Tweety Bird Farm
Do you own a farm that your neighbors could only dream of having? Are your crops shaped to form the image of Tweety Bird and Sylvester Pussycat? Well, the Zynga community team wants to recognize these farming feats of epic proportions with its Farm of the Week Contest in FarmVille. Every Monday, the forums will open up to submissions for the best farm to be decided that Friday at 3p.m. by the community team.
Better yet, there's no specific theme to each week--just bring your best farm and pit it against your fellow farmers' land. As for the winner, they'll be rewarded with 100 Farm Cash and their farm featured on the FarmVille fan page on Facebook. To give you a little guidance, the team of judges will be looking for originality, effort and presentation. All you need to do for entry each week is post a screen capture of your farm every Friday by 3 p.m. EST. Think your farm has what it takes? Then you better start decorating now because some of the earlier entries look mighty impressive.
Friday, January 13, 2012
Earn 2 free FarmVille Farm Cash via Step Up 3 promotion
With FarmVille in the midst of its holiday celebration for this year, many users are finding themselves splurging on item after item, not only as gifts for themselves, but as gifts for friends. What better way to help you continue that generous giving spirit than to earn yourself some free Farm Cash (a gift in and of itself, from Zynga to you).
You'll be able to earn 2 free Farm Cash via a new cross-promotion that Zynga has set up with Step Up 3, the third installment in the popular film series about dancing. This promotion can be accessed by heading to FarmVille's game page on Facebook, and then scrolling down to the bottom of the flash gameplay area, where you'll see the "Sponsored Link" area, as seen at the top right of this post.
Clicking on that link will bring up a new window, where you'll be asked to "Watch five Step Up 3 videos and vote for your favorite!" Unfortunately, you can't get out of this without watching at least one video. You can, of course, watch as many of them as you'd like, but as soon as you've watched a single video, you can click on the "Vote" button next to it to be able to move on.
As soon as you submit your answer, you'll see the exciting "You've earned your Farm Cash" text appear in the top right corner of this new window, which can then be closed. Simply refresh the FarmVille game page, and you'll see that your in-game Farm Cash total will have increased by two. Sure, two Farm Cash may not be enough to purchase... well, most anything in the store, but if you keep doing these new activities as they appear in the game, you'll soon have enough to buy something really special for yourself or for your friends this holiday.
You'll be able to earn 2 free Farm Cash via a new cross-promotion that Zynga has set up with Step Up 3, the third installment in the popular film series about dancing. This promotion can be accessed by heading to FarmVille's game page on Facebook, and then scrolling down to the bottom of the flash gameplay area, where you'll see the "Sponsored Link" area, as seen at the top right of this post.
Clicking on that link will bring up a new window, where you'll be asked to "Watch five Step Up 3 videos and vote for your favorite!" Unfortunately, you can't get out of this without watching at least one video. You can, of course, watch as many of them as you'd like, but as soon as you've watched a single video, you can click on the "Vote" button next to it to be able to move on.
As soon as you submit your answer, you'll see the exciting "You've earned your Farm Cash" text appear in the top right corner of this new window, which can then be closed. Simply refresh the FarmVille game page, and you'll see that your in-game Farm Cash total will have increased by two. Sure, two Farm Cash may not be enough to purchase... well, most anything in the store, but if you keep doing these new activities as they appear in the game, you'll soon have enough to buy something really special for yourself or for your friends this holiday.
Wishful Features: Full business rotation in CityVille
In my opinion, one of the best things about Zynga's newest game, CityVille, is the sheer amount of customization players are allowed when it comes to placing items in our cities. We can place individual flower pots, trees, and the like, along with sidewalks, lamp posts, stop signs, and every other functional item a town needs to, well... function.
However, when it comes to placing actual buildings in our town, that customization is a bit two-sided. On one hand, we have the ability to rotate any residential building (Homes, Apartment Complexes, etc.) in four directions, allowing you to have the front of said building facing in any direction that you'd like. This allows you to intricately decorate back yards, create full alleyways and the like, and really make your city come to live.
However, in terms of placing Businesses, these businesses can only be situated to face one of two directions - either to the SW, or to the SE, as pictured in the image at the top of this post. There is no option, currently, to allow for a business to be situated in such a way as to show off its backside, and that seems rather odd to me. Why force users to place roads to connect to the "front" side of these businesses, when we aren't forced to do so for residences? If we could have the same freedom when placing businesses as we do when placing homes, I can only imagine the amount of creativity that users would come up with in designing their towns.
It's conceivable that this feature will be added to the game in the future, as CityVille is still extremely new, but we've learned form experience that the more vocal users are about an issue or wish, the more likely Zynga is to listen, and we sincerely hope that they do here.
That being the case, if you share this Wishful Feature, let us know in the comments. Now that you've had some time to really jump into the city-building game, let us know what other features you'd like to see added.
However, when it comes to placing actual buildings in our town, that customization is a bit two-sided. On one hand, we have the ability to rotate any residential building (Homes, Apartment Complexes, etc.) in four directions, allowing you to have the front of said building facing in any direction that you'd like. This allows you to intricately decorate back yards, create full alleyways and the like, and really make your city come to live.
However, in terms of placing Businesses, these businesses can only be situated to face one of two directions - either to the SW, or to the SE, as pictured in the image at the top of this post. There is no option, currently, to allow for a business to be situated in such a way as to show off its backside, and that seems rather odd to me. Why force users to place roads to connect to the "front" side of these businesses, when we aren't forced to do so for residences? If we could have the same freedom when placing businesses as we do when placing homes, I can only imagine the amount of creativity that users would come up with in designing their towns.
It's conceivable that this feature will be added to the game in the future, as CityVille is still extremely new, but we've learned form experience that the more vocal users are about an issue or wish, the more likely Zynga is to listen, and we sincerely hope that they do here.
That being the case, if you share this Wishful Feature, let us know in the comments. Now that you've had some time to really jump into the city-building game, let us know what other features you'd like to see added.
Cafe World Collections Guide: Free Coins, CP, & Spices for all!
Since the Collections Cabinet was launched in Cafe World at the end of October, users everywhere have been clamoring for collection items, which are found through simply cooking (cooking anything in the Cafe World cookbook will give you a chance at randomly finding an item), in an effort to earn the numerous rewards available for turning these collections in.
As of this writing, there are five collections available to finish (each of which has five items, for a total of 25 collectibles), with a wide range of prizes, from simple Cafe Points (the game's experience points) and coins, to Spice packs and even exclusive recipes. As you'll only be able to earn these items by continually cooking in the game, and the chance of receiving items from each collection seem to be quite equal, we thought we would give you guys a detailed look at these new collections, to show you wish items you'll most want to keep a lookout for.
For those that haven't finished building the Collections Cabinet, this will also give you a complete glimpse at what awaits you when you've finished constructing it. All of the details concerning these five collections, including the prizes you'll receive, can be found behind the break.
First and foremost, you'll be able to access your Collections by looking inside your completely built Collections Cabinet, either by clicking on the Collections Cabinet proper (the item that physically stands in your cafe), or by clicking on the stainless steel drawer icon in the game's bottom menu. From there, you'll be able to click on the "Trade In" button next to any particular collection (as seen in the screenshot below) to earn your prizes).
The first collection is called Kitchen Navigation. This collection requires the following five items:
Can Opener
Cutting Board
Salad Bowl
Simple Wine Opener
Wooden Spoon
Rewards for completion: 250 Cafe Points & 250 Coins
The next collection is Stainless Pots and Pans, and, as you might have guessed, you'll need to collect five different stainless steel cooking pans in order to turn it in. The five items are:
Stainless Frying Pan
Stainless Omlette Pan (this misspelling is native in the game)
Stainless Sauce Pan
Stainless Saute Pan
Stainless Skillet
Rewards for completion: 3 Six--hour Thymes & 500 coins (these Six-hour Thymes lessen the cooking time of any currently cooking dish by three hours)
The third collection is the Simple Dinnerware collection, that has you collecting four plates and one bowl through cooking. The five required items are:
Bread and Butter Plate
Dinner Plate
Salad Plate
Serving Dish
Soup Bowl
Rewards for completion: Unlock the Royal Feast recipe & 500 coins
The Royal Feast recipe is found on just the second page of the in-game Cookbook, under the "Fundamentals" section. It is a 12 hour dish, requiring 840 coins to cook. It offers 600 servings once completed, which are sold for 5 coins each, for a total of 3,000 coins in return. You'll earn 219 Cafe Points in the process of cooking and serving each Royal Feast.
The fourth collection is the Simple Pots and Pans collection. Not to be confused with the Stainless Pots and Pans collection above, these items are entirely different, basic versions of those stainless steel items. In this case, most of the pots are black, with some red and white accents. The five items are:
Frying Pan
Omlette Pan (again, this misspelling is also in the game)
Sauce Pan
Saute Pan
Skillet
Rewards for completion: 250 Cafe Points & 250 Coins
Finally, the fifth and last available collection (as of this writing), is the Cutting for Beginners collection. While this might sound like a class for those that are easily depressed, rather than a cooking collection, we'll give Zynga the benefit of the doubt here. This is, obviously, a knife collection, requiring the following knives:
Utility Knife
Chef's Knife
Paring Knife
Bread Knife
Carving Knife
Rewards for completion: +5 Energy points & 500 coins (Energy is used when preparing drinks and coffee for your guests before they sit down to dine on your current dishes)
As a note to those who need some of these items for their collections, the first item on all of these lists is the most rare, so you're likely to have a harder time finding them than all other collectibles. Still, with enough continuous gameplay, you're likely to have a full supply of these items - enough to trade them in time and time again, and continue to rake in the rewards.
If you do want to get your hands on a particular item right this second, however, you can add any item to your wishlist via the green plus sign next to each item. Your wishlist can contain up to five items, which your friends may voluntarily send you by hovering over your picture in their friends bar at the bottom of the screen and offering up any item they happen to have. The same goes for you, if you'd like to help your friends instead. Simply hover over your friends' picture in your neighbor bar, and their wishlist will automatically appear. If they need any collectible items, that you have duplicates of, you can make their day by sending one their way.
And there you have it! A complete guide to Cafe World Collections that should have you rolling in riches and fame (well, maybe not fame) in no time flat! Remember, if you've yet to complete building your Collections Cabinet, you can earn a boost in the right direction by using our Quick Gifting links for the ingredients required to build it. Simply offer those to your friends, and you'll have the cabinet completed in no time!
As of this writing, there are five collections available to finish (each of which has five items, for a total of 25 collectibles), with a wide range of prizes, from simple Cafe Points (the game's experience points) and coins, to Spice packs and even exclusive recipes. As you'll only be able to earn these items by continually cooking in the game, and the chance of receiving items from each collection seem to be quite equal, we thought we would give you guys a detailed look at these new collections, to show you wish items you'll most want to keep a lookout for.
For those that haven't finished building the Collections Cabinet, this will also give you a complete glimpse at what awaits you when you've finished constructing it. All of the details concerning these five collections, including the prizes you'll receive, can be found behind the break.
First and foremost, you'll be able to access your Collections by looking inside your completely built Collections Cabinet, either by clicking on the Collections Cabinet proper (the item that physically stands in your cafe), or by clicking on the stainless steel drawer icon in the game's bottom menu. From there, you'll be able to click on the "Trade In" button next to any particular collection (as seen in the screenshot below) to earn your prizes).
The first collection is called Kitchen Navigation. This collection requires the following five items:
Can Opener
Cutting Board
Salad Bowl
Simple Wine Opener
Wooden Spoon
Rewards for completion: 250 Cafe Points & 250 Coins
The next collection is Stainless Pots and Pans, and, as you might have guessed, you'll need to collect five different stainless steel cooking pans in order to turn it in. The five items are:
Stainless Frying Pan
Stainless Omlette Pan (this misspelling is native in the game)
Stainless Sauce Pan
Stainless Saute Pan
Stainless Skillet
Rewards for completion: 3 Six--hour Thymes & 500 coins (these Six-hour Thymes lessen the cooking time of any currently cooking dish by three hours)
The third collection is the Simple Dinnerware collection, that has you collecting four plates and one bowl through cooking. The five required items are:
Bread and Butter Plate
Dinner Plate
Salad Plate
Serving Dish
Soup Bowl
Rewards for completion: Unlock the Royal Feast recipe & 500 coins
The Royal Feast recipe is found on just the second page of the in-game Cookbook, under the "Fundamentals" section. It is a 12 hour dish, requiring 840 coins to cook. It offers 600 servings once completed, which are sold for 5 coins each, for a total of 3,000 coins in return. You'll earn 219 Cafe Points in the process of cooking and serving each Royal Feast.
The fourth collection is the Simple Pots and Pans collection. Not to be confused with the Stainless Pots and Pans collection above, these items are entirely different, basic versions of those stainless steel items. In this case, most of the pots are black, with some red and white accents. The five items are:
Frying Pan
Omlette Pan (again, this misspelling is also in the game)
Sauce Pan
Saute Pan
Skillet
Rewards for completion: 250 Cafe Points & 250 Coins
Finally, the fifth and last available collection (as of this writing), is the Cutting for Beginners collection. While this might sound like a class for those that are easily depressed, rather than a cooking collection, we'll give Zynga the benefit of the doubt here. This is, obviously, a knife collection, requiring the following knives:
Utility Knife
Chef's Knife
Paring Knife
Bread Knife
Carving Knife
Rewards for completion: +5 Energy points & 500 coins (Energy is used when preparing drinks and coffee for your guests before they sit down to dine on your current dishes)
As a note to those who need some of these items for their collections, the first item on all of these lists is the most rare, so you're likely to have a harder time finding them than all other collectibles. Still, with enough continuous gameplay, you're likely to have a full supply of these items - enough to trade them in time and time again, and continue to rake in the rewards.
If you do want to get your hands on a particular item right this second, however, you can add any item to your wishlist via the green plus sign next to each item. Your wishlist can contain up to five items, which your friends may voluntarily send you by hovering over your picture in their friends bar at the bottom of the screen and offering up any item they happen to have. The same goes for you, if you'd like to help your friends instead. Simply hover over your friends' picture in your neighbor bar, and their wishlist will automatically appear. If they need any collectible items, that you have duplicates of, you can make their day by sending one their way.
And there you have it! A complete guide to Cafe World Collections that should have you rolling in riches and fame (well, maybe not fame) in no time flat! Remember, if you've yet to complete building your Collections Cabinet, you can earn a boost in the right direction by using our Quick Gifting links for the ingredients required to build it. Simply offer those to your friends, and you'll have the cabinet completed in no time!
Cafe World: Level up in Mafia Wars for a free Lightning Stove
Everyone knows that one of the best things to happen to Cafe World is the addition of Lightning Stoves some months ago, but many players still haven't been able to outfit their entire cafes with these convenient appliances (they allow for one-click cooking after all - none of that "Stirring" or "Dicing" business anymore).
That being the case, Zynga has offered a free Cafe World Lightning Stove to all players that will participate in a new cross-promotional event with Zynga's mob game, Mafia Wars. Users that have been playing Cafe World since these stoves were first introduced will recognize this stove, as it is the red version of the same sort of stove released way back when. All you'll need to do to earn a Lightning Stove for yourself is click on the small lightning stove icon in the top left corner of the screen, and click on the "Play Mafia Wars" link from the pop-up that appears in order to activate the promotion on your account.
From there, simply level up in Mafia Wars 2 times - that's right, just gain 2 levels - and you'll be the proud owner of a bright red Lightning Stove, that will not only cook your food in one-click, but will cook dishes 10% faster than a traditional stove to boot! Once you've completed this task, a new window will pop-up in Mafia Wars, giving you a link to load Cafe World where your new stove will be waiting for you in your inventory (you'll see a x1 next to the stove, which would cost 35 Cafe Cash otherwise).
To be especially clear, only users that make it to a minimum of level 8 will be able to receive this free stove, so before the promotion starts, you'll need to be at at least level 6, to avoid having to level up more than the promotion's standard of two times. Also, the stove you win as a prize is a completely built stove, ready to start cooking on immediately - no building necessary!
There's no telling how long Zynga will keep this promotion active, so make sure take advantage of it while you can!
That being the case, Zynga has offered a free Cafe World Lightning Stove to all players that will participate in a new cross-promotional event with Zynga's mob game, Mafia Wars. Users that have been playing Cafe World since these stoves were first introduced will recognize this stove, as it is the red version of the same sort of stove released way back when. All you'll need to do to earn a Lightning Stove for yourself is click on the small lightning stove icon in the top left corner of the screen, and click on the "Play Mafia Wars" link from the pop-up that appears in order to activate the promotion on your account.
From there, simply level up in Mafia Wars 2 times - that's right, just gain 2 levels - and you'll be the proud owner of a bright red Lightning Stove, that will not only cook your food in one-click, but will cook dishes 10% faster than a traditional stove to boot! Once you've completed this task, a new window will pop-up in Mafia Wars, giving you a link to load Cafe World where your new stove will be waiting for you in your inventory (you'll see a x1 next to the stove, which would cost 35 Cafe Cash otherwise).
To be especially clear, only users that make it to a minimum of level 8 will be able to receive this free stove, so before the promotion starts, you'll need to be at at least level 6, to avoid having to level up more than the promotion's standard of two times. Also, the stove you win as a prize is a completely built stove, ready to start cooking on immediately - no building necessary!
There's no telling how long Zynga will keep this promotion active, so make sure take advantage of it while you can!
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
CloudForest Expedition Sneak Peek: You're gonna have a rough landing
When we last heard word of Cloudforest Expedition, it was but a glint in legendary designer John Romero's eye. Well, that and a Facebook page chock full of little tidbits detailing the game, which is still in development at Romero's new social game studio, Loot Drop. Now, we've been granted access to some high resolution images of the game in action, and frankly, it's looking downright stunning.
In Cloudforest Expedition, players are on a search for their missing grandfather, which for whatever reason leads them to a jungle teeming with wildlife, ancient artifacts and strange tribes of natives. The images we have here seem to imply that you'll crash land in Cloudforest, left to your own devices to figure just what happened to your grandfather.
It seems that you'll encounter a normal (enough) looking jungle landscape in which either you or your grandfather landed in Cloudforest. From there, you will meet some colorful tribesman that appear to worship fire and dwell on a volcanic landscape. During your travels, you'll also come across other travelers or teammates, it seems, that we imagine will help you somehow navigate Cloudforest (and we assume will help you set up camp in various locations).
Gallery: Cloudforest Expedition on Facebook
We also know that players will get to choose between two avatars: a red-headed woman who seems to be channeling Lara Croft (and has a certain affinity for lemurs), and a roguish-looking man that's a cross between Rambo and Bear Grylls. To find out more about Cloudforest Expedition ahead of its Fall release, "Like" its Facebook page right here, and check out the rest of these images in the gallery.
In Cloudforest Expedition, players are on a search for their missing grandfather, which for whatever reason leads them to a jungle teeming with wildlife, ancient artifacts and strange tribes of natives. The images we have here seem to imply that you'll crash land in Cloudforest, left to your own devices to figure just what happened to your grandfather.
It seems that you'll encounter a normal (enough) looking jungle landscape in which either you or your grandfather landed in Cloudforest. From there, you will meet some colorful tribesman that appear to worship fire and dwell on a volcanic landscape. During your travels, you'll also come across other travelers or teammates, it seems, that we imagine will help you somehow navigate Cloudforest (and we assume will help you set up camp in various locations).
Gallery: Cloudforest Expedition on Facebook
We also know that players will get to choose between two avatars: a red-headed woman who seems to be channeling Lara Croft (and has a certain affinity for lemurs), and a roguish-looking man that's a cross between Rambo and Bear Grylls. To find out more about Cloudforest Expedition ahead of its Fall release, "Like" its Facebook page right here, and check out the rest of these images in the gallery.
Nordeus's CEO on how Top Eleven became number one [Interview]
Being number one feels good, doesn't it? EA has been the most recognized name in sports games, even on Facebook--until a little game called Top Eleven came around the bend. Created by a small Serbian studio known as Nordeus, Top Eleven has quickly become the number one football (or soccer for you American folk) game on Facebook with over 4 million monthly players, according to AppData.
The game, which overtook EA Sports and Playfish's FIFA Superstars this summer, takes a far heavier simulator approach to the sports genre on Facebook. Oddly enough, this take has done quite well for Nordeus thus far. We sat down with Nordeus CEO Branko Milutinović recently to find out why the company took this approach to sports games on Facebook, how it has made it this far, and what it plans to do to stay on top. (Here's one: Top Eleven is available in about 27 languages, and it's all thanks to player contributions--now that's dedication.)
Noredus' motto seems to be, "Bringing desktop gaming experiences to social networks." Was this always the company slogan, and why did you decide to take this approach to social games?
It's probably my fault we still haven't changed it. Now, times have changed. When we got into social games at the moment, we though social games weren't complex or engaging enough, and someone who could translate the complexity of desktop games to social networks is going to be a huge success.
It has proven to be correct, because nowadays you see The Sims Social and Zynga is becoming less and less casual. Back then we thought we could differentiate ourselves from the competition by creating games that aren't completely casual or shallow, but complex and addictive. That's what we've done rather successfully with Top Eleven.
Our mission statement is a bit different--in a few words it would be something like 'Unifying gaming experiences throughout devices and platforms.' That's what Noredeus [has been] ever since we published Top Eleven.
How exactly will Nordeus connect the gaming experience between devices?
The idea is to provide users unique gaming experiences in that they can simply pick up where they left off. This would mean if you're, say, in the office and playing a game on Facebook during your break and you have to commute back home, we'll provide a way users can still interact, which is very important to them. You're going to be able to play the same game, with the same account, on different devices and platforms.
Top Eleven in action
Of course, football is huge in Europe, South America and some of Asia, but why did you go with a far heavier simulator approach to a Facebook game surrounding it?
There's a long and complex answer to that, which equals a lot of research we did. It comes down to the idea of providing users with a social game that's a bit more challenging than simply the relaxing, action-packed casual type. In short, people are managers at birth--everyone always thinks they would be able to run the country better, the team better.
And they simply don't get the chance to show how good they would have been doing the job that the other idiot is doing. That's the case in Europe, and I have a lot of American friends, so I think it's very similar back there as well. So, it's a characteristic of mankind [laughs]. In Europe, we're always having long and detailed discussions regarding football tactics or whether the manager chose the right lineup.
The idea is to fulfill users' natural need to show everybody else how good they would actually be, given the opportunity, by providing them a virtual plot that is only theirs. They're running the show, competing with other people, and Top Eleven really forces people that are friends to play together. Rather than the crew dynamics movement since day one of social games, we've taken it to the next level in that you're competing with friends synchronously.
It's also something that the rest of the industry is moving toward, but I think I can be very proud of us for picking some key elements of where social gaming is going to get to in the beginning--becoming the pioneers of what the social gaming scene is today over a year ago. I think that's the reason why a really small company from Serbia, which doesn't really have any tradition in building successful games--so, a very small company with very young people, and without any funding, we managed to build something that's rocking the boat now.
Now, will Nordeus remain focused on sports simulators, or does the company have an interest in pursuing other desktop gaming experiences on Facebook?
Without revealing too much, I can definitely say that we're going to remain in the sports genre. But we also have some plans to enter some other areas as well. Not in the distant future, but it's something to [look forward to.]
Facebook games have been largely a genre dominated by large American publishers (aside from Wooga). But I'm ready to see more culturally diverse social games. How do you think that as internationally-based companies gain global notoriety, the culture of other countries will come through in their social games?
I guess it depends on the publisher. From our side, our vision is to build global products, so we really want to cover as many countries in the world with a specific product. Of course, you can't always have the full coverage, but like with Top Eleven we have users from 140 or so countries. From our side, I don't think our culture is going to [influence] what we develop. Our vision is definitely global.
The Nordeus Team
Generally speaking, how does Nordeus plan to capitalize on this success? What can Top Eleven fans look forward to in the developer's future?
First of all, in a few weeks you're going to be pleasantly surprised by what we have been doing for many months. The game is going to evolve a lot--at the moment I can't share many details. But there are many improvements on the way, and we think the game is going to become exactly what users are passionate about.
And we have been conducting a lot of research and interaction with our user base. Our users are also very passionate about [Top Eleven], as our daily to monthly player ratio is one of the highest in the world: between 22 and 24 percent. And we have been working with them in polishing the feature set and building a product that's going to be super.
Thanks for sharing some of Nordeus's secrets for success with us, Branko.
The game, which overtook EA Sports and Playfish's FIFA Superstars this summer, takes a far heavier simulator approach to the sports genre on Facebook. Oddly enough, this take has done quite well for Nordeus thus far. We sat down with Nordeus CEO Branko Milutinović recently to find out why the company took this approach to sports games on Facebook, how it has made it this far, and what it plans to do to stay on top. (Here's one: Top Eleven is available in about 27 languages, and it's all thanks to player contributions--now that's dedication.)
Noredus' motto seems to be, "Bringing desktop gaming experiences to social networks." Was this always the company slogan, and why did you decide to take this approach to social games?
It's probably my fault we still haven't changed it. Now, times have changed. When we got into social games at the moment, we though social games weren't complex or engaging enough, and someone who could translate the complexity of desktop games to social networks is going to be a huge success.
It has proven to be correct, because nowadays you see The Sims Social and Zynga is becoming less and less casual. Back then we thought we could differentiate ourselves from the competition by creating games that aren't completely casual or shallow, but complex and addictive. That's what we've done rather successfully with Top Eleven.
Our mission statement is a bit different--in a few words it would be something like 'Unifying gaming experiences throughout devices and platforms.' That's what Noredeus [has been] ever since we published Top Eleven.
How exactly will Nordeus connect the gaming experience between devices?
The idea is to provide users unique gaming experiences in that they can simply pick up where they left off. This would mean if you're, say, in the office and playing a game on Facebook during your break and you have to commute back home, we'll provide a way users can still interact, which is very important to them. You're going to be able to play the same game, with the same account, on different devices and platforms.
Top Eleven in action
Of course, football is huge in Europe, South America and some of Asia, but why did you go with a far heavier simulator approach to a Facebook game surrounding it?
There's a long and complex answer to that, which equals a lot of research we did. It comes down to the idea of providing users with a social game that's a bit more challenging than simply the relaxing, action-packed casual type. In short, people are managers at birth--everyone always thinks they would be able to run the country better, the team better.
And they simply don't get the chance to show how good they would have been doing the job that the other idiot is doing. That's the case in Europe, and I have a lot of American friends, so I think it's very similar back there as well. So, it's a characteristic of mankind [laughs]. In Europe, we're always having long and detailed discussions regarding football tactics or whether the manager chose the right lineup.
The idea is to fulfill users' natural need to show everybody else how good they would actually be, given the opportunity, by providing them a virtual plot that is only theirs. They're running the show, competing with other people, and Top Eleven really forces people that are friends to play together. Rather than the crew dynamics movement since day one of social games, we've taken it to the next level in that you're competing with friends synchronously.
It's also something that the rest of the industry is moving toward, but I think I can be very proud of us for picking some key elements of where social gaming is going to get to in the beginning--becoming the pioneers of what the social gaming scene is today over a year ago. I think that's the reason why a really small company from Serbia, which doesn't really have any tradition in building successful games--so, a very small company with very young people, and without any funding, we managed to build something that's rocking the boat now.
Now, will Nordeus remain focused on sports simulators, or does the company have an interest in pursuing other desktop gaming experiences on Facebook?
Without revealing too much, I can definitely say that we're going to remain in the sports genre. But we also have some plans to enter some other areas as well. Not in the distant future, but it's something to [look forward to.]
Facebook games have been largely a genre dominated by large American publishers (aside from Wooga). But I'm ready to see more culturally diverse social games. How do you think that as internationally-based companies gain global notoriety, the culture of other countries will come through in their social games?
I guess it depends on the publisher. From our side, our vision is to build global products, so we really want to cover as many countries in the world with a specific product. Of course, you can't always have the full coverage, but like with Top Eleven we have users from 140 or so countries. From our side, I don't think our culture is going to [influence] what we develop. Our vision is definitely global.
The Nordeus Team
Generally speaking, how does Nordeus plan to capitalize on this success? What can Top Eleven fans look forward to in the developer's future?
First of all, in a few weeks you're going to be pleasantly surprised by what we have been doing for many months. The game is going to evolve a lot--at the moment I can't share many details. But there are many improvements on the way, and we think the game is going to become exactly what users are passionate about.
And we have been conducting a lot of research and interaction with our user base. Our users are also very passionate about [Top Eleven], as our daily to monthly player ratio is one of the highest in the world: between 22 and 24 percent. And we have been working with them in polishing the feature set and building a product that's going to be super.
Thanks for sharing some of Nordeus's secrets for success with us, Branko.
Jimmy Buffett will tie Margaritaville Online to the real deal
In likely the most obvious brilliant move into Facebook games yet, Jimmy Buffett is hard at work with publisher THQ and Vancouver, BC-based developer Exploding Barrel Games on Margaritaville Online. (Though, why the game isn't simply known as "MargaritaVille" is beyond us.) In an interview with CNN, the legendary performer, author and songwriter spilled the salt, so to speak, on when the game will release and what it will be like.
According to Buffett, Exploding Barrel Games and THQ are looking at an October release to coincide with the end of his Las Vegas tour. As we already know from its initial announcement, the game will feature full 3D visuals, but Buffett revealed to CNN that players will first arrive in Margaritaville on a boat (of course) at Captain Tony's Bar. This game follows Buffett's songs, but goes even further to explore the stories within the world he has created over nearly 40 years.
The songwriter revealed that he hopes to connect the Facebook and iPad game to his existing Margaritaville restaurants and hotels via virtual goods purchased in the game. However, he has even more ambitious ideas for Margaritaville Online. "I'm toying with ideas of taking it into the real world, where you could have a battle of the bands, or you could have people play in our band," Buffett told CNN. "That's the kind of involvement that I'm looking at in the future."
Gallery: MargaritaVille Online on Facebook
Buffett will directly involve himself in the game beyond his music, which players will be able to listen to in-game. Parrot Heads will be able to directly interact with Buffett in the game, though there's a catch. "But you won't see my real name," Buffett revealed to CNN. "I'll sneak in. I already have my pseudonyms picked out, because I know they'll track me quick." We might not be able track the virtual Jimmy Buffett just yet, but we'll be tracking the release of this game ... just after this margarita.
According to Buffett, Exploding Barrel Games and THQ are looking at an October release to coincide with the end of his Las Vegas tour. As we already know from its initial announcement, the game will feature full 3D visuals, but Buffett revealed to CNN that players will first arrive in Margaritaville on a boat (of course) at Captain Tony's Bar. This game follows Buffett's songs, but goes even further to explore the stories within the world he has created over nearly 40 years.
The songwriter revealed that he hopes to connect the Facebook and iPad game to his existing Margaritaville restaurants and hotels via virtual goods purchased in the game. However, he has even more ambitious ideas for Margaritaville Online. "I'm toying with ideas of taking it into the real world, where you could have a battle of the bands, or you could have people play in our band," Buffett told CNN. "That's the kind of involvement that I'm looking at in the future."
Gallery: MargaritaVille Online on Facebook
Buffett will directly involve himself in the game beyond his music, which players will be able to listen to in-game. Parrot Heads will be able to directly interact with Buffett in the game, though there's a catch. "But you won't see my real name," Buffett revealed to CNN. "I'll sneak in. I already have my pseudonyms picked out, because I know they'll track me quick." We might not be able track the virtual Jimmy Buffett just yet, but we'll be tracking the release of this game ... just after this margarita.
Honor late, great Patrick Swayze in ... a Dirty Dancing Facebook game?
Remember, it's Sept. 9, not April 1, so this is for real. AllFacebook reports that a Facebook game surrounding the iconic 1987 film starring Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey, Dirty Dancing, is in development at Toronto-based studio Social Game Universe. The game will include the tunes you all know from the hit movie, like "(I've Had) The Time of My Life" and "Hungry Eyes," as players rehearse and perform dance numbers at the Kellerman's Resort to level up.
Presented in 8-bit style visuals like the video games of the time, Dirty Dancing on Facebook will have players dancing alongside retro, digitized versions of Baby and Johnny from the movie. (I'd rather think of them as Jennifer Grey and Patrick Swayze in glorious 8-bit rendering, but to each his own.)
Players will then roam around the resort and drop "Romance Waves" to cause guests to fall in love and stay for awhile longer. Wait, that never happened in the movie!
Anyway, players will perform real dance moves that originated from the film, likely including Baby's infamous "maraca shaking." If any of this tickles your fancy, you can head over to the Facebook page right now and sign up for a chance at an exclusive preview of the game.
However, it looks like Social Game Universe is looking for super fans, here--you've been warned. Dirty Dancing is expected to make its Facebook game debut later this month.
Presented in 8-bit style visuals like the video games of the time, Dirty Dancing on Facebook will have players dancing alongside retro, digitized versions of Baby and Johnny from the movie. (I'd rather think of them as Jennifer Grey and Patrick Swayze in glorious 8-bit rendering, but to each his own.)
Players will then roam around the resort and drop "Romance Waves" to cause guests to fall in love and stay for awhile longer. Wait, that never happened in the movie!
Anyway, players will perform real dance moves that originated from the film, likely including Baby's infamous "maraca shaking." If any of this tickles your fancy, you can head over to the Facebook page right now and sign up for a chance at an exclusive preview of the game.
However, it looks like Social Game Universe is looking for super fans, here--you've been warned. Dirty Dancing is expected to make its Facebook game debut later this month.
The Sims Social beats FarmVille, attracts second most daily players
Boy, people sure do love to play god. According to Appdata, The Sims Social has surpassed Zynga's iconic FarmVille with the second most daily players of any Facebook game. Since its launch just a month ago today, EA and Playfish's ambitious social rendition of The Sims has amassed over 9.3 million daily players--that's over 1 million more than FarmVille's 8.1 million.
The Sims Social still has a way to go to the number one spot, which is, of course, held by Zynga's most popular game CityVille at just under 14 million daily players. Regardless, it's unprecedented for a game to grow this quickly in daily players, at least for a game that wasn't built by Zynga. Not to mention this is despite the hiccups the game faced along the way including days worth of downtime.
So, that's the power of The Sims, huh? Well, not so fast. While The Sims Social has certainly showed its might when it comes to gripping players (and keeping them there ... so far), the game is still in fourth place in terms of monthly players at just over 34.3 million. This number could grow in time naturally as daily players spread the word and through advertising, but it's nevertheless telling of the limits a Facebook game faces when it doesn't have a massive existing player base, like Zynga's games.
In other words, EA and Playfish have quite a lot of work ahead of them, if they want The Sims Social to be on top in all regards. But judging from the game's performance thus far despite its early setbacks--and in the face of the most popular Facebook games to date--perhaps Simlish could become the dominant language in Facebook gaming.
The Sims Social still has a way to go to the number one spot, which is, of course, held by Zynga's most popular game CityVille at just under 14 million daily players. Regardless, it's unprecedented for a game to grow this quickly in daily players, at least for a game that wasn't built by Zynga. Not to mention this is despite the hiccups the game faced along the way including days worth of downtime.
So, that's the power of The Sims, huh? Well, not so fast. While The Sims Social has certainly showed its might when it comes to gripping players (and keeping them there ... so far), the game is still in fourth place in terms of monthly players at just over 34.3 million. This number could grow in time naturally as daily players spread the word and through advertising, but it's nevertheless telling of the limits a Facebook game faces when it doesn't have a massive existing player base, like Zynga's games.
In other words, EA and Playfish have quite a lot of work ahead of them, if they want The Sims Social to be on top in all regards. But judging from the game's performance thus far despite its early setbacks--and in the face of the most popular Facebook games to date--perhaps Simlish could become the dominant language in Facebook gaming.
Monday, January 9, 2012
FarmVille: Ugly Duckling returns as wandering, lost animal
In celebration, if you will, of Zynga's release of the Duck Pond in FarmVille, the developer has re-released a fairly familiar wandering animal into the game. Along with the Belted Duck that has been spotted wandering onto players' farms, you now also have a chance, once again, to find an Ugly Duckling.
This lost-and-found event works just as you'd expect. At random while playing, you may be notified that a sad, lonely Ugly Duckling has wandered onto your farm. You can either ignore the Ugly Duckling, thus ending the event, or you can post a news item to your wall, allowing your friends to claim this lost animal for themselves. As usual, you won't actually receive anything when finding a Duckling on your own farm - you'll need to find a post form a friend who has found one on their own farm and then claim that Duckling in order to get one onto your farm.
The Ugly Duckling just wants to find a nice new home, and who knows, if you take care of it, it may turn into a Swan (ok, no "may" - it will if you take care of it for a short while by feeding it). Note: the Ugly Duckling itself isn't available to add to your Duck Pond, but the Swan it turns into is. We'll make sure to keep track as to whether or not Zynga changes this stipulation in the future (we hope they do).
This lost-and-found event works just as you'd expect. At random while playing, you may be notified that a sad, lonely Ugly Duckling has wandered onto your farm. You can either ignore the Ugly Duckling, thus ending the event, or you can post a news item to your wall, allowing your friends to claim this lost animal for themselves. As usual, you won't actually receive anything when finding a Duckling on your own farm - you'll need to find a post form a friend who has found one on their own farm and then claim that Duckling in order to get one onto your farm.
The Ugly Duckling just wants to find a nice new home, and who knows, if you take care of it, it may turn into a Swan (ok, no "may" - it will if you take care of it for a short while by feeding it). Note: the Ugly Duckling itself isn't available to add to your Duck Pond, but the Swan it turns into is. We'll make sure to keep track as to whether or not Zynga changes this stipulation in the future (we hope they do).
Wishful Features: The Facebook App Store
Even if you don't own an Apple device, surely most of you have heard that the ubiquitous technology company recently released its Mac App Store. A strange step for computing, but a logical one for a company like Apple, the Mac App Store will serve as the new place for users to find new applications to download, purchase and use. Inspired by the App Store found in the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch, it's possible in future renditions of the Mac computer that this will be the only way users will be able to access new apps.
Another more relevant platform could certainly take advantage of a similar distribution model: Facebook. While there have been rumors of a Facebook gaming hub since Nov. 2010, nothing seems to have surfaced. Imagine a place where social gamers could go to find the newest, most popular games on Facebook (for free, of course). This place could easily be called the Facebook App Store, but knowing Apple and their sprawling copyrights and patents that probably wouldn't blow over so well. Regardless, let's keep the name for the sake of the argument, shall we?
Join us after the break to explore the possibilities of a Facebook App Store.
First, the Facebook App Store would finally serve as a single hub to find and manage our social games. From this page within Facebook, we could launch any game attached to our account or manage our requests in a single, unified window. No longer would we have to scroll through a long list of games or requests displayed in tiny font to find the game or gift we're looking for. This hub would make better use of modern computers' wide screen displays, depicting each item using the thumbnail images rather than lists. Relevant information could be included next to each game such as requests or even messages like "Crops are ready to be harvested."
Angry Birds
Second, this would be the place to find new games. Of course, this would have the potential to reinvigorate Facebook's viral channels using many of Apple's methods for app discovery. However, it would also come with a few potentially polarizing features. Facebook would likely become the quality controller for new Facebook games with standards and guidelines for new games to be featured in the App Store, which people feel strongly about on both ends. Does your game work properly and plan to exit beta status in no later than six months from now? (I'm looking at you, Zynga.) Then welcome to the App Store!
Better yet, games would gain popularity naturally through ratings similar to those on the iPhone. How do you think Angry Birds (pictured above) became so popular? It has over 35 thousand ratings on the Apple App Store, for starters. Just think of how well the rating system could do on Facebook with a base of 250 million social gamers? Send the highest rated games or those who gained the most ratings each week to the Facebook App Store homepage and just like that, discovery is back again.
Finally, since this is Facebook, everything would be ingrained into its social channels. Users would be given the option to share their achievements and gifts like normal, but how about their ratings? Players could even chat within the ratings pages of games, much like comments on Facebook game fan pages today. Making use of the open web that Facebook claims to embrace so much, developers could update the pages for their games through the App Store.
FarmVille in the App Store
Realistically speaking (for once), Facebook could very well be up to something similar to this. The company recently opened a Games division to help optimize the platform for social gamers while keeping the non-gamers out. Wait, that sounds exactly like what we're talking about here. Facebook also finally made a hire for that open games partnership director position--for quality control purposes, perhaps? Of course, all of this would require an engineering marvel, but if a 26-year-old programmer can create the world's most ubiquitous website, I'm sure his team could handle it.
Another more relevant platform could certainly take advantage of a similar distribution model: Facebook. While there have been rumors of a Facebook gaming hub since Nov. 2010, nothing seems to have surfaced. Imagine a place where social gamers could go to find the newest, most popular games on Facebook (for free, of course). This place could easily be called the Facebook App Store, but knowing Apple and their sprawling copyrights and patents that probably wouldn't blow over so well. Regardless, let's keep the name for the sake of the argument, shall we?
Join us after the break to explore the possibilities of a Facebook App Store.
First, the Facebook App Store would finally serve as a single hub to find and manage our social games. From this page within Facebook, we could launch any game attached to our account or manage our requests in a single, unified window. No longer would we have to scroll through a long list of games or requests displayed in tiny font to find the game or gift we're looking for. This hub would make better use of modern computers' wide screen displays, depicting each item using the thumbnail images rather than lists. Relevant information could be included next to each game such as requests or even messages like "Crops are ready to be harvested."
Angry Birds
Second, this would be the place to find new games. Of course, this would have the potential to reinvigorate Facebook's viral channels using many of Apple's methods for app discovery. However, it would also come with a few potentially polarizing features. Facebook would likely become the quality controller for new Facebook games with standards and guidelines for new games to be featured in the App Store, which people feel strongly about on both ends. Does your game work properly and plan to exit beta status in no later than six months from now? (I'm looking at you, Zynga.) Then welcome to the App Store!
Better yet, games would gain popularity naturally through ratings similar to those on the iPhone. How do you think Angry Birds (pictured above) became so popular? It has over 35 thousand ratings on the Apple App Store, for starters. Just think of how well the rating system could do on Facebook with a base of 250 million social gamers? Send the highest rated games or those who gained the most ratings each week to the Facebook App Store homepage and just like that, discovery is back again.
Finally, since this is Facebook, everything would be ingrained into its social channels. Users would be given the option to share their achievements and gifts like normal, but how about their ratings? Players could even chat within the ratings pages of games, much like comments on Facebook game fan pages today. Making use of the open web that Facebook claims to embrace so much, developers could update the pages for their games through the App Store.
FarmVille in the App Store
Realistically speaking (for once), Facebook could very well be up to something similar to this. The company recently opened a Games division to help optimize the platform for social gamers while keeping the non-gamers out. Wait, that sounds exactly like what we're talking about here. Facebook also finally made a hire for that open games partnership director position--for quality control purposes, perhaps? Of course, all of this would require an engineering marvel, but if a 26-year-old programmer can create the world's most ubiquitous website, I'm sure his team could handle it.
Baby drowns while his mother plays Cafe World on Facebook
Facebook games are a fun way to pass the time, but only if you're not neglecting your obligations in the real world. Shannon Johnson of Fort Lupton, Colorado is going to be arraigned Friday for the drowning of her 13-month-old son. The cause? The mother left her son alone last September in the bathtub while she played Cafe World and multitasked on Facebook.
Johnson stated that she didn't want her baby to become a "mamma's boy" and that he was an independent child who liked to be left alone. She also said that the water may have been higher than usual that day. The boy was pulled from the bathtub after being left alone for approximately 3 minutes. Johnson discovered him lying sideways with his face underneath the water. After being rushed to the hospital, the 1 year old boy was pronounced dead at 4:30 p.m.
This isn't the first time we have heard of a Facebook game being involved in a child's neglect or murder. Last October, Alexandra Tobias plead guilty to shaking her child to death for crying while she tried to play FarmVille.
Johnson stated that she didn't want her baby to become a "mamma's boy" and that he was an independent child who liked to be left alone. She also said that the water may have been higher than usual that day. The boy was pulled from the bathtub after being left alone for approximately 3 minutes. Johnson discovered him lying sideways with his face underneath the water. After being rushed to the hospital, the 1 year old boy was pronounced dead at 4:30 p.m.
This isn't the first time we have heard of a Facebook game being involved in a child's neglect or murder. Last October, Alexandra Tobias plead guilty to shaking her child to death for crying while she tried to play FarmVille.
FarmVille downtime scheduled for tomorrow afternoon
Attention all FarmVille players! For a short time tomorrow afternoon, Zynga will be pulling FarmVille down to perform extended maintenance on the game. The downtime will start at approximately 1 PM PST tomorrow afternoon (Friday) - that's 4 PM EST for our friends across the country.
During the majority of this time (the downtime is expected to last around an hour), FarmVille will be entirely inaccessible for ALL players. To put it bluntly, you won't be able to play the game. After the initial downtime, Zynga will start to open the game back up, very slowly, and only for a small amount of players, so as to confirm the game's stability after performing the background changes that are likely to be performed.
Don't worry - your farm will be ready and waiting for you (presumably unscathed) after the maintenance period is over (puppy hunger and crop wither will be turned off for a period of at least 24 hours), and hopefully, some of the bugs that we've been dealing with over the past few months will have disappeared in the meantime!
While you're waiting for FarmVille to come back online tomorrow, remember that you can always check out all the latest news on other popular Facebook games here at Games.com - The Blog! or you can always play another Facebook game - CityVille or FrontierVille perhaps?
During the majority of this time (the downtime is expected to last around an hour), FarmVille will be entirely inaccessible for ALL players. To put it bluntly, you won't be able to play the game. After the initial downtime, Zynga will start to open the game back up, very slowly, and only for a small amount of players, so as to confirm the game's stability after performing the background changes that are likely to be performed.
Don't worry - your farm will be ready and waiting for you (presumably unscathed) after the maintenance period is over (puppy hunger and crop wither will be turned off for a period of at least 24 hours), and hopefully, some of the bugs that we've been dealing with over the past few months will have disappeared in the meantime!
While you're waiting for FarmVille to come back online tomorrow, remember that you can always check out all the latest news on other popular Facebook games here at Games.com - The Blog! or you can always play another Facebook game - CityVille or FrontierVille perhaps?
Cafe World A Party for Your Palate: Everything you need to know
As if we didn't already have enough tasks to complete in Cafe World, Zynga has released yet another quest into the game in the form of something called "A Party for Your Palate." This quest will have you collecting 30 items in all, along with helping out at your friends' cafes (or spending 65 Cafe Cash to skip it all quickly), with the story behind the goal being that you're looking to expand your tastes as more of an international chef. That being the case, you'll need to do a lot of dish sampling, and there are three specific tasks here that will help you do that, at least virtually.
Collect 15 Toothpicks
Collect 15 Tasting Forks
Complete 15 Eat Missions
Both the Toothpicks and the Tasting Forks are earned by asking your friends to send them to your through individual gift requests. However, unless you have 30 active Cafe World neighbors, you'll likely be stuck completing these two steps over more than single day, as you can only send a single request to a particular friend each day. You can also unlock the entirety of these two steps for 30 Cafe Cash each, but this is a pricey option, as there is no ability to purchase just a single Toothpick or Fork, so it's all or nothing in this case.
As for the Eat Missions, these are the "taste the daily special" activities that you can take part in when visiting a friend's cafe. Just look for the small blue stick figure holding a fork and spoon (like in the image at the top of this post) and click on him. Try your friend's dish and then move onto the next cafe, until you have eaten 15 different dishes. Again, you can complete this mission over a period of days, just in case you don't have 15 Cafe World neighbors that you can visit at any one time. This task can also be completed for Cafe Cash, and just 5 Cafe Cash at that.
The reward for this mission is the Tasting Plaque, a wall-mounted decorative item that will show your virtual customers (and your real world friends) that you have the ability to serve and appreciate dishes from all over the world, and not just a particular kind of cuisine. Yeah, that's a really fancy way of saying you get a free item that you can't get elsewhere, but perhaps the frilly explanation will make the bugging of your friends for even more useless items a bit more worth it.
Collect 15 Toothpicks
Collect 15 Tasting Forks
Complete 15 Eat Missions
Both the Toothpicks and the Tasting Forks are earned by asking your friends to send them to your through individual gift requests. However, unless you have 30 active Cafe World neighbors, you'll likely be stuck completing these two steps over more than single day, as you can only send a single request to a particular friend each day. You can also unlock the entirety of these two steps for 30 Cafe Cash each, but this is a pricey option, as there is no ability to purchase just a single Toothpick or Fork, so it's all or nothing in this case.
As for the Eat Missions, these are the "taste the daily special" activities that you can take part in when visiting a friend's cafe. Just look for the small blue stick figure holding a fork and spoon (like in the image at the top of this post) and click on him. Try your friend's dish and then move onto the next cafe, until you have eaten 15 different dishes. Again, you can complete this mission over a period of days, just in case you don't have 15 Cafe World neighbors that you can visit at any one time. This task can also be completed for Cafe Cash, and just 5 Cafe Cash at that.
The reward for this mission is the Tasting Plaque, a wall-mounted decorative item that will show your virtual customers (and your real world friends) that you have the ability to serve and appreciate dishes from all over the world, and not just a particular kind of cuisine. Yeah, that's a really fancy way of saying you get a free item that you can't get elsewhere, but perhaps the frilly explanation will make the bugging of your friends for even more useless items a bit more worth it.
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Cafe World Fridge It! Goals: Everything you need to know
If you thought we might get away with receiving a new item in Cafe World without receiving new goals to go along with it, you'd be proven wrong this evening, as the newly released Fridge in the game has been met with three new Fridge It! goals to complete.
The first goal is rather simple, asking you to start the construction process on your own Fridge, along with serving a quickly cooking dish.
Place the Fridge Builder
Serve Belgian Waffles 14 Times
Earn 5,000 Coins
The Fridge Builder item refers to the free crate containing the base of the Fridge that can be built in your cafe. You'll be able to place the Fridge Builder automatically the first time you play the game after the update, or you'll be able to access it for free at any time from the Special items section of the store. As for the Belgian Waffles, that is not only a cheap dish (costing just 200 coins to cook), but also one that is prepared rather quickly - after cooking for just 2 hours. If you have a tendency to forget about food that takes so little time to cook (that is, if you tend to let it spoil), remember that you can use some of your spices to instantly complete the process, if you have any time-reduction spices in your Spice Rack, that is. The rewards for finishing this first goal are 500 Cafe Points and 20,000 coins.
Meet us behind the break for a look at the two remaining missions in this trio.
Fridge It! II will ask you to complete the construction on your Fridge, so this step might be one to slow down your progress.
Complete the Fridge Builder
Spice 5 Friends' stoves
Serve French Onion Soup 15 Times
Building the Fridge will require you to collect 40 items in total, so check out our complete guide to the item's construction and its food-storage function for more information. While you're waiting on your friends to send you parts for the Fridge, you can be cooking the French Onion Soup, which takes 4 hours to cook and costs just 175 coins to start. Finishing this part of the mission trio will reward you with a new Aqua Fountain decorative item for use in your cafe.
Finally, Fridge It! III offers the culmination of this mission series, but the steps required are actually fairly lackluster, if a bit time consuming.
Serve Bacon Cheeseburger 20 Times
Serve Chips and Guacamole 20 Times
Serve French Onion Soup 4 Times
No, that's no a typo - after serving French Onion Soup 15 times as part of the second of these three missions, you'll now have to do so four more times. Luckily, the other two dishes cook even more quickly, with Bacon Cheeseburgers taking just 5 minutes to cook, and Chips and Guacamole taking just 3 minutes. At least with the Cheeseburgers and Chips, you'll likely be able to finish these two steps in a single sitting, without having to worry about letting food spoil before you can come back to serve it.
Your final goals for this mission series are 800 Cafe Points and 15,000 coins. Even if you didn't need the coins, the Cafe Points here seem to be worth the hassle of cooking so many short-cooking-time dishes. A little baby-sitting of your cafe seems to pay off in a big way this time around, but of course, whether or not you tackle these goals is entirely up to you.
Check out our Complete Refrigerator Guide and our Refrigerator Gifting Links for more.
What do you think of this new mission trio? Will you take advantage of the easy missions to earn some free experience points?
The first goal is rather simple, asking you to start the construction process on your own Fridge, along with serving a quickly cooking dish.
Place the Fridge Builder
Serve Belgian Waffles 14 Times
Earn 5,000 Coins
The Fridge Builder item refers to the free crate containing the base of the Fridge that can be built in your cafe. You'll be able to place the Fridge Builder automatically the first time you play the game after the update, or you'll be able to access it for free at any time from the Special items section of the store. As for the Belgian Waffles, that is not only a cheap dish (costing just 200 coins to cook), but also one that is prepared rather quickly - after cooking for just 2 hours. If you have a tendency to forget about food that takes so little time to cook (that is, if you tend to let it spoil), remember that you can use some of your spices to instantly complete the process, if you have any time-reduction spices in your Spice Rack, that is. The rewards for finishing this first goal are 500 Cafe Points and 20,000 coins.
Meet us behind the break for a look at the two remaining missions in this trio.
Fridge It! II will ask you to complete the construction on your Fridge, so this step might be one to slow down your progress.
Complete the Fridge Builder
Spice 5 Friends' stoves
Serve French Onion Soup 15 Times
Building the Fridge will require you to collect 40 items in total, so check out our complete guide to the item's construction and its food-storage function for more information. While you're waiting on your friends to send you parts for the Fridge, you can be cooking the French Onion Soup, which takes 4 hours to cook and costs just 175 coins to start. Finishing this part of the mission trio will reward you with a new Aqua Fountain decorative item for use in your cafe.
Finally, Fridge It! III offers the culmination of this mission series, but the steps required are actually fairly lackluster, if a bit time consuming.
Serve Bacon Cheeseburger 20 Times
Serve Chips and Guacamole 20 Times
Serve French Onion Soup 4 Times
No, that's no a typo - after serving French Onion Soup 15 times as part of the second of these three missions, you'll now have to do so four more times. Luckily, the other two dishes cook even more quickly, with Bacon Cheeseburgers taking just 5 minutes to cook, and Chips and Guacamole taking just 3 minutes. At least with the Cheeseburgers and Chips, you'll likely be able to finish these two steps in a single sitting, without having to worry about letting food spoil before you can come back to serve it.
Your final goals for this mission series are 800 Cafe Points and 15,000 coins. Even if you didn't need the coins, the Cafe Points here seem to be worth the hassle of cooking so many short-cooking-time dishes. A little baby-sitting of your cafe seems to pay off in a big way this time around, but of course, whether or not you tackle these goals is entirely up to you.
Check out our Complete Refrigerator Guide and our Refrigerator Gifting Links for more.
What do you think of this new mission trio? Will you take advantage of the easy missions to earn some free experience points?
Game of the Day: Gardenscapes
The Game of the Day is going green and gives you a chance to use your green thumb. Gardenscapes is a hidden object game for the gardner in all of us. Restore a once-stunning garden to its former glory in Gardenscapes, a colorful blend of hidden object and time management fun! Help your granddad restore his once glorious gardens on a shoe-string budget. Can you do it?
Play GardenScapes now >
Important side note: Just by playing The Game of the Day you will be entered into a monthly drawing to win a FlipCam HD. You don't need to do anything else, just play! The more you play, the more chances you have to win. For more information on the Game of Day check out the official Game of the Day hub.
Play GardenScapes now >
Important side note: Just by playing The Game of the Day you will be entered into a monthly drawing to win a FlipCam HD. You don't need to do anything else, just play! The more you play, the more chances you have to win. For more information on the Game of Day check out the official Game of the Day hub.
FrontierVille Injured Critter Goal: Everything you need to know
Sickly critters have reportedly been popping up all over the homestead in FrontierVille, and it's up to you to fix them. In the most recent Goal titled "Injured Critter," players are tasked with tackling a new feature to the game. While clearing grass and feeding Cows and Oxen, there's a chance for an Injured White Buffalo to appear. Your mission is to nurse this poor buffalo back to health.
Critter Milk
And it's quite simple, really. First, just select the Move tool and click on the Injured Buffalo to move it. Then, click on the Critter again to ask your friends for Critter Milk to feed it three times. You can also buy Critter Milk from the Market. Then, after feeding the White Buffalo three times, click on it once more to tend it like any other animal.
The White Buffalo will then be healed and you'll be 250 XP and 500 coins richer. You also have the option of keeping the restored buffalo on your homestead, which I'm sure you'll all take advantage of. Judging from sharing bonus for completing the Goal (a Milk Bottle) there will be plenty more animals in need.
[Source and Image Credit: FrontierVille Info]
Have you seen the White Buffalo on the homestead yet? Did you go about this mission differently?
Critter Milk
And it's quite simple, really. First, just select the Move tool and click on the Injured Buffalo to move it. Then, click on the Critter again to ask your friends for Critter Milk to feed it three times. You can also buy Critter Milk from the Market. Then, after feeding the White Buffalo three times, click on it once more to tend it like any other animal.
The White Buffalo will then be healed and you'll be 250 XP and 500 coins richer. You also have the option of keeping the restored buffalo on your homestead, which I'm sure you'll all take advantage of. Judging from sharing bonus for completing the Goal (a Milk Bottle) there will be plenty more animals in need.
[Source and Image Credit: FrontierVille Info]
Have you seen the White Buffalo on the homestead yet? Did you go about this mission differently?
Zynga condenses FarmVille pop-ups; way less annoying
See, all you need to do is ask Zynga nicely. Wait, I didn't ask for this FarmVille improvement, did you? At any rate, the FarmVille masterminds have redesigned pop-up notifications in the game. Now, pop-ups will appear to be much smaller, giving players the option to see more information or just close the window. These enhanced pop-ups have only been noticed for Bushels found after harvesting all of one's crops; the amount of coins received after harvesting animals has also been condensed into a single pop-up. Better yet, if either pop-up is left unattended, it will quietly slip back beneath the friends bar where it belongs.
[Source and Image Credit: FarmVille Freak]
Have you seen these improved pop-ups on the farm yet? What other streamlining do you think needs to be done in FarmVille?
[Source and Image Credit: FarmVille Freak]
Have you seen these improved pop-ups on the farm yet? What other streamlining do you think needs to be done in FarmVille?
Cafe World Cheats and Tips: Refrigerator gifting links
cafe world cheats refrigerator gifting links
Hello Cafe-folks, It's Mr. Cheats here with the down-low on the things you shouldn't know.
Today I have a batch of Cafe World gifting links for the new Refrigerator. These Cafe World Refrigerator gifting link cheats, originally found by The Face Gamer, will help you finish your Refrigerator and your Cafe World Refrigerator goals in no time.
To use the Cafe World Refrigerator gifting links cheats, all you have to do is click on the Refrigerator part you want to gift, then select the friends you'd like to send it to. You're going to need ten of each Refrigerator part for a total of 40 items. No one wants to spent Cafe Cash on a Refrigerator, so instead, start using the Cafe World Refrigerator gifting links below to help your friends finish their Refrigerators. Then when you're done, share the page with your friends so they can help you in return.
Get started below:
cafe world cheats refrigerator gifting linksRefrigerator Thermostat cafe world cheats refrigerator gifting linksRefrigerator Drawer
cafe world cheats refrigerator gifting linksRefrigerator Door Shelf cafe world cheats refrigerator gifting linksRefrigerator Condenser
For cheats and more, check out The Facegamer.
Check out our complete Refrigerator Guide and our Refrigerator Goals Guide for more.
Hello Cafe-folks, It's Mr. Cheats here with the down-low on the things you shouldn't know.
Today I have a batch of Cafe World gifting links for the new Refrigerator. These Cafe World Refrigerator gifting link cheats, originally found by The Face Gamer, will help you finish your Refrigerator and your Cafe World Refrigerator goals in no time.
To use the Cafe World Refrigerator gifting links cheats, all you have to do is click on the Refrigerator part you want to gift, then select the friends you'd like to send it to. You're going to need ten of each Refrigerator part for a total of 40 items. No one wants to spent Cafe Cash on a Refrigerator, so instead, start using the Cafe World Refrigerator gifting links below to help your friends finish their Refrigerators. Then when you're done, share the page with your friends so they can help you in return.
Get started below:
cafe world cheats refrigerator gifting linksRefrigerator Thermostat cafe world cheats refrigerator gifting linksRefrigerator Drawer
cafe world cheats refrigerator gifting linksRefrigerator Door Shelf cafe world cheats refrigerator gifting linksRefrigerator Condenser
For cheats and more, check out The Facegamer.
Check out our complete Refrigerator Guide and our Refrigerator Goals Guide for more.
Thursday, January 5, 2012
FarmVille Spring Countdown contents revealed
Just last night, the Spring Countdown was launched in FarmVille, which is a new 12-day event that will see you asking your friends for one exclusive item each day of the countdown. If you can collect all 12 items, either by receiving the items for free from friends, or by purchasing the ones you missed with Farm Cash (check out our full guide for more), you'll receive a special prize at the end.
Luckily, the folks at FarmVille Feed have spotted the entire list of 12 daily prizes, along with the grand finale, which you just might feel is worth the effort of collecting the other items to get to it. After Day 1's prize of the Pastel Hay Bale, which is already available, the 11 items that have yet to be released are:
Day 2: Flower Bucket
Day 3: Little Wagon
Day 4: Spring Flowers
Day 5: Milk Crate
Day 6: Azalea
Day 7: Stone Archway
Day 8: Spring Balloon Arch
Day 9: Weather Vane
Day 10: Fruit Crate
Day 11: Bouncing Horse
Day 12: Green Patch Cow
You will likely recognize many of these items from the various FarmVille Sneak Peeks we've brought you over the past few days and weeks, so it's nice to see these items finally find a purpose in the game. You'll also likely recognize some of these items from the other color variants that have been released in the game previously.
Either way, if you can collect all 12 items, your grand prize is a free use of Instagrow Potion. It's unknown right now as to whether or not the Instagrow can only be applied with a biplane (which costs 30,000 coins), or if this will be an instant application, as we've seen in the past. Either way, we'll take a chance at free crop-growth, if it means we can more easily master some of those four or three day crops in the game.
Be sure to check your farm once per day for the next 12 days to not miss out on any of these prizes, lest you miss out on the great prize at the end.
[Image Credit: FarmVille Feed]
What do you think of these prizes in the Spring Countdown? Are you happy that different colors of others items are being released, or would you have preferred to see entirely new items released in the event?
Luckily, the folks at FarmVille Feed have spotted the entire list of 12 daily prizes, along with the grand finale, which you just might feel is worth the effort of collecting the other items to get to it. After Day 1's prize of the Pastel Hay Bale, which is already available, the 11 items that have yet to be released are:
Day 2: Flower Bucket
Day 3: Little Wagon
Day 4: Spring Flowers
Day 5: Milk Crate
Day 6: Azalea
Day 7: Stone Archway
Day 8: Spring Balloon Arch
Day 9: Weather Vane
Day 10: Fruit Crate
Day 11: Bouncing Horse
Day 12: Green Patch Cow
You will likely recognize many of these items from the various FarmVille Sneak Peeks we've brought you over the past few days and weeks, so it's nice to see these items finally find a purpose in the game. You'll also likely recognize some of these items from the other color variants that have been released in the game previously.
Either way, if you can collect all 12 items, your grand prize is a free use of Instagrow Potion. It's unknown right now as to whether or not the Instagrow can only be applied with a biplane (which costs 30,000 coins), or if this will be an instant application, as we've seen in the past. Either way, we'll take a chance at free crop-growth, if it means we can more easily master some of those four or three day crops in the game.
Be sure to check your farm once per day for the next 12 days to not miss out on any of these prizes, lest you miss out on the great prize at the end.
[Image Credit: FarmVille Feed]
What do you think of these prizes in the Spring Countdown? Are you happy that different colors of others items are being released, or would you have preferred to see entirely new items released in the event?
FarmVille Animal Sneak Peek: Irish Cob Horse & Shamrock Unicorn
Unicorn lovers rejoice! It looks as though another variety of unicorn will be added to FarmVille in the current St. Patrick's Day limited edition item theme. This unicorn is of course green, with a cute bunch of shamrocks on its side. We believe it will be (fittingly) called the Shamrock Unicorn.
Another new animal also offers reason to become excited, as an Irish Cob Horse and Foal are apparently launching soon in the game as well. With its name, it's clear that this animal will also appear in the St. Patrick's Day theme in some fashion, although this seems like something more suited to a Mystery Game, rather than a store release (as store released animals tend to be a bit more whimsical than the Mystery Game animals). It is believed that you'll be able to place this Irish Cob Horse into your Horse Stable to have a chance at breeding an Irish Cob Foal.
We have images of both the Irish Cob Foal and the Shamrock Unicorn in action, so check them out below. And keep checking back with us, as we bring you all of the details about these new animals if and when they do officially release in the game.
Check out the rest of our St. Patrick's Day 2011 coverage right here.
Which of these two animals is your favorite? Do you appreciate more realistic animals in FarmVille, or do you love the fun animals like this Shamrock Unicorn?
Another new animal also offers reason to become excited, as an Irish Cob Horse and Foal are apparently launching soon in the game as well. With its name, it's clear that this animal will also appear in the St. Patrick's Day theme in some fashion, although this seems like something more suited to a Mystery Game, rather than a store release (as store released animals tend to be a bit more whimsical than the Mystery Game animals). It is believed that you'll be able to place this Irish Cob Horse into your Horse Stable to have a chance at breeding an Irish Cob Foal.
We have images of both the Irish Cob Foal and the Shamrock Unicorn in action, so check them out below. And keep checking back with us, as we bring you all of the details about these new animals if and when they do officially release in the game.
Check out the rest of our St. Patrick's Day 2011 coverage right here.
Which of these two animals is your favorite? Do you appreciate more realistic animals in FarmVille, or do you love the fun animals like this Shamrock Unicorn?
FrontierVille Great Coyote Caper Goals: Everything you need to know
Earlier today, we brought you the news that two new collections had launched in FrontierVille concerning the upcoming launch of coyotes in the game. We didn't know when coyotes would launch, but it turns out it was sooner than later, as a series of coyote missions has launched in the game this evening, called "The Great Coyote Caper." We have all of the info about this new quest set, but keep in mind that this is subject to change at any time. As of this writing, however, this is what you can expect.
Part I of this V part goal series is called "Coyote and the Hen," and it introduces us to this new varmint, which is particularly fond of chickens.
Tend 50 Chickens
Clobber One Coyote
Place Four Fences
Chickens can of course be tended for one energy per one chicken, or you can still collect the Daily Bonus on your Chicken Coop to feed all chickens at once. We can confirm that this method does count in your quest progress. As for the Coyote, you'll likely receive one if you go the "Daily Bonus" route, and you might even be able to scare it off after clobbering it just once. Your reward for finishing this quest is 75 XP. Part II of V will take quite the toll on your Wood count in the game, so I hope you have plenty to spare.
Have/Craft 8 Fire
Have 1000 Wood
Chop 20 Neighbor Trees
Fire can be crafted inside the Covered Wagon for 7 Wood and 5 Cloth each. Your rewards for this part of the mission set are 2 Powder Kegs and 150 XP.
Part III of V will require you to protect some chickens, but we're not entirely sure if you can simply remove chickens from your coop and then replace them for this to work, or if you will actually need to upgrade. This could also be a case where already upgraded and protected Chickens count, as details are still sketchy at this point. We'll make sure to let you know when we know.
Protect 10 Chickens
Clear 5 Rocks
Collect 15 Turquoise Arrowheads
Turquoise Arrowheads are a new item to the game that can be collected by asking your friends to send them to you. Meanwhile, simply clear off an area of your homestead for debris to grow, and you'll likely have enough rocks in no time. Finishing this quest rewards you with 1 Coyote Tail (a Coyote Collection item) and 100 XP.
Moving on, Part IV of V will see you sacrificing more of your poor chickens to drag out more coyotes.
Clobber 5 Coyotes
Protect 25 Chickens
Collect 10 Rabbit Steaks
Rabbit Steaks are another new item to the game, that are earned through a general wall post asking all of your neighbors to help you. You'll receive 1 Coyote Rug and 150 XP for finishing this final quest before the finale.
For the finale itself, Part V of V will see you clobbering even more coyotes, and this time goes after your Food, rather than your Wood.
Collect 3 Chicken Coop Daily Bonuses
Clobber 5 Coyotes
Have 600 Food
The Food will unfortunately be taken from you at the end of this mission, but hopefully, in the three days that you're required to wait to claim your Chicken Coop bonuses, you will have either planted enough crops, harvested enough trees, or sold enough animals (among other tasks) to make up for this required loss. Your final rewards for this quest are 300 XP, a Basket of Chicks (a new decorative item), and 5 Fireworks.
And there you have it! A somewhat lengthy, especially costly (in terms of wood anyway) quest line that will see you tackling your Homestead's new threat head-on. Will you be victorious? Only time will tell, but this is at least a good start.
Check out the rest of our FrontierVille Cheats & Tips right here.
What do you think of the new threat on your Homestead? Will you eradicate every coyote you see, or do you not mind losing a few chickens?
Part I of this V part goal series is called "Coyote and the Hen," and it introduces us to this new varmint, which is particularly fond of chickens.
Tend 50 Chickens
Clobber One Coyote
Place Four Fences
Chickens can of course be tended for one energy per one chicken, or you can still collect the Daily Bonus on your Chicken Coop to feed all chickens at once. We can confirm that this method does count in your quest progress. As for the Coyote, you'll likely receive one if you go the "Daily Bonus" route, and you might even be able to scare it off after clobbering it just once. Your reward for finishing this quest is 75 XP. Part II of V will take quite the toll on your Wood count in the game, so I hope you have plenty to spare.
Have/Craft 8 Fire
Have 1000 Wood
Chop 20 Neighbor Trees
Fire can be crafted inside the Covered Wagon for 7 Wood and 5 Cloth each. Your rewards for this part of the mission set are 2 Powder Kegs and 150 XP.
Part III of V will require you to protect some chickens, but we're not entirely sure if you can simply remove chickens from your coop and then replace them for this to work, or if you will actually need to upgrade. This could also be a case where already upgraded and protected Chickens count, as details are still sketchy at this point. We'll make sure to let you know when we know.
Protect 10 Chickens
Clear 5 Rocks
Collect 15 Turquoise Arrowheads
Turquoise Arrowheads are a new item to the game that can be collected by asking your friends to send them to you. Meanwhile, simply clear off an area of your homestead for debris to grow, and you'll likely have enough rocks in no time. Finishing this quest rewards you with 1 Coyote Tail (a Coyote Collection item) and 100 XP.
Moving on, Part IV of V will see you sacrificing more of your poor chickens to drag out more coyotes.
Clobber 5 Coyotes
Protect 25 Chickens
Collect 10 Rabbit Steaks
Rabbit Steaks are another new item to the game, that are earned through a general wall post asking all of your neighbors to help you. You'll receive 1 Coyote Rug and 150 XP for finishing this final quest before the finale.
For the finale itself, Part V of V will see you clobbering even more coyotes, and this time goes after your Food, rather than your Wood.
Collect 3 Chicken Coop Daily Bonuses
Clobber 5 Coyotes
Have 600 Food
The Food will unfortunately be taken from you at the end of this mission, but hopefully, in the three days that you're required to wait to claim your Chicken Coop bonuses, you will have either planted enough crops, harvested enough trees, or sold enough animals (among other tasks) to make up for this required loss. Your final rewards for this quest are 300 XP, a Basket of Chicks (a new decorative item), and 5 Fireworks.
And there you have it! A somewhat lengthy, especially costly (in terms of wood anyway) quest line that will see you tackling your Homestead's new threat head-on. Will you be victorious? Only time will tell, but this is at least a good start.
Check out the rest of our FrontierVille Cheats & Tips right here.
What do you think of the new threat on your Homestead? Will you eradicate every coyote you see, or do you not mind losing a few chickens?
FarmVille: Unlock Daikons in Japan Earthquake Relief Effort
After the tragedy that has overcome Japan this week, Zynga has decided to act out in a way they know how - by releasing a limited edition, premium crop to FarmVille that will support Save the Children's Japan Earthquake Emergency Fund. The new crop is the Daikon, and as with other donation crops, it gives off more XP than a traditional crop, can be mastered and will never wither, regardless of how long you leave it unattended on your farm.
For the specifics of how to donate, you can contribute to the charity in one of three amounts - 25 Farm Cash, 55 Farm Cash or 240 Farm Cash. All donors, regardless of donation amount, will receive a one week permit to grow Daikons - you can plant as many as you'd like within that seven day period. Daikons cost 10 coins to play, reward you with 3 XP per square planted, and can be harvested in 6 hours. You'll receive 125 coins for each square harvested, making them a very profitable crop if you're looking to earn some coins fast, and you'll be helping a great cause in the process.
In addition, you'll receive a free collectible gift with your donation - a Japan Relief Flag which you can see at the top left of the image above.
Zynga and Facebook will donate 100% of all proceeds (meaning that Facebook is also donating their 30% cut of all Facebook Credit transactions) to support the Japan Earthquake Emergency Fund. There is no time limit as of this writing as to how long the Daikon will be available to purchase, so if you don't have the Farm Cash on hand right now, you'll likely have some time to purchase some before missing out on this opportunity to donate, and master a new crop all in one go.
Will you purchase a permit to plant Daikon in-game?
For the specifics of how to donate, you can contribute to the charity in one of three amounts - 25 Farm Cash, 55 Farm Cash or 240 Farm Cash. All donors, regardless of donation amount, will receive a one week permit to grow Daikons - you can plant as many as you'd like within that seven day period. Daikons cost 10 coins to play, reward you with 3 XP per square planted, and can be harvested in 6 hours. You'll receive 125 coins for each square harvested, making them a very profitable crop if you're looking to earn some coins fast, and you'll be helping a great cause in the process.
In addition, you'll receive a free collectible gift with your donation - a Japan Relief Flag which you can see at the top left of the image above.
Zynga and Facebook will donate 100% of all proceeds (meaning that Facebook is also donating their 30% cut of all Facebook Credit transactions) to support the Japan Earthquake Emergency Fund. There is no time limit as of this writing as to how long the Daikon will be available to purchase, so if you don't have the Farm Cash on hand right now, you'll likely have some time to purchase some before missing out on this opportunity to donate, and master a new crop all in one go.
Will you purchase a permit to plant Daikon in-game?
Game of the Day: Steak and Jake: Midnight March
The Game of the Day is changing it up and bringing something spooky. Steak and Jake: Midnight March is a wild ride through the dark side. Help Steak and Jake guide the marching Ghouls along the a scary trail. Multi-task in this puzzle-platformer, with Jake the color-changing bird matching colors in the puzzle screen, while clearing the trail above for Steak and the Ghouls.
Click --> play Steak and Jake: Midnight March
Important side note: Just by playing The Game of the Day you will be entered into a monthly drawing to win a FlipCam HD. You don't need to do anything else, just play! The more you play, the more chances you have to win. For more information on the Game of Day check out the official Game of the Day hub.
Click --> play Steak and Jake: Midnight March
Important side note: Just by playing The Game of the Day you will be entered into a monthly drawing to win a FlipCam HD. You don't need to do anything else, just play! The more you play, the more chances you have to win. For more information on the Game of Day check out the official Game of the Day hub.
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
FrontierVille: Visiting neighbors is now faster; or is it?
Very few FrontierVille players would claim that the game is perfect. In fact, even for our love of the game, we'll happily admit that it has quite a few problems. Recently, one of the biggest problems has been an issue with speed, especially when trying to visit neighbors. While there are still other mountains to climb, Zynga looks to be at least attempting to fix the game's issues one by one, starting with the above - the slow speed at which a neighbor's Homestead loads.
Supposedly, when you visit neighbors' Homesteads from now on, it should take less time for you to reach their Homestead, on top of it taking less time for all of their trees, animals, building, decorations (and so on) to load in. We've tested this on neighbors of varying levels, and haven't really noticed a difference. That is, a level 95 neighbor still has a Homestead that is a chore to load, but we've heard of other players having success with the update.
We'll make sure to let you know if and when Zynga adds other improvements to the game in the future, and hopefully those will be more widely noticeable.
Have you noticed that the speed of visiting neighbors has increased for you, or do you still dread having to visit neighbors for quests?
Supposedly, when you visit neighbors' Homesteads from now on, it should take less time for you to reach their Homestead, on top of it taking less time for all of their trees, animals, building, decorations (and so on) to load in. We've tested this on neighbors of varying levels, and haven't really noticed a difference. That is, a level 95 neighbor still has a Homestead that is a chore to load, but we've heard of other players having success with the update.
We'll make sure to let you know if and when Zynga adds other improvements to the game in the future, and hopefully those will be more widely noticeable.
Have you noticed that the speed of visiting neighbors has increased for you, or do you still dread having to visit neighbors for quests?
Game of the Day: Finders Keepers
The Game of the Day is hoping you'll take to the sea! Finders Keepers: Join Floyd Finders and his trusty sidekick Goldie in more than 150 levels of aquatic adventure for all ages! Collect treasure, fish and special trinkets to help reunite lost loves, all while trying to avoid trouble from Pirates, Whales, Walruses and Ghosts from the Deep.
Click --> Play Finders Keepers
Important side note: Just by playing The Game of the Day you will be entered into a monthly drawing to win a FlipCam HD. You don't need to do anything else, just play! The more you play, the more chances you have to win. For more information on the Game of Day check out the official Game of the Day hub.
Click --> Play Finders Keepers
Important side note: Just by playing The Game of the Day you will be entered into a monthly drawing to win a FlipCam HD. You don't need to do anything else, just play! The more you play, the more chances you have to win. For more information on the Game of Day check out the official Game of the Day hub.
Game of the Day: Cradle of Rome
The Game of the Day is taking you back to the first super civilization. Cradle of Rome: This legendary city was one of the most beautiful and powerful capitals ever existed in the history of the ancient world! And you'll be able to bring back to life all the masterpieces of the Roman architecture.
Click --> Play Cradle of Rome
Important side note: Just by playing The Game of the Day you will be entered into a monthly drawing to win a FlipCam HD. You don't need to do anything else, just play! The more you play, the more chances you have to win. For more information on the Game of Day check out the official Game of the Day hub.
Source
Click --> Play Cradle of Rome
Important side note: Just by playing The Game of the Day you will be entered into a monthly drawing to win a FlipCam HD. You don't need to do anything else, just play! The more you play, the more chances you have to win. For more information on the Game of Day check out the official Game of the Day hub.
Source
FrontierVille: Brown Mule now available as Injured Critter
Just a few days ago, we brought you a sneak peek of a new Injured Critter in FrontierVille in the form of a Brown Mule stuck in the mud. Now, the animal is officially available to spawn and help in your game. You'll be able to bring one out by clearing debris, but we've also received one when tending crops, so it looks like the requirements are pretty loose, this time around.
You'll need to help push the Mule out of the mud by repeatedly clicking on the animal and waiting for the meter above its head to fill, just as with every other injured animal in the game. Once you get to a certain point, you'll be told you don't have the strength to continue, and you'll need to assemble a crew of muscle, consisting of your FrontierVille neighbors, to finish the job. You'll be able to send out individual gift requests to six or more friends, with the first six that respond each filling a position on the crew such as pulley operator, supervisor, mule whisperer and so on. Only after you've gathered enough friends can you finish the job of rescuing the poor Mule from the mud.
All told, this does seem like a bit easier of a setup than the other Injured Critters, as you don't have to risk your friends missing your requests for Critter Milk, berries, etc. on the news feed, and can go to ask help from them directly. In addition, you don't have to wait five minutes between your own attempts at helping. It's nice to see more variety in FrontierVille's Injured Critters, and we can only hope Zynga continues the trend.
Have you received a Brown Mule on your land yet?
You'll need to help push the Mule out of the mud by repeatedly clicking on the animal and waiting for the meter above its head to fill, just as with every other injured animal in the game. Once you get to a certain point, you'll be told you don't have the strength to continue, and you'll need to assemble a crew of muscle, consisting of your FrontierVille neighbors, to finish the job. You'll be able to send out individual gift requests to six or more friends, with the first six that respond each filling a position on the crew such as pulley operator, supervisor, mule whisperer and so on. Only after you've gathered enough friends can you finish the job of rescuing the poor Mule from the mud.
All told, this does seem like a bit easier of a setup than the other Injured Critters, as you don't have to risk your friends missing your requests for Critter Milk, berries, etc. on the news feed, and can go to ask help from them directly. In addition, you don't have to wait five minutes between your own attempts at helping. It's nice to see more variety in FrontierVille's Injured Critters, and we can only hope Zynga continues the trend.
Have you received a Brown Mule on your land yet?
FarmVille LE English Countryside Trees: Cherry Plum & European Pear Trees
Two new trees are available in the FarmVille marketplace this evening, with both trees being available in the current limited edition English Countryside item theme, and being allowed to be placed either on your Home Farm or your second farm in England.
These two trees are the Cherry Plum Tree and the European Pear Tree. While we gave you a sneak peek of these trees last week, we didn't know how much they would cost, but we can answer that question now. The Cherry Plum Tree goes for 5 Farm Cash, while the European Pear Tree costs 10 Farm Cash. Interestingly (that is, even though the trees seem entirely separate), if you'd like to save 10 Farm Cash, you can just purchase the Cherry Plum Tree, place it in an Orchard, and then wait for it to produce a European Pear Tree as a Mystery Seedling (or hope to be lucky enough to receive one as a random Mystery Seedling being given away by your friends).
Both of these trees will be available in the game for the next two weeks.
Check out the rest of our English Countryside coverage right here.
Which of these trees is your favorite, or will you purchase them both?
These two trees are the Cherry Plum Tree and the European Pear Tree. While we gave you a sneak peek of these trees last week, we didn't know how much they would cost, but we can answer that question now. The Cherry Plum Tree goes for 5 Farm Cash, while the European Pear Tree costs 10 Farm Cash. Interestingly (that is, even though the trees seem entirely separate), if you'd like to save 10 Farm Cash, you can just purchase the Cherry Plum Tree, place it in an Orchard, and then wait for it to produce a European Pear Tree as a Mystery Seedling (or hope to be lucky enough to receive one as a random Mystery Seedling being given away by your friends).
Both of these trees will be available in the game for the next two weeks.
Check out the rest of our English Countryside coverage right here.
Which of these trees is your favorite, or will you purchase them both?
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