The more traditional video games world has been growing progressively more social in recent years. The Nintendo Wii has turned gaming from a solitary activity to a family affair and Microsoft's Xbox Live has allowed gamers to connect with fellow joystick jockeys in ways that haven't been possible before.
Now Microsoft goes even more social with its new gaming device -- Kinect. Formerly known as Project Natal, Kinect is, at its core, a motion sensor camera that connects to the Xbox 360 and then lets your body act as the controller. At an over-the-top event, complete with Cirque du Soleil acrobatics, we saw some of the very first games for this device in action -- almost all of them catering to more than one player.
Kinect has a Wii Sports clone, Kinect Sports, a driving game called Kinect JoyRide and another game named Kinect Adventures, but the one that stands out the most is Kinectimals, an animal simulation game, where you adopt a virtual pet, teach it tricks using motion and voice commands, play games with it -- all using nothing more than this high powered camera. The animal reacts to your movement, and, in general, seems aware of your presence. For instance, if you hide from your virtual pet, it will come looking for you. It's like having a stuffed animal come to life.
kinectimals tiger
Speaking of stuffed animals, those will be integral to the game. You will be able to buy Kinectimals-branded stuffed animals in stores or online, and then scan them using Kinect, and they will magically appear onscreen. Think of it as a Neopets for Xbox 360. There will be 20 collectible animals in all, and you will also have the option to buy virtual items to care for your pet via the in-game store. You'll be able to set up play dates with friends pets online, and your pet will be rewarded with items for exploring the game's universe, unlocking new areas along the way.
The other interesting part of this is how Kinect will be used to navigate through the Xbox menu and other non-gaming apps on the device. Microsoft showed off how you can use voice commands to play a movie, chat with friends via video ad watch ESPN on demand, but we're curious to see how this will apply to the social networking apps on the device -- Facebook and Twitter. Specifically, Facebook games. Right now, there's still no word whether FarmVille or any other Facebook games will be playable on Microsoft's console at any point in the future, but mixing gesture and/or voice controls with tending to a virtual farm or building a virtual city could offer a unique twist to the social games we know and love.
From what we've seen so far, the console world doesn't exactly seem ready to embrace the millions of FarmVille players out there, but we're certainly seeing 'social' continue to be a bigger part of gaming whether it's on Facebook or an Xbox 360.
Monday, February 13, 2012
YoVille Group Buying: purchase YoCash items for YoCoins
We gave you a little preview of YoVille's new Group Buying feature already, and tonight they have rolled this new feature out live to the world. Group Buying allows you to opt in to receive YoCash items for YoCoins, and a discount of 50%. In order to get the discount, 100,000 people need to opt-in to this discount. If that many people sign up, you will receive an email letting you know that you're eligible to make a purchase at a discount. The available items in this first round of Group Buying are:
Enchanted Animated Fountain - 500 coins, formerly 12 YoCash
Enchanted Hot Springs - 600 coins, formerly 12 YoCash
Luxury Min Pin Plush - 400 coins, formerly 6 YoCash
Yolex - 500 coins, formerly 10 YoCash
Black Hobo Purse - 350 coins, formerly 7 YoCash
As of this writing, just over 58,000 people have already signed up for this offer. It will expire in 22 hours, so make sure to visit the promotion's page, sign up, and then share it to your wall to encourage your friends to join in.
Enchanted Animated Fountain - 500 coins, formerly 12 YoCash
Enchanted Hot Springs - 600 coins, formerly 12 YoCash
Luxury Min Pin Plush - 400 coins, formerly 6 YoCash
Yolex - 500 coins, formerly 10 YoCash
Black Hobo Purse - 350 coins, formerly 7 YoCash
As of this writing, just over 58,000 people have already signed up for this offer. It will expire in 22 hours, so make sure to visit the promotion's page, sign up, and then share it to your wall to encourage your friends to join in.
Show your support for South Africa in Island Paradise
Island Paradise is really going all out for the FIFA World Cup 2010. So far, the popular island farming game has released avatar costumes, a World Cup trophy, and flags to represent the different countries - and now they've added to this collection with a pair of items to honor South Africa. South Africa is where the World Cup is held this year, so it's only fair to show support to the nation for hosting the gigantic sporting event.
Available in the Island Shop are two new items for coins, a set of Djembe Drums, and a Zulu Shield. Djembe Drums are a very popular drum in Africa, intended to be played with the bare hands. You can have your own set in Island Paradise at level 10, for 1,500 coins. Zulu are the largest tribe in South Africa with 10-11 million people, and you can have a Zulu Shield for 5,000 coins (if you're level 13 or above).
Available in the Island Shop are two new items for coins, a set of Djembe Drums, and a Zulu Shield. Djembe Drums are a very popular drum in Africa, intended to be played with the bare hands. You can have your own set in Island Paradise at level 10, for 1,500 coins. Zulu are the largest tribe in South Africa with 10-11 million people, and you can have a Zulu Shield for 5,000 coins (if you're level 13 or above).
Wild Ones offers premium membership for monthly fee
Wild Ones premium membership
In a bold and surprising move, Playdom's popular social game Wild Ones has announced a premium subscription option. This new membership requires a monthly fee of 99 Facebook Credits (roughly $9.90 USD) and provides many benefits over being a free member. This is of course, completely optional, but does make a lot of sense if you're someone who has spent a little bit of real life cash in Wild Ones. Let's take a peek at the benefits:
Premium "Members Only" items - Can you imagine having exclusive items that your friends don't have?
50% experience to leveling - This is a huge benefit. If you can level up 50% faster for becoming a member, this is a huge incentive to join the membership fee.
Increased coin earnings - For anyone who is stuck slowly grinding away coins, this may be a way to get them quicker.
Buy premium items with coins - If this is what it sounds like, you would be able to buy items that are typically priced in Facebook Credits, for coins.
We're not sure what to think. On one hand, one thing that sets Facebook games apart from other forms of gaming entertainment is their free-to-play nature. While this is optional, this could definitely upset some folks because anyone who pays will have a substantially better gaming experience. We think $9.99 is quite the hefty price as well, especially when compared with large scale immersive MMORPGs such as World of Warcraft. On the other hand, this could be a great option for traditional game players who would rather pay a flat fee to enjoy all the content rather than paying for items a little at a time.
In a bold and surprising move, Playdom's popular social game Wild Ones has announced a premium subscription option. This new membership requires a monthly fee of 99 Facebook Credits (roughly $9.90 USD) and provides many benefits over being a free member. This is of course, completely optional, but does make a lot of sense if you're someone who has spent a little bit of real life cash in Wild Ones. Let's take a peek at the benefits:
Premium "Members Only" items - Can you imagine having exclusive items that your friends don't have?
50% experience to leveling - This is a huge benefit. If you can level up 50% faster for becoming a member, this is a huge incentive to join the membership fee.
Increased coin earnings - For anyone who is stuck slowly grinding away coins, this may be a way to get them quicker.
Buy premium items with coins - If this is what it sounds like, you would be able to buy items that are typically priced in Facebook Credits, for coins.
We're not sure what to think. On one hand, one thing that sets Facebook games apart from other forms of gaming entertainment is their free-to-play nature. While this is optional, this could definitely upset some folks because anyone who pays will have a substantially better gaming experience. We think $9.99 is quite the hefty price as well, especially when compared with large scale immersive MMORPGs such as World of Warcraft. On the other hand, this could be a great option for traditional game players who would rather pay a flat fee to enjoy all the content rather than paying for items a little at a time.
PetVille releases final four Space Struggle lost toys
Earlier this month, PetVille launched a new set of lost Space Struggle toys, beginning with the first four in the set. Tonight, the final four have been added to the game. These adorable space toys are quite clearly modeled after Star Wars - and the four latest released toys are mirror images of R2-D2, Yoda, Boba Fett, and Darth Vader.
These toys are found randomly in treasure chests that can be found in your neighbor's pet's homes. Once found, you are prompted to post a notice on your wall telling your friends that you found the toy. This means that in order to actually obtain these pets, you'll have to scour over your friend's wall postings to find a friend who has found and posted about the toy you're looking for. This Space Struggle set includes 8 lost toys in total, which can be used to decorate your pet's home.
These toys are found randomly in treasure chests that can be found in your neighbor's pet's homes. Once found, you are prompted to post a notice on your wall telling your friends that you found the toy. This means that in order to actually obtain these pets, you'll have to scour over your friend's wall postings to find a friend who has found and posted about the toy you're looking for. This Space Struggle set includes 8 lost toys in total, which can be used to decorate your pet's home.
Saturday, February 11, 2012
FarmVille Limited Edition Swiss Buildings: Swiss Manor & Large Chalet
farmville swiss manor
Two new limited edition Swiss themed buildings hit the market, the Swiss Manor and Large Chalet.
Both will be available in the FarmVille Market during the next 15 days.
farmville large chalet farmville swiss manor
Limited Edition Swiss Alps Buildings: (Released July 14th 2010)
Swiss Manor – 50 FV$
Large Chalet – 350,000 coins
This article originally appeared on FarmVille Freak.
Will you purchase any of these buildings? Share your pics with editors@games.com and we may feature them here.
Two new limited edition Swiss themed buildings hit the market, the Swiss Manor and Large Chalet.
Both will be available in the FarmVille Market during the next 15 days.
farmville large chalet farmville swiss manor
Limited Edition Swiss Alps Buildings: (Released July 14th 2010)
Swiss Manor – 50 FV$
Large Chalet – 350,000 coins
This article originally appeared on FarmVille Freak.
Will you purchase any of these buildings? Share your pics with editors@games.com and we may feature them here.
FarmVille's Mystery Game: Is it really better than a Mystery Box?
In this week's update, FarmVille released a new Mystery Game in the Market, calling it "better than a mystery box." (We'll see about that!) If you want to play the Mystery Game, head to the Market and look under the Decorations tab. For the next six days, you will be able to play the game ... provided you're willing to part with 20 Farm Cash.
farmville mystery game
If you decide to take the plunge, press 'Play,' and you'll be given access to a Pop the Balloons! game. The game itself is pretty simple, just aim using the mouse and then click once you've targeted your balloon.
farmville pop the balloon game
Once the balloon pops, you'll be rewarded with a mystery animal, which you will be able to find in your gift box. I played a single round of the Pop the Balloon! game and was rewarded with a handsome Black Stallion. If you want to try your luck again and throw another dart, you will have to pay an additional 20 Farm Cash.
Before you decide to go on a spending spree, take a gander at the six mystery animals inside:
From left to right, here's a list the mystery animals you can win from the game:
White Squirrel
White Porcupine
White Lion Cub
White Kangaroo
White Deer
Black Stallion
My personal take: While these animals are all lovely, none of them really strike me as a must-have on the farm. I question whether this new Mystery Game really is better than a Mystery Box, based on pricing alone. The game costs 20 Farm Cash to play, a Mystery Box generally costs 15 Farm Cash. If this game yielded more useful gifts -- like a Hot Rod vehicle or a bundle of Unwithers -- I could understand the motivation behind this new mystery item. Otherwise, it's just seems like a game within a game that you pay for the privilege to play.
FarmVille Mystery Box vs. Mystery Game
Mystery Box!Mystery Game!I like bothI don't like eitherI don't spend cash in FarmVille
VoteView ResultsShare ThisPolldaddy.com
farmville mystery game
If you decide to take the plunge, press 'Play,' and you'll be given access to a Pop the Balloons! game. The game itself is pretty simple, just aim using the mouse and then click once you've targeted your balloon.
farmville pop the balloon game
Once the balloon pops, you'll be rewarded with a mystery animal, which you will be able to find in your gift box. I played a single round of the Pop the Balloon! game and was rewarded with a handsome Black Stallion. If you want to try your luck again and throw another dart, you will have to pay an additional 20 Farm Cash.
Before you decide to go on a spending spree, take a gander at the six mystery animals inside:
From left to right, here's a list the mystery animals you can win from the game:
White Squirrel
White Porcupine
White Lion Cub
White Kangaroo
White Deer
Black Stallion
My personal take: While these animals are all lovely, none of them really strike me as a must-have on the farm. I question whether this new Mystery Game really is better than a Mystery Box, based on pricing alone. The game costs 20 Farm Cash to play, a Mystery Box generally costs 15 Farm Cash. If this game yielded more useful gifts -- like a Hot Rod vehicle or a bundle of Unwithers -- I could understand the motivation behind this new mystery item. Otherwise, it's just seems like a game within a game that you pay for the privilege to play.
FarmVille Mystery Box vs. Mystery Game
Mystery Box!Mystery Game!I like bothI don't like eitherI don't spend cash in FarmVille
VoteView ResultsShare ThisPolldaddy.com
FarmVille Swiss Flag Now in the Market!
Finally! The Swiss Flag is now available for you to proudly display on your FarmVille Farms.
The Swiss Flag is a permanent market item that you can purchase in the FarmVille Market at any time for
16 FV$.
You may notice that the Swiss Flag is rectangular shaped in FarmVille, however, in real life the Swiss flag is square shaped.
farmville swiss flag
This article originally appeared on FarmVille Freak.
The Swiss Flag is a permanent market item that you can purchase in the FarmVille Market at any time for
16 FV$.
You may notice that the Swiss Flag is rectangular shaped in FarmVille, however, in real life the Swiss flag is square shaped.
farmville swiss flag
This article originally appeared on FarmVille Freak.
FarmVille Fan Sheep arrives in the Market
The FarmVille Fan Sheep is finally here and available in the FarmVille Market!
The Fan Sheep celebrates the FarmVille Sheep's reaching 2 million fans on its FaceBook Fan page.
The Fan Sheep has a 300,000 coins price tag and will be available during the next 20 days only in the FarmVille Market.
This article originally appeared on FarmVille Freak.
What do you think, is this too many coins to pay for a Fan Sheep?
The Fan Sheep celebrates the FarmVille Sheep's reaching 2 million fans on its FaceBook Fan page.
The Fan Sheep has a 300,000 coins price tag and will be available during the next 20 days only in the FarmVille Market.
This article originally appeared on FarmVille Freak.
What do you think, is this too many coins to pay for a Fan Sheep?
FarmVille Limited Edition Swiss Ibex
A new Swiss Alps limited edition animal, the Swiss Ibex hit the FarmVille Market.
The Swiss Ibex is available for 16 farm cash during the next 13 days only.
farmville swiss ibex
Check out a real life Swiss Ibex in the video below. Traditionally the Swiss Ibex's horns are used to defend themselves, but this one found another use!
This article originally appeared on FarmVille Freak.
The Swiss Ibex is available for 16 farm cash during the next 13 days only.
farmville swiss ibex
Check out a real life Swiss Ibex in the video below. Traditionally the Swiss Ibex's horns are used to defend themselves, but this one found another use!
This article originally appeared on FarmVille Freak.
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
FrontierVille Animal Mystery Crate: Find out what's inside
A new Mystery Animal crate mysteriously appeared in FrontierVille, bringing with it a chance to add three new, exclusive animals to your homestead. If you're in the mood to try your luck, you can buy a Mystery Animal box in the market for 50 Horseshoes (roughly $7) and open it up to find an owl, porcupine and a pink rabbit inside. If you collect all three, you'll will be able to brag about it with your new Dead Bear statue.
The Mystery Animal crate will only be around for a limited time, so all of you collectors out there should move fast before the crate disappears from the Market. (Though, judging from FarmVille's limited edition items, it's more than likely that these mystery animals will return again at a later date).
The Mystery Animal crate will only be around for a limited time, so all of you collectors out there should move fast before the crate disappears from the Market. (Though, judging from FarmVille's limited edition items, it's more than likely that these mystery animals will return again at a later date).
Happy Pets adds Honey Parrot adoptable pet
Today, Happy Pets have announced that there is a new adoptable pet available in the game - the Honey Parrot. This parrot is a beautiful rich shade of yellow and has a big adorable beak. While there isn't actually a real bird named a Honey Parrot, we still think this is a fine addition to the game.
To claim a Honey Parrot, it's the same as any other adoptable wall post animal. A friend will discover the lost parrot in their room, and will be able to share the parrot with friends on their wall. If you want to be the proud owner of a new Honey Parrot, you'll just have to be the first one to click on the wall post. Sounds easy, doesn't it? Well, as long as you're quick you'll do just fine.
Do you have a Honey Parrot yet? How adorable are they?
To claim a Honey Parrot, it's the same as any other adoptable wall post animal. A friend will discover the lost parrot in their room, and will be able to share the parrot with friends on their wall. If you want to be the proud owner of a new Honey Parrot, you'll just have to be the first one to click on the wall post. Sounds easy, doesn't it? Well, as long as you're quick you'll do just fine.
Do you have a Honey Parrot yet? How adorable are they?
Treasure Isle to give out energy for visiting neighbors
Treasure Isle energy by visiting neighbors
Treasure Isle sure has been shaking things up lately, and this is no exception. Today, on the Treasure Isle Diggers Anonymous fan page (an official page run by Zynga), the game has announced that soon you will be able to get +1 energy for each friend you visit. This is a major change to the game, because any player who has a lot of neighbors will be able to replenish their energy and play the game longer.
We're sure that there will be a maximum amount of energy you can earn per day, and you can probably only get an energy bonus the first time you visit a neighbor per day. Either way, this is yet another way that gameplay can be lengthened and players can enjoy exploring and digging longer without having to wait until their energy recharges. Also, if you were a player who often bought Energy Packs with Island Cash, you may no longer need to spend nearly as much with this new change.
So far, we don't know when this is coming down the pipe. We'll keep you updated with all the latest Treasure Isle news, so stay tuned!
Do you approve of this change? When do you think it will be released?
Treasure Isle sure has been shaking things up lately, and this is no exception. Today, on the Treasure Isle Diggers Anonymous fan page (an official page run by Zynga), the game has announced that soon you will be able to get +1 energy for each friend you visit. This is a major change to the game, because any player who has a lot of neighbors will be able to replenish their energy and play the game longer.
We're sure that there will be a maximum amount of energy you can earn per day, and you can probably only get an energy bonus the first time you visit a neighbor per day. Either way, this is yet another way that gameplay can be lengthened and players can enjoy exploring and digging longer without having to wait until their energy recharges. Also, if you were a player who often bought Energy Packs with Island Cash, you may no longer need to spend nearly as much with this new change.
So far, we don't know when this is coming down the pipe. We'll keep you updated with all the latest Treasure Isle news, so stay tuned!
Do you approve of this change? When do you think it will be released?
Pet Society releases buildable Roller Skate Car
Pet Society Roller Skate Car
Pet Society is a game that we don't cover too often here, but it's awfully popular. Over 13 million players enjoy this game, which makes it one of the most popular Facebook games. Today, Pet Society has released a new buildable item in the Pet Workshop, which is a Roller Skate Car. This new Roller Skate Car is silly, fun, and just a little bit crazy - but that's okay! It's still cute.
To make the Roller Skate Car, you have to get the help of 20 friends. To do this, open up the Pet Workshop and click on the car. You can then either post a wall post asking your friends for help, or you can buy the item outright for 25 Playfish Cash. Once you've posted the wall post, 20 friends need to click on the link in order to help you unlock the prize.
The other items currently available in the Pet Workshop include the Hot Air Balloon, Playhouse, Party Invitation, and Magic Warrior statue.
Pet Society is a game that we don't cover too often here, but it's awfully popular. Over 13 million players enjoy this game, which makes it one of the most popular Facebook games. Today, Pet Society has released a new buildable item in the Pet Workshop, which is a Roller Skate Car. This new Roller Skate Car is silly, fun, and just a little bit crazy - but that's okay! It's still cute.
To make the Roller Skate Car, you have to get the help of 20 friends. To do this, open up the Pet Workshop and click on the car. You can then either post a wall post asking your friends for help, or you can buy the item outright for 25 Playfish Cash. Once you've posted the wall post, 20 friends need to click on the link in order to help you unlock the prize.
The other items currently available in the Pet Workshop include the Hot Air Balloon, Playhouse, Party Invitation, and Magic Warrior statue.
Playdom launches City of Wonder, a Civilization-themed city game
City of Wonder
Playdom is whipping out games left and right these days, and hot on the trails of Fanglies and Market Street is a Civilization-themed city builder named City of Wonder. This game just launched today, so now is your chance to hop in and be one of the first to try out this brand new title.
If you're not a big fan of Social City, you probably won't love City of Wonder. The game is an improvement on the original, but uses the same core mechanics and has a familiarity that Social City fans will feel right at home with. The main goal is to build a city, research technologies, and become wealthy. Players have "goods" which are basically similar to the contracts in Social City. Players research new technologies and have advisors that tell them which ones to pick. Researching new technologies unlocks different decorations and buildings. Population is increased just how it is in Social City, and everything else feels just about the same. Visiting neighbors gives bonuses when you find your 'embassy' within their city.
While I haven't had the chance to dig in too deep yet, there does seem to be some interesting new game ideas. Once you reach level 5 you can take part in "expeditions", which we suspect are for attacking and trading. There are also "Legends" which appear to be characters that give you bonuses such as faster research time. We'll be covering this game more in depth in the future.
Want to be one of the first to try out City of Wonder? Play it on Facebook now!
Playdom is whipping out games left and right these days, and hot on the trails of Fanglies and Market Street is a Civilization-themed city builder named City of Wonder. This game just launched today, so now is your chance to hop in and be one of the first to try out this brand new title.
If you're not a big fan of Social City, you probably won't love City of Wonder. The game is an improvement on the original, but uses the same core mechanics and has a familiarity that Social City fans will feel right at home with. The main goal is to build a city, research technologies, and become wealthy. Players have "goods" which are basically similar to the contracts in Social City. Players research new technologies and have advisors that tell them which ones to pick. Researching new technologies unlocks different decorations and buildings. Population is increased just how it is in Social City, and everything else feels just about the same. Visiting neighbors gives bonuses when you find your 'embassy' within their city.
While I haven't had the chance to dig in too deep yet, there does seem to be some interesting new game ideas. Once you reach level 5 you can take part in "expeditions", which we suspect are for attacking and trading. There are also "Legends" which appear to be characters that give you bonuses such as faster research time. We'll be covering this game more in depth in the future.
Want to be one of the first to try out City of Wonder? Play it on Facebook now!
Treasure Isle releases purchaseable coins, makes mistake
Treasure Isle released an update tonight, and included the ability to purchase coins for Island Cash. We covered this last night, however it didn't pan out exactly how we predicted. The original Treasure Isle wall post said that soon players would be able to "trade coins for cash". Typically, this would lead us to believe that you're trading in coins and getting Island Cash in return. Apparently, the post was incorrect and was actually stated backwards. Released in Treasure Isle is now the ability to buy coins with Island Cash, so the exact opposite of what we wrote.
Treasure Isle moderator Kaerie posted the following in this thread:
We've just got word that this was posted backwards accidentally (the blast has been removed now).
It's actually going to be coins for cash, not cash for coins.
This was a simple miscommunication on Treasure Isle's part, and we got all excited about it. It really didn't make sense anyway, so this isn't a huge surprise. The players, however, are quite upset about the inaccuracy.
Treasure Isle moderator Kaerie posted the following in this thread:
We've just got word that this was posted backwards accidentally (the blast has been removed now).
It's actually going to be coins for cash, not cash for coins.
This was a simple miscommunication on Treasure Isle's part, and we got all excited about it. It really didn't make sense anyway, so this isn't a huge surprise. The players, however, are quite upset about the inaccuracy.
Cafe World "No Clean Fairy" now buildable by all
Cafe World fans are no stranger to the "No Clean Fairy", as it has been around for quite some time. We covered the No Clean Fairy back in early July when it was simply a functional special item that had to be purchased outright with Cafe Cash. Now, the fairy has been bumped the forefront, and is now buildable by everyone using the familiar building mechanism that almost every game is using right now. The No Clean Fairy is an item that when placed in your cafe, will make it so that your stoves never need to be cleaned again. A game-changing decoration for sure.
To start building, click on the gold fairy icon on your bottom toolbar, and you will have access to the ingredient screen that shows you what you need to collect in order to get your No Clean Fairy. The fairy won't be easy, it requires 10 each of Pinch of Fairy Dust, Vial of Dewdrops, and Wildflower Essence, and also 20 of Mountain-Fresh Air. These ingredients can be obtained by asking for them from friends, or paying 2 Cafe Cash for each ingredient. For those of you who aren't math whizzes, that comes up to 100 Cafe Cash total to purchase each piece. That's even more expensive than the 95 Cafe Cash that the No Clean Fairy originally cost! Luckily, you don't have to spend money if you don't want to.
This is a major functionality improvement for the game, so it is likely you will be seeing a lot of Cafe World wall posts in the coming weeks as players are striving to collect all of the ingredients for their No Clean Fairy.
To start building, click on the gold fairy icon on your bottom toolbar, and you will have access to the ingredient screen that shows you what you need to collect in order to get your No Clean Fairy. The fairy won't be easy, it requires 10 each of Pinch of Fairy Dust, Vial of Dewdrops, and Wildflower Essence, and also 20 of Mountain-Fresh Air. These ingredients can be obtained by asking for them from friends, or paying 2 Cafe Cash for each ingredient. For those of you who aren't math whizzes, that comes up to 100 Cafe Cash total to purchase each piece. That's even more expensive than the 95 Cafe Cash that the No Clean Fairy originally cost! Luckily, you don't have to spend money if you don't want to.
This is a major functionality improvement for the game, so it is likely you will be seeing a lot of Cafe World wall posts in the coming weeks as players are striving to collect all of the ingredients for their No Clean Fairy.
Treasure Isle: Two new balloons hover for one day only
Two days ago, Treasure Isle released a set of balloons that not only look pretty hovering around your island, but also increase storage space by 10 slots. Tonight, they have added two more balloons to the collection, bringing the total amount of balloons to choose from to 10. These balloons are not special in any way - they cost the same (40 Island Cash) and also add 10 backback slots.
The two new balloons are the Contraption Balloon and the Candy Balloon.
All balloons are only available for 1 more day, so log in and buy one if you don't want to miss your chance. We suspect this won't be the last time we see items that increase storage space, and it might not be the last time we see these balloons - but if you want a balloon I'd recommend buying one now.
The two new balloons are the Contraption Balloon and the Candy Balloon.
All balloons are only available for 1 more day, so log in and buy one if you don't want to miss your chance. We suspect this won't be the last time we see items that increase storage space, and it might not be the last time we see these balloons - but if you want a balloon I'd recommend buying one now.
Yoville: Camp Yo Kitchen Items Arrive
Get ready to set your table with Yoville's latest release of Camp Yo Kitchen Items. Beautiful stained windows, marble counters, ovens and more all available in the Furniture Store.
Prices and photos of all the new items are after the link.
Living Room and bedroom furniture have been already released in YoVille. YoVille Camp Yo Kitchen
YoVille Camp Yo Kitchen
YoVille Camp Yo Kitchen
YoVille Camp Yo Kitchen
YoVille Camp Yo Kitchen
YoVille Camp Yo Kitchen
YoVille Camp Yo Kitchen
This article originally appeared on YoVille Lounge.
Prices and photos of all the new items are after the link.
Living Room and bedroom furniture have been already released in YoVille. YoVille Camp Yo Kitchen
YoVille Camp Yo Kitchen
YoVille Camp Yo Kitchen
YoVille Camp Yo Kitchen
YoVille Camp Yo Kitchen
YoVille Camp Yo Kitchen
YoVille Camp Yo Kitchen
This article originally appeared on YoVille Lounge.
YoVille's Free Gifts Page gets a Green Mystery Camp Cooler
The green mystery camp cooler has replaced the blue cooler and is filled with loads of new camping items! Send them now from your free gifts page.
Fans over on Yoville Lounge Forum have posted photos of items they got so far. They found items like, Camp Porta Potty, Camp Yo Bear Sign and an Air Mattress. (Photos of these items found after the link.)
Send this free gift to your friends and let us know what you found in yours in comments. YoVille Green Mystery Pack - Camp Yo Charcoal Starter
YoVille Green Mystery Pack - Camp Yo Lighter Fluid
YoVille Green Mystery Pack- Camp Yo Bear Sign
YoVille Green Mystery Pack - Camp Porta Potty Blue
YoVille Green Mystery Pack - Air Mattress Sky Blue
This article originally appeared on YoVille Lounge.
Fans over on Yoville Lounge Forum have posted photos of items they got so far. They found items like, Camp Porta Potty, Camp Yo Bear Sign and an Air Mattress. (Photos of these items found after the link.)
Send this free gift to your friends and let us know what you found in yours in comments. YoVille Green Mystery Pack - Camp Yo Charcoal Starter
YoVille Green Mystery Pack - Camp Yo Lighter Fluid
YoVille Green Mystery Pack- Camp Yo Bear Sign
YoVille Green Mystery Pack - Camp Porta Potty Blue
YoVille Green Mystery Pack - Air Mattress Sky Blue
This article originally appeared on YoVille Lounge.
Monday, February 6, 2012
Mafia Wars Armory: Everything you need to know
The Mafia Wars Armory has arrived, as Zynga promised earlier this week. The Armory is a new New York Property that can be upgraded 10 times, can be harvested for cash every 24 hours and, most importantly, can be used to make different types of weapons.
mafia wars armory mafia wars armory
Like the Chop Shop and Weapons Depot, you will need to collect building materials -- either by purchasing them for Reward Points or asking mafia members to send them to you via a Facebook Wall post (and in their Player Updates). NOTE: These parts will not drop as loot when robbing, fighting or doing jobs.
To upgrade your armory one level you will need the following:
Hammer - 5
Rivet -5
Furnace - 5
Vice - 5
Anvil - 5
mafia wars armory building materials
As you level up, the items you create will be more powerful. Now --- for the best part of the armory -- crafting items.
You will collect armory items while doing jobs, fighting and robbing. Then, every 24 hours, you can use those parts to craft a new weapon. Select 'Build' under the type of item you want to create, you'll have a new weapon to add to your arsenal.
mafia wars armory
We're working on a complete list of items that you can make in your Armory -- stay tuned. My first build gave me this
Pair of Ocular Implants (so Star Trek, don't you think?) with 25 Attack, 26 Defense.
mafia wars armory ocular implants
mafia wars armory mafia wars armory
Like the Chop Shop and Weapons Depot, you will need to collect building materials -- either by purchasing them for Reward Points or asking mafia members to send them to you via a Facebook Wall post (and in their Player Updates). NOTE: These parts will not drop as loot when robbing, fighting or doing jobs.
To upgrade your armory one level you will need the following:
Hammer - 5
Rivet -5
Furnace - 5
Vice - 5
Anvil - 5
mafia wars armory building materials
As you level up, the items you create will be more powerful. Now --- for the best part of the armory -- crafting items.
You will collect armory items while doing jobs, fighting and robbing. Then, every 24 hours, you can use those parts to craft a new weapon. Select 'Build' under the type of item you want to create, you'll have a new weapon to add to your arsenal.
mafia wars armory
We're working on a complete list of items that you can make in your Armory -- stay tuned. My first build gave me this
Pair of Ocular Implants (so Star Trek, don't you think?) with 25 Attack, 26 Defense.
mafia wars armory ocular implants
Capcom to launch three Facebook-connected iPhone games as soon as October
Capcom
Capcom, famed developer of the Street Fighter and Mega Man series, is currently developing three iPhone games with Facebook connection that could launch as early as October, according to Capcom President Haruhiro Tsujimoto. While details are extremely scarce on what these games could be, "two of the games will have our original content and one more will include licensed characters," Tsujimoto said today at Tokyo Game Show.
Capcom is looking to capitalize on the popularity of games on Facebook and News Corp.'s MySpace, a market ThinkEquity LLC estimates will triple to $2 billion by 2012 in the U.S, according to Bloomberg BusinessWeek.
What's even less clear about this news is what level of connection to Facebook these games will have. If they simply support Facebook Connect like a majority of popular iPhone games, then these games probably won't be anything too groundbreaking. But, if the three games support Facebook connectivity on a level that, say, Zynga's FarmVille does on the iPhone, this could be huge for both Osaka-based Capcom and the social games industry.
Capcom, famed developer of the Street Fighter and Mega Man series, is currently developing three iPhone games with Facebook connection that could launch as early as October, according to Capcom President Haruhiro Tsujimoto. While details are extremely scarce on what these games could be, "two of the games will have our original content and one more will include licensed characters," Tsujimoto said today at Tokyo Game Show.
Capcom is looking to capitalize on the popularity of games on Facebook and News Corp.'s MySpace, a market ThinkEquity LLC estimates will triple to $2 billion by 2012 in the U.S, according to Bloomberg BusinessWeek.
What's even less clear about this news is what level of connection to Facebook these games will have. If they simply support Facebook Connect like a majority of popular iPhone games, then these games probably won't be anything too groundbreaking. But, if the three games support Facebook connectivity on a level that, say, Zynga's FarmVille does on the iPhone, this could be huge for both Osaka-based Capcom and the social games industry.
Bejeweled Blitz and FarmVille nominated Online Game of the Year in Golden Joystick Awards
Bejeweled Blitz, the beautifully addictive Facebook edition of the popular puzzle series by Popcap, has been nominated for Online Game of the Year in the 28th Annual Golden Joystick Awards. The gem-bursting puzzler join 15 others like Zynga's FarmVille, Champions Online by Cryptic and Turbine's Lord of the Rings Online (which recently went free-to-play).
Players enjoy Bejeweled Blitz in rapid fire, one-minute-long high score competitions that are posted to online leaderboards on Facebook. The game boasts over 12 million active users on Facebook and can also be played on most mobile devices.
The Golden Joystick Awards are run by U.K.-based Future Media and allow you, the gamers, to vote on your favorite games each year by category. For not one, but two social games (no FrontierVille?) to make it into the nominees this year serves as even more proof that the industry is taking social gaming seriously.
Players enjoy Bejeweled Blitz in rapid fire, one-minute-long high score competitions that are posted to online leaderboards on Facebook. The game boasts over 12 million active users on Facebook and can also be played on most mobile devices.
The Golden Joystick Awards are run by U.K.-based Future Media and allow you, the gamers, to vote on your favorite games each year by category. For not one, but two social games (no FrontierVille?) to make it into the nominees this year serves as even more proof that the industry is taking social gaming seriously.
Crowdstar's It Girl brings the new hotness to Facebook
CrowdStar's It Girl
In addition to launching Pop Boom recently on Facebook, CrowdStar has also just launched a game aimed at a very specific demographic, It Girl. The game, currently in its first phases of testing, allows players to create a female avatar with style savvy in hopes of achieving ultimate hotness.
The goal of the game is to boost your girl's confidence meter by buying new clothes and participating in "Show Downs," which are little competitions between girls in which they flaunt various pieces of designer clothing at one another. Each Show Down reduces your confidence rating, which you'll need to refill by buying more outfits and increasing your "Hotness."
More on the new hotness after the break.
It Girl Level Up
Girls on the street (this entire city has not one single man, mind you) will also give you quests to find ideal outfits for different situations as well as go to parties to meet friends. These quests, along with experience gained through shopping and Show Downs, will raise your level and open access to stores with hotter clothes. With the amount of hotness going on around here, we're surprised Ms. Hilton isn't involved.
It Girl also tries to capture the shopping experience by allowing players to search shelves of clothing for new pieces to add to her ensemble, which consumes energy (think Treasure Isle with fancy clothes). Each piece of clothing has a "Hotness" rating, which will help in winning Show Downs with other girls. There is also a paid transaction store that works in Facebook Credits with items of even higher levels of hotness for those who want a leg up on the competition. Accumulating more outfits will also boost players' "Closet" rating, which also contributes to Show Downs.
It Girl Lose
The name of the game in It Girl is to shop, show off your stuff and shop some more to build your confidence and become the new hotness in town. However, like we said the game is still in early phases of testing, so expect frequent crashing and freezing. So, if you want a seamless experience in becoming the premiere fashionista, give it a week or two.
In addition to launching Pop Boom recently on Facebook, CrowdStar has also just launched a game aimed at a very specific demographic, It Girl. The game, currently in its first phases of testing, allows players to create a female avatar with style savvy in hopes of achieving ultimate hotness.
The goal of the game is to boost your girl's confidence meter by buying new clothes and participating in "Show Downs," which are little competitions between girls in which they flaunt various pieces of designer clothing at one another. Each Show Down reduces your confidence rating, which you'll need to refill by buying more outfits and increasing your "Hotness."
More on the new hotness after the break.
It Girl Level Up
Girls on the street (this entire city has not one single man, mind you) will also give you quests to find ideal outfits for different situations as well as go to parties to meet friends. These quests, along with experience gained through shopping and Show Downs, will raise your level and open access to stores with hotter clothes. With the amount of hotness going on around here, we're surprised Ms. Hilton isn't involved.
It Girl also tries to capture the shopping experience by allowing players to search shelves of clothing for new pieces to add to her ensemble, which consumes energy (think Treasure Isle with fancy clothes). Each piece of clothing has a "Hotness" rating, which will help in winning Show Downs with other girls. There is also a paid transaction store that works in Facebook Credits with items of even higher levels of hotness for those who want a leg up on the competition. Accumulating more outfits will also boost players' "Closet" rating, which also contributes to Show Downs.
It Girl Lose
The name of the game in It Girl is to shop, show off your stuff and shop some more to build your confidence and become the new hotness in town. However, like we said the game is still in early phases of testing, so expect frequent crashing and freezing. So, if you want a seamless experience in becoming the premiere fashionista, give it a week or two.
Mafia Wars helps two players find love through Facebook gaming
In today's adorable news, Zynga's Mafia Wars has brought together two players in a lovestruck romance that has led the gang-busting couple to join in holy matrimony today. The couple, John Sweeney and Joanne Doan, met through a Mafia Wars clan in March 2009 called Mafia Wars Dark Angels in which a heated clan war brought the smitten web-mobsters closer together, according to Sweeney.
The resultant long-distance relationship only lasted through the holiday season before neither could take being apart anymore, leading Sweeney to move in with his beloved across Florida from Margate to Treasure Isle. After a while of warring with clans together in their second love, the Mafia Wars True Alliance clan, Sweeney popped the big question and today they'll finally make official what they both call a "True Mafia Wars Love Connection."
Zynga was apparently so touched by the story that to help the bride and groom celebrate they're sending them on a honeymoon of their choice! Pretty sweet deal for the newlyweds, if you ask us.
Both Sweeney and Doan have since gone in together on various labors of love, including the "The Facebook & Zynga Podcast," which airs weekly on Blog Talk Radio.
The resultant long-distance relationship only lasted through the holiday season before neither could take being apart anymore, leading Sweeney to move in with his beloved across Florida from Margate to Treasure Isle. After a while of warring with clans together in their second love, the Mafia Wars True Alliance clan, Sweeney popped the big question and today they'll finally make official what they both call a "True Mafia Wars Love Connection."
Zynga was apparently so touched by the story that to help the bride and groom celebrate they're sending them on a honeymoon of their choice! Pretty sweet deal for the newlyweds, if you ask us.
Both Sweeney and Doan have since gone in together on various labors of love, including the "The Facebook & Zynga Podcast," which airs weekly on Blog Talk Radio.
Friday, February 3, 2012
Mafia Wars Natural Disaster Crates have catastrophic loot inside
The Zynga team have added yet another set of Crates to Mafia Wars with Natural Disaster Crates. For 12 Reward Points each or 35 Reward Points for three (around $3 and $7, respectively), you'll have a chance at one of eight disaster-themed weapons, vehicle and armor. Like the usual loot crates, each Natural Disaster Crate will have a 60 percent chance of containing a common item, a 30 percent chance for uncommon items and just a 10 percent chance of holding a rare item.
Check behind the break for a full list of the items you can win by picking up a few of these new crates. Here's a full preview of what you have to look forward to finding inside the Natural Disaster Crates:
Landslide Avalanche Lightning Strike
Common Items (60 percent chance)
Tornado Eruption Famine
Uncommon Items (30 percent chance)
Tsunami Earthquake
Rare Items (10 percent chance)
These new crates have cool looking items, but whether they're worth buying when more powerful items can be found in Las Vegas jobs alone should be taken under serious consideration. But hey, if you're a collector, there's no stopping you anyway.
Check behind the break for a full list of the items you can win by picking up a few of these new crates. Here's a full preview of what you have to look forward to finding inside the Natural Disaster Crates:
Landslide Avalanche Lightning Strike
Common Items (60 percent chance)
Tornado Eruption Famine
Uncommon Items (30 percent chance)
Tsunami Earthquake
Rare Items (10 percent chance)
These new crates have cool looking items, but whether they're worth buying when more powerful items can be found in Las Vegas jobs alone should be taken under serious consideration. But hey, if you're a collector, there's no stopping you anyway.
Treasure Isle's Ninja Vs. Pirates Map is now ready for epic battles
Well, Zynga's earlier claim to the "battle of the universe" is yet to be seen, but the prophesied Pirates Vs. Ninjas update to Treasure Isle is now live... and it's another map titled "Ninja Vs. Pirates." There better be some intense duels on at least one of this new map's eight islands or we will all be very sad ninjas--or do I mean pirates?
You'll find a novice ninja monkey either sitting on your home island or inside your backpack who will need to be trained in the ways of ninja combat before he can take you to the Ninja Vs. Pirates map. You'll have to ask five friends to help train your simian shinobi or unlock each of the five training steps for 5 Island Cash, or about $1. Oh, this is just like the Wounded Dragon and Wounded Tiger maps before it, but with less pathetic creatures and more swords. After that's through, the new islands are yours to explore, though it's still unknown who's going to come out on top in this battle. It seems we'll just have to do some exploring to find out.
You'll find a novice ninja monkey either sitting on your home island or inside your backpack who will need to be trained in the ways of ninja combat before he can take you to the Ninja Vs. Pirates map. You'll have to ask five friends to help train your simian shinobi or unlock each of the five training steps for 5 Island Cash, or about $1. Oh, this is just like the Wounded Dragon and Wounded Tiger maps before it, but with less pathetic creatures and more swords. After that's through, the new islands are yours to explore, though it's still unknown who's going to come out on top in this battle. It seems we'll just have to do some exploring to find out.
Zynga Giveaway: Win a free Zynga Moleskine Notebook
Happy Friday! Once again: we're kicking off the holiday season a little earlier this year by giving away a bunch of free stuff. We have all kinds of cool swag and we aim to give it all away to our readers. Everyone is eligible to get free prizes so continue reading to find out how you can enter to win.
In our previous giveaways, readers could enter to win a free FarmVille T-Shirt and a free Zynga Laptop Bag. Now, for our third Zynga giveaway, we have a custom Zynga Moleskin Notebook. This trendy notepad is perfect for those who need a space to keep their thoughts, addresses, doodles and more. I can't tell you how often I think of a cool idea but end up forgetting it because I neglected to write the idea down. Don't let that happen to you! Emblazoned with the Zynga logo, secured by an elastic strap, and full of blank pages just waiting to be filled; Zynga's Moleskine Notebook is ideal for note-taking and more.
Continue reading to learn how to enter.
To enter:
Step 1: Go to the Games.com Facebook fanpage (http://www.facebook.com/gamescom).
Step 2: 'Like' the fanpage so you can see Facebook game news, tips, and cheats.
Step 3: Enter the giveaway by heading to the fanpage and leave us a comment saying "I love Games.com!" BUT WAIT, there's a catch. While typing, you aren't allowed to use your hands and you aren't allowed to backspace. Tricky eh? Be creative! And when you're done, let us know how you managed!
(i nmlo9v fe gtam esxdz.c volm ~! That was my best attempt using my elbows. Hopefully you can do better haha)
After a few days, we'll randomly select a winner, message them on Facebook for their address, and send them their free prize. Sound easy enough?
Get started by heading to the Games.com fanpage to enter for a free Zynga Moleskine Notebook.
In our previous giveaways, readers could enter to win a free FarmVille T-Shirt and a free Zynga Laptop Bag. Now, for our third Zynga giveaway, we have a custom Zynga Moleskin Notebook. This trendy notepad is perfect for those who need a space to keep their thoughts, addresses, doodles and more. I can't tell you how often I think of a cool idea but end up forgetting it because I neglected to write the idea down. Don't let that happen to you! Emblazoned with the Zynga logo, secured by an elastic strap, and full of blank pages just waiting to be filled; Zynga's Moleskine Notebook is ideal for note-taking and more.
Continue reading to learn how to enter.
To enter:
Step 1: Go to the Games.com Facebook fanpage (http://www.facebook.com/gamescom).
Step 2: 'Like' the fanpage so you can see Facebook game news, tips, and cheats.
Step 3: Enter the giveaway by heading to the fanpage and leave us a comment saying "I love Games.com!" BUT WAIT, there's a catch. While typing, you aren't allowed to use your hands and you aren't allowed to backspace. Tricky eh? Be creative! And when you're done, let us know how you managed!
(i nmlo9v fe gtam esxdz.c volm ~! That was my best attempt using my elbows. Hopefully you can do better haha)
After a few days, we'll randomly select a winner, message them on Facebook for their address, and send them their free prize. Sound easy enough?
Get started by heading to the Games.com fanpage to enter for a free Zynga Moleskine Notebook.
ESPNU College Town brings Baseball, Softball and giftable All Star Refills
ESPNU Baseballs
Getting bored of football (impossible) and basketball? Playdom has added both baseball and softball to ESPNU College Town among a litany of other features, fixes and items. Players can now build baseball and softball fields on their campus and, of course, recruit new baseball and softball All Star players.
On top of that, a slew of new items have been added to the store along with some fixes to the game that you'll find behind the cut.
Max All Star Plays
In addition to the new baseball field and new All Stars, a new giftable item was introduced called "Max All Star Plays." This free gift will refill all of your All Star's plays, allowing you to use the same All Star players over and over again. However, Playdom also added a list of items that aren't so cheap:
Samford Hall - Auburn
Science Building - Baylor
Healy Hall - Georgetown
Campus Recreation Center - Georgia Tech
Beardshear Hall- Iowa State
Memorial Union - Iowa State
Hale Library Kansas State
Marquette Hall - Marquette
Memorial Bell Tower - North Carolina State
Rebecca Crown ClockTower - Northwestern
Edmon Low Library - Oklahoma State
College Building - Providence
Each of these buildings inspired by true-to-life university buildings costs between 29 and 39 Campus Cash, or between $6 and $9, which is pretty steep for some XP and School Spirit. Playdom made a few mysterious fixes to the game to improve the overall experience as well:
Numerous fixes to address loading and synchronization issues.
Numerous fixes to the competitions section of the game.
Various fixes to improve user experience and minor textual issues.
Friends Only
While Playdom is unclear on what these fixes might have actually... fixed (I wasn't experiencing any problems in-game), hopefully they solved some issues for players. In yet another change to the Competitions section, players can now filter their potential Challenges to just their friends in the Competitions menu, which is a small but welcome addition. Honestly, we just can't wait to see what sport Playdom adds to the game next. Come on, crew team!
Getting bored of football (impossible) and basketball? Playdom has added both baseball and softball to ESPNU College Town among a litany of other features, fixes and items. Players can now build baseball and softball fields on their campus and, of course, recruit new baseball and softball All Star players.
On top of that, a slew of new items have been added to the store along with some fixes to the game that you'll find behind the cut.
Max All Star Plays
In addition to the new baseball field and new All Stars, a new giftable item was introduced called "Max All Star Plays." This free gift will refill all of your All Star's plays, allowing you to use the same All Star players over and over again. However, Playdom also added a list of items that aren't so cheap:
Samford Hall - Auburn
Science Building - Baylor
Healy Hall - Georgetown
Campus Recreation Center - Georgia Tech
Beardshear Hall- Iowa State
Memorial Union - Iowa State
Hale Library Kansas State
Marquette Hall - Marquette
Memorial Bell Tower - North Carolina State
Rebecca Crown ClockTower - Northwestern
Edmon Low Library - Oklahoma State
College Building - Providence
Each of these buildings inspired by true-to-life university buildings costs between 29 and 39 Campus Cash, or between $6 and $9, which is pretty steep for some XP and School Spirit. Playdom made a few mysterious fixes to the game to improve the overall experience as well:
Numerous fixes to address loading and synchronization issues.
Numerous fixes to the competitions section of the game.
Various fixes to improve user experience and minor textual issues.
Friends Only
While Playdom is unclear on what these fixes might have actually... fixed (I wasn't experiencing any problems in-game), hopefully they solved some issues for players. In yet another change to the Competitions section, players can now filter their potential Challenges to just their friends in the Competitions menu, which is a small but welcome addition. Honestly, we just can't wait to see what sport Playdom adds to the game next. Come on, crew team!
Happy Island on iPhone and iPad is now free (finally)
Happy Island on iPhone
When CrowdStar first introduced the Happy Island app for iOS 4 devices in July, it cost $.99, which is weird for a social game that's free to play online. Finally the company has decided to make the app, developed by Sibblingz, free in the Apple App Store.
The Happy Island app, which allows you to access and interact with your Facebook islands much like FarmVille for iPhone, allows players to visit their friend's islands as well as collect profits from their attractions and customize their islands. The app was recently updated on Oct. 11 to improve stability and fix bugs, so hopefully the game is ready for the onslaught of downloads it's most likely to suffer very shortly.
When CrowdStar first introduced the Happy Island app for iOS 4 devices in July, it cost $.99, which is weird for a social game that's free to play online. Finally the company has decided to make the app, developed by Sibblingz, free in the Apple App Store.
The Happy Island app, which allows you to access and interact with your Facebook islands much like FarmVille for iPhone, allows players to visit their friend's islands as well as collect profits from their attractions and customize their islands. The app was recently updated on Oct. 11 to improve stability and fix bugs, so hopefully the game is ready for the onslaught of downloads it's most likely to suffer very shortly.
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Jersey Shore game updates with outfits from the show
Jersey Shore game outfits
Yeah, we know what you're thinking - the Jersey Shore game, really? Well, here at Games.com - The Blog, we cover all the latest news in the top Facebook games and Jersey Shore is popular enough that it hit our radar. This game based on the popular MTV television series about a group of young self-proclaimed guidos from the East Coast has its own game on Facebook with over 1 million players so far.
Today the Jersey Shore game has removed all of the Halloween costumes and replaced then with real outfits from the show available for purchase. There are 8 outfits per gender available, or 16 total. For the ladies, you'll find such clasics as the "Sammi Brawler" from her fight in the kitchen with Angelina, and the "JWoww Clubbin" outfit which is right out of J-Woww's nightlife attire. For the boys, some of the new outfits include the "Hot Pink Sitch" which is one of The Situation's best t-shirts from the show, and the DJ Paully D outfit which he actually wore while DJing at the club.
It's pretty fun to see your avatar fighting in the same clothes worn by characters on the show while you're squeezing pickle juice on people and throwing "grenades".
Yeah, we know what you're thinking - the Jersey Shore game, really? Well, here at Games.com - The Blog, we cover all the latest news in the top Facebook games and Jersey Shore is popular enough that it hit our radar. This game based on the popular MTV television series about a group of young self-proclaimed guidos from the East Coast has its own game on Facebook with over 1 million players so far.
Today the Jersey Shore game has removed all of the Halloween costumes and replaced then with real outfits from the show available for purchase. There are 8 outfits per gender available, or 16 total. For the ladies, you'll find such clasics as the "Sammi Brawler" from her fight in the kitchen with Angelina, and the "JWoww Clubbin" outfit which is right out of J-Woww's nightlife attire. For the boys, some of the new outfits include the "Hot Pink Sitch" which is one of The Situation's best t-shirts from the show, and the DJ Paully D outfit which he actually wore while DJing at the club.
It's pretty fun to see your avatar fighting in the same clothes worn by characters on the show while you're squeezing pickle juice on people and throwing "grenades".
Mall World: New adoptable Yorkie and Poodles in the pet store
Mall World puppies
Mall World has just updated the pet store with the addition of three new breeds of puppies. Everyone knows that dogs make a perfect fashion accessory, especially if they're purse sized like these. The new puppies that are available are the Yorkie (also known as a Yorkshire Terrier), the Black Poodle, and the White Poodle. All dogs cost the same amount to acquire, and you can get them without paying any money as long as you're willing to ask your friends for help.
To get your paws on one of these new pooches, visit the pet store and click on the puppy you want. You will then be prompted to either purchase the puppy with 4 Credit (which is fairly inexpensive) or get 3 references from your friends. If you ask for references, you have to post a wall post and have three different friends click on it. You'll then unlock the adorable dog. You can have as many dogs as you want (unlike FarmVille) so you should be happy to increase the size of your doggie collection with these three precious pups.
Interestingly, while updating on the fan wall today Mall World leaked out a picture of a Pomeranian which led players to believe that it was available. This dog is nowhere to be found in the store, so it's possible that it was forgotten and it is coming soon.
Mall World has just updated the pet store with the addition of three new breeds of puppies. Everyone knows that dogs make a perfect fashion accessory, especially if they're purse sized like these. The new puppies that are available are the Yorkie (also known as a Yorkshire Terrier), the Black Poodle, and the White Poodle. All dogs cost the same amount to acquire, and you can get them without paying any money as long as you're willing to ask your friends for help.
To get your paws on one of these new pooches, visit the pet store and click on the puppy you want. You will then be prompted to either purchase the puppy with 4 Credit (which is fairly inexpensive) or get 3 references from your friends. If you ask for references, you have to post a wall post and have three different friends click on it. You'll then unlock the adorable dog. You can have as many dogs as you want (unlike FarmVille) so you should be happy to increase the size of your doggie collection with these three precious pups.
Interestingly, while updating on the fan wall today Mall World leaked out a picture of a Pomeranian which led players to believe that it was available. This dog is nowhere to be found in the store, so it's possible that it was forgotten and it is coming soon.
City of Wonder kicks off India Week with four buildings
Russian Week has come to an end in City of Wonder and it's time to jumpstart a new theme. This week's exotic vacation is to India, where great food and costumes are aplenty and beautiful buildings are abound. We're being promised a whole week full of new items and gifts, but for now there are four new items available to celebrate India Week.
The first is an Indian House, which requires Masonry research but gives 110 population every 2 hours. The second is a market - the Indian Bazaar which requires Trade and gives 55 coins every 2 hours. Third, you will find the Victoria Terminus from Mumbai, a large gothic train station cultural building. Finally, the Qutub Minar is a huge tower straight from Delhi that gives 1340 happiness and 134 culture.
This is a pretty interesting theme because the architecture in India is so unique and varied and should make for a beautiful city in City of Wonder. So far, we're not too impressed with the selections but we're sure that plenty more will be coming soon as the week has just begun.
The first is an Indian House, which requires Masonry research but gives 110 population every 2 hours. The second is a market - the Indian Bazaar which requires Trade and gives 55 coins every 2 hours. Third, you will find the Victoria Terminus from Mumbai, a large gothic train station cultural building. Finally, the Qutub Minar is a huge tower straight from Delhi that gives 1340 happiness and 134 culture.
This is a pretty interesting theme because the architecture in India is so unique and varied and should make for a beautiful city in City of Wonder. So far, we're not too impressed with the selections but we're sure that plenty more will be coming soon as the week has just begun.
Social City Skate Park: Be ready to shred when 5 Days of Gifting returns
Grind Rail Skate Bowl
It's been quite a while since Playdom has showered us with gifts. Alright, it hasn't been that long, but Social City's signature 5 Days of Gifting event has been MIA for a bit, which is why the studio is making a comeback with a Skate Park set. According to the preview posted on the Social City fan page, it looks like we'll be treated to a half pipe complete with an airborne skater, a grind rail and even a bowl for our lovely hooligans citizens to do tricks in.
As per usual, all of these items will be free to gift over the course of five days. That also means that there are two items that we've yet to see. If one of them is not a full loop, I will be severely disappointed, but that doesn't mean I won't be gifting. I mean, who could turn down a chance to add some snot-nosed teenagers to their city? All we need now are a few disgruntled parents and policemen to create our own little Dogtown.
It's been quite a while since Playdom has showered us with gifts. Alright, it hasn't been that long, but Social City's signature 5 Days of Gifting event has been MIA for a bit, which is why the studio is making a comeback with a Skate Park set. According to the preview posted on the Social City fan page, it looks like we'll be treated to a half pipe complete with an airborne skater, a grind rail and even a bowl for our lovely hooligans citizens to do tricks in.
As per usual, all of these items will be free to gift over the course of five days. That also means that there are two items that we've yet to see. If one of them is not a full loop, I will be severely disappointed, but that doesn't mean I won't be gifting. I mean, who could turn down a chance to add some snot-nosed teenagers to their city? All we need now are a few disgruntled parents and policemen to create our own little Dogtown.
Restaurant City's Bollywood theme channels our inner Slumdog Millionaire
Are you ready for some spicy dance moves and fiery food? Players will get a crash course in Bollywood dancing and Indian cuisine this Thursday in Restaurant City. The new Bollywood theme coming to the game this week will feature a slew of Indian-themed decorations including male and female dance troupes for when your customers feel the sudden urge to join the professionals in song and dance. You know how this Bollywood thing goes, right?
Joining the dancers are royal elephants, Tuk-Tuk cars and even Shalwar Kameez and Sherwani outfits for your female and male staff, respectively. Better yet, the update will include three new recipes to master: spicy Chicken Korma, Lamb Biryani and the sweet Mango Lassi drink to wash it all down. Two limited edition functional items will also make their way into Bollywood. The Tiffin Take-Away table will net players a nice 850 coins every two hours while the Indian Buffet Table will score you 500 coins every four hours.
I'm already excited for this update purely because of my love for Indian food, but a little dancing never hurt anyone either. Now, who's bringing the tunes this Thursday?
Joining the dancers are royal elephants, Tuk-Tuk cars and even Shalwar Kameez and Sherwani outfits for your female and male staff, respectively. Better yet, the update will include three new recipes to master: spicy Chicken Korma, Lamb Biryani and the sweet Mango Lassi drink to wash it all down. Two limited edition functional items will also make their way into Bollywood. The Tiffin Take-Away table will net players a nice 850 coins every two hours while the Indian Buffet Table will score you 500 coins every four hours.
I'm already excited for this update purely because of my love for Indian food, but a little dancing never hurt anyone either. Now, who's bringing the tunes this Thursday?
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Unseating FarmVille: Have social games seen better days?
We reported earlier this week that FarmVille has been ousted as the top Facebook application, with the Phrases application coming out on top as of this week. For those of us who work with these games day after day, we know that FarmVille falling to 54 million players from 84 million players isn't the end of the world. An article posted today in PC World claims that this is a sign of general social gaming woes:
It's like Zynga is scrambling to add more sources of air to a deflating bubble. The fact that a random quiz app could unseat Farmville from its top spot, even temporarily, shows that social games have seen better days.
[Source: PCWorld]
We think that this article was a bit sensational and overblowing the situation. Many articles on the web talk about social games as if there is only one game (FarmVille) or only one company (Zynga) who are playing a part in the massively popular gaming trend. What these articles fail to mention is that smaller developers are now showing huge successes, and that there are many more companies out there making social games. There are currently 10 social game developers with over 10 million monthly active users across their games. Another 12 with over 5 million MAU. And over 75 other lesser-known social game developers who have games with over 1 million players combined. This is no easy feat, and nothing to sneeze at.
Social games are diversifying. The days of Zynga not only ruling the roost but also being the only major player are dead. There are up-and-coming developers such as Digital Chocolate that are pumping out high quality games at an unbelievable pace. Massive brands such as Google (who purchased Slide), EA (who purchased Playfish), and Disney (who purchased Playdom) are coming in and putting existing IP and familiar faces into new and existing games.
Social games aren't dying, by any means. The loss in numbers of FarmVille is an indicator of the game's age and lifecycle, and the vast number of new games by new companies that are being released weekly. It's never looked better for social game players, nor social game developers. Using FarmVIlle as an indicator of social game health as a whole is a rookie mistake that many journalists are making, but at Games.com - The Blog, we know better because we are completely immersed in Facebook games.
It's like Zynga is scrambling to add more sources of air to a deflating bubble. The fact that a random quiz app could unseat Farmville from its top spot, even temporarily, shows that social games have seen better days.
[Source: PCWorld]
We think that this article was a bit sensational and overblowing the situation. Many articles on the web talk about social games as if there is only one game (FarmVille) or only one company (Zynga) who are playing a part in the massively popular gaming trend. What these articles fail to mention is that smaller developers are now showing huge successes, and that there are many more companies out there making social games. There are currently 10 social game developers with over 10 million monthly active users across their games. Another 12 with over 5 million MAU. And over 75 other lesser-known social game developers who have games with over 1 million players combined. This is no easy feat, and nothing to sneeze at.
Social games are diversifying. The days of Zynga not only ruling the roost but also being the only major player are dead. There are up-and-coming developers such as Digital Chocolate that are pumping out high quality games at an unbelievable pace. Massive brands such as Google (who purchased Slide), EA (who purchased Playfish), and Disney (who purchased Playdom) are coming in and putting existing IP and familiar faces into new and existing games.
Social games aren't dying, by any means. The loss in numbers of FarmVille is an indicator of the game's age and lifecycle, and the vast number of new games by new companies that are being released weekly. It's never looked better for social game players, nor social game developers. Using FarmVIlle as an indicator of social game health as a whole is a rookie mistake that many journalists are making, but at Games.com - The Blog, we know better because we are completely immersed in Facebook games.
CausePlay aims to create games for good causes with Hospitopia
Hospitopia
One of the more interesting ideas coming out of the social gaming space is the idea of using games to raise money for real life charities. We've seen Zynga do quite a bit of this with their Sweet Seeds for Haiti FarmVille partnership, or their new Candy Cane campaign to donate 100% of their proceeds to the UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital. Sony Online's latest game, Wildlife Refuge, is donating profits from cheetah sales to the Cheetah Conservation Fund. Now, a new company aims to create social games for social good on a regular basis.
CausePlay is a new social games developer founded by Jonas Hudson that aims to create games that benefit a worthy nonprofit organization. They clearly see the potential due to millions of players enjoying social games, and want to revolutionize the way that people donate to their favorite causes. The company aims to create a marketing tool within their games called Cause Integration, which allows brands to plug in their promotions easily within their social game titles.
The first game by CausePlay will be released in January 2011, and is titled Hospitopia. The game sounds similar to Simply Hospital, in which players will manage their own hospital and take care of patients. The big difference is that 10% of all game revenue will be going to the Children's Miracle Network hospitals to care for children in need. You can become a fan of the game's Facebook page for more news as the game gets closer to its release date.
CausePlay, based out of Manhattan Beach, CA, aims to release at least three more social game titles in 2011, and also will be holding a vote on Facebook to have people choose which cause their next game will be developed to support. As of right now, the company appears to only have a Facebook page set up. We'll be keeping our eyes closely on Hospitopia and can't wait to see how CausePlay raises money through social gaming.
One of the more interesting ideas coming out of the social gaming space is the idea of using games to raise money for real life charities. We've seen Zynga do quite a bit of this with their Sweet Seeds for Haiti FarmVille partnership, or their new Candy Cane campaign to donate 100% of their proceeds to the UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital. Sony Online's latest game, Wildlife Refuge, is donating profits from cheetah sales to the Cheetah Conservation Fund. Now, a new company aims to create social games for social good on a regular basis.
CausePlay is a new social games developer founded by Jonas Hudson that aims to create games that benefit a worthy nonprofit organization. They clearly see the potential due to millions of players enjoying social games, and want to revolutionize the way that people donate to their favorite causes. The company aims to create a marketing tool within their games called Cause Integration, which allows brands to plug in their promotions easily within their social game titles.
The first game by CausePlay will be released in January 2011, and is titled Hospitopia. The game sounds similar to Simply Hospital, in which players will manage their own hospital and take care of patients. The big difference is that 10% of all game revenue will be going to the Children's Miracle Network hospitals to care for children in need. You can become a fan of the game's Facebook page for more news as the game gets closer to its release date.
CausePlay, based out of Manhattan Beach, CA, aims to release at least three more social game titles in 2011, and also will be holding a vote on Facebook to have people choose which cause their next game will be developed to support. As of right now, the company appears to only have a Facebook page set up. We'll be keeping our eyes closely on Hospitopia and can't wait to see how CausePlay raises money through social gaming.
Pre-order FarmVille for Dummies on Amazon.com
No folks, this one isn't a joke. FarmVille for Dummies now available for pre-order on Amazon.com. In case you still need to learn more about how to play everyone's favorite social game, this 288-page paperback book will teach you everything you need to know.
Aimed for new FarmVille players who are just starting out, FarmVille for Dummies will teach you how to find neighbors, how to achieve all of the ribbons and collections, how to shop at the FarmVille Market, how to do co-op missions, and how to deal with any technical issues that might be keeping you down. FarmVille for Dummies is written by Angela Morales of FarmVille Freak, and co-authored by Kyle Orland (who has done quite a bit of writing for us here).
The book is $13.59 USD, and has a release date of February 15, 2011. What could make a better Valentine's Day present than a copy of FarmVille for Dummies? We'll definitely be picking it up!
Preorder FarmVille for Dummies on Amazon here >
Aimed for new FarmVille players who are just starting out, FarmVille for Dummies will teach you how to find neighbors, how to achieve all of the ribbons and collections, how to shop at the FarmVille Market, how to do co-op missions, and how to deal with any technical issues that might be keeping you down. FarmVille for Dummies is written by Angela Morales of FarmVille Freak, and co-authored by Kyle Orland (who has done quite a bit of writing for us here).
The book is $13.59 USD, and has a release date of February 15, 2011. What could make a better Valentine's Day present than a copy of FarmVille for Dummies? We'll definitely be picking it up!
Preorder FarmVille for Dummies on Amazon here >
Treasure Isle gets the Zynga Message Center for streamlined gift requests
If you're tired of finding that all of your Treasure Isle gift requests have expired because you've waited too long collect them (due to the fact that it simply takes so long to accept gifts individually from the gift requests screen), you'll be thrilled to know that Zynga has added the Zynga Message Center to Treasure Isle, allowing you the ability to have one-click access to all of the game's gift requests currently on your account.
You an access the Zynga Message Center by clicking on the red and white Z at the top right of the gameplay area. From there, you'll be able to view all of your current gift requests, whether they be actual gifts sent to you from friends (including Mystery Gifts), explorer pack offers, or even those requests that see you sending items to your friends for collectings, or just extra energy.
Zynga has been known to roll the Zynga Message Center in other games slowly, so if you don't see the feature live on your own game just yet, be patient, as we're sure it will arrive soon.
You an access the Zynga Message Center by clicking on the red and white Z at the top right of the gameplay area. From there, you'll be able to view all of your current gift requests, whether they be actual gifts sent to you from friends (including Mystery Gifts), explorer pack offers, or even those requests that see you sending items to your friends for collectings, or just extra energy.
Zynga has been known to roll the Zynga Message Center in other games slowly, so if you don't see the feature live on your own game just yet, be patient, as we're sure it will arrive soon.
Treasure Isle: Build the Ziggurat Relic for extra energy
A new relic is available to build in Treasure Isle, and this one comes in the form of a Ziggurat Relic. This relic is a land-based object, which is actually fairly large, so you may need to rearrange some items before placing down your free base.
You'll need to build the Relic, just as you have all of the others, using materials collected from friends. In this case, the first stage of the build requires 1 each of Metal, Ectoplasm, Gold, Pillars, and Paint. You can accept these items either as general gifts from your friends (that they initiate), or you can click on the "Ask for More" button associated with the item you want to post a request to your wall asking your friends for help. Remember, you can have five of these requests active on your account at one time, so feel free to ask for all five if you don't think your friends would mind.
All told, there are four steps to the Ziggurat's construction, requiring a total of 10 of all of the individual ingredients, or 50 items. Once completed, you'll earn a permanent +3 maximum energy boost, that will stay active on your account until you store or sell the relic, at which point the boost would be removed.
You'll need to build the Relic, just as you have all of the others, using materials collected from friends. In this case, the first stage of the build requires 1 each of Metal, Ectoplasm, Gold, Pillars, and Paint. You can accept these items either as general gifts from your friends (that they initiate), or you can click on the "Ask for More" button associated with the item you want to post a request to your wall asking your friends for help. Remember, you can have five of these requests active on your account at one time, so feel free to ask for all five if you don't think your friends would mind.
All told, there are four steps to the Ziggurat's construction, requiring a total of 10 of all of the individual ingredients, or 50 items. Once completed, you'll earn a permanent +3 maximum energy boost, that will stay active on your account until you store or sell the relic, at which point the boost would be removed.
Friday, January 13, 2012
FarmVille Winter Holiday items: Sweet Shop, Pond, Stockings Arch, Winter Teddy & more
Tonight's FarmVille update brought with it not only new trees, animals, and avatar costumes, but it also saw the release of a slew of new decorative and building items in the game. There are eight new items to talk about in all - two buildings, and six decorations.
These decorations offer a combination of items that are entirely new to the game (like the Winter Home pictured above), and those that are re-releases of items from last year's theme, while the two buildings offer even more structures to add to your quaint Holiday Village on your farm.
Meet us behind the break for a full look at these newest items.
First off, let's take a look at the new buildings. They are the Winter Sweet Shop, and the Winter Home. For some of you, these items might seem incredibly familiar, and they should, as we gave you a special sneak peek of them last week.
The Winter Sweet Shop is the more expensive of the two items, simply because it is a premium item. It can be purchased for 30 Farm Cash, and you'll receive 3,000 experience points as a bonus for purchasing it. Meanwhile, the Winter Home costs 360,000 coins. No, this isn't a cheap item, but at least those who aren't willing to spend Farm Cash (or simply don't have that kind of Farm Cash available to spend in the first place) have a chance at this one. You'll gain a similar XP boost of 3,600 points if you go with this item instead.
Moving onto the decorative items, we see the re-release of an item that was first launched in the game during last year's holiday celebration, and the release of an item that is so much like one from last year that it's almost hard to spot the differences. These, of course, are released alongside some entirely new items.
The item from last year is the "Giant Snowflake I," which is available for just 1,500 coins. This snowflake was part of a three piece set last year, so it will be interesting to see if Zynga releases the other two snowflakes (appropriately called II and III) before the Winter Holiday theme ends for this year.
The other, clone-like item that I mentioned above is called the Giant Nutcracker, which is available for 80,000 coins. For those that were playing last year, you'll likely immediately think that this is the "Red Nutcracker" from last year, but don't be fooled! This Giant Nutcracker (pictured at left in the image below) has more elaborate detailing around the crown and beard, is wearing red pants instead of blue, and is a touch smaller in size than last year's version. Still, though, the differences are so minor at a glance that this farmer is going to skip out on purchasing it, since my Red Nutcrackers from last year do the job just fine.
Moving on, there are four entirely new items, in the form of the Winter Pond, Winter Fireplace, Stockings Arch, and Winter Teddy. Three of the four are premium items, with the Winter Pond costing the most at 30 Farm Cash, while the Winter Fireplace and Stockings Arch cost 10 and 5 Farm Cash, respectively. Each of these will reward you with experience points for purchasing them - 3,000, 1,000 or 500, depending on the item you purchase (in that order).
As for the Winter Teddy, this is a large teddy bear item, that's even bigger than your in-game avatar, which is available for 100,000 coins. As usual, you'll earn 10% of the purchase price as an experience reward for purchasing it, meaning that you'll receive 1,000 points in all.
All of these items, whether a building or a decorative item will only be available for the next 12 days. While that may not seem like a long time elsewhere, in the world of FarmVille we expect to see Zynga releasing a slew of new items before the Holidays have had a chance to slip by for another year.
These decorations offer a combination of items that are entirely new to the game (like the Winter Home pictured above), and those that are re-releases of items from last year's theme, while the two buildings offer even more structures to add to your quaint Holiday Village on your farm.
Meet us behind the break for a full look at these newest items.
First off, let's take a look at the new buildings. They are the Winter Sweet Shop, and the Winter Home. For some of you, these items might seem incredibly familiar, and they should, as we gave you a special sneak peek of them last week.
The Winter Sweet Shop is the more expensive of the two items, simply because it is a premium item. It can be purchased for 30 Farm Cash, and you'll receive 3,000 experience points as a bonus for purchasing it. Meanwhile, the Winter Home costs 360,000 coins. No, this isn't a cheap item, but at least those who aren't willing to spend Farm Cash (or simply don't have that kind of Farm Cash available to spend in the first place) have a chance at this one. You'll gain a similar XP boost of 3,600 points if you go with this item instead.
Moving onto the decorative items, we see the re-release of an item that was first launched in the game during last year's holiday celebration, and the release of an item that is so much like one from last year that it's almost hard to spot the differences. These, of course, are released alongside some entirely new items.
The item from last year is the "Giant Snowflake I," which is available for just 1,500 coins. This snowflake was part of a three piece set last year, so it will be interesting to see if Zynga releases the other two snowflakes (appropriately called II and III) before the Winter Holiday theme ends for this year.
The other, clone-like item that I mentioned above is called the Giant Nutcracker, which is available for 80,000 coins. For those that were playing last year, you'll likely immediately think that this is the "Red Nutcracker" from last year, but don't be fooled! This Giant Nutcracker (pictured at left in the image below) has more elaborate detailing around the crown and beard, is wearing red pants instead of blue, and is a touch smaller in size than last year's version. Still, though, the differences are so minor at a glance that this farmer is going to skip out on purchasing it, since my Red Nutcrackers from last year do the job just fine.
Moving on, there are four entirely new items, in the form of the Winter Pond, Winter Fireplace, Stockings Arch, and Winter Teddy. Three of the four are premium items, with the Winter Pond costing the most at 30 Farm Cash, while the Winter Fireplace and Stockings Arch cost 10 and 5 Farm Cash, respectively. Each of these will reward you with experience points for purchasing them - 3,000, 1,000 or 500, depending on the item you purchase (in that order).
As for the Winter Teddy, this is a large teddy bear item, that's even bigger than your in-game avatar, which is available for 100,000 coins. As usual, you'll earn 10% of the purchase price as an experience reward for purchasing it, meaning that you'll receive 1,000 points in all.
All of these items, whether a building or a decorative item will only be available for the next 12 days. While that may not seem like a long time elsewhere, in the world of FarmVille we expect to see Zynga releasing a slew of new items before the Holidays have had a chance to slip by for another year.
CityVille on Facebook reaches 22 million, rivals real world's largest cities
CityVille FrontierVille Promo
When Zynga recently mentioned that CityVille is the company's fastest growing social game it was no joke. According to Inside Social Games, the game has reached 22 million monthly players as of this morning (in less than two weeks), which would make it a faster growing game than not only FrontierVille, but all Zynga games--including FarmVille-- to date. And if this insane growth is possible after Facebook shut down nearly all viral channels for social games, there is only one question to ask: How?
The Zynga Name
Well, let's start from the beginning. Zynga already has an established reputation for social gaming being connected to FarmVille alone, so that certainly helps. In other words, folks were just waiting for CityVille since we first heard word of it back in August. But it takes more than just a reputation to garner this much of a following so quickly.
Let's take this dissection behind the break and see how CityVille became the fastest-growing Zynga game ever.
CityVille in German
Willkommen bei CityVille
That's "Welcome to CityVille" in German (roughly), one of CityVille's five supported languages and most likely key to the game's rapid growth. Translated into Spanish, French and Italian in addition to German and standard English, CityVille is open to a whole new world of players (literally) without the need for intense localization by remote studios. However, this is also because European culture is much more similar to American culture than, say, Chinese or Japanese culture. If the game were to later be translated into those languages, some more intensive localization would have to go down in order to fall in line with cultural customs--which is already underway for FarmVille in Japan and has been done with Zynga Poker in China. At any rate, being open to a more diverse range of players has almost certainly increased Zynga's reach with CityVille.
Hey You, Come Try This Game!Facebook Game Notifications
While cross promotions for CityVille have just recently been popping up in the Zynga Game Bar above each of its games, it's the in-game promotions that are likely grabbing more of us every day. And although this isn't necessarily a new method, it is effective for sure. I don't know about you, but seeing a massive billboard for another game in my farm certainly piques my interest. With results like this already blowing up, I would expect cross promotions for CityVille to stick around for a long time.
"Bobby Sue just sent you Miscellaneous Item #27 in CityVille."
Yes, viral growth has returned. Well, at least a little bit. Facebook game requests have recently started popping in our Notifications on the home page including anything from help requests to gifts. And since you can send gifts to non-players, these Notifications are likely appearing for the social game pure as well. Not to mention that Zynga's infamous "BegVille" techniques have made a not-so-triumphant return in CityVille, which in a way could be helping the game grow through persistence. It's a bit of a stretch, but being constantly reminded about a game could lead to players mentioning in conversation, spreading the news via word of mouth. Multiply that by a few million people and you've got yourself an inadvertent source of growth.
And if CityVille keeps going at this rate, CityVille will soon overtake Cafe World and later FrontierVille in the list of Zynga's top Facebook games. However, is it possible for the game to come close to FarmVille much less thwart it as the developer's number one game? Well, that's up for you, the players, to decide.
When Zynga recently mentioned that CityVille is the company's fastest growing social game it was no joke. According to Inside Social Games, the game has reached 22 million monthly players as of this morning (in less than two weeks), which would make it a faster growing game than not only FrontierVille, but all Zynga games--including FarmVille-- to date. And if this insane growth is possible after Facebook shut down nearly all viral channels for social games, there is only one question to ask: How?
The Zynga Name
Well, let's start from the beginning. Zynga already has an established reputation for social gaming being connected to FarmVille alone, so that certainly helps. In other words, folks were just waiting for CityVille since we first heard word of it back in August. But it takes more than just a reputation to garner this much of a following so quickly.
Let's take this dissection behind the break and see how CityVille became the fastest-growing Zynga game ever.
CityVille in German
Willkommen bei CityVille
That's "Welcome to CityVille" in German (roughly), one of CityVille's five supported languages and most likely key to the game's rapid growth. Translated into Spanish, French and Italian in addition to German and standard English, CityVille is open to a whole new world of players (literally) without the need for intense localization by remote studios. However, this is also because European culture is much more similar to American culture than, say, Chinese or Japanese culture. If the game were to later be translated into those languages, some more intensive localization would have to go down in order to fall in line with cultural customs--which is already underway for FarmVille in Japan and has been done with Zynga Poker in China. At any rate, being open to a more diverse range of players has almost certainly increased Zynga's reach with CityVille.
Hey You, Come Try This Game!Facebook Game Notifications
While cross promotions for CityVille have just recently been popping up in the Zynga Game Bar above each of its games, it's the in-game promotions that are likely grabbing more of us every day. And although this isn't necessarily a new method, it is effective for sure. I don't know about you, but seeing a massive billboard for another game in my farm certainly piques my interest. With results like this already blowing up, I would expect cross promotions for CityVille to stick around for a long time.
"Bobby Sue just sent you Miscellaneous Item #27 in CityVille."
Yes, viral growth has returned. Well, at least a little bit. Facebook game requests have recently started popping in our Notifications on the home page including anything from help requests to gifts. And since you can send gifts to non-players, these Notifications are likely appearing for the social game pure as well. Not to mention that Zynga's infamous "BegVille" techniques have made a not-so-triumphant return in CityVille, which in a way could be helping the game grow through persistence. It's a bit of a stretch, but being constantly reminded about a game could lead to players mentioning in conversation, spreading the news via word of mouth. Multiply that by a few million people and you've got yourself an inadvertent source of growth.
And if CityVille keeps going at this rate, CityVille will soon overtake Cafe World and later FrontierVille in the list of Zynga's top Facebook games. However, is it possible for the game to come close to FarmVille much less thwart it as the developer's number one game? Well, that's up for you, the players, to decide.
FarmVille Unreleased: My Snowman and Snowball Fights coming soon
My Snowman 1
If you thought the winter festivities in FarmVille would end with the Holiday Tree and the upcoming New Year's Eve Party, think again. Our good friends at FarmVille Freak recently detailed an upcoming Snowman event on their podcast, but it's just now that they've posted images of the unreleased content. It appears that much like in FrontierVille, players in FarmVille will be able to build their very own Snowman.
Find more details and images behind the break.
My Snowman 2
If these preview images are any indication, it will play out similar to several recent building events with players asking one another for gifts in order to complete the Snowman. Yet, there is one small twist. We expect this event to be rolled out in conjunction with something even more exciting: Snowball Fights. According to FarmVille Freak, this is exactly how we will "gift" each other the snow needed to build our Snowmen. A pile of snow will accumulate on our farms from throwing so much of it and with that we'll be able to build an icy, flaky friend.
My Snowman 3
Better yet, it appears that after either accumulating enough snow or giving your Snowman a special item, it will dance for you on the farm. Finally, our very own Frosty the Snowman for the farm--let's just hope this one doesn't melt away. Stay tuned to your farm for when this feature goes live and right here for a detailed guide.
If you thought the winter festivities in FarmVille would end with the Holiday Tree and the upcoming New Year's Eve Party, think again. Our good friends at FarmVille Freak recently detailed an upcoming Snowman event on their podcast, but it's just now that they've posted images of the unreleased content. It appears that much like in FrontierVille, players in FarmVille will be able to build their very own Snowman.
Find more details and images behind the break.
My Snowman 2
If these preview images are any indication, it will play out similar to several recent building events with players asking one another for gifts in order to complete the Snowman. Yet, there is one small twist. We expect this event to be rolled out in conjunction with something even more exciting: Snowball Fights. According to FarmVille Freak, this is exactly how we will "gift" each other the snow needed to build our Snowmen. A pile of snow will accumulate on our farms from throwing so much of it and with that we'll be able to build an icy, flaky friend.
My Snowman 3
Better yet, it appears that after either accumulating enough snow or giving your Snowman a special item, it will dance for you on the farm. Finally, our very own Frosty the Snowman for the farm--let's just hope this one doesn't melt away. Stay tuned to your farm for when this feature goes live and right here for a detailed guide.
CrowdStar's Mighty Pirates: A treasure trove of Facebook gaming
Since Playfish's Pirates Ahoy! all but sunk a few months ago with little to no activity, swashbuckling Facebook gamers have been hankering for a fix to their rampant peg legging. Well, move over Pirates Ahoy! as CrowdStar has met the demand with Mighty Pirates. A pirate game with multiple layers through two different gameplay modes and a sprawling storyline (completed through collecting treasure maps) designed to guide players along, this just might be the answer to our inkling for island hopping.
Find out if Mighty Pirates is the game for you after the break.
Island Exploration
Mighty Pirates operates on two levels: Exploration and Battle. The former is accessed by clicking on any one of the island surrounding your vessel, which will immediately transport your avatar (who will strangely appear in his skivvies) to the island. It's from here that you will have to search under every tree, bush and piece of rock to hopefully find a piece of the treasure map and some resources along the way. But beware, skeletal pirates lurk beneath the sand, and will need to be dealt with if you want to complete the entire island. Depending on the area in which you're digging, it will expend a certain amount of Island Energy, which is only used for exploration. As for the other form of Energy, you'll be spending that by firing off a cannon ball or two.
Now, this is where the real fun begins. To access Battle Mode, all you need to do is click on any of the surrounding ships while on the home screen, but be wary of the opponent's level in comparison to your own. Once in Battle, you'll be trading blows in a turn-based style fight with the enemy. As for your options, there are only three: Fire Cannon, Put out Fire and Improve Weapon Accuracy. The amount of Crew Members you've added to your ship--the amount you can have increases with level--affects the amount of actions you can take in a single turn (they'll also be around to help in Exploration). The main goal of Battle is the destroy the opponent's ship while keeping your own from burning down die to fire damage, which becomes an interesting balance given that fire damage puts a dent into your ship's health points every turn. Winning battles rewards you with experience, coins and sometimes even a treasure map piece.
Battle Mode
While turn based battles with big explosions are certainly enjoyable, what makes warfare more interesting in Mighty Pirates is that every ship you engage in naval combat is an actual player of the game. While these battles don't occur in real time, the player will be updated upon logging in of whether they won or lost a battle. And to tack on even greater risks, you can even steal treasure map pieces from enemies by defeating them (and vise versa), which is certainly an incentive to keep your ship in tip top shape.
As you progress in the game through either Battles or Exploration, you'll gain access to improved parts for your ship such as cannons, hulls and sterns. However, you'll also need resources like Iron and Wood, which can only be found while digging for treasure on various islands. That being said, it's not wise to play to only one of the game's two primary modes. Also, leveling up will allow players to increase their Battle statistics like attack power, defense and accuracy, all of which are necessary but are open to different play styles. Though, a high accuracy rating is pretty much a must-have in battle or you'll end up making more splashes than explosions.
Might Pirates Home Screen
If you end up growing tired of a particular area, you can Set Sail once every eight hours to a new set of islands to explore and ships to battle. Though, we'd recommend at least exploring an entire map first before leaving to another region. Just remember to keep track of your Journal progress so that you move along through the game's story smoothly and you should do just fine. Just watch out for those pesky enemy pirates just waiting to thwart your progress. This brief player vs. player element combined with strategic turn-based battles and exploration make for what could be the next big pirate adventure on Facebook.
Find out if Mighty Pirates is the game for you after the break.
Island Exploration
Mighty Pirates operates on two levels: Exploration and Battle. The former is accessed by clicking on any one of the island surrounding your vessel, which will immediately transport your avatar (who will strangely appear in his skivvies) to the island. It's from here that you will have to search under every tree, bush and piece of rock to hopefully find a piece of the treasure map and some resources along the way. But beware, skeletal pirates lurk beneath the sand, and will need to be dealt with if you want to complete the entire island. Depending on the area in which you're digging, it will expend a certain amount of Island Energy, which is only used for exploration. As for the other form of Energy, you'll be spending that by firing off a cannon ball or two.
Now, this is where the real fun begins. To access Battle Mode, all you need to do is click on any of the surrounding ships while on the home screen, but be wary of the opponent's level in comparison to your own. Once in Battle, you'll be trading blows in a turn-based style fight with the enemy. As for your options, there are only three: Fire Cannon, Put out Fire and Improve Weapon Accuracy. The amount of Crew Members you've added to your ship--the amount you can have increases with level--affects the amount of actions you can take in a single turn (they'll also be around to help in Exploration). The main goal of Battle is the destroy the opponent's ship while keeping your own from burning down die to fire damage, which becomes an interesting balance given that fire damage puts a dent into your ship's health points every turn. Winning battles rewards you with experience, coins and sometimes even a treasure map piece.
Battle Mode
While turn based battles with big explosions are certainly enjoyable, what makes warfare more interesting in Mighty Pirates is that every ship you engage in naval combat is an actual player of the game. While these battles don't occur in real time, the player will be updated upon logging in of whether they won or lost a battle. And to tack on even greater risks, you can even steal treasure map pieces from enemies by defeating them (and vise versa), which is certainly an incentive to keep your ship in tip top shape.
As you progress in the game through either Battles or Exploration, you'll gain access to improved parts for your ship such as cannons, hulls and sterns. However, you'll also need resources like Iron and Wood, which can only be found while digging for treasure on various islands. That being said, it's not wise to play to only one of the game's two primary modes. Also, leveling up will allow players to increase their Battle statistics like attack power, defense and accuracy, all of which are necessary but are open to different play styles. Though, a high accuracy rating is pretty much a must-have in battle or you'll end up making more splashes than explosions.
Might Pirates Home Screen
If you end up growing tired of a particular area, you can Set Sail once every eight hours to a new set of islands to explore and ships to battle. Though, we'd recommend at least exploring an entire map first before leaving to another region. Just remember to keep track of your Journal progress so that you move along through the game's story smoothly and you should do just fine. Just watch out for those pesky enemy pirates just waiting to thwart your progress. This brief player vs. player element combined with strategic turn-based battles and exploration make for what could be the next big pirate adventure on Facebook.
FarmVille on Film: It's not that easy to Escape the Farm
Just try it, you'll see. Innocent FarmVille player Kelly is suffering in the workplace due to her FarmVille addiction, so she decides to quit. However, this short video, titled "Escape the Farm," makes one thing clear: one does not simply leave the farm. Apparently, a secret organization known as "The Farm" knows when you leave and what they do to players who quit is not pretty. Now, let's just hope Zynga doesn't resort to tactics like this to bring back retired players.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Plants vs Zombies for iPhone update unearths nine new mini games
Look, Plants vs Zombies might be PopCap's most entertaining game to date (next to Peggle), but even flinging seeds at ravenous zombies gets stale after awhile. Luckily, PopCap thinks so too, and has updated PvZ for iPhone, bringing with it a whopping nine new mini games that players can buy using coins in Crazy Dave's Shop. Well, at least these mini games are new to the iPhone--they're all from the PC and Mac version of PvZ.
Each of the nine new games comes in a pack of three for 50,000 coins, which players can collect through just playing the Adventure Mode or tending to their Zen Gardens (released in the previous update). Of course, you can expedite the process by purchasing bundles of 100,000 coins for $.99 apiece. Here's a sneak peek at all nine mini games, courtesy of PopCap:
Game Pack #3
Walnut Bowling 2: Knock 'em dead in this killer twist to an old favorite sport.
Seeing Stars: Unravel the mystery of the star-shaped pattern.
Bobsled Bonanza: Melt the ice and defeat bobsledders and Zombonis in this frosty battle.
Game Pack #4
Invisi-Ghoul: Test your prowess to take on invisible zombies.
Last Stand: Not your average day at the pool!
ZomBotany 2: Hybrid zombies sport plant heads and abilities to up the challenge ante.
Game Pack #5
Beghouled Twist: An homage to Bejeweled Twist, this mash-up requires match-3 skill.
Pogo Party: Crash the pogo party of your roof!
Zombie Nimble Zombie Quick: Get ready to move faster than ever!
PvZ mini games
All nine mini games sound like fun, but we're most interested in this homage to Bejeweled Twist, and Walnut Bowling has always been a blast when it comes up in Adventure Mode. This update also introduces more Achievements to brag about share on Apple Game Center, most notable of which is Peking Express.
This is a micro game of sorts in which you're timed on how quickly you scroll all the way down the Achievements page to visit China and its zombies. I made it in just over 10 seconds--can you beat my time? If you're game, then click on the link below and get to diggin'. If anything, this should hold you over until Peggle and PvZ hit Facebook ... maybe.
Each of the nine new games comes in a pack of three for 50,000 coins, which players can collect through just playing the Adventure Mode or tending to their Zen Gardens (released in the previous update). Of course, you can expedite the process by purchasing bundles of 100,000 coins for $.99 apiece. Here's a sneak peek at all nine mini games, courtesy of PopCap:
Game Pack #3
Walnut Bowling 2: Knock 'em dead in this killer twist to an old favorite sport.
Seeing Stars: Unravel the mystery of the star-shaped pattern.
Bobsled Bonanza: Melt the ice and defeat bobsledders and Zombonis in this frosty battle.
Game Pack #4
Invisi-Ghoul: Test your prowess to take on invisible zombies.
Last Stand: Not your average day at the pool!
ZomBotany 2: Hybrid zombies sport plant heads and abilities to up the challenge ante.
Game Pack #5
Beghouled Twist: An homage to Bejeweled Twist, this mash-up requires match-3 skill.
Pogo Party: Crash the pogo party of your roof!
Zombie Nimble Zombie Quick: Get ready to move faster than ever!
PvZ mini games
All nine mini games sound like fun, but we're most interested in this homage to Bejeweled Twist, and Walnut Bowling has always been a blast when it comes up in Adventure Mode. This update also introduces more Achievements to brag about share on Apple Game Center, most notable of which is Peking Express.
This is a micro game of sorts in which you're timed on how quickly you scroll all the way down the Achievements page to visit China and its zombies. I made it in just over 10 seconds--can you beat my time? If you're game, then click on the link below and get to diggin'. If anything, this should hold you over until Peggle and PvZ hit Facebook ... maybe.
Car Town Japan drifts onto Mobage, Cie Games opens Tokyo office
If The Fast and the Furious has taught us anything about the "real" world, it's that Tokyo is a haven for gear-heads. Car Town creator Cie Games looks to bring Japanese social gamers just what they've been looking for in a social game with Car Town Japan. Inside Social Games (ISG) reports that the Facebook racer with over 5.8 million monthly players will expand to Mobage, DeNA's mobile social games network, before the end of this week as the company opens its Tokyo office.
"When we launch future titles, you'll see us deployed internationally much more quickly on multiple platforms," Cie Games CEO Justin Choi told ISG. "We are planning on opening additional offices. We are going to use Japan as a hub to expand into other markets in Asia."
According to ISG, this Japanese version of Car Town on Mobage is different from what sounds like a dedicated version of Car Town for iOS and Android devices that's in the works, which will be released "soon." Car Town Japan features a decidedly Japanese look and feel, though folks will still race, build, decorate and upgrade cars based on real-life brands like Toyota, Honda and Ford.
For you lucky folks going to the Tokyo Game Show next week, Cie Games will have a playable version of Car Town Japan there, too. For the rest of us back in the states and elsewhere, we'll just have to wait patiently until the game speeds onto our iPhones and various Android devices. So pump your brakes, and go play Car Town on Facebook some more.
"When we launch future titles, you'll see us deployed internationally much more quickly on multiple platforms," Cie Games CEO Justin Choi told ISG. "We are planning on opening additional offices. We are going to use Japan as a hub to expand into other markets in Asia."
According to ISG, this Japanese version of Car Town on Mobage is different from what sounds like a dedicated version of Car Town for iOS and Android devices that's in the works, which will be released "soon." Car Town Japan features a decidedly Japanese look and feel, though folks will still race, build, decorate and upgrade cars based on real-life brands like Toyota, Honda and Ford.
For you lucky folks going to the Tokyo Game Show next week, Cie Games will have a playable version of Car Town Japan there, too. For the rest of us back in the states and elsewhere, we'll just have to wait patiently until the game speeds onto our iPhones and various Android devices. So pump your brakes, and go play Car Town on Facebook some more.
Ubisoft CEO: Smurfs & Co. gained 4.2 million players with no marketing
And now, The Smurfs & Co. is sitting pretty with over 9 million monthly players since its launch just over a month ago. During an interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot revealed, "Smurfs went from zero to 4.2 million without marketing in two weeks."
While these might not be The Sims Social numbers, it speaks volumes to the power social games with strong brands behind them have on Facebook. This is especially considering Ubisoft conducted zero advertising (the main method of growth for Facebook games these days) for The Smurfs & Co. in that time period. That's the power of The Smurfs for ya, I guess.
Guillemont continued," So it's amazing how fast, when the content is adapted, those products can grow. So it really shows that people are very interested by new content in games. So we will continue to develop and make sure the quality of the game experience is adapted to what people are looking for."
In other words, the best way to for a Facebook game to grow is the keep it current, according to Guillemont. (So, that's why Zynga updates its games incessantly!) The Ubisoft boss went on to reveal to GamesIndustry.biz just why it's in on the rapidly growing free-to-play and social games movement: "In the long term there's no reason why the casual would not overcome the hardcore business because there are more people that are interested in buying casual."
So, if you ask Guillemont, casual (and free-to-play) are the way to go, which already accounted for 40 percent of the company's revenue in 2010. And Ubisoft is certainly not alone--EA has already spent over $1 billion on Facebook and mobile games, which is looking to already be paying off. Other traditional companies are slowly dipping their feet, while a legion of originally hardcore game designers have Facebook Credits twinkling in their eyes.
Does this mean no more Assassin's Creed or Ghost Recon for the hardcore crowd? Of course not, but I'm willing to bet that it does mean far more blue creatures in white hats in a not-so-little place called Facebook.
While these might not be The Sims Social numbers, it speaks volumes to the power social games with strong brands behind them have on Facebook. This is especially considering Ubisoft conducted zero advertising (the main method of growth for Facebook games these days) for The Smurfs & Co. in that time period. That's the power of The Smurfs for ya, I guess.
Guillemont continued," So it's amazing how fast, when the content is adapted, those products can grow. So it really shows that people are very interested by new content in games. So we will continue to develop and make sure the quality of the game experience is adapted to what people are looking for."
In other words, the best way to for a Facebook game to grow is the keep it current, according to Guillemont. (So, that's why Zynga updates its games incessantly!) The Ubisoft boss went on to reveal to GamesIndustry.biz just why it's in on the rapidly growing free-to-play and social games movement: "In the long term there's no reason why the casual would not overcome the hardcore business because there are more people that are interested in buying casual."
So, if you ask Guillemont, casual (and free-to-play) are the way to go, which already accounted for 40 percent of the company's revenue in 2010. And Ubisoft is certainly not alone--EA has already spent over $1 billion on Facebook and mobile games, which is looking to already be paying off. Other traditional companies are slowly dipping their feet, while a legion of originally hardcore game designers have Facebook Credits twinkling in their eyes.
Does this mean no more Assassin's Creed or Ghost Recon for the hardcore crowd? Of course not, but I'm willing to bet that it does mean far more blue creatures in white hats in a not-so-little place called Facebook.
Game Developers Choice Online Awards Audience Award: Vote for your fave Facebook game
We know, you're miffed that your favorite Facebook game didn't make the cut in the second annual Game Developers Choice Online Awards nominations. Luckily for you, the Audience Award category has finally opened up for voting from the public starting today, Sept. 8, through Sept. 22. All you need to do is head on over to the Audience Award voting page, type in what game--any online game--you think should win, and provide an email address to confirm your vote.
The second annual GDC Online, an Austin, Texas-based online game-centric offshoot of the annual GDC event that takes place annually in San Francisco, is little more than a month away, running Oct. 10-13. The GDC Online Awards will be held on the evening of Oct. 12 in the Austin Convention Center. Now that you know all of the logistics regarding the GDC Online Awards, let's talk a bit about that Audience Award.
Frankly, it can be a little daunting, that blank white box, just waiting for your answer. If you need some help framing your answer deciding on a sound candidate, take a look at the nominees that were already decided upon. If that doesn't help, take a look at this month's Top 25 Facebook Games to see what's hot.
Or, you know, just vote for what game you enjoy best--just make sure it's a Facebook game, kay? League of Legends won the Audience Award last year, and while it's a blast, we can't have that this year ... or we'll miss out on the Facebook royalty checks again. (Before the flaming starts: Jokes, people, just jokes.)
The second annual GDC Online, an Austin, Texas-based online game-centric offshoot of the annual GDC event that takes place annually in San Francisco, is little more than a month away, running Oct. 10-13. The GDC Online Awards will be held on the evening of Oct. 12 in the Austin Convention Center. Now that you know all of the logistics regarding the GDC Online Awards, let's talk a bit about that Audience Award.
Frankly, it can be a little daunting, that blank white box, just waiting for your answer. If you need some help framing your answer deciding on a sound candidate, take a look at the nominees that were already decided upon. If that doesn't help, take a look at this month's Top 25 Facebook Games to see what's hot.
Or, you know, just vote for what game you enjoy best--just make sure it's a Facebook game, kay? League of Legends won the Audience Award last year, and while it's a blast, we can't have that this year ... or we'll miss out on the Facebook royalty checks again. (Before the flaming starts: Jokes, people, just jokes.)
It's time to explore Adventure World, Zynga's largest Facebook game yet
Seriously, do you have a few hours to kill? Then good, because you might need it (and some Facebook Credits, in that case). Zynga has set Adventure World loose on Facebook--all 30 maps, 200 quests, over 1,000 art assets and 20,000 objects included. In this game that just so happens to be 40 times larger than previous Zynga games like FarmVille, players assume the role of an adventurer in search of the golden city of El Dorado.
You'll trek across jungles, mountains, caverns, volcanoes and finally venture into El Dorado itself, overcoming a myriad of wild beasts, lethal traps and various puzzles using your wits in search of the ultimate treasure. Developed by Zynga Boston (formerly known as Conduit Labs), Adventure World makes use of pseudo-3D, cel-shaded visuals to achieve an art style reminiscent of comic books from the '40s revolving around the golden age of exploration.
"When we joined the Zynga family a year ago, our goal was to not only create a game unlike any other in the social gaming space today, but to create a completely new genre," Zynga Boston GM Nabeel Hyatt said in a release. "We call this genre social adventure, one where players can explore, discover and team up with friends on an adventure of a lifetime."
Gallery: Adventure World on Facebook
Player navigate the world using unique tools like whips, grappling hooks and more that level individually as your character progresses. Speaking of which, there are over 10,000 different avatar variations at launch through its customization system. Based on an early look at the game, Adventure World looks to be Zynga's most ambitious project yet, with game mechanics that teach players rather than tell them how to navigate the game world.
But players will have the help of their friends to navigate Adventure World, too. Players can enlist up to 12 friends along the way to help them overcome obstacles like puzzles and traps more easily. And as players use the same friends more often, the stronger those friends become, fostering tight-knit groups of asynchronous adventurers.
Adventure World is already available in eight languages: English, French, Italian, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Turkish and Norwegian. Zynga also points out that this is the first game to feature a pygmy princess, so if that doesn't get you to click the link below, we don't know what will.
You'll trek across jungles, mountains, caverns, volcanoes and finally venture into El Dorado itself, overcoming a myriad of wild beasts, lethal traps and various puzzles using your wits in search of the ultimate treasure. Developed by Zynga Boston (formerly known as Conduit Labs), Adventure World makes use of pseudo-3D, cel-shaded visuals to achieve an art style reminiscent of comic books from the '40s revolving around the golden age of exploration.
"When we joined the Zynga family a year ago, our goal was to not only create a game unlike any other in the social gaming space today, but to create a completely new genre," Zynga Boston GM Nabeel Hyatt said in a release. "We call this genre social adventure, one where players can explore, discover and team up with friends on an adventure of a lifetime."
Gallery: Adventure World on Facebook
Player navigate the world using unique tools like whips, grappling hooks and more that level individually as your character progresses. Speaking of which, there are over 10,000 different avatar variations at launch through its customization system. Based on an early look at the game, Adventure World looks to be Zynga's most ambitious project yet, with game mechanics that teach players rather than tell them how to navigate the game world.
But players will have the help of their friends to navigate Adventure World, too. Players can enlist up to 12 friends along the way to help them overcome obstacles like puzzles and traps more easily. And as players use the same friends more often, the stronger those friends become, fostering tight-knit groups of asynchronous adventurers.
Adventure World is already available in eight languages: English, French, Italian, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Turkish and Norwegian. Zynga also points out that this is the first game to feature a pygmy princess, so if that doesn't get you to click the link below, we don't know what will.
Monday, January 9, 2012
FarmVille Cheats and Tips: Nursery Barn Calf and Foal Guide
To be an accomplished calf & foal FarmVille breeder, you're going to need an adult bull or stallion, and lots of adult cows and horses to breed. An easy way to get lots of adult cows and horses is by placing foals in your FarmVille Nursery Barn. While the Nursery Barn's primary function is to harvest coins from multiple foals and calves at once, it also has a secondary feature: it turns your foals and calves into adult horses and cows.
Every time you harvest your Nursery Barn, there is a chance that one of your calves or foals will grow into an adult cow or horse. These can then be used to either breed more calves for your neighbors, or used to do the Multiple Harvest Cheat for infinite breedings. More on the Multiple Breeding Cheat here.
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
However, be careful with the Nursery Barn. Many people assume that their rare foals and calves will grow up into the adult version of themselves. This is not the case. Continue reading to learn all about the Nursery Barn and how it transforms calves and foals.
If you look at our chart below, you'll notice that there are only a handful of different adult animals your foals and calves can grow into. For example, a Green Calf will turn into an ordinary Chocolate Cow. Similarly, a Black Stallion Foal will become a Black Horse, not a Black Stallion.
This is because if you could just reproduce your rare Farm Cash-bought animals with breeding, no one would spend any Farm Cash anymore. Though it may seem unfair, all I ask is that you are careful with your rare calves & foals.
Check out our FarmVille Cheats & Tips Nursery Barn Guide chart below for more info on which calves and foals transform into which cows and horses.
Cows & Calves:
farmville breeding nursery barnTuscan Calf farmville breeding nursery barnCalf farmville breeding nursery barn
Chocolate Calf
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Brown Calf
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Holstein Calf
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Groovy Calf
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Simmental Calf
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Candy Cane Calf
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Robot Calf
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Red Calf
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Longhorn Calf
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Purple Calf
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Blue Calf
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Autumn Calf
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Gelbvieh Calf
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Disco Calf
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Holiday
Calf
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Western
Longhorn Calf
farmville nursery barn breeding valentine calfValentine
Calf farmville nursery barn breeding Purple
Valentine Calf
These all grow into:
farmville breeding cheats nursery barnHolstein Cow
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Fan Calf
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Pink Patch Calf
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Green Calf
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Pink Calf
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Neapolitan Calf
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Kelly Green Calf
These all grow into:
farmville breeding cheats nursery barnChocolate Cow
The Belted Calf cannot be put in the Nursery Barn.
Horses & Foals:
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Pink Pony Foal
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Reitpony Foal
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Purple Pony Foal
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Silver Pony Foal
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Pony
Foal
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Black Pony
Foal
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Blue Pony
Foal
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Candy Corn
Pony Foal
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Yakut Pony
Foal
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Candy Cane
Pony Foal
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Pinto Pony
Foal
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Disco Pony
Foal
farmville nursery barn breeding valentine pony foalValentine
Pony Foal
These all grow into:
farmville breeding cheats nursery barnLight Blue Pony
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Autumn Foal
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Breton Foal
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Brown Foal
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Appaloosa Foal
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
White Foal
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Haflinger Foal
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Grey Foal
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Pinto Foal
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Black Stallion
Foal
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Mustang
Foal
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Morgan
Foal
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Black
Foal
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Snow Stallion
Foal
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Red Pinto
Foal
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Saddle
Foal
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
New Year
Foal
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Asian Wild Foal
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Red Pinto Foal
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Green Foal
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Palouse Foal
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Buckskin Foal
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Fjord Foal
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Red Foal
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Forest Foal
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Brown Gypsy
Foal
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Harvest
Foal
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Gypsy
Foal
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Camargue
Foal
farmville nursery barn breeding pink stallion foalPink Stallion
Foal farmville nursery barn breeding pink gypsy foalPink Gypsy
Foal farmville nursery barn breeding icelandic foalIcelandic
Foal
These all grow into:
farmville breeding cheats nursery barnBlack Horse
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Percheron
Foal
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Cream Draft
Foal
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Clydesdale
Foal
These all grow into:
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Every time you harvest your Nursery Barn, there is a chance that one of your calves or foals will grow into an adult cow or horse. These can then be used to either breed more calves for your neighbors, or used to do the Multiple Harvest Cheat for infinite breedings. More on the Multiple Breeding Cheat here.
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
However, be careful with the Nursery Barn. Many people assume that their rare foals and calves will grow up into the adult version of themselves. This is not the case. Continue reading to learn all about the Nursery Barn and how it transforms calves and foals.
If you look at our chart below, you'll notice that there are only a handful of different adult animals your foals and calves can grow into. For example, a Green Calf will turn into an ordinary Chocolate Cow. Similarly, a Black Stallion Foal will become a Black Horse, not a Black Stallion.
This is because if you could just reproduce your rare Farm Cash-bought animals with breeding, no one would spend any Farm Cash anymore. Though it may seem unfair, all I ask is that you are careful with your rare calves & foals.
Check out our FarmVille Cheats & Tips Nursery Barn Guide chart below for more info on which calves and foals transform into which cows and horses.
Cows & Calves:
farmville breeding nursery barnTuscan Calf farmville breeding nursery barnCalf farmville breeding nursery barn
Chocolate Calf
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Brown Calf
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Holstein Calf
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Groovy Calf
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Simmental Calf
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Candy Cane Calf
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Robot Calf
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Red Calf
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Longhorn Calf
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Purple Calf
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Blue Calf
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Autumn Calf
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Gelbvieh Calf
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Disco Calf
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Holiday
Calf
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Western
Longhorn Calf
farmville nursery barn breeding valentine calfValentine
Calf farmville nursery barn breeding Purple
Valentine Calf
These all grow into:
farmville breeding cheats nursery barnHolstein Cow
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Fan Calf
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Pink Patch Calf
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Green Calf
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Pink Calf
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Neapolitan Calf
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Kelly Green Calf
These all grow into:
farmville breeding cheats nursery barnChocolate Cow
The Belted Calf cannot be put in the Nursery Barn.
Horses & Foals:
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Pink Pony Foal
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Reitpony Foal
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Purple Pony Foal
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Silver Pony Foal
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Pony
Foal
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Black Pony
Foal
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Blue Pony
Foal
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Candy Corn
Pony Foal
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Yakut Pony
Foal
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Candy Cane
Pony Foal
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Pinto Pony
Foal
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Disco Pony
Foal
farmville nursery barn breeding valentine pony foalValentine
Pony Foal
These all grow into:
farmville breeding cheats nursery barnLight Blue Pony
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Autumn Foal
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Breton Foal
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Brown Foal
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Appaloosa Foal
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
White Foal
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Haflinger Foal
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Grey Foal
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Pinto Foal
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Black Stallion
Foal
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Mustang
Foal
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Morgan
Foal
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Black
Foal
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Snow Stallion
Foal
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Red Pinto
Foal
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Saddle
Foal
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
New Year
Foal
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Asian Wild Foal
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Red Pinto Foal
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Green Foal
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Palouse Foal
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Buckskin Foal
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Fjord Foal
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Red Foal
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Forest Foal
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Brown Gypsy
Foal
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Harvest
Foal
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Gypsy
Foal
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Camargue
Foal
farmville nursery barn breeding pink stallion foalPink Stallion
Foal farmville nursery barn breeding pink gypsy foalPink Gypsy
Foal farmville nursery barn breeding icelandic foalIcelandic
Foal
These all grow into:
farmville breeding cheats nursery barnBlack Horse
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Percheron
Foal
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Cream Draft
Foal
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
Clydesdale
Foal
These all grow into:
farmville breeding cheats nursery barn
FarmVille Cheats and Tips: Horse and Foal Breeding Guide
Like breeding cows, breeding Horses and Foals in the FarmVille Horse Stable is a very complicated process. Our FarmVille Cheats & Tips: Horse & Foal Breeding Guide aims to simplify that process. By using the charts and information below, in combination with our FarmVille Cheats & Tips: Multiple Breedings Guide and Nursery Barn Guide, you should have no problem becoming a master Horse Stable breeder.
There are a ton of different horses and foals in FarmVille. Generally, if a female horse is placed in a stable with a stallion and harvested, there is a chance that a foal of the same type as the female horse will be produced. However, there are many exceptions to the rule. To help you out, I created an easy to use guide that will answer all your questions regarding horse and foal breeding:
farmville breeding cheats horse foal
What foal will this horse produce? What stallion do I need to place in my Horse Stable to get a foal? How do I get miniature foals? Why are my rare horses making regular Brown Foals? The answer to all these questions and more can be found below, in our easy to use FarmVille Cheats & Tips: Horse & Foal Breeding charts and guide.
To get a foal, place one stallion, then any horses you which to breed into the Horse Stable. If you add multiple horses of the same type, there is a higher chance a foal of that type will be produced. When the Horse Stable is ready for harvest, click it and you may potentially receive a foal. To be more efficient, use the Multiple Breedings Trick for more chances to get more foals. Use my chart below to help you combine the right stallion with the right female horse, to get the foal you need.
Note: The Snow Stallion now works like a regular stallion and can be used to breed foals.
Most adult horses can produce a foal of the same type:
Male Female Offspring
farmville breeding cheats horse foalWhite Stallionfarmville breeding cheats horse foalBlack Minature
Stallionfarmville breeding cheats horse foalBlack Stallionfarmville breeding cheats horse foalMiniature Stallionfarmville breeding cheats horse foalWandering Stallionfarmville breeding snow stallionSnow Stallionfarmville breeding pink stallionPink Stallion farmville breeding cheats horse foalE-QUESTR10N farmville breeding cheats horse foalGreen Foal
farmville breeding cheats horse foalBlack Horse farmville breeding cheats horse foalBlack Foal
farmville breeding cheats horse foalPalouse Horse farmville breeding cheats horse foalPalouse Foal
farmville breeding cheats horse foalBuckskin Horse farmville breeding cheats horse foalBuckskin Foal
farmville breeding cheats horse foalGray Horse farmville breeding cheats horse foalGrey Foal
Male Female Offspring
farmville breeding cheats horse foalWhite Stallionfarmville breeding cheats horse foalBlack Minature
Stallionfarmville breeding cheats horse foalBlack Stallionfarmville breeding cheats horse foalMiniature Stallionfarmville breeding cheats horse foalWandering Stallionfarmville breeding snow stallionSnow Stallionfarmville breeding pink stallionPink Stallion farmville breeding cheats horse foalPinto Horse farmville breeding cheats horse foalPinto Foal
farmville breeding cheats horse foalRed Horse farmville breeding cheats horse foalRed Foal
farmville breeding cheats horse foalApaloosa farmville breeding cheats horse foalApaloosa Foal
farmville breeding cheats horse foalBreton Horse farmville breeding cheats horse foalBreton Foal
farmville breeding cheats horse foalAutumn Horse farmville breeding cheats horse foalAutumn Foal
Male Female Offspring
farmville breeding cheats horse foalWhite Stallionfarmville breeding cheats horse foalBlack Minature
Stallionfarmville breeding cheats horse foalBlack Stallionfarmville breeding cheats horse foalMiniature Stallionfarmville breeding cheats horse foalWandering Stallionfarmville breeding snow stallionSnow Stallionfarmville breeding pink stallionPink Stallion farmville breeding cheats horse foalHaflinger farmville breeding cheats horse foalHaflinger Foal
farmville breeding cheats horse foalWild Mustang farmville breeding cheats horse foalWild Mustang Foal
farmville breeding cheats horse foalMorgan Horse farmville breeding cheats horse foalMorgan Foal
farmville breeding cheats horse foalReitpony farmville breeding cheats horse foalReitpony Foal
farmville breeding cheats horse foalPercheron Horse farmville breeding cheats horse foalPercheron Foal
Male Female Offspring
farmville breeding cheats horse foalWhite Stallionfarmville breeding cheats horse foalBlack Minature
Stallionfarmville breeding cheats horse foalBlack Stallionfarmville breeding cheats horse foalMiniature Stallionfarmville breeding cheats horse foalWandering Stallionfarmville breeding snow stallionSnow Stallionfarmville breeding pink stallionPink Stallion farmville breeding cheats horse foalSilver Pony farmville breeding cheats horse foalSilver Pony Foal
farmville breeding cheats horse foalPurple Mane Pony farmville breeding cheats horse foalPurple Pony Foal
farmville breeding cheats horse foalBrown Pony farmville breeding cheats horse foalBrown Pony Foal
farmville breeding cheats horse foalPink Hair Pony farmville breeding cheats horse foalPink Pony Foal
farmville breeding cheats horse foalLight Blue Pony farmville breeding cheats horse foalBlue Pony Foal
Male Female Offspring
farmville breeding cheats horse foalWhite Stallionfarmville breeding cheats horse foalBlack Minature
Stallionfarmville breeding cheats horse foalBlack Stallionfarmville breeding cheats horse foalMiniature Stallionfarmville breeding cheats horse foalWandering Stallionfarmville breeding snow stallionSnow Stallionfarmville breeding pink stallionPink Stallion farmville breeding cheats horse foalBlack Pony farmville breeding cheats horse foalBlack Pony Foal
farmville breeding cheats horse foalCandy Corn Pony farmville breeding cheats horse foalCandy Corn Foal
farmville breeding cheats horse foalMini Appaloosa Pony farmville breeding cheats horse foalMini Appaloosa Foal
farmville breeding cheats horse foalCydesdale farmville breeding cheats horse foalClydesdale Foal
farmville breeding cheats horse foalCream Draft Horse farmville breeding cheats horse foalCream Draft Foal
Male Female Offspring
farmville breeding cheats horse foalWhite Stallionfarmville breeding cheats horse foalBlack Minature
Stallionfarmville breeding cheats horse foalBlack Stallionfarmville breeding cheats horse foalMiniature Stallionfarmville breeding cheats horse foalWandering Stallionfarmville breeding snow stallionSnow Stallionfarmville breeding pink stallionPink Stallion farmville breeding valentine ponyValentine
Pony farmville breeding valentine pony foalValentine
Pony Foal
farmville breeding candy cane ponyCandy Cane
Pony farmville breeding candy cane pony foalCandy Cane
Foal
farmville breeding pink gypsy horsePink Gypsy
Horse farmville breedingPink Gypsy
Foal
farmville breeding icelandic horseIcelandic
Horse farmville breeding icelandic ponyIcelandic
Foal
But there are some exceptions. All these females horses will only produce brown foals:
Male Female Offspring
farmville breeding cheats horse foalWhite Stallionfarmville breeding cheats horse foalBlack Minature
Stallionfarmville breeding cheats horse foalBlack Stallionfarmville breeding cheats horse foalMiniature Stallionfarmville breeding cheats horse foalWandering Stallionfarmville breeding snow stallionSnow Stallionfarmville breeding pink stallionPink Stallion farmville breeding cheats horse foalSkeleton Horse farmville breeding cheats horse foalBrown Foal
farmville breeding cheats horse foalHorse
farmville breeding cheats horse foalHigh Kick Horse
farmville breeding cheats horse foalPseudocorn
farmville breeding cheats horse foalHorse Spectator
Combine the Mini Horse or the Cream Mini Horse with a Wandering Stallion and you will merely produce Brown Foals:
Male Female Offspring
farmville breeding cheats horse foalWandering
Stallion farmville breeding cheats horse foalMiniature Horse farmville breeding cheats horse foalBrown Foal
farmville breeding cheats horse foalCream Mini Horse
By using the White Stallion, the Black Stallion, or the Snow Stallion to breed, there is also a chance that a White Foal, a Black Stallion Foal, or a Snow Stallion Foal (respectively) will be produced:
Male Female Offspring
farmville breeding cheats horse foalWhite Stallion Any female
horse farmville breeding cheats horse foalWhite Foal
farmville breeding cheats horse foalBlack Stallion Any female
horse farmville breeding cheats horse foalBlack Stallion
Foal
farmville breeding snow stallionSnow Stallion Any female horse farmville breeding snow stallion foalSnow Stallion
Foal
farmville breeding pink stallionPink Stallion Any female horse farmville breeding pink stallion foalPink Stallion
Foal
Combining a Mini White Stallion or Mini Black Stallion with either a Cream Mini Horse or Miniature Horse will result in one of three miniature horses:
Male Female Offspring
farmville breeding cheats horse foalMiniature Stallionfarmville breeding cheats horse foalBlack Miniature
Stallion farmville breeding cheats horse foalCream Mini Foalfarmville breeding cheats horse foalMiniature Foal farmville breeding cheats horse foalWhite Mini Foal
farmville breeding cheats horse foalMiniature Foal
farmville breeding cheats horse foalCream Mini Foal
[Images via FarmVille Wiki]
Note: If the horse or foal you're looking for isn't here, odds are that it is able to produce a foal of the same type. Unfortunately, once that foal grows up, it will change to a more ordinary cow or horse.
Check out the rest of our FarmVille Breeding Guides or browse our FarmVille Cheats & Tips right here.
There are a ton of different horses and foals in FarmVille. Generally, if a female horse is placed in a stable with a stallion and harvested, there is a chance that a foal of the same type as the female horse will be produced. However, there are many exceptions to the rule. To help you out, I created an easy to use guide that will answer all your questions regarding horse and foal breeding:
farmville breeding cheats horse foal
What foal will this horse produce? What stallion do I need to place in my Horse Stable to get a foal? How do I get miniature foals? Why are my rare horses making regular Brown Foals? The answer to all these questions and more can be found below, in our easy to use FarmVille Cheats & Tips: Horse & Foal Breeding charts and guide.
To get a foal, place one stallion, then any horses you which to breed into the Horse Stable. If you add multiple horses of the same type, there is a higher chance a foal of that type will be produced. When the Horse Stable is ready for harvest, click it and you may potentially receive a foal. To be more efficient, use the Multiple Breedings Trick for more chances to get more foals. Use my chart below to help you combine the right stallion with the right female horse, to get the foal you need.
Note: The Snow Stallion now works like a regular stallion and can be used to breed foals.
Most adult horses can produce a foal of the same type:
Male Female Offspring
farmville breeding cheats horse foalWhite Stallionfarmville breeding cheats horse foalBlack Minature
Stallionfarmville breeding cheats horse foalBlack Stallionfarmville breeding cheats horse foalMiniature Stallionfarmville breeding cheats horse foalWandering Stallionfarmville breeding snow stallionSnow Stallionfarmville breeding pink stallionPink Stallion farmville breeding cheats horse foalE-QUESTR10N farmville breeding cheats horse foalGreen Foal
farmville breeding cheats horse foalBlack Horse farmville breeding cheats horse foalBlack Foal
farmville breeding cheats horse foalPalouse Horse farmville breeding cheats horse foalPalouse Foal
farmville breeding cheats horse foalBuckskin Horse farmville breeding cheats horse foalBuckskin Foal
farmville breeding cheats horse foalGray Horse farmville breeding cheats horse foalGrey Foal
Male Female Offspring
farmville breeding cheats horse foalWhite Stallionfarmville breeding cheats horse foalBlack Minature
Stallionfarmville breeding cheats horse foalBlack Stallionfarmville breeding cheats horse foalMiniature Stallionfarmville breeding cheats horse foalWandering Stallionfarmville breeding snow stallionSnow Stallionfarmville breeding pink stallionPink Stallion farmville breeding cheats horse foalPinto Horse farmville breeding cheats horse foalPinto Foal
farmville breeding cheats horse foalRed Horse farmville breeding cheats horse foalRed Foal
farmville breeding cheats horse foalApaloosa farmville breeding cheats horse foalApaloosa Foal
farmville breeding cheats horse foalBreton Horse farmville breeding cheats horse foalBreton Foal
farmville breeding cheats horse foalAutumn Horse farmville breeding cheats horse foalAutumn Foal
Male Female Offspring
farmville breeding cheats horse foalWhite Stallionfarmville breeding cheats horse foalBlack Minature
Stallionfarmville breeding cheats horse foalBlack Stallionfarmville breeding cheats horse foalMiniature Stallionfarmville breeding cheats horse foalWandering Stallionfarmville breeding snow stallionSnow Stallionfarmville breeding pink stallionPink Stallion farmville breeding cheats horse foalHaflinger farmville breeding cheats horse foalHaflinger Foal
farmville breeding cheats horse foalWild Mustang farmville breeding cheats horse foalWild Mustang Foal
farmville breeding cheats horse foalMorgan Horse farmville breeding cheats horse foalMorgan Foal
farmville breeding cheats horse foalReitpony farmville breeding cheats horse foalReitpony Foal
farmville breeding cheats horse foalPercheron Horse farmville breeding cheats horse foalPercheron Foal
Male Female Offspring
farmville breeding cheats horse foalWhite Stallionfarmville breeding cheats horse foalBlack Minature
Stallionfarmville breeding cheats horse foalBlack Stallionfarmville breeding cheats horse foalMiniature Stallionfarmville breeding cheats horse foalWandering Stallionfarmville breeding snow stallionSnow Stallionfarmville breeding pink stallionPink Stallion farmville breeding cheats horse foalSilver Pony farmville breeding cheats horse foalSilver Pony Foal
farmville breeding cheats horse foalPurple Mane Pony farmville breeding cheats horse foalPurple Pony Foal
farmville breeding cheats horse foalBrown Pony farmville breeding cheats horse foalBrown Pony Foal
farmville breeding cheats horse foalPink Hair Pony farmville breeding cheats horse foalPink Pony Foal
farmville breeding cheats horse foalLight Blue Pony farmville breeding cheats horse foalBlue Pony Foal
Male Female Offspring
farmville breeding cheats horse foalWhite Stallionfarmville breeding cheats horse foalBlack Minature
Stallionfarmville breeding cheats horse foalBlack Stallionfarmville breeding cheats horse foalMiniature Stallionfarmville breeding cheats horse foalWandering Stallionfarmville breeding snow stallionSnow Stallionfarmville breeding pink stallionPink Stallion farmville breeding cheats horse foalBlack Pony farmville breeding cheats horse foalBlack Pony Foal
farmville breeding cheats horse foalCandy Corn Pony farmville breeding cheats horse foalCandy Corn Foal
farmville breeding cheats horse foalMini Appaloosa Pony farmville breeding cheats horse foalMini Appaloosa Foal
farmville breeding cheats horse foalCydesdale farmville breeding cheats horse foalClydesdale Foal
farmville breeding cheats horse foalCream Draft Horse farmville breeding cheats horse foalCream Draft Foal
Male Female Offspring
farmville breeding cheats horse foalWhite Stallionfarmville breeding cheats horse foalBlack Minature
Stallionfarmville breeding cheats horse foalBlack Stallionfarmville breeding cheats horse foalMiniature Stallionfarmville breeding cheats horse foalWandering Stallionfarmville breeding snow stallionSnow Stallionfarmville breeding pink stallionPink Stallion farmville breeding valentine ponyValentine
Pony farmville breeding valentine pony foalValentine
Pony Foal
farmville breeding candy cane ponyCandy Cane
Pony farmville breeding candy cane pony foalCandy Cane
Foal
farmville breeding pink gypsy horsePink Gypsy
Horse farmville breedingPink Gypsy
Foal
farmville breeding icelandic horseIcelandic
Horse farmville breeding icelandic ponyIcelandic
Foal
But there are some exceptions. All these females horses will only produce brown foals:
Male Female Offspring
farmville breeding cheats horse foalWhite Stallionfarmville breeding cheats horse foalBlack Minature
Stallionfarmville breeding cheats horse foalBlack Stallionfarmville breeding cheats horse foalMiniature Stallionfarmville breeding cheats horse foalWandering Stallionfarmville breeding snow stallionSnow Stallionfarmville breeding pink stallionPink Stallion farmville breeding cheats horse foalSkeleton Horse farmville breeding cheats horse foalBrown Foal
farmville breeding cheats horse foalHorse
farmville breeding cheats horse foalHigh Kick Horse
farmville breeding cheats horse foalPseudocorn
farmville breeding cheats horse foalHorse Spectator
Combine the Mini Horse or the Cream Mini Horse with a Wandering Stallion and you will merely produce Brown Foals:
Male Female Offspring
farmville breeding cheats horse foalWandering
Stallion farmville breeding cheats horse foalMiniature Horse farmville breeding cheats horse foalBrown Foal
farmville breeding cheats horse foalCream Mini Horse
By using the White Stallion, the Black Stallion, or the Snow Stallion to breed, there is also a chance that a White Foal, a Black Stallion Foal, or a Snow Stallion Foal (respectively) will be produced:
Male Female Offspring
farmville breeding cheats horse foalWhite Stallion Any female
horse farmville breeding cheats horse foalWhite Foal
farmville breeding cheats horse foalBlack Stallion Any female
horse farmville breeding cheats horse foalBlack Stallion
Foal
farmville breeding snow stallionSnow Stallion Any female horse farmville breeding snow stallion foalSnow Stallion
Foal
farmville breeding pink stallionPink Stallion Any female horse farmville breeding pink stallion foalPink Stallion
Foal
Combining a Mini White Stallion or Mini Black Stallion with either a Cream Mini Horse or Miniature Horse will result in one of three miniature horses:
Male Female Offspring
farmville breeding cheats horse foalMiniature Stallionfarmville breeding cheats horse foalBlack Miniature
Stallion farmville breeding cheats horse foalCream Mini Foalfarmville breeding cheats horse foalMiniature Foal farmville breeding cheats horse foalWhite Mini Foal
farmville breeding cheats horse foalMiniature Foal
farmville breeding cheats horse foalCream Mini Foal
[Images via FarmVille Wiki]
Note: If the horse or foal you're looking for isn't here, odds are that it is able to produce a foal of the same type. Unfortunately, once that foal grows up, it will change to a more ordinary cow or horse.
Check out the rest of our FarmVille Breeding Guides or browse our FarmVille Cheats & Tips right here.
RockYou buys Playdemic in race to catch up to larger developers
In its second acquisition in little over a month, Calif.-based social game developer RockYou says that it will buy Playdemic, VentureBeat reports, for an undisclosed amount. A development studio based in England, Playdemic is home to 16 employees, bringing RockYou's total pool of employees to 170 total. The buyout reflects the company's new strategy of developing games more quickly in 2011, said RockYou COO Lisa Marino.
Marino said in an interview that the company hopes to put out eight to 10 social games this year alone, according to VentureBeat. And RockYou has some catching up to do considering the developer didn't publish a single game in 2010, looking to Zoo World for growth. As for Playdemic, the studio's first game, Gourmet Ranch (pictured), is home to 550 thousand players, but RockYou at the moment is more concerned with bringing on teams that clearly know how to develop and publish a game, according to VentureBeat
RockYou not only has some catching up to do with itself, but with everyone else. This news creeps out from under the shadow of CityVille reaching 100 million monthly players, whose creator holds four of the top five apps on Facebook. In order to potentially compete, the company did some major restructuring in 2010. RockYou CEO Lance Tokuda stepped down last year while the company bought TirNua, a company that creates 3D Facebook games. Hopefully, RockYou's efforts will pay off in 2011. With at least eight social games on the way and two brand new development teams, the company has plenty of chances to move up in the ranks.
Marino said in an interview that the company hopes to put out eight to 10 social games this year alone, according to VentureBeat. And RockYou has some catching up to do considering the developer didn't publish a single game in 2010, looking to Zoo World for growth. As for Playdemic, the studio's first game, Gourmet Ranch (pictured), is home to 550 thousand players, but RockYou at the moment is more concerned with bringing on teams that clearly know how to develop and publish a game, according to VentureBeat
RockYou not only has some catching up to do with itself, but with everyone else. This news creeps out from under the shadow of CityVille reaching 100 million monthly players, whose creator holds four of the top five apps on Facebook. In order to potentially compete, the company did some major restructuring in 2010. RockYou CEO Lance Tokuda stepped down last year while the company bought TirNua, a company that creates 3D Facebook games. Hopefully, RockYou's efforts will pay off in 2011. With at least eight social games on the way and two brand new development teams, the company has plenty of chances to move up in the ranks.
Is gifting in Facebook games broken?
Gifting is one of the largest social features in Facebook games. Games are constantly encouraging us to send gifts to our friends or ask for gifts from our friends. It's a major driver of virality (the growth of games) and also of retention (what keeps players coming back). Robin Yang, a producer at Funtank, has written a post stating that gifting is broken.
Yang's main argument is that gifting is not truly social in its current implementation. She claims that there are not many parallels between the psychological drivers for sending gifts in real life with gifts in social games. In real life, gifts have true meaning behind them. Gifts cost money to purchase and send, and you will generally choose a present for a recipient very carefully. In addition, you would never send a gift in real life with a tag attached to it requesting a gift to be sent back to you.
The fundamental reasoning behind gifting is that it drives two of the three key metrics for Facebook games. It brings in new players and it helps to keep them around. Gifting has been a carefully honed mechanic since the very first Facebook applications found it to be successful. Social games adopted the feature when it was clear that gifting provided very significant benefits to the game. Gifting did not end up in its current incarnation by accident. You are surely being exploited to increase beneficial numbers for the game you're playing.
However, many players will readily admit that gifting is a major part of playing Facebook games. Players enjoy requesting and receiving gifts, and they love sending gifts to friends. It might not be as social and meaningful as it could be, but players do enjoy it as a fundamental part of social gaming.
Some of Yang's suggestions include limiting the number of gifts you can send per day to make each one more meaningful. She also suggests that gifts should be sent for achievements and particular moments of joy within games, and not just a casual mass spamming of all your friends on a daily basis. My first instinct is to think that this would actually hurt the game's retention and virality, and that it would be very hard for games to adopt. Other people feel that making the games more social will actually help them grow in the long run.
Yang's main argument is that gifting is not truly social in its current implementation. She claims that there are not many parallels between the psychological drivers for sending gifts in real life with gifts in social games. In real life, gifts have true meaning behind them. Gifts cost money to purchase and send, and you will generally choose a present for a recipient very carefully. In addition, you would never send a gift in real life with a tag attached to it requesting a gift to be sent back to you.
The fundamental reasoning behind gifting is that it drives two of the three key metrics for Facebook games. It brings in new players and it helps to keep them around. Gifting has been a carefully honed mechanic since the very first Facebook applications found it to be successful. Social games adopted the feature when it was clear that gifting provided very significant benefits to the game. Gifting did not end up in its current incarnation by accident. You are surely being exploited to increase beneficial numbers for the game you're playing.
However, many players will readily admit that gifting is a major part of playing Facebook games. Players enjoy requesting and receiving gifts, and they love sending gifts to friends. It might not be as social and meaningful as it could be, but players do enjoy it as a fundamental part of social gaming.
Some of Yang's suggestions include limiting the number of gifts you can send per day to make each one more meaningful. She also suggests that gifts should be sent for achievements and particular moments of joy within games, and not just a casual mass spamming of all your friends on a daily basis. My first instinct is to think that this would actually hurt the game's retention and virality, and that it would be very hard for games to adopt. Other people feel that making the games more social will actually help them grow in the long run.
FarmVille: Husky Puppies now available for adoption
As we told you yesterday, Zynga had been working steadily on bringing more dog types to FarmVille, specifically Husky Puppies. Now, those three dogs that we talked about yesterday are now available to adopt from the game's store, but only for a limited time.
The Husky dog breed is part of the Winter Wonderland item set, and as such, this means that you'll only be able to adopt one of the three available colors of Husky until they expire from the store in 20 days. There is only one listing for the Huskies in the store, but rest assured, there are three colors to choose from, each costing 65 Farm Cash.
Clicking on the "Buy" button in the store brings up the customization window, where you can choose the gender and name of your Husky, along with choosing which of the three colors you'll adopt - Black, Brown, or Gray. Don't panic - you'll be able to change your mind about making a purchase before actually going through with it, so you're more than welcome to get a preview of the three dog colors (including a few of their animations) before you invest such a large amount of Farm Cash into them.
Remember, puppies must be fed Kibble until they grow into adults, and as this is a Farm Cash puppy, you'll be given your free (and complete) two week supply of Kibble when making a purchase. After two weeks, your puppy will grow into an adult Husky. Level this Husky up with Dog Treats and it will eventually be able to "fetch" things for you.
Again, the Husky breed of puppies will only be available in the game for the next 20 days, at which point they will expire from the store, likely to not be seen again (at least for a very long time - and by then, the prize might have increased). If you've been looking for the perfect dog breed in FarmVille, make sure to give this one a second glance.
The Husky dog breed is part of the Winter Wonderland item set, and as such, this means that you'll only be able to adopt one of the three available colors of Husky until they expire from the store in 20 days. There is only one listing for the Huskies in the store, but rest assured, there are three colors to choose from, each costing 65 Farm Cash.
Clicking on the "Buy" button in the store brings up the customization window, where you can choose the gender and name of your Husky, along with choosing which of the three colors you'll adopt - Black, Brown, or Gray. Don't panic - you'll be able to change your mind about making a purchase before actually going through with it, so you're more than welcome to get a preview of the three dog colors (including a few of their animations) before you invest such a large amount of Farm Cash into them.
Remember, puppies must be fed Kibble until they grow into adults, and as this is a Farm Cash puppy, you'll be given your free (and complete) two week supply of Kibble when making a purchase. After two weeks, your puppy will grow into an adult Husky. Level this Husky up with Dog Treats and it will eventually be able to "fetch" things for you.
Again, the Husky breed of puppies will only be available in the game for the next 20 days, at which point they will expire from the store, likely to not be seen again (at least for a very long time - and by then, the prize might have increased). If you've been looking for the perfect dog breed in FarmVille, make sure to give this one a second glance.
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Big Fish says buh-bye to Treasure Quest on Facebook
Almost a year ago, casual game publisher Big Fish attempted to bring its games to Facebook in the form of Treasure Quest. Log into Treasure Quest, and every day, you'd be able to play snippets of some its popular casual games, such as the best-selling Mystery Case Files.
Looks like my sunny predictions about Treasure Quest way back when didn't come true (it only reached a max of 323K players per month) and Big Fish has announced that the Facebook game will be shuttered on March 15. Starting today, players will no longer be able to buy gold for the game.
treasure quest big fish closing on facebook
On an FAQ linked from the game's FB fan page, Big Fish says they decided to close Treasure Quest because it was 'not sustainable."
"Many options were assessed and seriously considered before this final decision was made. The decision was very difficult, but as a business, it was one that we had to make."
If you've been playing this game and/or spent money on this game, the FAQ says that it will all go away, so if you have gold to spend in the game, you need to do so before the game closes.
So -- you've been officially warned. Everything you've done in the game will disappear into the ether, which brings up one of several bigger issues in the world of social gaming and digital entertainment in general. When you decide to spend money to buy virtual assets in a game, you're buying something that you don't really own. If the game closes, you run the risk of losing your property for good.
The other big question that this closure brings up is -- can established video game and casual game companies really make it big on Facebook? With Big Fish closing down Treasure Quest and Ubisoft talking about how social games don't make enough money, it seems like companies who have been making games for a long time are still searching for the magic formula that makes games like Zynga's CityVille such runaway hits.
Big Fish doesn't seem to be giving up completely on Facebook just yet. In recent weeks, its other Facebook game My Tribe has seen a jump in traffic, and the company has also maintained a Facebook page where people can go to download Drawn: The Painted Tower.
Looks like my sunny predictions about Treasure Quest way back when didn't come true (it only reached a max of 323K players per month) and Big Fish has announced that the Facebook game will be shuttered on March 15. Starting today, players will no longer be able to buy gold for the game.
treasure quest big fish closing on facebook
On an FAQ linked from the game's FB fan page, Big Fish says they decided to close Treasure Quest because it was 'not sustainable."
"Many options were assessed and seriously considered before this final decision was made. The decision was very difficult, but as a business, it was one that we had to make."
If you've been playing this game and/or spent money on this game, the FAQ says that it will all go away, so if you have gold to spend in the game, you need to do so before the game closes.
So -- you've been officially warned. Everything you've done in the game will disappear into the ether, which brings up one of several bigger issues in the world of social gaming and digital entertainment in general. When you decide to spend money to buy virtual assets in a game, you're buying something that you don't really own. If the game closes, you run the risk of losing your property for good.
The other big question that this closure brings up is -- can established video game and casual game companies really make it big on Facebook? With Big Fish closing down Treasure Quest and Ubisoft talking about how social games don't make enough money, it seems like companies who have been making games for a long time are still searching for the magic formula that makes games like Zynga's CityVille such runaway hits.
Big Fish doesn't seem to be giving up completely on Facebook just yet. In recent weeks, its other Facebook game My Tribe has seen a jump in traffic, and the company has also maintained a Facebook page where people can go to download Drawn: The Painted Tower.
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