FarmVille Model Farm updated with English Countryside items

If you're one that still visits the FarmVille Model Farm on a daily basis for the free prize you'll receive by doing so, you'll be in for a change today, as Zynga has updated the farm with a new English Countryside theme.

While, as usual, this update seems to bring only previously released items to the Model Farm, it does give you a better look at what these decorations look like full-size, with all of their animations active (if applicable). It can also be used as a nice template for which to decorate your own farm in the same theme, or just as it was intended - as a quick and easy way to purchase these items by simply clicking on them.

We were really hoping that with the release of the Model Farm, we'd have a chance to see sneak peeks of tons of unreleased items, but that's yet to really happy thus far. We'll keep an eye on things, and we'll let you know if things change.

Have you ever purchased anything from the Model Farm, or do you simply ignore it's even there?

Ecotopia launches in private beta; help Harrison Ford save the world

Last month, we told you that Harrison Ford had partnered with Facebook game developer Talkie and Conservation International to create a new game, showing players just how important the environment is, and challenging them to take steps to save it. The game is called Ectopia, and this week, Talkie has started rolling the game out to a group of private beta testers.

There are some new screenshots available of the game, which looks like your average city-builder, but actually comes with a story, and environmentally conscious tasks, other than simply building houses. You'll need to clean up your city, transform power plants into eco-friendly wind farms, and even go so far as to travel to the rainforest to discover new species of animals like frogs - all in the goal of learning about nature, the environment, and ways you can protect it.

Check out the rest of the game's screens behind the break.





For more information, or for a chance to enter the Private Beta yourself, you can sign up for Talkie's email subscription list, or simply like the game's Facebook page. The entire game should be ready to launch for the general public soon, and we'll make sure to let you know when it does.

[Final two image credit: Venture Beat]

Will you play Ecotopia when it launches in full on Facebook, or are you one of the lucky members of the closed beta?

Zynga's Brian Reynolds explains why console developers fail on Facebook

Brian Reynolds, Zynga's chief games designer, sure seems to have an opinion on everything, and Industry Gamers has been there to hear every bit of it. His most recent take on the social games industry offers up his opinions on triple-a game designers - like those responsible for Call of Duty, or other major console games - and why they fail when it comes to making social games.

According to Reynolds, console game developers that decide to jump into the Facebook arena do so in a backwards fashion.

"You can't just go write... Call of Duty and add Facebook functionality. You've got to make a game that's about socializing, make social the core of what you're inventing, and then build the game around that. Mostly where I see triple-A people or developers trying to get into social and then failing is where they say, 'We're just going to take game X and kind of give it a little bit of Facebook plumbing and that'll be great.'"

He goes on to explain that in order to be successful, game designers need to forget about the "triple-A" game factors, and build a social game, with core social mechanics, before they ever add in the elements that make for a great experience. He says that in order to succeed, developers need to "come in and really learn social qua social and bring their immense decades of experience to improve it from there."

It's true that many console developers have failed when it comes to creating games for the social sphere, but with games like Dragon Age: Legends, could we finally be turning a corner for good?

[Image Credit: IGN]

What do you think of Reynolds ideas? Should console developers, looking to get into the social space, work first on their games' social game mechanics before ever giving them a story?

Game of the Day: TextTwist 2

The Game of the Day has got your word games, right here! TextTwist2 : Twist again with 'TextTwist 2', the incredible sequel to one of the most popular word games of all time. Shuffle letters to form words in three all-new game modes and two of your favorites!
Click --> Play TextTwist2

Important side note: Just by playing The Game of the Day you will be entered into a monthly drawing to win a FlipCam HD. You don't need to do anything else, just play! The more you play, the more chances you have to win. For more information on the Game of Day check out the official Game of the Day hub.

FarmVille Sneak Peek: Spring Basket blooms once again

It's time to ring in everyone's favorite season, Spring. FarmVille Feed has the first images of the upcoming Spring Basket event in FarmVille. We suspect that players will have to collect colored Eggs and Flowers for special rewards. (You know, like every collection event thus far?) Details such as the rewards in question are scarce, but FarmVille Feed guesses the Yellow Patch Cow and Flower Sheep will be making a return. Stay tuned for for the fragrant updates.

[Image Credit: FarmVille Feed]

Will you be completing this year's Spring Basket? What do you think of these collection events?

Earn 2 free FarmVille Farm Cash in Best Buy promotion

Best Buy has teamed up with Zynga to advertise Best Buy's line of digital cameras in FarmVille, while also offering players two free Farm Cash in the process. FarmVille Freak has spotted a new promotion available to access via the bottom of your FarmVille gameplay area that allows you to take a simple test which judges your compatibility with a particular type of camera - that is, to find the camera that's right for you based on your needs.

This promotion is a quick one, and you'll receive two free Farm Cash automatically after taking the survey. If you don't see your Farm Cash automatically update into your in-game total, just refresh the game and that should "force" the total to update. This isn't the first time we've seen Best Buy and Zynga partner for a promotion, and we doubt it will be the last, so remember to always keep checking back with us as we bring you the latest news from FarmVille.

[Source and image credit: FarmVille Freak]

Have you found this Best Buy promotion on your own farm?

MetroGames 'Auto Hustle' shocks and scores with the GTA crowd

Crime does pay when you're on Facebook, where the genre is one of the most established settings for a social game. We've had the godfather of them all, David Maestri's Mob Wars, followed by Zynga's Mafia Wars. Later on, heavyweights like Ubisoft drops in with CSI: Crime City, Sony brings us James Patterson's Catch a Killer, while THQ lets loose Saints Row®: Total Control. Each new entrant is loaded with flaws, but pushes the envelope a bit in mechanics and design, moving farther away from the tried-and-true, spreadsheet clicks-and-waits, towards something that increasingly resembles Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto.
Auto Hustle Railgun
After a buggy start last October, I think MetroGames' Auto Hustle has finally made it as a GTA clone. In fact, I'd go on and say Auto Hustle could easily rival Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars on the DS. That's strong praise for a Facebook game and potentially dangerous, as Auto Hustle is sure to generate controversy if it catches on.
Auto Hustle Characters: Select Your Avatar
And Auto Hustle has definitely been catching since its second unveiling. Within the past four days, activity for the game has more than doubled from 11,836 to 26,350 daily average users, while its monthly average rose from 94,310 to 132,106 (AppData). Because MetroGames can't cross-promote Auto Hustle with their family-friendly titles, the company is ready to build its userbase from scratch. They want to attract the traditional hardcore gamer (which is probably why the game uses WASD and has a pause feature) and those on Facebook who want more mature titles. While it's hard to tell which side of the fence the players are coming from, it's not hard to guess what's attracting them.
Auto Hustle tutorial WASD
Auto Hustle is full of callous, gleeful violence that goes beyond clicking a link and waiting around. You can walk in the city, drive cars, run people over with cars, blow up cars, shoot people, and chase after them when they run away screaming. By the fourth mission, you're killing police officers and bombing a police station; the later is an action that comes with a crude, video cutscene of the place exploding.
Auto Hustle Gun Store Scatter Gun Kill
At the gun shop, I saw 29 weapons on display. Out of those, six -- "Railgun", "Katana", "Scatter Gun", "Golden Pistol", "Laser Pistol", and "Flamethrower!" are accompanied by an instantaneous visual demo that gets triggered when you mouse over the images. The only animated weapon that isn't served with a side of noisy death is the Golden Pistol, which shows a man decked in gold bling, cocking the gun and going 'heh-heh-heh' to himself.
Auto Hustle Stacy Steele in your room
At home, you can 'Pimp Out Your Pad' which amounts to nothing more than buying a new, pre-furnished room. But the real decor probably comes after you acquire Stacy Steel, your first con artist (all of whom appear to be beautiful ladies), she'll hang out on the only chair you own, blinking and preening until you switch her out with someone more to your liking. She's not dead weight either. As a shoutout to the usual Facebook games formula, your female con artist can be assigned tasks. You just click-and-wait and she'll bring you back money and experience points.
Auto Hustle 'Kill, kill, kill!'
Auto Hustle cop-killing
The dialogue in the game is not subtle in the least. The situations are absurd and it's all reminiscent of badly penned comic books. (In one mission, you're hired to kill a guy just because another guy feels insecure about the size of his graphic novel collection.) The game has got murder, theft, arson, cop-killing, exploding heads, and sexy women, but one cheap thrill Auto Hustle hasn't gone for is profanity. You'll hear a lot of dark things in the game, but cursing won't be among them.
Auto Hustle Dr Kaotiko Strike Cutscene
Now I'm left wondering what Rockstar thinks about all this, but there's a reason why they haven't put a real GTA-branded game on Facebook yet. At the New York Law School's Video Game Law Panel last week, Seth Krauss, the Executive VP of Take-Two Interactive (which owns Rockstar), explained his company's rationale for not jumping onto the mobile and social gaming wagon. Krauss acknowledged Zynga's success, but still lacks confidence in the Zynga business model. He notes that Electronic Arts hasn't seen great returns in its foray into the social gaming space, and that right now it's "very risky to build a business model during a paradigm shift." For him, the cards are still up in the air.

IndyCar Series signs partnership with Cie Games for new Car Town content

Earlier this month, Cie Games launched a partnership with Universal Pictures in their popular Facebook game Car Town, bringing the upcoming film Fast Five (of the Fast and the Furious franchise) to life, at least virtually, with new in-game environments and items. Now, not even a month later, a new cross-promotion has been announced in the game, with the Indianapolis Business Journal reporting that the IndyCar Series (as in IndyCar Racing Series) has also signed a deal with the developer to bring Indy cars and real-world drivers to the game.

While this deal is exciting enough on its own (as it's set to increase the variety of cars each user could interact with substantially), this also further proves that Car Town and Cie Games are now true, admirable forces in the Facebook gaming world. With Car Town pulling in over eight million players a month, this IndyCar promotion could lead to much bigger things - even partnerships with those real-world sponsors of drivers that have been added to the game.
As for the in-game features currently in place / in the works, players can now enter a new environment - Indianapolis Motor Speedway's Gasoline Alley, and complete challenges like the Indy 500 Challenge that includes a pit crew (comprised of Facebook friends). Players can race against others on the track, compete against other pit crews, and climb the leaderboards.

The game will see the addition of 13 different IndyCars, representing drivers like Danica Patrick, Dario Franchitti, Marco Andretti and more. Other IndyCar features will come online later in the year, so this looks like just the first of many updates that will see Car Town branching out even further into the advertising space. We look forward to seeing what the future brings, and we'll make sure to let you know when and if other sponsors join the pack.

Are you a fan of Car Town? Will you play the game more now that IndyCars are going to be a part of the day-to-day gameplay

LootDrop's first social game, Cloudforest Expedition, soars this summer

This summer, it'll be OK to have your head in the clouds. LootDrop, John Romero and Brenda Brathwaite's brand new social game studio, and publisher RockYou will launch CloudForest Expedition this summer. This is a story-driven exploration game on Facebook that will let you become the next great explorer. Unfortunately, no other details have been revealed at this time, but we can imagine the game will be as goofy and charming as Romero's first social game, LOLapps' Ravenwood Fair.

And LootDrop has already hit the drawing board on their second game, as RockYou has signed a second publishing deal with the studio. As you can see in the image above, all parties appear very happy, and we've boiled that down to two reasons. First, Romero and Brathwaite (far left and far right, respectively) are probably just plain excited to have not one, but two brand new projects in the cards for them. Second, there are likely lots of zeros somewhere on that contract. Hey, if you scored a budget for something you found fun, you'd be saying "cheese" too.

"They really zeroed in on the exploration, adventure genre with a clearing and discovery mechanic at its core, and they're just layering innovation on top of that," RockYou SVP Jonathan Knight told us. "That's what we can expect from this title and the second one." Knight went on to mention that Loot Drop's second game is still in the concept phase, and that the company signed the papers based on both that concept and that it has been "blown away" by Cloudforest Expedition. So, are we looking at an improved adaptation of games like Zynga's Treasure Isle? The game entered alpha testing last week, so we'll have to wait and see this summer.

Are you excited to see what Romero, Brathwaite and crew think up next? Given his experience with LOLapps, how do you think CloudForest Expedition might do against the competition?

Zynga's RewardVille tests your dedication with Daily Goals

As if you haven't proved your devotion to Zynga enough by enrolling in the RewardVille program, the company revealed a new feature to the service recently, Daily Goals. This new challenge tasks players with playing not only their favorite games daily, but all of Zynga's RewardVille games. The feature appears as a side bar on the RewardVille website, and displays an empty bar for each Zynga game every 24 hours.

According to Mafia Wars Maniac, just playing each game for a certain amount of time will fill its meter from zero to 80. After the meter fills up, you'll be rewarded with a random amount of zCoins. However, filling the meter on every game will contribute to a larger, more meta meter, the Power Bonus.

It's unknown as of this writing exactly what the Power Bonus means for seriously dedicated fans, but we'll keep you posted as soon as we find out. (Calling all super fan tipsters!) Based on what RewardVille is all about, we imagine more zCoins and zPoints are in store for you Zynga connoisseurs.

Have you completed any of your Daily Goals yet? How about the daunting Power Bonus? What did you win?

FarmVille Irish Trees: Boom Tree and Gorse Tree

Two new trees have hit the FarmVille marketplace this evening, both in the new Ireland item theme. The two trees are the Boom Tree and the Gorse Tree. Interesting names, right? The Gorse Tree costs 5 Farm Cash, while the Boom Tree is the level two option, meaning it costs more at 10 Farm Cash.

Remember, as usual, you don't have to buy both trees from the store, and can actually skip the Boom Tree altogether if you're a tree farmer, as you'll be able to earn a Boom Tree (eventually, yet randomly) as a Mystery Seedling from your Gorse Trees, or from those seedlings posted by your friends on their walls.

If you do plan to purchase these trees, you have just two weeks to do so, before they'll disappear, potentially not to be seen again.

What do you think of these two interestingly named trees? Which is your favorite, or will you buy both?

FarmVille Irish Animals: Connemara Pony and Irish Hare

Tonight's FarmVille update brought with it two (technically three) new animals in the Connemara Pony and Irish Hare. Our prediction about the cost of the Connemara Pony has been proven correct, as it is now available for 24 Farm Cash. Remember, by purchasing one of these Ponies and placing it in your Horse Stable with a Stallion (ether wandering or permanent) you'll have a chance of breeding the Connemara Pony Foal that can be shared with friends. Even for a gray Pony, it's foal would still have to be cute, right?

Meanwhile, the Irish Hare is still a bit expensive, at 12 Farm Cash each. Will we ever see a day when new limited edition animals no longer solely cost Farm Cash? I doubt it, but we'll make sure to scream to the four corners (in excitement of course) if that day ever comes.

What do you think of these new Ireland-themed animals? Will you add the Connemara Pony to your collection in the game, or are you more interested in earning the foal from friends?

FarmVille Irish Decorations: European Robins, Irish Library, Bench Set and more

Tonight's FarmVille update sees the release of two new buildings and four decorative items in the current Ireland limited edition item theme. This update's an unusual one, though, as two of the items are available under a limited time "sale." Remember, this isn't the first time Zynga has released new items and placed them immediately on sale, so you'll know that you're actually getting a bargain with these two items if you do decide to splurge.

The European Robins is a pair of decorative birds for 9 Farm Cash, while the Irish Library is a large building that costs only 18 Farm Cash. Currently, there isn't any marking letting us know when these sale prices will expire, so plan ahead if you have any interest in them whatsoever.

Meet us behind the break for a look at the other four items released this evening.


One other building is now available: an Irish Shop, which is actually one of the cutest buildings I can recall from recent memory. Sure, it's charming details will cost you, as the Irish Shop is priced at 20 Farm Cash, but if you have that lying around, I wouldn't blame you for making the splurge.

The other items are a picnic Bench Set for 15,000 coins, an Irish Stone Wall (covered in lovely yellow flowers) that costs 10,000 coins per piece and a grassy mound covered in Wild Crocus that costs 8,000 coins. All told, the coin items here aren't terribly exciting, although the Irish Stone Wall is quite lovely on its own (whether you currently have an Irish theme on your farm or not).

Whatever your opinion on these new items, all of them will leave the store in a matter of two weeks, so make sure to shop early and fast so as to not forget these items are there and then lose out on them when they expire.

What do you think of tonight's FarmVille update? Have you turned your farm into an Irish wonderland, or are you still stuck in GagaVille?

Empires & Allies Neighbor Invasions: Everything you need to know

FarmVille, FrontierVille and CityVille are all about red hearts, sunshine and friendship. But Empires & Allies asks, "What about beating friends to a bloody pulp?" Finally, instead of helping our friends we can hurt them just as easily. Welcome to Neighbor Invasions. This is your chance to finally be the bad guy for once, and we have a full guide on how to be the biggest, baddest Neighbor around.

Invasion Bound
Before we get into mechanics, just make sure you're at least Level 6 before trying this out. When you reach Level 6 (and if you've followed all the Goals until this point), you will be tasked with a Goal titled "Invasion Bound." This is where the good stuff, the meat and potatoes if you will, of Empires & Allies lies.

Choosing a location
Laying the Beat Down (Attacking):

To invade one of your friends Empires, just click on their name in your Neighbor Bar, click "Invade," and once you arrive at their Empire, choose a location to attack. The location of attack is important for two reasons: 1. the structures you attack directly effect your rewards like resources and coins--choose depending on your needs, and 2. some areas on your friend's map might be better-defended than others, so take advantage of that.

Victorious Invasion
Then, like normal combat, you must choose your method of attack from Air, Naval or Infantry options and then specific units to combat your enemy's. Pro Tip: Try zooming in on your Neighbor's map before choosing an attack location. This way, you can see which units they have defending which structures, and better prepare an attack based on your own arsenal. But back to the combat screen. Once you've (hopefully) defeated your opponent by choosing appropriate units and making smart attack choices, you will be declared the winner.

Bask in Victory
Now, you have the option to both post the news to Facebook and send a 100-character taunt to your battered buddy. After you reap the rewards from your friend's Empire, which again depend on where exactly you invaded, your time in your friend's Empire is through. Well, at least for a day. You should also keep in mind that either helping or hurting a friend rewards you with Honor or Infamy, respectively, but also you cannot do both to a single friend in one day.

Defending your Empire
Putting up the Gloves (Defending):

Don't worry, you do have the option to fight back when invaded. The process for defending your Empire is nearly identical, but the rewards are far more lucrative for a successful defense. Though, you won't exactly be prepared for what troops they've chosen, so it's best to create a large, varied force of units to defend yourself with. If you fail to defend yourself from an invasion, that player will be able to collect rewards from that invaded location every few hours until you do, so bite them back.

Reap the Rewards
Gettin' to the Good Stuff (Losses and Rewards):

While you will receive bonuses for successfully attacking a friend, you will not lose anything for being invaded by a friend from the locations they attack. In other words, those rewards aren't stolen, but created out of thin air. (Ah, technology.) The same goes for rewards collected by invaded, undefended Empires. However, there is one thing to lose while in combat: units. Losing a Tank or a squad of Infantry in battle means that you will not be able to bring them onto the battlefield again. Therefore, it's a good idea to keep building units and maintain a nice balance of Air, Naval and Infantry units.

If you want protection from invasion while you, say, sleep or go for a good old vacay, you can opt to go neutral for a minimum of 18 hours, which will prevent players from invading your Empire. However, going neutral will erase your current occupations and you'll have to start all over. But hey, there's no need to be a wuss--this is Empires & Allies, and staking your claim is half the battle.

Check out the rest of our Empires & Allies Cheats & Tips right here.

Are you enjoying Empires & Allies? What do you think of this friendly combat system? What do you think it needs or does not need?

Empires and Allies Cheats and Tips Guide

empires allies cheats
Empire & Allies is Zynga's newest game that combines strategy, city-building, and Facebook friends into one addictive package. There is a ton to know about Empires & Allies. So whether you're an Empires & Allies know-it-all or you're just getting started, I guarantee you'll learn all kinds of cheats, tricks, and more from our Empires & Allies Cheats & Tips Guide.
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Survival Mode Guide     empires allies cheats mermaidEmpires & Allies Cheats & Tips:
Mermaid Mini Campaign Guide
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Red Tide Goals Guide     empires allies cheats battle blitzEmpires & Allies Cheats & Tips:
Battle Blitz Guide
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Power-Up Factory     Empires & Allies Cheats & Tips:
Special Forces Spectacular
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Leaderboards Guide
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Character Guide
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Farm-less Economy Guide
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Navy Research Labs Guide
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Power-Ups Guide     empires allies cheats research labEmpire & Allies Cheats & Tips:
Research Lab Guide
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Combat & Battle Guide
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Invasion Guide
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Expansion Guide     empires allies cheats missions guideEmpires & Allies Cheats & Tips:
First Ten Missions Guide
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First Ten Minutes Video     Empires & Allies Cheats & Tips:
CityVille meets Risk


Check out our other guides:
cityville cheats guide
CityVille Cheats & Tips Guide
    frontierville cheats guide
FrontierVille Cheats & Tips Guide

Do you have any more Empires & Allies Cheats & Tips? Or looking for friends to play the game with?

FarmVille: New Summer Mystery Box offers Rams and Boars

With this weekend being a 100% pattern inheritance weekend in FarmVille's Sheep and Pig Breeding features, now is the perfect time to purchase new Rams and Boars to add those patterns to your catalog. Isn't it convenient, then, that Zynga has released a new Summer-themed Mystery Box in the game containing just that: Rams and Boars.

A single Summer Mystery Box can be purchased from the store for 25 Farm Cash. There's currently no time limit on it (even though it does clearly say it's part of the Summer theme), so you might have a bit of time to save up those Farm Cash if you don't have them on hand currently. Either way, each box comes with one of six animals, but there's no way to tell whether you'll get a Ram or Boar (which would matter, of course, if you don't actively breed both). Here's what's available:

Candycane Ram
Masked Ram
Purple Stars Ram
Candycane Boar
Leopard Brown Boar
Yellow Spots Boar

Yes, you're reading that correctly, this box contains a Candycane Boar, which can currently be purchased for 5 Farm Cash less in the game's store. However, since there have been two versions of this animal released - one in color-changing red and white [pictured] and another in blue and green - it's possible that you may have a chance at either. We're looking to confirm that. Still, even if you choose to negate that animal from the wanted possibilities here, there are still some fun patterns to be had, the stars and leopard prints being my two personal favorites.

FrontierVille Beastly 41 x 41 Expansion Goals: Everything you need to know

In what could be one of the slowest rollouts in FrontierVille history, Zynga has announced that they have started releasing the Beastly 41 x 41 Expansion goals to users. A word of warning: If you appreciated the last expansion for giving us a bit of a break in terms of difficulty, you likely won't be so pleased this time around. Even if you don't have these Goals on your land yet (remember to look out for the pop-up that will allow you to purchase them), it never hurts to be prepared. Here's a full guide to these five new goals.

Get Beastly!

Harvest 100 Apricot Trees
Craft 10 Powder Kegs in the Foundry
Collect 15 Scouting Permits

This goal isn't terrible, I suppose. Just remember that if you're avoiding the Canning Master goals to craft each Powder Keg separately, as to not let your amount of FIre in your inventory exceed 15 (the requirement for the second goal in that series). Finish this first goal, and you'll receive 250 XP, one Spring Water (for growing the new varieties of trees) and 200 coins.

Not Groundhog Day

Fire the Groundhog Cannon 10 Times
Harvest 200 Peas
Collect 20 Shake 'n Bacon Packets

Here's where things get a little more complicated, or, at the very least time consuming. Peas, for one, take a full two days to grow (unless you use boosts), and there's no guarantee you'll receive 10 Groundhogs from harvesting them. At least you've already crafted the Powder Kegs necessary to fire the cannon that many times, but again, it all depends on if you can get lucky in drawing out Groundhogs in the first place (I know I haven't seen one on my land in over a week). Meanwhile, just ask your friends to send you the Shake 'n Bacon Packets and you'll finish this one. The prize? 500 XP, a Groundhog Roast decoration and 500 coins.

Beastly Energy

Buy 15 Lunches
Sell 50 Adult Ducks
Clear 20 Debris on your Homestead

Each Duck costs 261 coins (with the discount) in the game's store, and some stages can only be fed once every three and a half hours. Sure, if you already have 50 Adult Ducks, this will go by like a breeze, but starting from scratch will be time-consuming indeed. My suggestion? Start feeding them now even if you don't have the goals on your land to at least get a head-start. For completing this goal, you'll receive a Varmint Surprise, 500 XP and 500 coins.

Bad News Varmints

Clobber 10 Bears
Chop 100 Neighbor Trees
Collect 25 Bear Traps

Here's another time-consuming goal (unless, of course, you save up your trees for such Bear requirements). Just remember, your only 100% guarantee to receive a Bear is when chopping down fully grown trees, so make sure to check your inventory for any stray trees that can be planted (they've been given away as quest rewards in the past). Finish this one and you'll earn 750 XP, a Bear Claw (part of the Bear Collection rewarding an Animal Ready Boost) and 750 coins.

Beastly Homestead

Craft 10 Cakes in the Inn
Collect 4 Daily Bonuses from the Land Office
Harvest 300 Cotton

Cotton takes three days to grow, so you might plant some now, add some Wither protection, and wait for this goal to arrive (the same thing goes with the Peas above, if you have room to plant them). Meanwhile, Cakes are crafted using two Fire and four Batter each, which Batter coming from 20 Food and 900 coins (also in the Inn). Finally, if you're impatient, remember that Red Eye drinks in the Saloon allow you to collect Daily Bonuses multiple times in a day. For finishing this final goal, you'll receive a Cast Iron Bear, 1500 XP and 1500 coins.

With these goals out of the way, you can then head into the Land Office, purchase some Land Grants, and make your new expansion a reality. You'll receive a whopping ten (10!) Mystery Animal Crates for doing so, if that happens to give you more incentive to finish quickly (I know it does for me). Which animals will be inside? That's anyone's guess, but for now, let's just get through receiving these goals, shall we?

Check out the rest of our FrontierVille Cheats & Tips right here. >

Have you received the 41 x 41 Beastly Expansion goals on your Homestead? Do you think these goals are harder than those released in the past, or easier?

EA / Playfish going for "total ownage" in Risk: Factions on Facebook

At EA's Summer Showcase, we were given a bit more to work with in terms of what Risk: Factions on Facebook will bring to the table. Spencer Brooks, producer for the game, was on-hand to give us a few details. First, yes, there will be donkey cannons in the game, as seen in its E3 trailer, and secondly, a whole new set of weapons will be added to the game, allowing for more strategy that we "haven't seen yet." What EA is really looking to capitalize on, however, is the game's player-vs-player aspects. Brooks was confident in saying that Risk: Factions has "the best player-vs-player of any social game out there."

In the Xbox Live version of Risk: Factions, the true factions system was first introduced, allowing players to be anything from a yeti to a robot, in addition to a human. However, the faction that you chose to be really didn't have a great impact on your game. In the Facebook version, that will change, as each faction has special weapons specifically tailored to it. Human weapons, for example, will focus on offense, while the cats' weapons (including a "Cat Dander Bomb") will focus on defense. Zombie troops, meanwhile, can be upgraded to be "better brain eaters."

As for the PvP itself, Risk: Factions will focus on definitive winners and losers. While many social games go for a combination of cooperation and competition, where everyone is a winner, Brooks says this "co-opetition" won't be found in Risk: Factions. Should you win a match against a friend, you'll be able to, and seemingly encouraged to, rub it in their face. "We're going for total ownage here."

Risk: Factions is currently in closed beta, but the second we get a chance to let you know more, you can be sure we will. If you'd like to see EA's complete Risk: Factions presentation, check out the re-cap on their Summer Showcase right here (skip the to 30:00 mark).

Are you excited for Risk: Factions on Facebook? Do you think a true PvP system can survive on such a "cooperation-based" platform?

FarmVille: Boer Goat available as free gift for a limited time

If you're new to FarmVille, or know someone who is, you may not have any Boer Goats on your land. This animal was first launched in 2010 as an adoptable animal, and has gone through short periods of re-releases since. Such is the case today, as the Boer Goat has been re-released as a free gift, but only for a limited time.

The Boer Goat can be found on the free gifts page, and sent like any other item. You can add the animal to your "Wishlist," should you wish to post a news feed item directly to your friends, letting them know you want one, or you can do the gifting to new players, or anyone you know that's an animal collector. Remember, the time limits for these limited time free gifts are unknown, so if you want a chance to send (or receive) one of these cute little animals, do it fast.

Do you already have plenty of Boer Goats on your farm, or are you taking this chance to stock up on some? Are there any animals you would like to see re-released as free gifts?

Empires & Allies Cheats and Tips: Store military units for later use

If you're the kind of Empires & Allies player that constantly has troops being manufactured in your Barracks, Hangers or Shipyards, but you're running out of space on your land to place those new units, did you know you could actually store them for future use? With losing troops being a real possibility in failed story battles or invasion attempts, it's nice to have an adequate supply of backup units that can protect your island(s) while you're away.

Lose a Battleship while fighting Kai Tana? Just pull one out of your inventory to replace it. Sound like a pretty nice setup, right? Here's how to do it.

1. Construct a unit as normal in any of your buildings (Shipyard, Barracks, Hangers)
2. After construction has been finished, click on the building to go into placement mode for that unit
3. Instead of clicking on your land to place the unit, click on the red "X" in the bottom right-hand corner of the game's screen. Since you can't put the unit back into its building, it will automatically pop into your inventory instead.

When you want to get a unit back out again, just go into your inventory, and browse the Land, Sea, and Air tabs, pulling out units as needed.

These simple steps will allow you to stockpile units of all shapes and sizes, without having to worry about taking up precious land or water space. Unfortunately, the same doesn't work for already placed units, as clicking the red X will simply pop them back to the location from where you picked them up. Still, wouldn't you rather have too many units, instead of not enough? Follow these tips and you'll have an army worth being proud of in no time!

Check out the rest of our Empires & Allies Cheats and Tips right here. >

Did you know you could store military units? Will you use these tips to form a larger army of units in your game?

FarmVille: Beach Ball Craftshop recipe can now be mastered, so craft them quick

As if we didn't already have enough incentive to craft tons of Beach Balls in our FarmVille Craftshops (remember, Beach Balls are one of the collectible items for the new Sand Castle event, which allow you to earn new exclusive decorations), there's now even more. Now, the Beach Ball recipe is masterable.

While crafting the Beach Ball recipe is still entirely voluntary, those going for that elusive mastery sign will find that they'll receive the first star of mastery after crafting a Beach Ball 10 times. Each Beach Ball costs two Tomato, two Cranberry and one Grape Bushel, but you can always gather those from friends (where applicable), if you don't want to spend time growing those three crops for Bushels yourself.

As the Sand Castle event will only be around for a limited time, it's presumable that the time limit for earning Beach Ball mastery points is also limited. Start crafting now to have your best chance at this exclusive mastery sign.

Will you work to master the Beach Ball recipe before it expires from the game's Craftshop? How many points have you accumulated towards mastering it so far? Do you like being able to craft Sand Castle collectibles, or would you rather simply ask your friends to send them to you?

FarmVille: Login now for your free Red Duckling

In an odd update, Zynga has decided to offer all FarmVille players a free Red Duckling simply for logging into their farms today. This Red Duckling appears first thing when you login, and you're given the option to place it on your farm right then and there. Of course, you'll still have to grow this Duckling by asking your friends to help you out, so if you're not quite ready for that, just click on the Multi-Tool in the bottom right corner of the screen to jump out of Placement Mode.

With the Duckling now in your inventory, you can either save it and place it at a later date, or sell it for a few coins if you're not interested. Perhaps I'm not the only farmer that's wondering this, but just why did Zynga release a free Duckling today? It's been a while since the Red Duckling was first launched, so could this perhaps be a wait to give us a hint that something Duck-themed is coming in the future? Perhaps it was all just coincidental, but either way, we'll make sure to stay on top of things and let you know if anything else comes from this release.

Will you take the time to grow your Red Duckling to an adult on your farm? Do you think this was all just a good gesture from Zynga, or does it mean something else is coming?

FarmVille: Free French Bulldog with Farm Cash purchase for a limited time

See? I told you these promotions were becoming far more frequent. In an effort to take more of your money, Zynga is offering yet another free, formerly Farm Cash-only animal in FarmVille to any user willing to purchase a Farm Cash bundle over the next 5-6 hours. In this limited-time promotion, we're being offered a French Bulldog with any Farm Cash purchase, even those as little as $1.

That's right - the French Bulldog. Sound familiar? This animal is actually one of those available to win in the new Pets Mystery Box that was released this week in the store for 20 Farm Cash. If, however, you don't want to take the chance of not receiving the dog that way (or taking a chance that you might end up with duplicates of the other animals), why not take a look at this $1 package? For that price, you'll receive 4 Farm Cash and the free French Bulldog. I don't know about you, but these $1 Farm Cash animals are pretty good deals, and I've made quite a dent in my missing animal collection due to them over the past week or so.

This does bring another question to mind though: If we've seen the French Bulldog and the Hedgehog (among others) being given away through such promotions, and both animals are from the Pets Mystery Box, does this mean the other animals will receive Farm Cash promotions as well? It certainly seems like that will be the case, and we'll make sure to let you know if it is.

Have you been taking part in these free animal promotions in FarmVille? Which animals have you purchased so far?

CLASH: Rise of Heroes gets super artsy in new Facebook update

After a year on Facebook, Qunify Games' CLASH: Rise of Heroes, a superhero collectible card game received a major art update, as well as a partnership with Making Fun, a social games publishing division of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp.

Not bad for a game that had its roots as a Kickstarter project.

Featuring real-time card duels and interactive single-player missions involving over 100 characters with unique biographies (see the characters trailer) and designs commissioned to emerging artists, the CLASH superhero universe has easily co-opted the style and sense of scale of comics publishing giants, such as Marvel and DC Comics.

You can check out all the characters and their bios by loading the game, clicking on the Info tab, and then selecting Vault. Any comic book nerd would get a kick out of reading about the characters and attempting to guess what comic book inspirations the artists must've drawn from.

Gallery: CLASH: Rise of Heroes

A majority of the art appears to be handled by Jos Fouts, Alex Dai, and Gerard Fernandez, but there's also a few commissions by artists Fernando Ken, Michael Packer, and Henry Martinez. On top of that, CLASH has just released a bunch of new cards called the "Artists Series" that are drawn by more established artists. The first set is by German-born Syrian artist, Hanzo Steinbach. Steinbach has some comics work under his belt, as a cover artist for a Ghostbusters graphic novel, and as the creator of the manga-inspired, A Midnight Opera, published by TokyoPop. For an example of Steinbach's work on CLASH, take a look below at the beautiful superheroine, Miss Prism.
CLASH: Rise of the Heroes Miss Prism by Steinbach
But I've always found supervillains more interesting than the superheroes, so here's my personal favorite villainous vixen from the game, Kiss. You meet her rather early on in CLASH at the Oval Office. Whether I'm a superhero or a supervillain, Kiss is certainly a welcome sight as well as a dangerous foe.
CLASH: Rise of the Heroes Arresting Beauty mission Kiss
[Hat-tip: SocialTimes.com]

Click here to play CLASH: RIse of Heroes on Facebook >>

Are you lovin' these fresh new superhero designs? What are some games whose artwork you admire and wouldn't mind hanging on your wall?

Pioneer Trail Chuck Wagon Goals: Everything you need to know

Along with tonight's release of the Chuck Wagon in Pioneer Trail comes a set of six new announced goals to complete back on your Homestead. This Chuck Wagon deals with giving you an ability to hire your friends to craft new Rations for use on the trail, so you probably won't be surprised to learn that Rations are the main prizes given away in these goals as well. Without further ado, here's a full look at the goals you'll need to finish.

Meet Cookie

    Harvest 40 Tomatoes
    Tend 30 Geese on your Homestead
    Clear 15 Wildflowers on your Homestead



If you've been spending tons of time on the Pioneer Trail proper, you might have tons of Wildflowers already growing on your land, but if not, you can also earn some by turning in the Manure Collection. These Wildflowers will then be available to place from your inventory. For completing this (fairly simple) goal, you'll receive 100 XP, 150 coins and 1 Ration.

Most Important Meal of the Day

    Tend 40 Chickens
    Harvest 50 Potatoes
    Collect 15 Coffee Grinders


Potatoes take four hours to grow, so while you're waiting for them to grow, you can ask your friends for the 15 Coffee Grinders to finish this one off. For doing so, you'll receive 200 XP, 250 coins and 1 Ration.

Down Home Cornbread

    Harvest 40 Corn
    Tend 30 Adult Cows
    Collect 10 Cans of Bacon Drippins


Luckily, all of these goals have been fairly self-explanatory, taking us straight to the rewards: 400 XP, a Chef Outfit and 2 Rations. Also, after this point, you'll be able to collect your rewards from the actual Chuck Wagon on your Homestead.

The Spice of Life

    Harvest 50 Sunflowers
    Chop Neighbors' Oak or Pine Trees 40 Times
    Collect 15 Dredgers


If you have any friends that have stopped playing the game, make sure to visit them first for these trees, as you'll likely have no trouble finding an excess there. You'll have plenty of time to finish this task either way, as Sunflowers themselves take 18 hours to grow. For finishing this one, you'll receive 600 XP, 650 coins and 2 Rations

Chuck Wagon Chili

    Harvest 50 Peas
    Visit 15 Neighbors
    Collect 10 cans of Tootin' Fruit


Peas take a full two days to grow, so if you've got the extra space on your land to plant 50 crops, I'd suggest perhaps planting these Peas now so you aren't delayed for two days later, when you do reach this goal. If you go that route, make sure you have some Unwither Boosts handy to unwither your crops should you really be delayed. We're almost at the end of this goal series now, and for finishing this goal, you'll earn 800 XP, 850 coins and 2 Rations.

Cherry Cobbler

    Harvest 30 Cherry Trees
    Tend 50 Goats
    Collect 15 Jars of Brown Sugar


Don't panic about the large Goat number, as this doesn't say anything about selling the animals; instead, you may just be delayed a short while as they become hungry again. All things considered, that's thankfully not a hard task to complete. For finishing off this final goal of the entire series (phew!), you'll receive a whopping 1000 XP, 2 Rations and a Chili Bear.

At any time during this goal series, if you'd like to purchase a hat to go along with your Chef's Outfit from the third goal, you can do so for 16 Horseshoes, as seen below. Happy cooking!
Check out the rest of our FrontierVille / Pioneer Trail cheats, guides and tips right here. >

What do you think of the Chuck Wagon and these specific goals in the Pioneer Trail? Are you happy to see more content come specifically to the Homestead, or would you rather all of your focus go to the new Pioneer Trail proper?

Cafe World Joe and Lisa Proposal Part 3: Everything you need to know

About a week ago, Part 2 of the extended Joe and Lisa Proposal Event launched in Cafe World, which threw a large snag in the works for Joe, who had to deal with Lisa's parents before getting back to the task at hand. Now that they're out of the way, we can move on to Part 3 of the Joe and Lisa Proposal goal series, which leaves us with the question: Will Joe finally be able to pop the question!?

Before we get to the guide itself, a disclaimer: Yet again, this goal series will likely ask you to cook and serve different dishes than those presented in the guide here. While the quantities will remain the same, there's no way we can personally guarantee which dishes you'll need to serve, so we apologize for that.

Setting the Table

    Place a Romantic Table in your Cafe
    Serve 10 Belgian Waffles
    Serve 10 Fish n Chips


For this portion of the event, we're all about upping the ante for Joe, by setting a scene so romantic that Lisa can't possibly say no. This starts with placing the Romantic Table in our cafes, which is a new building project (guide coming soon check out our guide right here). Again, these dishes may vary from the ones you're told to serve, so just plow through the two you're given and you'll finish this first goal in style.

A Cup of Joe

    Ask for 6 Fine China
    Serve 18 Gourmet Blend
    Serve 10 Tony's Classic Pizza



Unlike the cooking tasks, these item collection tasks should remain the same across all accounts, so just ask your friends to send you the Bags of Almonds and you'll eventually finish this one off. For finishing this goal, you'll receive the Almond-Crusted Mahi Mahi dish.
The Countdown

    Collect 6 Mahi Mahi Filets
    Collect 7 Bags of Almonds
    Serve 12 Mini Crab Cakes


Honestly, these goals seem out of order. Shouldn't we be asked to collect these Mahi Mahi Filets and Almonds before being given the dish they're used in? As it stands, this is the order that Zynga seems to have released the goals in, but if they fix it (to one that makes more sense), we'll make sure to let you know. Did you receive this goal as your second one, rather than third? Let us know that too.

A Hearty Meal

    Collect 8 Cups of Mocha Cream Filling
    Spice 5 Neighbors' Stoves
    Serve 20 Oyster Shooters


You'll receive another new recipe for finishing this goal: The Mocha Hawaiian Malasada, which you'll need to put to use in the next goal.

Oh My Hawaii

    Collect 6 Dessert Boxes
    Serve 10 Mocha Hawaiian Malasada
    Complete level 1 Mastery of Almond-Crusted Mahi Mahi


Yet again, this goal series introduces the concept of dish mastery to the mix, which I suppose is better than endless gift requests, although we're given those here too. Either way, you'll be able to finish the final task on your own time, which is better than relying on others who might not respond - right?

After Dinner

    Collect 8 Dark Chocolate Bark
    Serve Ginger Ale 18 Times
    Collect 8 Dessert Serving Trays


As you can see, we've now moved onto the dessert portion of what is hopefully the "big meal," with the next goal being the big question of whether or not Lisa will say yes to Joe's proposal. You see, you'll be able to hide the ring inside your new recipe: The Dark Chocolate Truffles, and then hope for the best in your final goal:

The Big Question

    Collect 9 Cups of Dark Chocolate Powder
    Finish Building the Romantic Table
    Complete Level 2 Mastery of Dark Chocolate Truffles



The final step of making this question perfect is completing the Romantic Table, which will then trigger all of your cafe's guests to be dressed in formal dinner attire to match Joe and Lisa. If all of this work doesn't get her to say yes, I don't know what will, but unfortunately, we'll have to finish these goals to find out exactly how the story plays out.

As one final note, these goals are extremely limited, and will only be available for the next week. If you don't complete them in time, and unlock the recipes within, it's likely that you may never be given the opportunity again, so please keep that in mind before you decide how quickly to tackle them! Good luck!

Do you think Lisa will say yes to Joe's proposal? What do you think of this (final?) set of Proposal goals? Were you able to finish Parts 1 and 2 in time

Building the Cafe World Romantic Table: Everything you need to know

To go along with what should turn out to be the last set of goals in Cafe World's Joe and Lisa Proposal event, Zynga has released the Romantic Table for Two for building in your cafe. This Table doesn't have a truly game-changing purpose like an appliance would, but it does go along with Joe and Lisa's perfect evening. Of course, you'll first need to build the Table to get anything out of it, so here's how to do just that.

You'll be given the base for free just by pulling it out of the store and placing it in your cafe proper. From there, you'll need to collect nine Crystal Stemware glasses, seven sets of Silverware, five Rose Petals and nine Candles. Wait... isn't this a table for two? Why do we need to collect nine glasses and seven sets of silverware? I suppose I was taking it too literally...

Either way, all four of these items are earned through individual requests to your friends, so at least you won't have to worry about news feed posts getting buried in a sea of other games' requests.

Once the Romantic Table is completely built, it will have a passive effect on your Cafe, similar to the Jack-o-Lantern released in October of 2010. Here though, you'll simply receive guests that are dressed in formal dinner attire, rather than those dressed in Halloween costumes. Since the effect really doesn't do much at the end of the day, I wish I could tell you that you didn't have to build the table, but while you technically don't have to, if you want to finish Part 3 of this Joe and Lisa Proposal event, you must. Why? Finishing the table is required for you to finish the final goal, allowing Joe to actually propose. What's more - those goals must be finished in under a week or they'll expire. Yikes!

For a complete guide on finishing those goals, make sure to check out our guide; just remember that your dishes may be different, so we're all going in a bit blind.

Will you try to build the Romantic Table before the week is up in Cafe World? Are you happy to see this chapter of the Joe and Lisa saga come to an end, or would you prefer it to go on forever?

CityVille: Super Cargo Sheds boost your Goods storage four times

Is your CityVille town filled with Red Barns, Cargo Sheds and Silos, or are you simply running out of room to place buildings? Would you like to store more Goods in less space? If you answered yes to either question (who wouldn't want to store Goods in less space?), you'll be both pleased and saddened by my news: a new Super Cargo Shed has been released in the game, allowing you to store a whopping 4,000 Goods in a single building.

But wait - how can that be bad? Simple - a single Super Cargo Shed costs 50 City Cash to build in your town. If that price is worth it to you, you'll be able to tear down some other buildings that provide the same amount of Goods storage, or can simply add this to your existing setup for a major boost.

Coincidentally, the Super Grain Elevator, which launched at the end of last month, has been removed from the game to make way for this one. As we know this Super Cargo Shed is also a "limited time" item, with no specific expiration date, we can put two and two together to assume that this one will only be around for a month as well. What sort of item can take its place? We're not sure just yet, but we'll make sure to let you know if and when something more fantastic comes along.

In the meantime, let us know what you think of these Super Cargo Sheds. Are you going to purchase one or more for your city, or are you find using items like Barns, Sticks to store your Goods?

CityVille Ranger Station Upgrades: Everything you need to know

With summer primarily being about spending time in the great outdoors, what better way to celebrate all-things-nature in CityVille than to upgrade your Ranger Station? After all, your citizens need folks around to protect them from the more wild critters lurking around, so here's how to upgrade this community building to support even more citizens to live in your town.

First, to access these upgrades, you must be at least level 16 and have at least 550 people already living in your town. From there, you'll see the familiar blue and green upgrade arrow sitting on your Ranger Station, after you've collected its profits (where applicable). This brings up the Upgrade Menu, which allows you to begin the process of collecting the five bulk ingredients needed to actually upgrade. You'll need:

    4 Caterpillars
    4 Frogs
    4 Water Canteens
    4 Compasses
    4 Smores


After this has been done, your Ranger Station will receive a slight visual upgrade (the watchtower looks to grow a bit taller and the roof changes colors), it will grow to support 480 citizens instead of 330, and you'll also trigger the second set of upgrades. It should be noted that this set doesn't have any population requirement to unlock, so you can jump straight from one upgrade into the next. The process here is the same, except you'll need to collect seven each of the above ingredients, rather than four.

For finishing this second set of upgrades, your Ranger Station will change again, getting a new forest-green roof and an even more advanced watch-tower. You'll also then be able to support 840 citizens with the building, which is actually a fairly hefty boost. Just keep in mind that these upgrades aren't permanent if you sell your Ranger Station(s); upon rebuilding them, you'll have to upgrade all over again, so do so at your own risk!

Do you have a Ranger Station in CityVille, or was it one item you chose to skip? Will you build one now just to upgrade it? What do you think of these upgrade requirements?

CityVille: New Circus items include Cotton Candy and Peanut Crops

If you've really taken a liking to the Circus theme of items in CityVille, you'll be happy to know that another small set of items has been added to the theme this weekend. This update includes a couple of decorative items (that both offer a bonus payout when used to accompany other items in the theme), along with a pair of limited edition crops that can only be grown for City Cash.

First, we'll take a look at the decorations. The first is a Tight Rope Walker, which costs a whopping 48 City Cash. It comes with an equally impressive payout bonus, however, at 48%. When used next to other Circus items, that number skyrockets to 96%. Might I suggest placing one next to the Circus Snack Shack, an item that earns 1413 coins by default?

The other decorative item is the Strong Man (a tiny citizen holding up a large purple hippo) for 25 City Cash. This one's bonus is far less than the Tight Rope Walker's, but you'll still earn a 14% bonus to generic items and a 28% bonus to others in the Circus theme.

Finally, the two new crops go along quite well with the Circus theme and come in the form of Peanuts (when you think Circus, you likely think Elephant, and when you think Elephant, you think Peanuts) and Cotton Candy. Here are the stats for both:

Peanuts

    Cost: 106 coins per square planted
    Harvest Time: 20 hours
    First Star of Mastery:: 50 harvests
    Goods Produced: 144 per square


Cotton Candy

    Cost: 4 City Cash per square planted
    Harvest Time: Instant
    First Star of Mastery: 3 harvests
    Goods Produced: 360 per square


Take special note of the Cotton Candy. 360 Goods is a fairly large Goods payout, when compared to other City Cash crops (which may offer 100 Goods or less, in the case of the Grape crop), so if you've been looking to jump into the City Cash crop arena, this is a good place to start. One final thing to note: the Clown Alley home that was originally only available in the Circus Mystery Crate is now available as a single purchase for 60 City Cash.

If this Circus theme continues to grow any larger in the future, we'll make sure to let you know. For now, let us know your decorating ideas for these items. Have you created a virtual big top in your city?

CityVille Circus Tent Community Building: Everything you need to know

You know, upon the initial launch the Circus theme in CityVille (which didn't contain an actual circus tent), I was beginning to think that Zynga would drop the ball on including the iconic "building." My fears were apparently heard (or not), as Zynga has finally released a "Big Top Tent" community building to the game's store, but at a very high cost.

For the whopping price of 80 City Cash, you can add this Big Top Tent to your town. For that price, you'd expect a maximum population boost in the thousands, and you'll get it: this tent allows for up to 3,360 more citizens to live in your town, before you need to add another community building. Honestly, that number still seems kind of low for the price that you'll pay to purchase it, but I digress.

If you're the kind that only purchases City Cash when you know there's something you want to purchase in the store and you want this Big Top Tent, make sure to go shopping fast, as this one's on a time schedule. To be specific, the Circus caravan, including this tent, will roll away from the game in just four days, taking your chance of being a trapeze artist right along with it.

Will you purchase a Big Top Circus Tent for your town in CityVille, or are you fine sticking with the other circus items that have been released?

Zynga may soon name its price, as its IPO road show starts Monday

Interested in buying up a chunk of Zynga, eh? Well, the FarmVille maker just may name its price very shortly, as Fortune reports that the company will begin to pony around to investors next Monday. And with that, Zynga will likely make another amendment to its S-1 filing with the Security and Exchanges Commission (SEC) that would reveal its asking price for public shares along with how many shares will be made available.

Zynga filed for its initial public offering (IPO) way back in June of this year, and it finally looks like it's time to pull back the curtain and start taking offers. According to Fortune, company CEO Mark Pincus will join COO John Schappert (of EA fame) and CFO David Wehner in the dog and pony show to get investors excited about diving into Zynga, or ZNGA as it will appear on the Nasdaq.

The creator of top social games like CityVille seeks to raise $1 billion as a result of its IPO. Some expect a valuation, or projected worth of a company based on several factors, between $15 and $20 billion. That would make Zynga not only the most valuable social games company in the world, but the most valuable game company. Period. Well, that is if investors can look past Zynga employees driven to tears under company pressure.

[Via Inside Social Games]

If given the chance, would you ever invest in Zynga? Do you the company could become the most valuable game maker in the world?

Zynga is the new four-letter word

Zynga's big debut on the stock market seems to be on everyone's mind this week -- and not necessarily in a good way -- as industry watchers come out of the woodwork to talk about the not-so-perfect state of the company behind games such as FarmVille, CityVille and Words with Friends.

First, there are several reports on how Zynga's games are not doing so hot. Cowen and Company analysts say that Zynga's new Facebook game CastleVille might be attracting lots of players, but at the expense of its other big Facebook games. The report says CastleVille has tied with FarmVille as the second most popular game on Facebook, with 6.9 million daily users each, but that November is still an overall "disappointment" for Zynga, because the company's other big Facebook games saw a collective loss of 3.8 million daily players in the past month. Another article in Businessweek talks about how the recently launched Mafia Wars 2 is failing to meet expectations, losing 900K daily active users in roughly a month.

In addition to a flagging player population, it seems like Zynga and its CEO aren't exactly winning friends. Venture Beat points out that Zynga CEO's Mark Pincus' approval rating is a low 46% and another story in the New York Times says long hours and grueling deadlines has grumbling employees counting down the days until they can cash out their stock and then jump ship. The same Times article talks about how Zynga's not-so-friendly culture could be a reason that Angry Birds creator Rovio turned down Zynga's offer of $2.5 billion in cash and stock this summer.

With a possible IPO in December, it sounds like Zynga's going to have to be on its best behavior to get onto Santa's (and investors') nice list this year.

Vostu goes for (another) Goooaaal with GolMania on Google+

GolMania
Alright, so we just really like saying "Goooaaal!" At any rate, Brazilian social game maker Vostu has released its impressive soccer/football game GolMania on Google+. According to the developer, over 35 million matches have been played since GolMania's release on Facebook and Orkut in September. We're gonna' guess that's thanks to the game's real-time multiplayer.

Well, that and the game's smooth animations, skilled-based play mechanics and flashy visuals. GolMania was developed by MP Studio, a recent addition to Vostu responsible for several themed web games for brands like Nickelodeon and Coca-Cola. We generally don't recommend gamers play Google+ ports of Facebook games in the interest of, well, having friends. But since GolMania runs on the Vostu Game Network, players can compete across social networks.

Since the game launched earlier this fall, Vostu has introduced interpretations of real-life football clubs, like Boca Juniors and River Plate Buenos Aires, the two most famous clubs in Argentina, according to the developer. While the game is currently only available in Portugese, Spanish and English, Vostu didn't pass up the chance for some friendly trash talk: "So far, when the legendary match-up occurs between players from Brazil and players from Italy, Brazil wins 56 percent of the time."

Of course, GolMania doesn't forget that its a cartoon soccer world. Players can duke it out in real time on the moon, bounce the ball off stadium walls and--perhaps the most fanciful--tackle players without fear of a red card. In other words, prepare to take your hand off the mouse in a social game for once.

Click here to play GolMania on Google+ Now >

Have you tried GolMania yet on Facebook or Orkut? Do real-time, 3D multiplayer games have a chance on social networks?

Has EA somehow made the timeless puzzler Tetris ... better?

We all know Tetris. We've even come to know the 27-year-old puzzler on Facebook, iPhone and Android devices. Why even bother attempting to improve a game that, really, was rock solid from the start? Who knows, but according to impressions by VentureBeat (VB), the brand new Tetris for iPhone and Android developed by EA could have done just that.

It's called One-Touch Mode, and it allows players to control games of Tetris with one hand. (Well, from the looks of this screen, it looks like EA fills in for your other hand, if you catch our drift.) As each iconic tetrimino falls, up to six suggested locations are presented on-screen, and tapping any of them will automatically place that piece in that exact location. Swiping the screen sideways will reveal a few more possible locations.

According to VB, this dances around the common inaccuracies of touch-based gameplay. (Another VB writer sounded off in the article's comments section, praising One-Touch as "the single biggest innovation in the history of the franchise.") Those still married to the game's roots will be glad to hear that Marathon Mode returns, but a Galaxy Mode featuring power-ups to crush through barriers is another fresh take on the classic.

This new, trendy-looking approach to Tetris, seen at an EA preview event in San Francisco, is expected to replace the existing Tetris games on iOS and Android this week. (Let's just hope it doesn't cost $7.99.) Other games shown at the event included the Kindle Fire version of Plants Vs Zombies, a mobile edition of shooter Battlefield 3, The Sims FreePlay and more.

Does One-Touch sound like it could improve your Tetris experience? Do you still play the game after all these years?

Frogger is 30 years old, still bouncin' in Frogger Pinball on Facebook

Alright, so 30 is far from old, but that's ancient in frog years. Konami celebrates the 30th anniversary of gaming's favorite jaywalker with Frogger Pinball on Facebook. The game, created by Silverball Studios, is definitely a departure for Frogger, having the little green guy save his Lily from the clutches of the evil RoboCroc ... as a pinball. We at least hope the villain drives a red sedan.

Frogger Pinball takes cues from games like Bejeweled Blitz with its weekly leaderboards and tournaments, but attempts to add a light storyline to its naturally twitch-reflex play style. Come on, did you expect anything less from a Frogger game, and a pinball-themed one at that? The game's story mode spans three different tables: the Swamp, City and Space Station.

Players can unlock special characters from there to compete with their friends for the high score in Challenge Mode. Of course, unique power-ups and bonuses are rewarded throughout for leveling up, hitting targets and completing loops. We're sure each pinball table features unique obstacles, and you'll have to complete them with both Frogger and Lily to play Challenge Mode with all three characters.
Frogger Pinball in action
Konami has been no slouch when it comes to social gaming, either. The company has already released a few Facebook games, including an original in Viva! Mall. While that game has since shut down, the company has reported that social games helped the company double its profits year-over-year, according to Joystiq. That said, expect way--and we mean way--more where Frogger came from.

Click here to play Frogger Pinball on Facebook Now >

Are you still a Frogger fan after all of these years? Do you think Konami can bring its classic franchises back to life through Facebook?

Webcams + Facebook games = what looks like fun, thanks to Rounds

Rounds Bubblins
Some social gamers have long awaited real-time gaming on Facebook. And while some game makers have met that challenge well, perhaps you had something different in mind. Rounds, the self-proclaimed first "communitainment platform" on Facebook, is banking on that with a brand new selection of nine real-time social games for friends to play with as they chat over webcam.

The Israeli company, founded in 2008, made the new games for its nearly 1 million monthly users thanks to $3 million in funding. "Rounds users can expect to get hooked to these new activities like they have with our activities and games already on the site--and probably more so," Rounds CEO and co-founder Dany Fishel said in a release. "As Rounds continues to grow, the offerings are only going to get better and more addicting than they already are."
Gallery: Rounds on Facebook
The new games are designed to simulate a real-world game room, but we wouldn't go that far. However, based on these first screens, they sure do look to make webcam chat a helluva lot more fun. Here's Round's take on all nine games:

    Bubblins: A solo or multi-player game in which you match Bubblins to decrease your opponent's life while increasing your own.
    Charades: The online version of the classic game lets you act out a word or phrase as your opponent tries to guess who or what you are depicting.
    Faces iMake: Create your own crazy face using everyday objects in new and innovative ways.
    Gluey: Combine blobs of the same color and use special items to rack up points and best your opponent's score.
    Mad Pet: Race your skateboarding dog, do tricks and avoid holes along the way to accumulate more points than your friend's skateboarding canine.
    Space Purge: Save Planet Earth by destroying incoming asteroids and rogue satellites, and gain special power ups to score the most points before your three lives are up.
    Super Drift 3D: Pick your favorite car and favorite course and race against friends in a one of a kind 3D speed-racing game.
    Whack-a-Friend: Whack your friend while you Video Chat Rounds before they whack you.
    Wonder Putt: Mini-golf on steroids adventure throws cows, torpedoes, ski slopes and alien abductions your way as you try to shoot par.


Many of the games in this suite are available to play now through Rounds, including Space Purge, Bubblins, Super Drift 3D and MadPet. The rest of the games are said to hit Rounds by early 2012. Now, good luck with coordinating some play time with your friends, because who wants to show their ugly mug to a bunch a strangers?

Click here to try out Rounds on Facebook Now >

Are you a fan of using webcams to chat? Do you think webcams could add anything special to the social game experience?

Woodland Heroes hits Facebook with furiously furry (and cute) strategy

Facebook games (and their developers) kind of have a thing for cute, furry creatures. Well, it seems more like an obsession at this point, and while start up studio Orlando, Fla.-based Row Sham Bow isn't exactly helping the situation with Woodland Heroes on Facebook. Though, at least its debut social game takes the furriness in a decidedly new direction ... one that involves catapulting pigs.

Woodland Heroes pits players against the evil King Bear as he tears across the raccoons' treasured forest land with massive armies. The game has you fighting back enemy forces with giant weapons made of sticks and stones (get it?) that launch everything from pigs to acorns in a modern if adorable take on Battleship meets Risk. (Players have to defend captured territories.)

The game, which seems to have launched in early October, looks to straddle the ground between hardcore strategy social games with its combat system and progression and casual games with its approachable characters. According to the company's website, Row Sham Bow is comprised largely of industry veterans, namely from EA Sports.

"Fascinated by the free-to-play space," the company looks to bring fun to social games. Well, raccoons facing bears in epic battles, flinging pigs and boulders at one another is certainly a step in the right direction. Now, all Row Sham Bow needs is to approach Trey Parker and Matt Stone for what would make for an awesome Facebook game.

Click here to play Woodland Heroes on Facebook Now >

Have you hopped into the strategy sub genre of games on Facebook yet? What do you think of Row Sham Bow's debut in Facebook games?

Something is a brewin' for the Angry Birds this Halloween [Video]

These days, the Angry Birds are almost always up to something. Coming hot off of their tour on the big screen (not that big screen), Rovio has released a teaser trailer for an upcoming update to its mega popular casual game. While we're given no gameplay footage or even a hint as to what version this update will arrive at, we can certainly deduce a lot from this trailer.

The clip sees three tiny blue birds dressed up to trick-or-treat (likely the largely useless cluster birds) come across a spooky camp ground and a bucket with, well, something inside of it. Since the update is undoubtedly Halloween-themed, we're going to guess that this is an update to Angry Birds Seasons. And it almost seems as if a new bird or enemy will join the peeved off little birds.

Remember, this would mark the first anniversary of the Seasons spin-off game, which almost randomly launched as Angry Birds Halloween in 2010. Considering how close we are to the joyous day of gorging on candy and dressing up like idiots, expect Rovio to release more details on this new Angry Birds content shortly.


[Via Pocket Gamer]

Check out the rest of our Halloween coverage right here.

What do you think of the teaser trailer for this Angry Birds update? What type of new feature or hook do you think/hope this Halloween content will bring?

Gardens of Time nabs Best Social Network Game at GDC Online 2011

Playdom has apparently spotted a hit in Gardens of Time on Facebook. The hidden-object game was awarded Best Social Network Game at this year's Game Developers Choice Online Awards last week. Gardens of Time ran against strong competitors like CityVille (Zynga), Dragons of Atlantis (Kabam), FrontierVille (Zynga) and Ravenwood Fair (Lolapps).

According to Playdom, "the award honors the best game launched on a social network, judged in terms of overall depth, execution and quality." While hidden-object games certainly aren't a new genre, but they are new to Facebook, with Gardens of Time being one of the first to hit the platform and garner a healthy 11.1 million monthly players. And Playdom is celebrating.

As a token of thanks to its loyal object finders, the developer is giving all Gardens of Time players an exclusive Fireworks Wagon decoration. (Click here to receive the gift.) Gardens of Time blazed the trail for hidden-object Facebook games in April 2011 to a peak of 14 million monthly players speaking 14 languages.

Of course, the game has, well, inspired other developers to get in on the action. To combat Playdom's head start in the hidden-object sub genre on Facebook, Zynga just announced Hidden Chronicles, though no release date has been given yet. Here's to Playdom hopefully bringing more untapped genres to Facebook (like secret agents?).

Are you a fan of Gardens of Time? Do you think the game deserved the award for Best Social Network Game?

FarmVille Winter Holiday Items: Ornament Horse, Candy Cane Rabbit and more

With tonight's FarmVille update, we're one step closer to the release of the Winter Wonderland farm in the game (or at least one day closer), but still see a variety of new Winter Holiday items being released in the store for purchase on your current farms. There are new animals, trees and decorations here, so let's get started on our overview of what you can now splurge on in the store.

Trees

Silver Bell Tree - 8 Farm Cash
Golden Bell Tree - 14 Farm Cash

Is it just me, or did Silver and Gold from the 1964 version of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer just pop into your head. You know, this classic? Sorry, maybe I'm just way too into Christmas... Either way, you'll only "need" to purchase the Silver tree here, as the Golden Bell Tree can be earned for free through Mystery Seedlings.

Animals

Ornament Horse - 26 Farm Cash
Candy Cane Rabbit - 12 Farm Cash
Candy Cane Boar - 16 Farm Cash
Black Paint Horse - 3 million coins

As usual, we see a coin animal released here, which is great, but it's expensive and doesn't seem to really have anything to do with Christmas / Winter at first glance. Still, I suppose beggars can't be choosers, so I'll accept the coin-only animal all the same.

Buildings

Holiday Tree House - 15 Farm Cash

Decorations

Ornament Fence - 7,000 coins
Reindeer Globe - 10 Farm Cash

We've seen other snow globes released in the game before, so don't let this one confuse you. It is a new item to the game. The Ornament Fence, too, is a new type of holiday fencing, so feel free to stock up on a few pieces of that if you plan on wanting it when Winter Wonderland releases. Hopefully, we'll be able to immediately transfer items between our farms, so we can have a constant Winter Wonderland / Christmas farm all year round (please Zynga!), but that hasn't been mentioned as of this writing.

All told, these items will be available in the game's store for the next two weeks. Within that time, will we see Winter Wonderland launch in the game? No official release date has been set, but we'll make sure to let you know if we find any evidence pointing to its launch date.

In the meantime, let us know what you think of these Winter Holiday decorations, animals and trees. Will you purchase both trees for your land, so you don't have to wait for the Golden Bell Tree as a Mystery Seedling? Do you have a horse collection that's just calling out for these two offerings?

FarmVille Thanksgiving Items: Sheep Balloon, Pilgrim Chicken and more

While we've seen Autumn-themed items released in FarmVille over the past couple of weeks, a true Thanksgiving limited edition item theme has launched in the game just days before Thanksgiving proper arrives in the US. You can now purchase some new trees, decorations and of course animals, aside from those you can win in this week's Thanksgiving-themed Mystery Game. Here's a complete look at these items, which will all be available in the game's store for the next two weeks.

Trees

Cornucopia Tree - 8 Farm Cash
Giant Cornucopia Tree - 14 Farm Cash

If anything, this one could definitely be described as both a fall/autumn tree and a Thanksgiving tree, so feel free to leave it out in your Lighthouse Cove farm, for instance, if you've latched onto the fall theme in that farm. As for the giant version, just remember that you won't need to waste that much Farm Cash on one, as you'll likely wind up with plenty, for free, from Mystery Seedlings.

Animals

Canadian Horse - 26 Farm Cash
Labrador Duck - 18 Farm Cash
Giant Labrador Duck - 18 Farm Cash
Pilgrim Chicken - 20 Farm Cash

Here, we see yet another giant version of an animal released, apparently in an attempt to cash in on animal collectors' Farm Cash. These two ducks can be mastered separately, so if mastery signs matter to you, be willing to shell out double the Farm Cash for the pair.

Buildings

Fall Log Cabin - 15 Farm Cash

Decorations

Pilgrim Gnome - 12 Farm Cash
Sheep Balloon - 100,000 coins
Wreath Fence - 5,000 coins

If you're a fan of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, or just like balloons, you'll want to check out this Sheep Balloon, as it's a massive floating version of a plain white and black sheep - how cute!

I wouldn't expect many more Thanksgiving-themed items to be released in the game, but if more do come out, we'll make sure to let you know.

Check out the rest of our Thanksgiving themed coverage right here.

What do you think of this week's Thanksgiving item release?

FarmVille Mystery Game (11/20/11): Thanksgiving animals and decorations celebrate Turkey Day

Another Sunday evening means another switch in the lineup of items available to win in FarmVille's Mystery Game. This week, Thanksgiving themed items take over the game, with decorations and animals being available to win. And when I say animals, I mainly mean animals dressed as Pilgrims and Native Americans - what else?

This week's Mystery Game costs 16 Farm Cash for a single dart, and for that price you'll have a chance of winning one of six prizes. Here's the rundown:

Chieftain Dog
Maple Pegasus
Pilgrim Cat
Pilgrim Turkey
Thanksgiving Cottage
Turkey Float

As usual, if you spend enough Farm Cash and pop enough balloons to end up with at least one of each of the six items above, you'll win a special, exclusive seventh prize for free: the Fall Leaves Bridge. Just keep in mind that winning all six of the original items could be an incredibly expensive experience, as you'll likely wind up with duplicates of some items (unless you're extremely lucky). If so, can you spread a little of that luck this way? Please!?

As usual, you'll have just a week to win these Thanksgiving-themed items in the Mystery Game, which is a good thing too, as it looks like Winter and Christmas will be taking over the farm very quickly.

Check out the rest of our Thanksgiving-themed coverage right here.

What do you think of this week's Mystery Game prizes? Which ones are you hoping to win? Which ones did you actually end up with?

FarmVille Raffle Booth (11/20/11): Unwither and Orchards up for grabs

This week's roundup of prizes in FarmVille's Raffle Booth pulls no punches - it's simply a set of helpful, functional items for your farm that will help you either master some trees, unwither some crops, or earn some bonus experience points by simply playing the game. And watch out - one of the three "lesser prizes" has changed this week.

As usual, you'll be able to play the Raffle Booth for free, giving you a chance at one of the following five items (we've listed your odds of winning them for your reference):

10 Special Delivery Boxes - 1:5
3 Fertilize Alls - 1:20
5 Love Potions - 1:50
3 Unwithers - 1:200
1 Fully Built Orchard 1:500

This Orchard is a standard one, allowing you to just store 20 trees. It will be ready to harvest once every two days, unlike the better Super Orchards that cost Farm Cash and can be harvested daily. Sure, I wish that we were being given a chance at Super Orchards, but that's apparently too great of a prize. As it stands, the Unwithers look to be the best prize here, in my somewhat humble opinion, as unwithering crops costs Farm Cash otherwise, and at least you can build an Orchard for 1,000 coins and free building materials, if you felt so inclined.

Either way, your method for earning Raffle Tickets remains the same: you'll be given one for free at the start of this week's drawing, and will then be able to earn plenty more for free by asking your friends to send them to you. Just remember to "Use them" out of your Gift Box as you start to earn them. The tickets won't allow you to win if you don't actually place them in the booth! Here's wishing good luck to both you and I, that we walk away with this week's biggest prizes!

Are you excited to see these functional items being given away in the FarmVille Raffle Booth this week, or do you enjoy it more when the prizes are exclusive (or at least formerly retired) decorations or animals

Zynga owns the 'Ville' suffix, apparently, Night Owl Games fights it

Oh, yeah? Well, then we're trademarking "'Town"--ha! Houston, Tex.-based social game maker Night Owl Games has filed suit against Zynga over the fair use of the title "Dungeonville" in a new level or gameplay mode in its Dungeon Overlord. Night Owl Games took the case to federal court on Nov. 18 after months of dispute with the gaming giant.

Night Owl Games, which received full rights to Dungeon Overlord (which it developed) from SOE recently, filed for the "Dungeonville" trademark in Feb. 10, 2011. In July--just as Zynga filed with the U.S. Trademark office to delay the approval process of "Dungeonville"--the company's lawyer started an email exchange with Night Owl Games. The emails, featured as evidence in Night Owl's lawsuit, ask the company to abandon the trademark.

According to the lawsuit, Night Owl Games offered to hold off on "Dungeonville", but only if Zynga agreed to do the same. Of course, Zynga refused. Based on this email exchange, Zynga seems to believe that it has rights over any use of the suffix "'Ville". Well, at least as it pertains to video games. Basically, Night Owl is asking a Houston federal court judge to rule that "Dungeonville" is not a trademark infringement. Houston Examiner reports that a hearing should be scheduled within 30 days.

This is far from the first time Zynga has attempted to trademark "'Ville" at the butt of a video game title, nor is this a first for the company to oppose potential competitors using the suffix. What might be a first, however, is if Zynga wins.

Does Zynga have rights to any video game with suffix "'Ville" in its title? Can Night Owl Games win this case?