to also work on the mission, thus allowing you to coordinate your efforts and stand a chance of finishing within the three day time limit.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Zynga publishes Mafia Wars 2 comic, sets the stage for Las Vegas intrigue
Mafia Wars 2 has remained a mystery since the word leaked in January. The only follow-up the public has gotten from Zynga is last week's 'badass' trailer. But the game's official fan page announced a Mafia Wars 2 digital comic last night, titled with the game's much bandied about tagline, "Being Bad Never Felt So Good". The comic presents the glamorous yet dangerous world of the game, which is set in Las Vegas, and drops just enough exposition for the reader to meet the cast -- including whose shoes players will be stepping into once the game launches.
This eight-page comic was created by UDON Entertainment, a Canadian comics studio that specializes in Asian-inspired art, lending the story a manga flair in the character designs and paneling layout. UDON (named after the Japanese noodle) isn't a new entrant in games comics either. They're best known for their work with major Japanese games maker Capcom, drawing and publishing comics and artbooks for the Street Fighter series.
Mafia Wars 2 characters
So far, Zynga seems intent on keeping quiet about Mafia Wars 2's gameplay (except for the fact that it'll be a "vast 3-D world"), but they've been very big on establishing the game's world and its characters, the latter of which actually have detailed backstories available on the official website. A focus on characters and narratives is a rare thing in Facebook games. The last time this was done, and to a much greater extent, was Qunify's CLASH: Rise of the Heroes, which is heavily based on superhero comics. One of Zynga's developers, Mike Humphrey, has said that "I'm really looking forward to finally seeing how Mafia Wars 2 is received; it's unlike most games on Facebook right now, and I think it pushes the envelope of what people can expect from games on the platform." Let's hope they keep pushing until the day of the launch.
To check out the comic yourself, click here and follow the directions to 'Like' the game's official Facebook fan page.
This eight-page comic was created by UDON Entertainment, a Canadian comics studio that specializes in Asian-inspired art, lending the story a manga flair in the character designs and paneling layout. UDON (named after the Japanese noodle) isn't a new entrant in games comics either. They're best known for their work with major Japanese games maker Capcom, drawing and publishing comics and artbooks for the Street Fighter series.
Mafia Wars 2 characters
So far, Zynga seems intent on keeping quiet about Mafia Wars 2's gameplay (except for the fact that it'll be a "vast 3-D world"), but they've been very big on establishing the game's world and its characters, the latter of which actually have detailed backstories available on the official website. A focus on characters and narratives is a rare thing in Facebook games. The last time this was done, and to a much greater extent, was Qunify's CLASH: Rise of the Heroes, which is heavily based on superhero comics. One of Zynga's developers, Mike Humphrey, has said that "I'm really looking forward to finally seeing how Mafia Wars 2 is received; it's unlike most games on Facebook right now, and I think it pushes the envelope of what people can expect from games on the platform." Let's hope they keep pushing until the day of the launch.
To check out the comic yourself, click here and follow the directions to 'Like' the game's official Facebook fan page.
RockYou partner Peak Games raises $11.5M for social game projects
For those of you (like myself) who are kind of tired of seeing the western world dominate Facebook games, this news should come as breath of fresh air. VentureBeat reports that Istanbul-based company Peak Games has raised $11.5 million and purchased two companies in efforts to become a power player in Facebook games. The developers in question, Umaykut and Erlikhan, were bought in what Peak Games calls "talent acquisitions." Sound familiar?
This move speaks to the rapid growth of Facebook games in regions like Turkey, the Middle East, North Africa, Mexico and South America. As we already know, Peak Games will work with growing publisher RockYou to distribute and localize its games in those regions. At the moment, Peak Games is the 18th most popular developer on Facebook, according to AppData, beating out notables like CrowdStar and Digital Chocolate in daily players.
Its most popular internally-created game is Okey, a social puzzle board game. And if you count its fans across all social networks including Facebook, Peak Games welcome 4 million daily players and 16 million monthly players, according to VentureBeat. Peak Games has made a name for itself in localizing social games from national companies for its audience, which is the the fourth largest on Facebook.
"Our goal is to be the dominant provider of games for emerging markets," Peak Games CSO Rina Onur, told VentureBeat. "The growth has been huge in the last six months. These regions are growing super fast and they are very hungry for games."
Facebook gaming is huge in regions other than the U.S.--companies like DeNA and Gree in Japan, Tencent in China and wooga in Europe are testament to that. But what we're more interested in is seeing creators like Peak Games create successful games for a global audience. Perhaps an injection of cash (from Hummingbird Ventures, Earlybird Venture Capital and an anonymous strategic investor) and talent will make that happen--Peak Games has an office in San Francisco, after all.
This move speaks to the rapid growth of Facebook games in regions like Turkey, the Middle East, North Africa, Mexico and South America. As we already know, Peak Games will work with growing publisher RockYou to distribute and localize its games in those regions. At the moment, Peak Games is the 18th most popular developer on Facebook, according to AppData, beating out notables like CrowdStar and Digital Chocolate in daily players.
Its most popular internally-created game is Okey, a social puzzle board game. And if you count its fans across all social networks including Facebook, Peak Games welcome 4 million daily players and 16 million monthly players, according to VentureBeat. Peak Games has made a name for itself in localizing social games from national companies for its audience, which is the the fourth largest on Facebook.
"Our goal is to be the dominant provider of games for emerging markets," Peak Games CSO Rina Onur, told VentureBeat. "The growth has been huge in the last six months. These regions are growing super fast and they are very hungry for games."
Facebook gaming is huge in regions other than the U.S.--companies like DeNA and Gree in Japan, Tencent in China and wooga in Europe are testament to that. But what we're more interested in is seeing creators like Peak Games create successful games for a global audience. Perhaps an injection of cash (from Hummingbird Ventures, Earlybird Venture Capital and an anonymous strategic investor) and talent will make that happen--Peak Games has an office in San Francisco, after all.
Entertainment Games looks to revive soap operas in Facebook games
FarmVille may have killed the daytime soap opera, but it seems like soaps might have their heyday after all. Langhorne, Penn.-based Entertainment Games announced that it hired Michael Fairman (pictured below), a leading expert on daytime soaps (bet you didn't know such a job existed, eh?) to help the company develop a soap opera game with Heyday Games.
Working toward this announcement, the company has been surprisingly busy. Entertainment Games bought social games maker Heyday Games in late June. Then in August, the company changed the name it's had since 1992. Two weeks ago, the company struck a licensing deal with intellectual rights management firm CMG Worldwide to use pictures of celebrities for some "retro-based social game for Facebook, Google+, mobile devices and the open web."
Aside from admittedly banking on nostalgia, there are a few clues as to what type of game the company looks to make. Entertainment Games wants to harness Fairman's two decades of experience in the industry. The company wants his help to create a game that Entertainment Games's CCO F.J. Lennon says will "deliver a ground-breaking social gaming experience that both the gaming and soap opera industries will take note of."
Michael Fairman soap opera expertSince Facebook games came along, games and daytime soaps had been inadvertently at war over the same audience, namely, 25 to 54-year-old women. Unfortunately for soaps fans, Zynga's "television audience destruction machine" won the battle over All My Children and One Life to Live. But Entertainment Games isn't the only company looking to capitalize on this obvious demographic.
In an effort to generate more revenue, UK soap opera Coronation Street was turned into a Facebook social game called "Corrie Nation". Unfortunately, the game didn't last a year before it was taken down for a complete rehaul, with ATV network looking for a new game developer to take on the job. With soap operas dying and the first (and only) Facebook soap opera game ever made, out of commission, you'd think that no one would bother with another attempt, right? Well, here comes Entertainment Games, Inc. to prove us wrong.
From the sound of things, soap operas can find new life after television as Facebook games. On top of that, they're going to return vying for the same demographic as they once did against Zynga, but this time, they'll be on the same playing field.
Working toward this announcement, the company has been surprisingly busy. Entertainment Games bought social games maker Heyday Games in late June. Then in August, the company changed the name it's had since 1992. Two weeks ago, the company struck a licensing deal with intellectual rights management firm CMG Worldwide to use pictures of celebrities for some "retro-based social game for Facebook, Google+, mobile devices and the open web."
Aside from admittedly banking on nostalgia, there are a few clues as to what type of game the company looks to make. Entertainment Games wants to harness Fairman's two decades of experience in the industry. The company wants his help to create a game that Entertainment Games's CCO F.J. Lennon says will "deliver a ground-breaking social gaming experience that both the gaming and soap opera industries will take note of."
Michael Fairman soap opera expertSince Facebook games came along, games and daytime soaps had been inadvertently at war over the same audience, namely, 25 to 54-year-old women. Unfortunately for soaps fans, Zynga's "television audience destruction machine" won the battle over All My Children and One Life to Live. But Entertainment Games isn't the only company looking to capitalize on this obvious demographic.
In an effort to generate more revenue, UK soap opera Coronation Street was turned into a Facebook social game called "Corrie Nation". Unfortunately, the game didn't last a year before it was taken down for a complete rehaul, with ATV network looking for a new game developer to take on the job. With soap operas dying and the first (and only) Facebook soap opera game ever made, out of commission, you'd think that no one would bother with another attempt, right? Well, here comes Entertainment Games, Inc. to prove us wrong.
From the sound of things, soap operas can find new life after television as Facebook games. On top of that, they're going to return vying for the same demographic as they once did against Zynga, but this time, they'll be on the same playing field.
Bubble Saga maker King.com hires Microsoft exec as marketing head
Can none resist the dollar signs allure of Facebook games? King.com, maker of Facebook game ports like Bubble Saga, announced that it has hired ex-Microsoft exec Alex Dale as its chief marketing officer. Dale joins King.com after overseeing Microsoft's marketing efforts on products including Bing, Internet Explorer and Windows Phone.
"We have made several strategic hires recently in an effort continue this growth and even take it one step further, becoming a clear leader in the space," King.com co-fonder and CEO Riccardo Zacconi said in a release. "We are confident that Alex will be instrumental in helping us further grow our global user- and partnership-base and are thrilled to have him on board."
Dale joins a list of executives that have found themselves in the social games space. Sean Ryan, director of Facebook games partnerships, was at one time the CEO of now-defunct social network LiveJournal. Zynga head of mobile games David Ko comes from Yahoo, and most recently Flickr founder Stewart Butterfield moved on to make his own social game, Glitch.
King.com, which most recently launched Bubble Witch Saga on Facebook, now joins the ranks of companies like Zynga in its willingness to source talent from other industries. And King.com says in the announcement that Dale will be at helm of the companies global expansion. It seems that the company is looking abroad to reach the top five game makers on AppData--it sits pretty at number seven with just over 17 million monthly players.
"We have made several strategic hires recently in an effort continue this growth and even take it one step further, becoming a clear leader in the space," King.com co-fonder and CEO Riccardo Zacconi said in a release. "We are confident that Alex will be instrumental in helping us further grow our global user- and partnership-base and are thrilled to have him on board."
Dale joins a list of executives that have found themselves in the social games space. Sean Ryan, director of Facebook games partnerships, was at one time the CEO of now-defunct social network LiveJournal. Zynga head of mobile games David Ko comes from Yahoo, and most recently Flickr founder Stewart Butterfield moved on to make his own social game, Glitch.
King.com, which most recently launched Bubble Witch Saga on Facebook, now joins the ranks of companies like Zynga in its willingness to source talent from other industries. And King.com says in the announcement that Dale will be at helm of the companies global expansion. It seems that the company is looking abroad to reach the top five game makers on AppData--it sits pretty at number seven with just over 17 million monthly players.
Zynga Mobile Chief: Mobile is a 'new social gaming frontier'
Everyone else is right there with ya, big red. During an interview with The Guardian, Zynga Mobile SVP David Ko said, "We believe that mobile represents a new social gaming frontier. We've always said we want Zynga to be the best content creators in the world, and we are platform agnostic." More and more Zynga fans expect to play its games on their phones and tablets, which wasn't exactly where CEO Mark Pincus's heart was many moons ago.
Regardless of whether Zynga has been creating mobile games since Zynga Poker hit iOS devices in 2008, it was only the advent of Facebook Connect that motivated the company to dig deeper into the platform. From that we got games like FarmVille and CityVille Hometown, neither of which are feature-complete versions of their Facebook counterparts. (The latter of which is a different game entirely.)
Now, The Guardian reports that Zynga is looking to take advantage of mobile devices' key features like cameras and accelerometers in future games. And tablets appear to be a big deal in Zynga HQ--Ko told The Guardian the company was "very bullish" on the idea. And HTML5, the emergent web coding language that's been touted as the proverbial messiah for cross-platform social gaming, is something Ko admits the company is interested in.
"HTML5 is interesting, although I do feel it is early," Ko told The Guardian. "With those acquisitions, you can see into our thinking in this area a little bit." (Ko there is referring to companies like Newtoy and Dextrose.) Zynga already released one game through HTML5: Mafia Wars Atlantic City.
However, HTML5 games have yet to achieve the complexity of, say, Hanging With Friends, which Zynga just released on Android devices. Regardless, all eyes--including Zynga's--are on those 4-inch screens that rarely leave your side. And with companies as unlikely as Capcom making buku bucks on mobile games, you can bet Zynga is a' hustlin'.
Regardless of whether Zynga has been creating mobile games since Zynga Poker hit iOS devices in 2008, it was only the advent of Facebook Connect that motivated the company to dig deeper into the platform. From that we got games like FarmVille and CityVille Hometown, neither of which are feature-complete versions of their Facebook counterparts. (The latter of which is a different game entirely.)
Now, The Guardian reports that Zynga is looking to take advantage of mobile devices' key features like cameras and accelerometers in future games. And tablets appear to be a big deal in Zynga HQ--Ko told The Guardian the company was "very bullish" on the idea. And HTML5, the emergent web coding language that's been touted as the proverbial messiah for cross-platform social gaming, is something Ko admits the company is interested in.
"HTML5 is interesting, although I do feel it is early," Ko told The Guardian. "With those acquisitions, you can see into our thinking in this area a little bit." (Ko there is referring to companies like Newtoy and Dextrose.) Zynga already released one game through HTML5: Mafia Wars Atlantic City.
However, HTML5 games have yet to achieve the complexity of, say, Hanging With Friends, which Zynga just released on Android devices. Regardless, all eyes--including Zynga's--are on those 4-inch screens that rarely leave your side. And with companies as unlikely as Capcom making buku bucks on mobile games, you can bet Zynga is a' hustlin'.
Sunday, January 8, 2012
FarmVille Valentine's Day Theme Showcase [Video]
Confirming the FarmVille Sneak Peek we brought you earlier today, Zynga has released a FarmVille Valentine's Day Theme Showcase video on their official YouTube channel. The video shows off just a handful of items that will be released presumably later this month and on into February, to celebrate the upcoming Valentine's Day holiday.
Seen from our Sneak Peeks are the Tunnel of Love, the Heart Sheep, the Hot Pink Duck and the Heart Cow. There are two new items included as well, including a lovely silver fountain that has two Swans perched at the top. The fountain of course animates with water falling over the top. The other item is a stationary gazebo, surrounded by some greenery in the form of bushes and what appears to be small flowers.
As usual, there's no telling when these items will officially launch in the game, or how they will be made available (purchase in the store, Mystery Game, free gift, and so on). It's presumable that most of these items will be released to purchase in the store, so save up your Farm Cash and your coins if you want to make sure you can purchase them all.
Seen from our Sneak Peeks are the Tunnel of Love, the Heart Sheep, the Hot Pink Duck and the Heart Cow. There are two new items included as well, including a lovely silver fountain that has two Swans perched at the top. The fountain of course animates with water falling over the top. The other item is a stationary gazebo, surrounded by some greenery in the form of bushes and what appears to be small flowers.
As usual, there's no telling when these items will officially launch in the game, or how they will be made available (purchase in the store, Mystery Game, free gift, and so on). It's presumable that most of these items will be released to purchase in the store, so save up your Farm Cash and your coins if you want to make sure you can purchase them all.
FarmVille Winter Wonderland Animals: Bear Cub & Willow Ptarmigan
With the release of the Cupid's Castle in FarmVille, you may have thought that Zynga was ready to transition completely from the current Winter Wonderland theme into one for Valentine's Day, but in that assumption, you would have been incorrect, as tonight marks the release of yet another set of Winter Wonderland limited edition items in the game's store.
With this update comes the release of two animals: Bear Cub, and WIllow Ptarmigan. Not to be confused with the Kodiak Cub that was released as part of the Holiday Tree event back in December, this Bear Cub is a re-release of an item that was available way back in February/March of 2010, during the California limited edition theme. This Bear Cub was then re-released as part of a Mystery Game back in August of last year. If, for whatever reason, you missed out on claiming one of these bears the last two times it was made available in the game, you can now pick it up from the store for 22 Farm Cash. That's the same price as in the California Event, so at least there hasn't been any sort of price increase there.
The Willow Ptarmigan, or Willow Grouse, as it is more commonly called, is a cute, chubby little bird that is the state bird of Alaska, which explains its introduction to the theme here (as this Winter Wonderland theme has been filled with items inspired by Alaska). The Willow Ptarmigan is available to purchase for 12 Farm Cash, which isn't a bad price, considering the fact that it is a new animal to the game, and limited edition at that.
Both of these animals will be available in the game for the next 13 days. We assume that the Valentine's Day theme will be launching in full in the very near future, so it might be smart to purchase these guys now, before the store becomes filled with all things red and pink.
With this update comes the release of two animals: Bear Cub, and WIllow Ptarmigan. Not to be confused with the Kodiak Cub that was released as part of the Holiday Tree event back in December, this Bear Cub is a re-release of an item that was available way back in February/March of 2010, during the California limited edition theme. This Bear Cub was then re-released as part of a Mystery Game back in August of last year. If, for whatever reason, you missed out on claiming one of these bears the last two times it was made available in the game, you can now pick it up from the store for 22 Farm Cash. That's the same price as in the California Event, so at least there hasn't been any sort of price increase there.
The Willow Ptarmigan, or Willow Grouse, as it is more commonly called, is a cute, chubby little bird that is the state bird of Alaska, which explains its introduction to the theme here (as this Winter Wonderland theme has been filled with items inspired by Alaska). The Willow Ptarmigan is available to purchase for 12 Farm Cash, which isn't a bad price, considering the fact that it is a new animal to the game, and limited edition at that.
Both of these animals will be available in the game for the next 13 days. We assume that the Valentine's Day theme will be launching in full in the very near future, so it might be smart to purchase these guys now, before the store becomes filled with all things red and pink.
FarmVille Winter Wonderland Items: Gift Shop, Baby Seal, Klondike Train & More
In tonight's FarmVille update, we see the release of a whole slew of building and decorative items in the game's marketplace. These items all fit into the current Winter Wonderland / Alaskan inspired limited edition item set, and come in the form of two new buildings, along with some new decorative items (including the train that we brought you a sneak peek of earlier today).
The two buildings are the Gift Shop and the Totem House. The Gift Shop is a coin-only item, but it's definitely one of the most expensive items we've seen, being priced at 500,000 coins. Granted, you do receive 5,000 experience points when purchasing the house, which is a great incentive, but the price seems too high for most farmers (including this farmer) to bite. Meanwhile, the Totem House costs 25 Farm Cash. You'll receive half of the experience points as with the Gift Shop, at just 2,500. Both of these buildings will be available in the game for the next 13 days.
Next come the decorative items, of which there are quite a few. Meet us behind the break for a look at these new decorations, including the new Klondike Train set.
There are three basic decorations (those not dealing with the train) available to purchase, with two of them being available for coins. The premium item is the Baby Seal, which costs 20 Farm Cash. This is an animated, decorative animal only - not available to harvest from, and you'll see why as soon as you see the item - this is a baby seal alright, but a baby seal sitting atop an ice flow in the middle of an arctic pond. It's a fairly cute item though, such as it is. The standard decorations are the Husky Statue and the Multidirection Sign, which are available for 100,000 and 20,000 coins, respectively.
Finally, the Klondike Train set comes in four pieces, not including the "Snowy Track" pieces that are once again available in the store (they are available for the same prices as when released as part of the Winter Holiday limited edition theme at the end of November). The train itself can be built using the engine itself, the "Klondike Train" item, which is available for 20 Farm Cash, and then adding on either Fuel Carts or Klondike Cars for 120,000 coins each. Once you've made your train to your desired length, you'll be able to add the caboose, or Klondike Cart item, which is available to purchase for 7 Farm Cash.
All things considered, this does seem like a doable situation for someone looking to build a complete train set on their farm, especially if they have friends that would be willing to gift them either the Klondike Cart or the Klondike Train as a gift, thereby saving the Farm Cash cost. Either way, these train pieces, along with the other decorations released this evening, will be available to purchase in the game for the next 13 days. That gives you plenty of time to redesign your farm, if necessary, to fit your new train track.
The two buildings are the Gift Shop and the Totem House. The Gift Shop is a coin-only item, but it's definitely one of the most expensive items we've seen, being priced at 500,000 coins. Granted, you do receive 5,000 experience points when purchasing the house, which is a great incentive, but the price seems too high for most farmers (including this farmer) to bite. Meanwhile, the Totem House costs 25 Farm Cash. You'll receive half of the experience points as with the Gift Shop, at just 2,500. Both of these buildings will be available in the game for the next 13 days.
Next come the decorative items, of which there are quite a few. Meet us behind the break for a look at these new decorations, including the new Klondike Train set.
There are three basic decorations (those not dealing with the train) available to purchase, with two of them being available for coins. The premium item is the Baby Seal, which costs 20 Farm Cash. This is an animated, decorative animal only - not available to harvest from, and you'll see why as soon as you see the item - this is a baby seal alright, but a baby seal sitting atop an ice flow in the middle of an arctic pond. It's a fairly cute item though, such as it is. The standard decorations are the Husky Statue and the Multidirection Sign, which are available for 100,000 and 20,000 coins, respectively.
Finally, the Klondike Train set comes in four pieces, not including the "Snowy Track" pieces that are once again available in the store (they are available for the same prices as when released as part of the Winter Holiday limited edition theme at the end of November). The train itself can be built using the engine itself, the "Klondike Train" item, which is available for 20 Farm Cash, and then adding on either Fuel Carts or Klondike Cars for 120,000 coins each. Once you've made your train to your desired length, you'll be able to add the caboose, or Klondike Cart item, which is available to purchase for 7 Farm Cash.
All things considered, this does seem like a doable situation for someone looking to build a complete train set on their farm, especially if they have friends that would be willing to gift them either the Klondike Cart or the Klondike Train as a gift, thereby saving the Farm Cash cost. Either way, these train pieces, along with the other decorations released this evening, will be available to purchase in the game for the next 13 days. That gives you plenty of time to redesign your farm, if necessary, to fit your new train track.
FrontierVille: 50 Horseshoe prize returns for New Years Resolution missions
Apparently, Zynga does pay attention to users, at least when it comes to giveaways of free Horseshoes in FrontierVille. After the outcry concerning the many changes of Horseshoe prizes for finishing the New Years Resolution goals (see below), the developer has decided to scrap all changes and go back to the way things were at the beginning - finish all six New Years Resolution goals before January 31, and you will receive 50 free Horseshoes.
For those that weren't with us earlier this month, the rundown of events was as follows: At the start of the month, all users were promised the same deal - finish the missions and receive 50 Horseshoes. Almost instantly after their release, Zynga changed the event so that only those who finished before January 14 would be the lucky recipients of 50 Horseshoes, while the January 31 deadline was changed to 20 Horseshoes. The backlash surrounding the change (users felt, understandably, like they were being ripped off), has resulted in this (hopefully) final change.
As a special note, if you were one of the users that only received 20 Horseshoes, because you have finished all six missions, but it was sometime between January 14 and today - don't panic - Zynga will be sending you another 30 Horseshoes to get you up to the 50 Horseshoe prize along with everyone else.
For those that weren't with us earlier this month, the rundown of events was as follows: At the start of the month, all users were promised the same deal - finish the missions and receive 50 Horseshoes. Almost instantly after their release, Zynga changed the event so that only those who finished before January 14 would be the lucky recipients of 50 Horseshoes, while the January 31 deadline was changed to 20 Horseshoes. The backlash surrounding the change (users felt, understandably, like they were being ripped off), has resulted in this (hopefully) final change.
As a special note, if you were one of the users that only received 20 Horseshoes, because you have finished all six missions, but it was sometime between January 14 and today - don't panic - Zynga will be sending you another 30 Horseshoes to get you up to the 50 Horseshoe prize along with everyone else.
FarmVille Sneak Peek: Pink Unicorn, Pink Bubblegum Trees, Pink everywhere
Pink Unicorn Pink Bubblegum Tree Sign
Things could get a lot more pink on the farm. FV Fan has just found a few new items that, if released, will likely make it in time for this year's Valentine's Day theme in FarmVille. A new horse, the Pink Unicorn, could be landing soon as well as a brand new Pink Bubblegum Tree. Sorry, fellas, this theme is not for you. (But if you like pink, even better!)
The Pink Bubblegum Tree, if released soon, will be the third tree crop or tree released just weeks. And considering Valentine's Day is a little less than a month away, there's surely more where this came from. Stay tuned for when (or if) even more pink invades the farm.
Things could get a lot more pink on the farm. FV Fan has just found a few new items that, if released, will likely make it in time for this year's Valentine's Day theme in FarmVille. A new horse, the Pink Unicorn, could be landing soon as well as a brand new Pink Bubblegum Tree. Sorry, fellas, this theme is not for you. (But if you like pink, even better!)
The Pink Bubblegum Tree, if released soon, will be the third tree crop or tree released just weeks. And considering Valentine's Day is a little less than a month away, there's surely more where this came from. Stay tuned for when (or if) even more pink invades the farm.
FrontierVille: Hank's makeover gets mixed response; what do you think?
Another set of Goals in FrontierVille is through for the super fans and Hank just got a brand new look. After creating a Barber Shop and completing the Goals attached to it--along with Hank's own mission of self improvement--the General Store manager will never be the same. In fact, FrontierVille forum moderator Miss Marme put out a poll on the forums asking players what they thought of the new Hank.
While a majority of the voters claim to like his new look, the comments tell a vastly different story. So much so that even one user, BeetleQueen, created her own mock-up of what she thinks the new Hank should look like. The general tone of the responses in the four-page thread is, for lack of a better word, the heebie-jeebies. Honestly, I'd have to agree. Just a question: Does the Barber Shop do underground cosmetic surgery on the side?
"Don't like it... The artwork for the "New Hank" doesn't blend with the rest of the artwork for the game, especially the other NPCs and player avatars," forum user JP323 said. "It's too refined and chiseled while the rest are more cartoony/caricaturized." I was under the impression that Hank just needed a haircut and a shave--not a restructured jaw line, a new chin and a nose job. Sure, we all thought Hank was a little creepy before, but this new look might take the cake.
While a majority of the voters claim to like his new look, the comments tell a vastly different story. So much so that even one user, BeetleQueen, created her own mock-up of what she thinks the new Hank should look like. The general tone of the responses in the four-page thread is, for lack of a better word, the heebie-jeebies. Honestly, I'd have to agree. Just a question: Does the Barber Shop do underground cosmetic surgery on the side?
"Don't like it... The artwork for the "New Hank" doesn't blend with the rest of the artwork for the game, especially the other NPCs and player avatars," forum user JP323 said. "It's too refined and chiseled while the rest are more cartoony/caricaturized." I was under the impression that Hank just needed a haircut and a shave--not a restructured jaw line, a new chin and a nose job. Sure, we all thought Hank was a little creepy before, but this new look might take the cake.
FarmVille Model Farm is nothing but a big old Farm Cash shop
Model Farm
Well, if that isn't a tad underwhelming. Featured in a previous Sneak Peek post, the Model Farm feature in FarmVille could have been anything. It had the potential to be a brand new feature where players could build the farms of their dreams or plan new layouts before making real arrangements. Instead, the Model Farm is nothing more than a preview of what's already available in the Market.
Upon visiting the Model Farm, you'll notice that nearly every item has a price tag. Of course, this is because each item in the Model Farm is available for immediate purchase. In fact, clicking each item opens up the same preview window found in the Market. We imagine the Model Farm will periodically be updated with new items as themes come and go.
Sure, players get a daily bonus item or coins for visiting and it's cute to see all of these decorations hanging out together, but shopping was fine where it was. Especially since the Market got a recent makeover. Be sure to give a visit to the Model Farm daily for those extra bonuses, but don't stay long unless you're packing some serious Farm Cash.
Well, if that isn't a tad underwhelming. Featured in a previous Sneak Peek post, the Model Farm feature in FarmVille could have been anything. It had the potential to be a brand new feature where players could build the farms of their dreams or plan new layouts before making real arrangements. Instead, the Model Farm is nothing more than a preview of what's already available in the Market.
Upon visiting the Model Farm, you'll notice that nearly every item has a price tag. Of course, this is because each item in the Model Farm is available for immediate purchase. In fact, clicking each item opens up the same preview window found in the Market. We imagine the Model Farm will periodically be updated with new items as themes come and go.
Sure, players get a daily bonus item or coins for visiting and it's cute to see all of these decorations hanging out together, but shopping was fine where it was. Especially since the Market got a recent makeover. Be sure to give a visit to the Model Farm daily for those extra bonuses, but don't stay long unless you're packing some serious Farm Cash.
Doom creator John Romero commited to social games, signs RockYou deal
The co-creator of Doom, one of the most violent video game franchises ever, is officially hooked on social games. John Romero and Tom Hall have signed a deal with social game publisher RockYou to create a new game for Facebook with their new studio, Loot Drop, VentureBeat reports. The duo, who previously founded id Software and worked with (and started) several traditional game studios over the years, are leaving the land of big-budget PC and console games behind.
Romero recently struck gold with developer LOLapps in creating Ravenwood Fair, which enjoys over 5 million players even through an almost crippling privacy scare. Romero said that his goal with Loot Drop and RockYou is to push the boundaries of social games with creative game design, according to VentureBeat. The studio's first deal with a third-party publisher is good for one game that RockYou--who just bought Playdemic last week--will fund and publish. Romero hopes the game will come out in the summer.
Romero feels that the social games industry is strong enough to support an independent social game studio like Loot Drop that employs a team of eight, VentureBeat says. Based in Austin, Texas, Hall will serve as Loot Drop's studio head and game designer. Romero will not work as chief executive of Loot Drop, but will leave that job up to Robert Sirotek who has released 150 games over 26 years through his company, Sir-Tech.
"We are not interested at all in going back to the normal game industry cycle where it takes years to do a game," Romero said to VentureBeat. "This audience is unbelievably massive, and we are very early in its history. I feel like it is 1981 again, and the industry is ready for an explosion of creativity." With an impressive track record in both traditional and now social games, Romero and Loot Drop could be the ones to inject even more life into the social games industry.
Romero recently struck gold with developer LOLapps in creating Ravenwood Fair, which enjoys over 5 million players even through an almost crippling privacy scare. Romero said that his goal with Loot Drop and RockYou is to push the boundaries of social games with creative game design, according to VentureBeat. The studio's first deal with a third-party publisher is good for one game that RockYou--who just bought Playdemic last week--will fund and publish. Romero hopes the game will come out in the summer.
Romero feels that the social games industry is strong enough to support an independent social game studio like Loot Drop that employs a team of eight, VentureBeat says. Based in Austin, Texas, Hall will serve as Loot Drop's studio head and game designer. Romero will not work as chief executive of Loot Drop, but will leave that job up to Robert Sirotek who has released 150 games over 26 years through his company, Sir-Tech.
"We are not interested at all in going back to the normal game industry cycle where it takes years to do a game," Romero said to VentureBeat. "This audience is unbelievably massive, and we are very early in its history. I feel like it is 1981 again, and the industry is ready for an explosion of creativity." With an impressive track record in both traditional and now social games, Romero and Loot Drop could be the ones to inject even more life into the social games industry.
FarmVille: Goji Berries return, thank your fellow CityVille neighbor
Say what you will about Zynga, but they've been doing well on making good on their promises recently. Just like Zynga said it would, the company has brought Goji Berries back to FarmVille. The previous deal Zynga made with its fans was if CityVille gained another 100 thousand players, it would reintroduce the famous crop to FarmVille.
And just like that, Goji Berries are back for another 17 days. The crop costs 15 coins to plant and harvests in 16 hours for 126 coins and 2 XP. Not a bad investment at all, if you ask me. Even if you've already mastered the Goji Berry, it's tough to find another 16-hour crop with such high yield. So, set those 16-hour alarms and enjoy the bountiful XP harvest while it lasts.
And just like that, Goji Berries are back for another 17 days. The crop costs 15 coins to plant and harvests in 16 hours for 126 coins and 2 XP. Not a bad investment at all, if you ask me. Even if you've already mastered the Goji Berry, it's tough to find another 16-hour crop with such high yield. So, set those 16-hour alarms and enjoy the bountiful XP harvest while it lasts.
CityVille Cheats and Tips: House Chart
There are over fifteen different houses in CityVille, all with different rents, collection times, and populations. For casual CityVille players, it may not matter what houses they build in their cities. However, more dedicated CityVille players are always thinking of new ways to make their city more successful, and choosing the best houses can be a major part of that. Fortunately, thanks to Chaotico at the CityVille Forums and our CityVille Cheats & Tips House chart, I can tell you everything you need to know before purchasing a house in CityVille. Cost, collection time, rent, population, size, coins per hour and rankings; our House Chart has it all!
So stop wondering what the best house in CityVille is, and continue reading to find out for yourself. If you're looking for our CityVille Businesses Chart, click here.
Note: This chart assumes you will be playing constantly: collecting rent immediately as it becomes available. So while the Country Home is the most efficient in that sense, it also requires you to collect rent every five minutes.
Name Cost Population Rent Collection
Time Coins
Per Hour Overall
Ranking Size
cityville house chartCountry
Home 600 30 10 5 Minutes 120 1 4x4
cityville house chartFamily
Townhouse 400 20 100 4 Hours 25 2 4x4
cityville house chartCozy
Cottage 200 10 50 1 Hour 50 2 3x3
cityville cheats house chartLake
House 10 Cash 90 180 2 Hours 90 3 3x3
cityville cheats house chartTerraced
Brownstone 2,500 70 150 8 Hours 18.75 3 3x3
Name Cost Population Rent Collection
Time Coins
Per Hour Overall
Ranking Size
cityville cheats house chartSuburban
House 800 40 180 18 Hours 10 3 4x4
cityville cheats house chartUpscale
Condos 8,000 110 52 1 Hour 52 4 4x4
cityville cheats house chartModern
Chateau 1,500 60 200 1 Day 8.33 4 4x4
cityville cheats house chartLoft
Apartments 1,000 50 220 2.1 Days 4.37 4 4x4
cityville cheats house chartColonial
Chalet 10,000 120 158 8 Hours 19.75 5 3x3
Name Cost Population Rent Collection
Time Coins
Per Hour Overall
Ranking Size
cityville cheats house chartRanch
House 6,000 100 189 18 Hours 10.5 5 4x4
cityville cheats house chartApartment
Complex 4,500 90 210 1 Day 8.75 5 4x4
cityville cheats house chartStylish
Contemporary 3,500 80 240 3.1 Days 3.23 6 3x3
cityville cheats house chartSkyscraper
Condos 500,000 150 105 4 Hours 26.25 7 4x4
cityville cheats house chartSprawling
Mansion 15,000 140 195 18 Hours 10.83 8 6x3
cityville cheats house chartHotel
Suites 12,500 130 231 2.1 Days 4.58 9 6x3
If you're curious how Chaotico decided on the rankings of the CityVille houses, check out this expanded chart.
So stop wondering what the best house in CityVille is, and continue reading to find out for yourself. If you're looking for our CityVille Businesses Chart, click here.
Note: This chart assumes you will be playing constantly: collecting rent immediately as it becomes available. So while the Country Home is the most efficient in that sense, it also requires you to collect rent every five minutes.
Name Cost Population Rent Collection
Time Coins
Per Hour Overall
Ranking Size
cityville house chartCountry
Home 600 30 10 5 Minutes 120 1 4x4
cityville house chartFamily
Townhouse 400 20 100 4 Hours 25 2 4x4
cityville house chartCozy
Cottage 200 10 50 1 Hour 50 2 3x3
cityville cheats house chartLake
House 10 Cash 90 180 2 Hours 90 3 3x3
cityville cheats house chartTerraced
Brownstone 2,500 70 150 8 Hours 18.75 3 3x3
Name Cost Population Rent Collection
Time Coins
Per Hour Overall
Ranking Size
cityville cheats house chartSuburban
House 800 40 180 18 Hours 10 3 4x4
cityville cheats house chartUpscale
Condos 8,000 110 52 1 Hour 52 4 4x4
cityville cheats house chartModern
Chateau 1,500 60 200 1 Day 8.33 4 4x4
cityville cheats house chartLoft
Apartments 1,000 50 220 2.1 Days 4.37 4 4x4
cityville cheats house chartColonial
Chalet 10,000 120 158 8 Hours 19.75 5 3x3
Name Cost Population Rent Collection
Time Coins
Per Hour Overall
Ranking Size
cityville cheats house chartRanch
House 6,000 100 189 18 Hours 10.5 5 4x4
cityville cheats house chartApartment
Complex 4,500 90 210 1 Day 8.75 5 4x4
cityville cheats house chartStylish
Contemporary 3,500 80 240 3.1 Days 3.23 6 3x3
cityville cheats house chartSkyscraper
Condos 500,000 150 105 4 Hours 26.25 7 4x4
cityville cheats house chartSprawling
Mansion 15,000 140 195 18 Hours 10.83 8 6x3
cityville cheats house chartHotel
Suites 12,500 130 231 2.1 Days 4.58 9 6x3
If you're curious how Chaotico decided on the rankings of the CityVille houses, check out this expanded chart.
Friday, January 6, 2012
FarmVille Fairy Tale Decorations: Prince Frog's Pond, Bean Stalk, Small Mushroom & More
As we told you even early this morning, a new wave of Fairy Tale items has been released in FarmVille, containing some of the items that we predicted would be released this weekend. There is one new building to purchase, along with five new decorative items, giving everyone a little something to choose from, depending on their budget.
For the new building, you can now pick up the Fairy Tale Cottage for 15 Farm Cash. For that price, you'l receive 1500 experience points as a reward, and a building that looks like yet another Gingerbread House that you can add to your farm (that is, if you've been playing the game long enough to see the others being released in the past). This building is a fairly small one, so the equally smaller price seems to fit.
Meet us behind the break for a look at the new decorations that are now available.
As for the decorative items, surprisingly enough, only one costs Farm Cash. That item is the Prince Frog's Pond, which costs 15 Farm Cash. You'll receive 1500 experience points for purchasing this animated item, that has a frog prince sitting on a throne at the edge of a small pond (emphasis on small).
Meanwhile, the coin items are the giant Bean Stalk, which costs 100,000 coins, a Large Mushroom costing 10,000 coins, a single portion of Lollipop Fence priced at 5,000 coins, and a Small Mushroom, also costing 5,000 coins. Again, this is a rare case when so many decorative items are released for coins (and relatively cheap price points at that), so if you're at all interested in adding a touch of whimsy and make-believe to your farm, I'd highly suggest looking into purchasing some of these items.
All of these decorations, and the Fairy Tale Cottage will be available for the next two weeks. We'll be sure to let you know if more Fairy Tale items are released in the meantime, so make sure to keep checking back.
For the new building, you can now pick up the Fairy Tale Cottage for 15 Farm Cash. For that price, you'l receive 1500 experience points as a reward, and a building that looks like yet another Gingerbread House that you can add to your farm (that is, if you've been playing the game long enough to see the others being released in the past). This building is a fairly small one, so the equally smaller price seems to fit.
Meet us behind the break for a look at the new decorations that are now available.
As for the decorative items, surprisingly enough, only one costs Farm Cash. That item is the Prince Frog's Pond, which costs 15 Farm Cash. You'll receive 1500 experience points for purchasing this animated item, that has a frog prince sitting on a throne at the edge of a small pond (emphasis on small).
Meanwhile, the coin items are the giant Bean Stalk, which costs 100,000 coins, a Large Mushroom costing 10,000 coins, a single portion of Lollipop Fence priced at 5,000 coins, and a Small Mushroom, also costing 5,000 coins. Again, this is a rare case when so many decorative items are released for coins (and relatively cheap price points at that), so if you're at all interested in adding a touch of whimsy and make-believe to your farm, I'd highly suggest looking into purchasing some of these items.
All of these decorations, and the Fairy Tale Cottage will be available for the next two weeks. We'll be sure to let you know if more Fairy Tale items are released in the meantime, so make sure to keep checking back.
Zynga teases new CityVille Factories, Active Buildings and more
In a recent community outreach post on the CityVille forums, Zynga community manager Mayor Max hinted at several features that are en route to the city-builder. Apparently Zynga is quite pleased with its work on the Visitor's Center and claims that more "Active Buildings" are coming to CityVille. Our guess is that we'll be seeing more buildings that more functions than providing coins and XP. Again, the company teases Factories and says they will be "zero-emission" and produce ... something.
Well, let's just hope it's more than just Goods production, because that would be pretty boring. Retail-themed quests, buildings and decorations are on the way, but don't we already have plenty of those? Let's hope Zynga thinking of something like, say, a mall? In addition to their never-ending quest to stamp out every little bug and glitch, the CityVille team explains a few recent changes.
Factories
The increase to Expansion costs is said to be for gameplay balance, but weren't they already expensive with little return? This will make expansions even more difficult to obtain and less rewarding, a baffling change if you ask me. Money has never been an issue for the mayoral pros, but it's the small return on expansions that scared many away. I'm not sure what balance this will bring, but we'll see soon enough.
On a lighter note, players will soon be able to rename their Businesses and Cities, according to Mayor Max. Zynga hints at two exciting features. Soon, we'll be able to create a bridge over that river to the southeast, expanding our cities even further. Finally, a big change is on the way for Franchises. We're not sure what needs to be changed, but you should be excited nonetheless.
Which of these changes or features would you like to see first? What would you like to see in CityVille that wasn't mentioned?
Well, let's just hope it's more than just Goods production, because that would be pretty boring. Retail-themed quests, buildings and decorations are on the way, but don't we already have plenty of those? Let's hope Zynga thinking of something like, say, a mall? In addition to their never-ending quest to stamp out every little bug and glitch, the CityVille team explains a few recent changes.
Factories
The increase to Expansion costs is said to be for gameplay balance, but weren't they already expensive with little return? This will make expansions even more difficult to obtain and less rewarding, a baffling change if you ask me. Money has never been an issue for the mayoral pros, but it's the small return on expansions that scared many away. I'm not sure what balance this will bring, but we'll see soon enough.
On a lighter note, players will soon be able to rename their Businesses and Cities, according to Mayor Max. Zynga hints at two exciting features. Soon, we'll be able to create a bridge over that river to the southeast, expanding our cities even further. Finally, a big change is on the way for Franchises. We're not sure what needs to be changed, but you should be excited nonetheless.
Which of these changes or features would you like to see first? What would you like to see in CityVille that wasn't mentioned?
FarmVille Valentine's Countdown Day 12: Dogwood Tree and Purple Cow
Why are there two items in today's edition of the FarmVille Valentine's Countdown, you ask? Because it's the 12th and last day, silly. Today marks the end of a long journey filled with simple prizes, few of which have anything to do with Valentine's Day, which has been through for a week now. Today's prize is the Dogwood Tree decoration, but for completing the entire countdown a Purple Cow is yours.
Purple Cow
This regal-colored, heart-laden bovine would fit nicely with your green UFO Cow. Just click on the heart icon on your game screen and then the "Ask/Share" button. After someone gifts you a Dogwood Tree, you'll also receive the Purple Cow along with the option to share one with your friends. Finally, we can move on from the most divisive holiday of the year and to one that everyone (oddly enough) can celebrate: St. Patrick's Day! (One can dream, right?)
[Source and Image Credit: FarmVille Freak]
Did you complete the Valentine's Countdown? Aside from the Purple Cow, what was your favorite prize?
Purple Cow
This regal-colored, heart-laden bovine would fit nicely with your green UFO Cow. Just click on the heart icon on your game screen and then the "Ask/Share" button. After someone gifts you a Dogwood Tree, you'll also receive the Purple Cow along with the option to share one with your friends. Finally, we can move on from the most divisive holiday of the year and to one that everyone (oddly enough) can celebrate: St. Patrick's Day! (One can dream, right?)
[Source and Image Credit: FarmVille Freak]
Did you complete the Valentine's Countdown? Aside from the Purple Cow, what was your favorite prize?
FarmVille Scam Alert: Beware Falabella Foal News Feed Posts
Falabella Foal Scam
If this recent surge in FarmVille scam artists doesn't take weekends, why would they rest on President's Day? FarmVille Freak has found yet another scam popping up in players' News Feeds. This time, promises of a free Falabella Foal have been made, but all that's behind them is a whole lot of malware. However, the scammers have done quite a job at covering their tracks.
There are no typos to be found in the initial post. Yet, clicking on the offer leads to a page titled "FarmVille Bonus." If you've gotten this far, do not click any further. There is no free Falabella Foal, and remember to be careful when clicking on FarmVille News Feed offers. If you've fallen victim to a FarmVille scam, be sure to scan your computer for malware and to change your Facebook password. FarmVille Freak warns that associating yourself with scams could result in your account being suspended by Zynga. And since there doesn't seem to be an end to this increase in FarmVille scams, we'll be all over them.
[Image Credit: FarmVille Freak]
Have you fallen victim to a FarmVille scam? How do you think Zynga should handle these issues?
If this recent surge in FarmVille scam artists doesn't take weekends, why would they rest on President's Day? FarmVille Freak has found yet another scam popping up in players' News Feeds. This time, promises of a free Falabella Foal have been made, but all that's behind them is a whole lot of malware. However, the scammers have done quite a job at covering their tracks.
There are no typos to be found in the initial post. Yet, clicking on the offer leads to a page titled "FarmVille Bonus." If you've gotten this far, do not click any further. There is no free Falabella Foal, and remember to be careful when clicking on FarmVille News Feed offers. If you've fallen victim to a FarmVille scam, be sure to scan your computer for malware and to change your Facebook password. FarmVille Freak warns that associating yourself with scams could result in your account being suspended by Zynga. And since there doesn't seem to be an end to this increase in FarmVille scams, we'll be all over them.
[Image Credit: FarmVille Freak]
Have you fallen victim to a FarmVille scam? How do you think Zynga should handle these issues?
Zynga Game Cards available in Latin America; no siestas for FarmVille
Zynga Game Cards
After CityVille was stealthily made available in Portuguese by Zynga, the company decided it was time to make that transition complete. With the help of Mentez, a Brazilian social games publisher based in Miami, Fla., Zynga Game Cards are now available in Brazil, according to VentureBeat. Later, Zynga Game Cards will expand across Latin America and into Mexico with its new Brazilian friends. This was made possible through Paymentez, Mentez's social games payment platform represented by kiosks scattered throughout retail stores and Internet cafes in Brazil. But, why weren't credit cards enough?
According to Mentez CEO Juan Franco, the Brazilian people do not own or use credit cards like Americans do (i.e. poorly). In fact, Franco claims that there is fewer than one credit card to every Brazilian resident, which pales in comparison to our love for the plastic. However, pre-paid cards are popular in the country, which Zynga is well aware of. Social gamers in Brazil can go to a Mentez kiosk, pay up in cash, bank transfers or local online credit cards, and be on their way with a Zynga Game Card.
The Mentez payment system provides its service to millions of Brazilian social gamers, and now Zynga is in on the fun. It seems Zynga is looking to do everything it can to nab that coveted title of "Most Valuable Game Company in the World." But if anything, this shows Zynga's increasing international savvy in localization in several forms. It's one thing to get foreign audiences to play your game, but it's another entirely to get them to pay.
After CityVille was stealthily made available in Portuguese by Zynga, the company decided it was time to make that transition complete. With the help of Mentez, a Brazilian social games publisher based in Miami, Fla., Zynga Game Cards are now available in Brazil, according to VentureBeat. Later, Zynga Game Cards will expand across Latin America and into Mexico with its new Brazilian friends. This was made possible through Paymentez, Mentez's social games payment platform represented by kiosks scattered throughout retail stores and Internet cafes in Brazil. But, why weren't credit cards enough?
According to Mentez CEO Juan Franco, the Brazilian people do not own or use credit cards like Americans do (i.e. poorly). In fact, Franco claims that there is fewer than one credit card to every Brazilian resident, which pales in comparison to our love for the plastic. However, pre-paid cards are popular in the country, which Zynga is well aware of. Social gamers in Brazil can go to a Mentez kiosk, pay up in cash, bank transfers or local online credit cards, and be on their way with a Zynga Game Card.
The Mentez payment system provides its service to millions of Brazilian social gamers, and now Zynga is in on the fun. It seems Zynga is looking to do everything it can to nab that coveted title of "Most Valuable Game Company in the World." But if anything, this shows Zynga's increasing international savvy in localization in several forms. It's one thing to get foreign audiences to play your game, but it's another entirely to get them to pay.
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Gamesville puzzler 'Super Chef Full Boil' offers cash and prizes
One look at that name, "Gamesville", and it's hard not to ask yourself if it's got something to do with Zynga. After all, Zynga has so many 'villes on Facebook -- FarmVille, FrontierVille, CityVille, and that Zynga Lotto usuper, RewardVille, which isn't even a game! But Gamesville is actually a company that was born long before the world had heard of Zynga. Even its motto, "Wasting your time since 1996", proudly brandishes its seniority, and now, Gamesville has arrived on Facebook.
Gamesville Super Chef Full Boil
Super Chef Full Boil is Gamesville's first Facebook game and despite its looks, I can tell you it's not another Bejeweled Blitz clone. If you like puzzlers, I guarantee that this game is going to entice and frustrate you because you're going to see it as Bejeweled Blitz, but if you play it as Bejeweled Blitz, you'll lose. I thought I was going to be a natural, but my mind isn't properly mapped for it. Basically, the goal of the game is to eliminate blocks on the board, but the method's tricky. You have to selectively click on an area, where all four corners of the grid you've picked out, all have the same symbol. Do that, and the area is eliminated.
But aside from that novelty and decent background music, this game lacked serious 'oomph' in the graphics and animations department. Where's the passion? The roaring crescendo of cascading blocks? The nearly seizure-inducing bursts of lightning and color? Thematically, it's an odd game with an odd title because everything that isn't screaming Bejeweled Blitz is screaming that it's a cooking game. The playing field really needs to get a bit more lively to sucker in those of us who like eye-candy and explosions. In the meanwhile, Gamesville has something else that'll make you stay.
Gamesville Prizes
Since the beginning of its creation, Gameville's deal was to be an online casual games portal that offered real cash or tangible prizes to dedicated players. Right now, there are daily, weekly, and monthly drawings on the site for up to $100. You can also get money by accumulating GV Rewards and trading those in for goods, but you'll need to register as a member of Gamesville to do that. As a Facebook player, you can send your questions and comments on their official Facebook page or their blog.
Gamesville Super Chef Full Boil
Super Chef Full Boil is Gamesville's first Facebook game and despite its looks, I can tell you it's not another Bejeweled Blitz clone. If you like puzzlers, I guarantee that this game is going to entice and frustrate you because you're going to see it as Bejeweled Blitz, but if you play it as Bejeweled Blitz, you'll lose. I thought I was going to be a natural, but my mind isn't properly mapped for it. Basically, the goal of the game is to eliminate blocks on the board, but the method's tricky. You have to selectively click on an area, where all four corners of the grid you've picked out, all have the same symbol. Do that, and the area is eliminated.
But aside from that novelty and decent background music, this game lacked serious 'oomph' in the graphics and animations department. Where's the passion? The roaring crescendo of cascading blocks? The nearly seizure-inducing bursts of lightning and color? Thematically, it's an odd game with an odd title because everything that isn't screaming Bejeweled Blitz is screaming that it's a cooking game. The playing field really needs to get a bit more lively to sucker in those of us who like eye-candy and explosions. In the meanwhile, Gamesville has something else that'll make you stay.
Gamesville Prizes
Since the beginning of its creation, Gameville's deal was to be an online casual games portal that offered real cash or tangible prizes to dedicated players. Right now, there are daily, weekly, and monthly drawings on the site for up to $100. You can also get money by accumulating GV Rewards and trading those in for goods, but you'll need to register as a member of Gamesville to do that. As a Facebook player, you can send your questions and comments on their official Facebook page or their blog.
Play CityVille for instant access to Mafia Wars Brazil - Our first look
If you've been disappointed by the closure of both Mafia Wars Cuba and Moscow, perhaps the new release of Mafia Wars Brazil will cheer you up. If you've fallen out of playing Mafia Wars, or if you've never even begun, you'll be invited to do so the next time you play CityVille via a pop-up like the one above. Apparently, this is one offer we won't want to refuse - yikes!
If you accept, you'll be given instant access to Mafia Wars Brazil, which is apparently only available to certain players as of this writing (like those that take advantage of the CityVille invitation). Once you make your way into Brazil, you'll see that the new expansion comes with all new jobs, properties, items and more, just as you'd expect from any proper Mafia Wars expansion.
We've got a full look at what this expansion contains, so meet us behind the break.
Mafia Wars Brazil is perhaps the most technically impressive of the game's expansions, with a streamlined user-interface. Each of the location's five districts are unlocked to you one at a time, by completing missions in the district before, and as you do jobs, you'll see a lot less clutter crowding the screen. You'll start in Rio de Janeiro: Centro, which contains 11 separate jobs, each of which comes with their own detailed image, rather than there just being an image for every few jobs.
You'll still see how may energy points you'll need to complete each job, and how many experience points and Real (this expansion's currency) you'll receive for completing each job, but that's it in terms of information. If you need to purchase items (weapons, animals, vehicles, etc.) in order to be eligible to complete the job, this will be shown to you once you click on the "Do Job" button, and you'll be able to instantly purchase the needed items and move on, without moving to the store and back again.
In Brazil, your Mafia plays a new and special role in your activities. You'll see a Crew line at the top of your Jobs page, and you'll be able to activate Crew members in one of four categories: Jobs, Fighting, Robbing, and Properties. Depending on which positions you activate (which can only be done once every 18 hours), you'll be able to earn special bonuses while completing the accompanying tasks.
Their are eight different Crew "jobs" that can be activated (that is, roles that your crew can play - not jobs that require energy). Here are their bonuses:
Strategist - Twice the Job Mastery for the next 20 Jobs you do
Lockpick - Twice the loot for the next 20 Jobs you do
Mercenary - No stamina used for your next 50 fights
Marksman - Double attack power for your next 50 fights
Scout - Finds properties that have special collection items for your first three Robbing screens
Arsonist - Guaranteed success of robbing your first three properties on your first three Robbing screens
Taskmaster - Twice the Real earned from your properties
Guardian - Protects your properties from being robbed while in Brazil for a span of 18 hours
Properties have also been changed in Brazil (when compared to some other locations), requiring you to collect building parts to upgrade your businesses/properties to the next star-level, rather than just spending a large sum of money to do so.
Each time you complete the first wave of jobs in a new District in Brazil, you'll receive a special item, and will unlock the next District, but you can of course always stay in your current location and work on maximizing your Mastery on those jobs to the four-star level.
Brazil comes with new properties, new weapons, animals, vehicles, achievements, and one-time use loot items. There's a ton of content here to look at and play through, so make sure to login to CityVille and activate your pass to Brazil, if it isn't available in your game by default.
Have you tried Mafia Wars Brazil? What did you think of this new expansion? Is the streamlined interface working for you, or do you prefer to see more details about your jobs as you complete them?
If you accept, you'll be given instant access to Mafia Wars Brazil, which is apparently only available to certain players as of this writing (like those that take advantage of the CityVille invitation). Once you make your way into Brazil, you'll see that the new expansion comes with all new jobs, properties, items and more, just as you'd expect from any proper Mafia Wars expansion.
We've got a full look at what this expansion contains, so meet us behind the break.
Mafia Wars Brazil is perhaps the most technically impressive of the game's expansions, with a streamlined user-interface. Each of the location's five districts are unlocked to you one at a time, by completing missions in the district before, and as you do jobs, you'll see a lot less clutter crowding the screen. You'll start in Rio de Janeiro: Centro, which contains 11 separate jobs, each of which comes with their own detailed image, rather than there just being an image for every few jobs.
You'll still see how may energy points you'll need to complete each job, and how many experience points and Real (this expansion's currency) you'll receive for completing each job, but that's it in terms of information. If you need to purchase items (weapons, animals, vehicles, etc.) in order to be eligible to complete the job, this will be shown to you once you click on the "Do Job" button, and you'll be able to instantly purchase the needed items and move on, without moving to the store and back again.
In Brazil, your Mafia plays a new and special role in your activities. You'll see a Crew line at the top of your Jobs page, and you'll be able to activate Crew members in one of four categories: Jobs, Fighting, Robbing, and Properties. Depending on which positions you activate (which can only be done once every 18 hours), you'll be able to earn special bonuses while completing the accompanying tasks.
Their are eight different Crew "jobs" that can be activated (that is, roles that your crew can play - not jobs that require energy). Here are their bonuses:
Strategist - Twice the Job Mastery for the next 20 Jobs you do
Lockpick - Twice the loot for the next 20 Jobs you do
Mercenary - No stamina used for your next 50 fights
Marksman - Double attack power for your next 50 fights
Scout - Finds properties that have special collection items for your first three Robbing screens
Arsonist - Guaranteed success of robbing your first three properties on your first three Robbing screens
Taskmaster - Twice the Real earned from your properties
Guardian - Protects your properties from being robbed while in Brazil for a span of 18 hours
Properties have also been changed in Brazil (when compared to some other locations), requiring you to collect building parts to upgrade your businesses/properties to the next star-level, rather than just spending a large sum of money to do so.
Each time you complete the first wave of jobs in a new District in Brazil, you'll receive a special item, and will unlock the next District, but you can of course always stay in your current location and work on maximizing your Mastery on those jobs to the four-star level.
Brazil comes with new properties, new weapons, animals, vehicles, achievements, and one-time use loot items. There's a ton of content here to look at and play through, so make sure to login to CityVille and activate your pass to Brazil, if it isn't available in your game by default.
Have you tried Mafia Wars Brazil? What did you think of this new expansion? Is the streamlined interface working for you, or do you prefer to see more details about your jobs as you complete them?
FarmVille English Countryside Sneak Peek: Decorations galore revealed
While heavy, fairly supported rumors have been circling for the past 48 hours concerning the imminent launch of the English Countryside in FarmVille, we've been told by FarmVille Community Manager Grimwell that the update will not be happening tonight. However, that doesn't mean that we can get even more excited for the upcoming expansion by looking at a slew of new content that will be available in the game.
We have an absolute treasure trove of decorative items to share with you, all of which will apparently be available (and only available) in the English Countryside expansion. Via the large picture at the top of this post, you can see there are all sorts of vehicles, statues, and various other goodies to purchase/receive through other means. From left to right in the image above, we have: Double Decker Bus, an unnamed classic vehicle, the Motorbike, Sportscar, English Balloon, English Airplane, Police Box, Wooden Bench, Venus Duck, Caesar Goat, Discus Cow, Gold Sheep Statue, Wooden Fence, Pub Sign, Potted Flowers and a Butler Gnome.
With so many vehicles / modes of transportation being in this set, it seems likely that this will be one of the collections in the upcoming English Countryside Wishing Well. Additionally, keep in mind that the names of some of these items may chance as they are officially released.
We'll make sure to give you all of the details about these decorative / English Countryside items as they become available in the game.
Check out the rest of our English Countryside coverage right here.
We have an absolute treasure trove of decorative items to share with you, all of which will apparently be available (and only available) in the English Countryside expansion. Via the large picture at the top of this post, you can see there are all sorts of vehicles, statues, and various other goodies to purchase/receive through other means. From left to right in the image above, we have: Double Decker Bus, an unnamed classic vehicle, the Motorbike, Sportscar, English Balloon, English Airplane, Police Box, Wooden Bench, Venus Duck, Caesar Goat, Discus Cow, Gold Sheep Statue, Wooden Fence, Pub Sign, Potted Flowers and a Butler Gnome.
With so many vehicles / modes of transportation being in this set, it seems likely that this will be one of the collections in the upcoming English Countryside Wishing Well. Additionally, keep in mind that the names of some of these items may chance as they are officially released.
We'll make sure to give you all of the details about these decorative / English Countryside items as they become available in the game.
Check out the rest of our English Countryside coverage right here.
FarmVille English Countryside Sneak Peek: Old English Chicken, Shorthorn Cow & much more
Check out our FarmVille English Countryside Guide here.
Just as Zynga has prepared a bunch of new decorative items for the FarmVille English Countryside, they've also created a lot of new animals, as these latest unreleased images can attest to. Without any further ado, we bring you a sneak peek of these new animals in the image above. From left to right, they are as follows:
Old English Chicken
Shorthorn Cow
Shorthorn Calf
Black Clydesdale Horse
Black Clydesdale Foal
English Spotted Rabbit
Crested Duck
Tamworth Pig
UK Sheep
You'll also notice the three images we have related to the new Union Jack Chicken (egg), although we unfortunately can't bring you an actual image of the chicken at this time.
As usual, these name may turn out to be placeholders, and may be called something different when they officially launch. We have animations of four of these animals behind the break, so meet us there.
Check out the rest of our English Countryside coverage right here or browse our FarmVille Cheats & Tips.
Which of these animals are you most looking forward to receiving on your farm? Do you think they will all be available in the store, or could these be Mystery Game prizes?
Just as Zynga has prepared a bunch of new decorative items for the FarmVille English Countryside, they've also created a lot of new animals, as these latest unreleased images can attest to. Without any further ado, we bring you a sneak peek of these new animals in the image above. From left to right, they are as follows:
Old English Chicken
Shorthorn Cow
Shorthorn Calf
Black Clydesdale Horse
Black Clydesdale Foal
English Spotted Rabbit
Crested Duck
Tamworth Pig
UK Sheep
You'll also notice the three images we have related to the new Union Jack Chicken (egg), although we unfortunately can't bring you an actual image of the chicken at this time.
As usual, these name may turn out to be placeholders, and may be called something different when they officially launch. We have animations of four of these animals behind the break, so meet us there.
Check out the rest of our English Countryside coverage right here or browse our FarmVille Cheats & Tips.
Which of these animals are you most looking forward to receiving on your farm? Do you think they will all be available in the store, or could these be Mystery Game prizes?
FarmVille English Countryside Sneak Peek: Spring Squill, Field Beans, Corn Flower crops & more
A series of four new English Countryside crops makes up this latest batch of FarmVille unreleased images, as we can see a wide range of images associated with four crops: Spring Squill, Field Beans, Black Tea, and Corn Flower.
As you can see from the images above, all of these crops will generate bushels as you harvest them, which will then go for sale in their respective market stall. You'll be able to master these new crops as well, thanks to these mastery signs, although no specific details as to how many of each crop you'll need to harvest are available.
We'll make sure to let you know how much these crops cost, how long they take to grow, and if they come with any new crafting recipes just as soon as English Countryside launches - which should be any day now.
Check out the rest of our English Countryside coverage right here.
Which of these four crops is your favorite? Do you like to grow crops based on their appearance or based on their profitability? Will that factor into which of these crops you grow first?
As you can see from the images above, all of these crops will generate bushels as you harvest them, which will then go for sale in their respective market stall. You'll be able to master these new crops as well, thanks to these mastery signs, although no specific details as to how many of each crop you'll need to harvest are available.
We'll make sure to let you know how much these crops cost, how long they take to grow, and if they come with any new crafting recipes just as soon as English Countryside launches - which should be any day now.
Check out the rest of our English Countryside coverage right here.
Which of these four crops is your favorite? Do you like to grow crops based on their appearance or based on their profitability? Will that factor into which of these crops you grow first?
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Sims Social Last Chance items: Buy 'em now before they're gone forever
The Sims Social is getting ready to clear out the in-game store of a bunch of old items, in preparation for what we suspect will be oodles of holiday themed goods that will be vying for your hard-earned Simoleons and SimCash.
While we've seen limited edition items come and go in other games, this is the first time we've seen such a comprehensive store clearance -- including chairs, doorways, wallpapers, etc. So, if you're a big fan of the Small Aspen tree, Numica Retro Sofa and Chairs or WinDoh Aqua, now is the time to stock up. It also looks like the Portrait Easel will also be making a hasty retreat, so if you don't want to miss out on taking your Sims' Art skills to higher levels, go buy it right now.
sims social landscape easel
Are any of your favorite Sims Social items on the 'Last Chance' list?
While we've seen limited edition items come and go in other games, this is the first time we've seen such a comprehensive store clearance -- including chairs, doorways, wallpapers, etc. So, if you're a big fan of the Small Aspen tree, Numica Retro Sofa and Chairs or WinDoh Aqua, now is the time to stock up. It also looks like the Portrait Easel will also be making a hasty retreat, so if you don't want to miss out on taking your Sims' Art skills to higher levels, go buy it right now.
sims social landscape easel
Are any of your favorite Sims Social items on the 'Last Chance' list?
These DIY robots in The Sims Social show the fun power of stacking
Stacking has taken off in The Sims Social. Even today's Pic of the Day employs the power of stacking in a big way. But this just might be the coolest use of the stacking glitch yet: robots. (Playfish, please don't fix this anytime soon?) First, we have player Ferry Darmawan who used an MSS Hoojamaflip for a head, Hi-Fi System legs, a Haunted TV for its chest and backpack made possible by a Nice Cold Fridge.
The second robot (pictured below), created by player samuiiTSSindo, is a little less visually impressive, but features quite the finishing touch. This creation is essentially a robot made up of various cabinets with old TVs for shoulders and ... a Sim using the toilet for its head. Now that's what we call a brain fart--cue the rimshot. We're here all--ah, never mind.
Player base slowly in decline or not, the creative community in The Sims Social is thriving at this point. And that's a good sign that players are still digging the game. Do you have unique creations in The Sims Social? Then send us an email with an image of your work to editors@games.com and we'll try to feature it in our The Sims Social Pic of the Day. With legit DIY robots roaming around players' homes, you have quite a lot to live up to, so get to creating.
The Sims Social DIY Robot 2
[Via The Sims Social Fansite]
Are you still digging The Sims Social since its release? Have you ever created anything this cool in your Sim's home?
The second robot (pictured below), created by player samuiiTSSindo, is a little less visually impressive, but features quite the finishing touch. This creation is essentially a robot made up of various cabinets with old TVs for shoulders and ... a Sim using the toilet for its head. Now that's what we call a brain fart--cue the rimshot. We're here all--ah, never mind.
Player base slowly in decline or not, the creative community in The Sims Social is thriving at this point. And that's a good sign that players are still digging the game. Do you have unique creations in The Sims Social? Then send us an email with an image of your work to editors@games.com and we'll try to feature it in our The Sims Social Pic of the Day. With legit DIY robots roaming around players' homes, you have quite a lot to live up to, so get to creating.
The Sims Social DIY Robot 2
[Via The Sims Social Fansite]
Are you still digging The Sims Social since its release? Have you ever created anything this cool in your Sim's home?
The Sims Social: Go (RED) for World AIDS Day with a free Poster for your home
World AIDS Day is on December 1 and to celebrate, the folks at EA/Playfish have teamed up with (RED), the organization fighting for a cure for AIDS in Africa (and on a worldwide scale), to raise awareness about the (RED) Campaign in the Sims Social on Facebook.
This cross-promotion is presented via a free item that you can claim for your home by liking the (RED) Facebook page (or at least going to it) and then clicking on the "Claim Red Poster" button at the bottom of the page. This will load a new browser window, telling you that you've received your free poster, which can then be found in your inventory. Once you take the poster out of your inventory, you'll find that it has a value of $500 for your home.
As an aside, if you happen to play Sims 3 on your PC / Mac, you can also claim some free (RED) items. One is a duplicate of the (RED) poster that you can receive in the Sims Social, while another is a (RED) pattern.
We'll make sure to let you know when other cross-promotions arrive in the Sims Social, or when other free items are up for grabs. Keep checking back!
Will you Like the (RED) Facebook page to claim your free (RED) poster for your Sim's home?
This cross-promotion is presented via a free item that you can claim for your home by liking the (RED) Facebook page (or at least going to it) and then clicking on the "Claim Red Poster" button at the bottom of the page. This will load a new browser window, telling you that you've received your free poster, which can then be found in your inventory. Once you take the poster out of your inventory, you'll find that it has a value of $500 for your home.
As an aside, if you happen to play Sims 3 on your PC / Mac, you can also claim some free (RED) items. One is a duplicate of the (RED) poster that you can receive in the Sims Social, while another is a (RED) pattern.
We'll make sure to let you know when other cross-promotions arrive in the Sims Social, or when other free items are up for grabs. Keep checking back!
Will you Like the (RED) Facebook page to claim your free (RED) poster for your Sim's home?
Sims Social storage upgrade: Is it big enough to fit all of your stuff?
Hoarders, rejoice! Sims Social has increased the amount of storage in the game to 550 items -- so now you have more room to keep things, like, say, limited edition items, holiday themed items and whatever else strikes your fancy.
The lack of space to put things is a fairly common complaint in all Facebook games, but other games make you work for that extra closet space. That's, thankfully, not the case with Sims Social -- you just wake up one day and can start packing stuff in without sweatin' it. If you've got fewer than the max number of items, that is.
sims social storage increase
Does the storage upgrade give you enough room for all of your stuff?
The lack of space to put things is a fairly common complaint in all Facebook games, but other games make you work for that extra closet space. That's, thankfully, not the case with Sims Social -- you just wake up one day and can start packing stuff in without sweatin' it. If you've got fewer than the max number of items, that is.
sims social storage increase
Does the storage upgrade give you enough room for all of your stuff?
'Tis the season to play The Sims Social's Cozy Winter Retreat update
The Sims Social Cozy Retreat Week
With December quickly approaching--like, in less than six hours--it's time to whip out the Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa decorations. Of course, it's no different for the Sims of Little Haven, as EA and Playfish have pushed a new theme to The Sims Social: Cozy Winter Retreat. Your Sims are headed to a comfy-looking ski resort complete with a steamy sauna and jacuzzi.
But that's not the only thing steamy about this content update--more on that later. Starting today, players will have access to a slew of brand new Christmas decorations through the in-game shop including a number of interactive decorations. How does a buildable Christmas Trees sound? You'll get to decorate their very own holiday firs with "tinsel, baubles and other stuff to make your tree look cooler and cooler," according to EA. Better yet, Christmas Trees double as interactive and skill items, and will be able to be used for other items in the future.
The Sims Social Winter Outfits
Players can also pick up, like we said, yet another new jacuzzi, the Winter Chalet Hot Tub. Unfortunately, we're told that there's no WooHoo to be had in this hot tub, but players can take a deeper dip than usual. Finally players will likely get to make their own Christmas cookies with the Holiday Toasting Set. Of course, a brand new quest awaits players, making a nod to a Christmas classic.
The Simch has descended upon Little Haven with a hatred for all things jolly, and it's up to you to bring the holiday cheer to this grumpy character. As with all The Sims Social quests, there's something in it for you: an Okea Gingerbread Pal. Now, back to the steamy stuff. This weekend, players can pick up a Mistletoe Hat for 25 SimCash that will 100 percent guarantee success with kisses until Jan. 31. And on Monday, a Fire Oven will go on sale that will increase Sims' Cooking skill.
The Sims Social Winter Chalet Hot Tub
Check out the rest of our Holiday 2011 coverage right here.
Have you started enjoying this wintry updates to The Sims Social yet? What do you think of the weekly updates to the game so far?
With December quickly approaching--like, in less than six hours--it's time to whip out the Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa decorations. Of course, it's no different for the Sims of Little Haven, as EA and Playfish have pushed a new theme to The Sims Social: Cozy Winter Retreat. Your Sims are headed to a comfy-looking ski resort complete with a steamy sauna and jacuzzi.
But that's not the only thing steamy about this content update--more on that later. Starting today, players will have access to a slew of brand new Christmas decorations through the in-game shop including a number of interactive decorations. How does a buildable Christmas Trees sound? You'll get to decorate their very own holiday firs with "tinsel, baubles and other stuff to make your tree look cooler and cooler," according to EA. Better yet, Christmas Trees double as interactive and skill items, and will be able to be used for other items in the future.
The Sims Social Winter Outfits
Players can also pick up, like we said, yet another new jacuzzi, the Winter Chalet Hot Tub. Unfortunately, we're told that there's no WooHoo to be had in this hot tub, but players can take a deeper dip than usual. Finally players will likely get to make their own Christmas cookies with the Holiday Toasting Set. Of course, a brand new quest awaits players, making a nod to a Christmas classic.
The Simch has descended upon Little Haven with a hatred for all things jolly, and it's up to you to bring the holiday cheer to this grumpy character. As with all The Sims Social quests, there's something in it for you: an Okea Gingerbread Pal. Now, back to the steamy stuff. This weekend, players can pick up a Mistletoe Hat for 25 SimCash that will 100 percent guarantee success with kisses until Jan. 31. And on Monday, a Fire Oven will go on sale that will increase Sims' Cooking skill.
The Sims Social Winter Chalet Hot Tub
Check out the rest of our Holiday 2011 coverage right here.
Have you started enjoying this wintry updates to The Sims Social yet? What do you think of the weekly updates to the game so far?
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