Zynga's CityVille could overthrow FarmVille tomorrow, reporter claims

Remember when we mentioned that CityVille was dangerously close to beating FarmVille as the top Zynga Facebook game? Well, it could happen as early as tomorrow, according to a speculative report by Social Times. If true, this could drastically change the playing field, with FarmVille living in the shadow of a far more current social game with enhanced visuals and more streamlined progression.

Social Times cites AllFacebook's recent findings that CityVille is, as of this writing, sitting at 54.7 million monthly players while FarmVille waits for what seems to be inevitable at 56.6 million. With Zynga's other games below second place trailing behind by as much as 20 and 30 million fewer players (Zynga Poker, FrontierVille and Mafia Wars, respectively), CityVille could be number one for a long time. We'll see if Zynga, and the CityVille team especially, get their early Christmas gift tomorrow.

While this news is huge, here's the next $1 million question: what new game could beat CityVille? Could the rumored sequel to Mafia Wars do the trick?

FrontierVille 12 Days of Christmas Goals: Everything you need to know for Day 10

On the Tenth Day O' Christmas
The FrontierVille advent calendar has opened yet another of its doors and inside is today's 12 Days of Christmas Goal, "On the Tenth Day O' Christmas." On a surprising note, this Goal is considerably easier than yesterday's, but only for you seasoned pioneers.

While anyone can buy, raise and sell 10 Adult Goats, which would take about 100 Energy and 1,950 coins total to do from scratch, only players who have reached and completed the Jackalope Lodge will be able to complete this Goal in a timely fashion. But do this and collect from the Lodge twice to be two steps closer to completing Day 10 of this 12-mission series. Lastly, all you need to do is buy and build the Snowman, which I imagine most of the game's dedicated have already accomplished.

But for those of you that haven't, the Snowman costs 100 coins from the Market to place. From there, you'll need to collect several items from friends to complete the Snowman after whacking it a few times. Finally, players can customize their Snowman with different arms, faces, hats and scarves. Constructing the Snowman will complete this Goal and inch you one day closer to that Partridge in a Pear Tree. No matter how you slice it, this Goal will take a few days to complete, but check out our guides for the Jackalope Lodge and Buildable Snowman for some tips on how to get those done quickly.

Find the rest of our Holiday 2010 coverage right here.

Have you tried or completed this Goal yet? What tips might you have to help your fellow pioneers to finish this quickly?

Love Mafia Wars? Then prove it and join the "I Love Mafia Wars" Family

Well, do you? Then Zynga is asking you to prove your devotion and join the brand new "I Love Mafia Wars" Family for exclusive benefits. However, signing up requires what some players would deem the unthinkable: providing your e-mail and mailing address to Zynga (especially since the fiasco earlier this season). For those who are OK with giving that information up, enticing benefits await them like:

    Beta access to new features and releases (you'll be one of the first)
    Exclusive Contests and Prizes for members
    Email notifications of upcoming features
    Priority registration to MW Fan events
    Periodic "Member Only" promotions
    Other Benefits to come!


To guaranteed access to beta content before anyone else is certainly appealing, but is worth giving up your e-mail much less you mailing address? That's up for you to decide, but mobsters who are already interested can sign up right here. Now, if only a program like this was around when those premium MADE in Vegas tickets were still on sale. As for some of the "other benefits to come," how does early access to this supposed Mafia Wars 2 sound?

Have you decided to join the I Love Mafia Wars Family yet? Do you think the perks are worth giving up that information?

Cookie Monster YouTube game asks 'Will it Sink or Float?'

Our beloved blue fur ball from the around the corner on Sesame Street, Cookie Monster, has become somewhat of a YouTube sensation lately. And his most recent outing on the ubiquitous video site is, thankfully for you parents' sake, much more educational. In the "Sink or Float" YouTube game, Cookie Monster and his friend Emma ask for your help in testing whether five different objects will either sink or float in a tank of water.

Like most standard interactive YouTube games, clicking on one of the four options will jump you to the result, which will have another set of options toward the end of the video. More specifically, your task is to answer whether one of five items, Ernie's rubber ducky, a lemon, a lime, a coconut or a rubber band ball, will sink or float in water. The game's primary goal is to give kids a crash course in the scientific method. But if you have a fish tank (or in my case an aquatic turtle tank), just remember to keep it firmly sealed in case the little ones get any smart ideas.

With the bonafide blue beast recently attracting over 1.5 million people to his Saturday Night Live audition tape, a regularly updated video blog on Facebook and a his own Tumblr, we doubt Cookie Monster will be leaving the internet behind anytime soon. Let's just hope his future exploits are as fun as this one.

FarmVille Clumsy Reindeer available as Free Gift for limited time

Thanks to our good friends at FarmVille Freak, we're happy to bring the news that the Clumsy Reindeer has returned to FarmVille as a free gift. For a short time (most likely through Christmas), players can send one another as many of these doofy reindeer as they like. Nothing says "Merry Christmas" like a reindeer that could potentially sabotage Santa Claus' midnight mission on Dec. 25 without even knowing it.

Check out our Holiday 2010 coverage right here.

Have you seen the Clumsy Reindeer in your game as a free gift yet? How many do you plan to send to your friends?

CityVille killer? Zynga's Empires & Allies rockets to 23 million players

For all intents and purposes, it's crazy town at Zynga HQ right now. Empires & Allies, the studio's newest Facebook game, has reached over 23 million monthly players in just over two weeks since June 1, according to AppData. Actually, we're getting an overwhelming feeling of déjà vu in the office--oh yeah, CityVille enjoyed the same insane growth in almost exactly the same time frame.

In December of last year, the city-builder soared to 22 million players in less than two weeks. And we all know what happened afterward: The game continued to reign in players until it peaked at 101 million this January. (CityVille now enjoys a healthy chunk of that with over 90 million players.)

With the way Empires & Allies is going, this new strategy combat game could enjoy the same success as CityVille, if not eclipse it considering its potential hardcore appeal. In fact, the game has already accumulated nearly half of its predecessor's daily players with 7.7 million, though it's too early to tell whether that number will sustain over time. It's already clear that Zynga has struck gold yet again, as E&A has eclipsed several of the company's offerings that have been around for some time including FrontierVille, Mafia Wars and Cafe World. E&A could even be the second game to surpass FarmVille. Now isn't that a scary thought?

So, how did Zynga do it? Well, with promotions in FarmVille and CityVille regarding Empires & Allies, it's no surprise that the game has gotten this far. Not to mention that the game already is featured in RewardVille and above every Zynga game out there via the bar that sits above each of them. However, what we think is truly going to hook more gamers is its target demographic--those 90 million plus CityVille fans.

Much of the game is quite similar it is to its predecessor, softening the barrier to entry that the game's combat might present. Either way, with two new mobile games in Hanging with Friends and CityVille Hometown, and now another mega hit Zynga just might be able to afford that vacation to Mars for its staff. Oops, did we ruin the surprise?

Steam goes social (and free) with Spiral Knights by Sega and more

Spiral Knights in action
You know this whole social games thing those whippersnappers are talking about is big when Steam gets into the game. The premier PC games distribution platform from Valve, creators of the Left 4 Dead and Half-Life (read: hardcore) franchises, has just signed on five free-to-play games for gamers to enjoy for, well, free! The games include hits like Forsaken World and Champions Online. But most notable of which is Spiral Knights, a brand new casual online role-playing game, or RPG, published by Sega and developed by San Francisco-based Three Rings. Did we mention it's free? Because it totally is.

Spiral Knights is a top-down, hack 'n slash RPG that isn't a far cry from games like The Legend of Zelda. Players assume the role of a Spiral Knight (no way, really?) as they delve deeper into the "Clockworks" of an unknown planet named Cradle. Your mission? Find a way home for your people by harvesting new materials to repair their busted spacecraft. You'll do just that through countless ever-changing dungeons presented in a style that harkens back to the good old days of gaming. And you can dungeon crawl with up to four friends at a time, create guilds, and craft your own armor and weapons with what you find.

Spiral Knights on Steam
"A game with strong co-operative and social elements like Spiral Knights is, put simply, a great fit for Steam," said Three Rings CEO Daniel James in a statement. "Beyond the convenience of automatic game updates and easy Energy purchases through Steam, our players will be able to enjoy their time in the Clockworks with their existing Friends List members, aided by built-in voice chat and instant messaging."

The game, since it is free to play (we hope that's sunken in by now), is supported by micro-transactions for new duds and the like, but most important is Crystal Energy. As you dive deeper into the Clockworks, you will need more of this Energy to operate the gates that unlock those dungeons. Luckily, just like in your favorite Facebook games, that Energy refills over time. You can check out the lot of Steam's new free-to-play games right here, and get to playing some Spiral Knights already ... we could always use more dungeon buddies.

Zynga slaps Brazilian social game creator Vostu with lawsuit for copycatting

Zynga vs Vostu
Look, we all know Zynga has been pegged before for, how do you say, being inspired by their competitors' works. But that pales in comparison to what Vostu, a Brazilian social game publisher has done with popular games like CityVille and PetVille. The developer south of the equator has essentially copied several Zynga games wholesale--mistakes and all, as TechCrunch reports--into games like Mega City and Pet Mania. Lo and behold, Zynga has slapped Vostu with a big ol' lawsuit for, you guessed it, infringement. Zynga had this to say in its lawsuit:

    Vostu has brazenly appropriated the copyright-protected aspects of Zynga's games(as well as almost every other aspect of Zynga's business) – with scant effort to mask their strategy– and then offered games virtually identical to Zynga's games to prospective players in the United States and elsewhere.

Basically (and based on its previous run-ins with companies), Zynga sees drawing inspiration from and downright copying the opposition verbatim, as two different things. Though, again, that's also a slippery slope. The lawsuit, which Zynga filed in a San Francisco court (and TechCrunch has in full right here), displays detailed comparisons between its games and Vostu's, clearly supporting its case. It's a shame, too, because we'd love to see Vostu's take on games like FarmVille for iPhone--mistakes and all.

FarmVille web is coming to iPhone? Maybe, thanks to Facebook's 'Project Spartan'

Will we soon be able to play stock FarmVille on iOS devices? Let's not get ahead of ourselves, but Zynga is involved in a project that could take Facebook for iOS from the App Store to its Safari mobile web browser. It's called "Project Spartan," and it's Facebook's HTML5-based answer to avoiding Apple's control over app distribution through its App Store. Zynga is reported by TechCrunch to have joined 80-or-so other developers on the massive project that will essentially bring all of Facebook and its Flash-based apps into HTML5, and thus mobile--and that includes games.

So, if Zynga is reportedly working on games to work directly within Facebook (most likely its existing games--just in a different code base), what does this mean for not only its existing games in the App Store, but those that are likely on the way? Will Zynga have any reason to support those games if its web-based games like CityVille and FarmVille, which bring in a major chunk of its 264 million players, will be right in Safari?

Facebook still has plenty of work to do when it comes to monetization, which by July 1 will likely be solidified when Facebook Credits becomes the currency of choice, or lack thereof, for developers and us gamers alike. Oh, and did we mention that Android will be included in this as well, as TechCrunch reports? With 'Project Spartan,' the future of Zynga's mobile games is uncertain, but either way the results will certainly be interesting. We've contact Zynga for comment, so stay tuned.

EA takes The Sims Social down, puts 'Coming Soon' sign up

It looks like the town of Littlehaven is having a power outage. Since around 2 a.m. Aug. 10, The Sims Social, EA's brand new ambitious attempt to bring its mega hit casual franchise to Facebook, has been out of commission.

When players head to the app through Facebook, they're greeted with an admittedly misleading sign that reads, "Coming Soon! Undergoing beta testing." However, The Sims Social is clearly already here, and is, according to EA, in its open beta. (Or, if you ask us, its release.)

EA and Playfish have clarified on The Sims Social forums that the game is currently down for repairs, and that it will not reset players' progress, as many fans already fear. Here's the full statement from Playfish Community Manager Lady Coconut:

"The Sims Social is currently in Open Beta, which means we're calibrating and fine-tuning to ensure you will have the best playing experience possible. Please bear with us while we fix some of the issues that some of you have been having, during which time the game may be unavailable from time-to-time. Rest assured that we will not be resetting the game during this maintenance period, so you won't lose any progress, SimCash or relationships that you have built up so far."

We're sure that The Sims Social would prove to be an impressive addition to the company's Facebook catalog, if we could just play it already. (Based on my brief, brief experience with the game, I'm actually enjoying it, mind you.) Yesterday, the game suffered a number of issues regarding performance, and our guess is that this is the result of those frequent crashes, freeze-ups and other errors players have been struggling to play the game through. No ETA has been given on The Sims Social's return, so I guess you could go play the original Sims games while you wait. Just remember to check back ...

Kixeye CEO: 'CityVille is a good game,' but its 'exact opposite audience'

The real question is, however, is would Kixeye CEO Will Harbin (pictured) call Empires & Allies, the number one strategy game on Facebook, a good strategy game? During an interview with Gamasutra, Harbin got into his company's struggles to prove that Facebook truly is a legitimate gaming platform. He mentioned that, based on his first interactions with FarmVille that he "wouldn't call it a game." However, when CityVille released in late 2010, Harbin was visibly impressed.

"When more of the traditional game guys came into Zynga, you started seeing more original titles," Harbin told Gamasutra. "CityVille is a good app, it's a good game! They kind of took like the interesting parts of, say SimCity, combining with the harvesting mechanics of FarmVille. I was pretty surprised when Zynga launched that game; it was a lot better than I expected of what they could do."

It's interesting that Harbin makes this point considering Zynga's CityVille has under fire from companies like Brazilian developer Vostu, which claims that the big time creator has copied other games while designing its own city-builder. But more importantly, Harbin makes a distinction between his audience and the FarmVille crowd: They're not the same at all. Harbin has no interest in catering to this audience, and that approach has apparently done Kixeye quite well. (And the company likely hopes it will do even better with its upcoming game, War Commander.)

"... Battle Pirates launched about a little while ago, and it's doing super well, it's very sticky in terms the users that are playing," Harbin gushed to Gamasutra. "That game was really driven by us wanting to make cool games that we wanted to play that aren't on Facebook. That's the bottom line. I'm on Facebook hours a day, and all these people are playing games are putting stupid crap on my wall. There's something to this, but there's no content that appeals specifically to me."

While Harbin goes on to elaborate, which you can read here, the main takeaway is this: Harbin and Kixeye claim to attract an audience that is not your average social gamer, and they're doing quite well at it. In fact, players of games like Kixeye's Battle Pirates--the company's most recent real-time strategy game--are coming from their Starcraft's and Call of Duty's for a hardcore experience on Facebook, according to Harbin. So, will the existing nearly 80 million hardcore Facebook gamers grow? If Harbin and Kixeye have anything to do about, then absolutely.

Portal creator takes hint from Zynga, updates Steam with game, item gifting

Well, imitation is the finest form of flattery. GamePro reports that Valve, the creator of hit shooters like Portal, Team Fortress 2 (TF2) and the popular online game store slash community Steam, has introduced out-of-game hat trading to TF2. Better yet, Steam users can trade and gift full games with one another, though they must be brand new, never-before-played copies.

Now, a little background: As players bust a cap into numerous enemies in TF2 they accumulate or buy hats, cosmetic items that change their characters' headdress into slightly more unique designs (usually in humorous ways like so). Before today, players could only trade hats within the game, but now players can trade and gift these items from Steam client. The feature is called Steam Trading, and it sure sounds a lot like gifting in games like FarmVille and Empires & Allies.

In Facebook games, gifting can be done both in an outside of the game through either each game's gifting page or by responding to News Feed posts that friends provide. Since this Steam Trading system works within its Group Chat and Steam Friends list, we're gonna go out on a limb and say that this is less coincidence and more ... adaptation.

While trading full games to other players is certainly new regardless, it's the fact that Steam is opening itself up to this new layer of friend interaction normally reserved for social games that's interesting. This is far from the first move Valve has made with its Steam platform toward social game-like tendencies. First, the company brought in free-to-play games like Spiral Knights--of course, social games are free-to-play as well. Then, Valve introduced a free component to TF2, allowing players to enjoy a somewhat limited version of the game for no upfront cost, though it was sure to keep those micro-transactions open.

Now, players can send each other gifts without even opening TF2, and can send each other full games from the Steam client (as long as they're brand new copies, like leftovers from a bundle purchase). And Valve has even introduced Friend Tagging to the service to more easily organize and search for your friends--likely those who gift often.

Steam Trading is currently in beta testing--and we all know what sometime implies--but this feature won't stop here. According to GamePro, Steam Trading will cross over into Portal 2 and later the developer's third-party game offerings. Valve games like Team Fortress 2 are tightrope-walking the line between hardcore and Facebook game, and we have a good feeling of which way they're going to fall in the future. To learn more about Steam Trading, check out the FAQ here.

FarmVille-creator Zynga acquires new target: Angry Birds

After the acquisition hungry Zynga lost out on Bejeweled creator PopCap (which was purchased by Electronic Arts for $750M), AllThingsD says that the social game maker has purportedly set Angry Birds maker Rovio in its sights. The two companies have purportedly been talking about a deal, though official sources are staying mum for now.

There are plenty of reasons that these two companies would make fine-feathered friends, mostly a combination of the fact that Rovio has ambitious plans for Angry Birds, aiming to hit 1 billion downloads (what better way to do that than by harnessing the power of Zynga's existing audience) and that Zynga has been focusing more on its mobile games business of late (maybe as a way to stop relying too much on Facebook for its success).

If Zynga does manage to capture Angry Birds, our first bet will be on just how soon the company would migrate the mobile gaming hit to Facebook, much like it recently did with another big mobile 'get,' Words with Friends.

Zynga, Treasure Isle GM leaves social games for social love, joins eHarmony

Sometimes ... you just have to follow your heart. TechCrunch reports that Zynga executive Jeremy Verba (pictured far right) has left his position as GM of hit game Treasure Isle to become the CEO of eHarmony, the ubiquitous online dating service. (I think we've all seen that old white guy tout the service enough on TV.) Confirmed on his Linkedin profile, Verba worked with Zynga since December 2009.

While Treasure Isle certainly isn't Zynga's most popular, it's still worthy of "hit" status at 5.6 million monthly players and over 1 million of those being daily players, according to AppData. The timing sounds even more odd when you consider that the company could go public any day now, raising another cool $1 billion and realizing a potential $20 billion valuation. Perhaps it was simply the title of CEO that lured him in. (Though, I'd personally want to be with the potentially most valuable games company ever.)

As Verba leaves the company, Zynga is reportedly reeling in a number of execs from other games companies, namely EA. Just this year, former EA CCO John Schappert has joined Zynga. It's also rumored that Jeff Karp, VP of the publisher's EA Play division, has left for Zynga along with Mark Turmell, creator of NBA Jam and formerly senior creative director at EA Sports.

According to TechCrunch, eHarmony has enjoyed growth through its mobile apps and generally across its web offerings, and operates in 16 countries. Hey, maybe the guy just got bored of being on top in the games biz. But considering the guy has a wife and kids, according to his Twitter profile, we seriously doubt he's looking for anything more than prestige and a pay upgrade.

Bejeweled Blitz tutorial video says, 'Multiplier cubes are your friend'

Want to rake in those high scores in Bejeweled Blitz like those friends of yours who seem to have way too much time on their hands? Well, listen to this guy and you might be well on your way. YouTube user bejeweledtips, who claims his real name is Wladscaw, posted a highly educational and even more entertaining video describing the power of what he calls "multiplier cubes." First, Wladscaw demonstrates a normal level in which he manages to achieve Blazing Speed, but still comes away with under 100 thousand points.

Enter the "multiplier cube." In his second round, Wladscaw scores over 300 thousand points with relative ease using multiplier cubes. And thankfully, this well-informed and articulate fellow goes into detail of just how he did it. Apparently, blowing up 12 jewels in a row will multiply your score for every subsequent set of jewels destroyed. When you reach upwards of seven multiplier cubes, that turns out to be a ton of points. But we'll admit, Wladscaw's enchanting Russian accent does a much better job of explaining than my hideous Philadelphian accent ever could, so enjoy. Check out his YouTube channel for even more tutorial videos. Now, if only our friend Wladscaw would start producing Zuma Blitz tutorials.

FarmVille Sneak Peek: Fiorland Penguin, Koala, Caribou and more

    Fiorland Penguin     Caribou     Koala
See, I told you it wouldn't be long before Zynga thought up some more stuff. Soon, there will be a whole new set of animals and decorations to play around with in FarmVille. Thanks to FarmVille Freak, we have images of four new animals that may or may not appear in the game sometime soon. This time around a Fiorland Penguin might join us as well as a Koala, a Caribou and a Prz Foal.

While all four of these critters are equally adorable, that Prz Foal is most intriguing. Why? Well, because I previously had no idea where in the world it came from. As it turns out, its full name is the Przwalski's Horse and it currently reigns from Mongolia and China, but that's only after the breed was declared extinct for time. Thankfully, it was declared "critically endangered" by the World Conservation Union's Red List of Threatened Species in 2008 thanks to the reintroduction efforts by wildlife organizations in Mongolia, China and Kazakhstan. And soon, you might be able to raise one of your on your farm. Isn't digital life great?

FarmVille Cheats and Tips Guide

farmville cheats
These FarmVille Cheats & Tips have helped many farmers through the hardships of FarmVille on Facebook. Farming can be frustrating, time-consuming, and often dangerous, but with our extensive FarmVille Cheats & Tips guide, you'll be able to farm with ease. You're bound to learn a new cheat or tip from our FarmVille Cheats & Tips Guide.

Browse our FarmVille Cheats & Tips Guide below.


Note: The newest FarmVille Cheats & Tips Guides are at the top.
farmville cheats horse paddockgoalsFarmVille Cheats & Tips:
Horse Paddock Goals     farmville cheats horse paddockFarmVille Cheats & Tips:
Horse Paddock Guide
farmville cheats cow pastureFarmVille Cheats & Tips:
Cow Pasture Goals Guide     farmville cheats cow pastureFarmVille Cheats & Tips:
Cow Pasture Guide
farmville lighthouse cove cheats restaurantFarmVille Lighthouse Cove Cheats & Tips:
Restaurant Guide     farmville lighthouse cove cheats bonus challenge goalsFarmVille Lighthouse Cove Cheats & Tips:
Bonus Challenges Goals
farmville lighthouse cove cheats repair lighthouseFarmVille Lighthouse Cove Cheats & Tips:
Repairing the Lighthouse Guide     farmville lighthouse cove cheats help guideFarmVille Lighthouse Cove Cheats & Tips:
Getting Started Guide
farmville aviary habitat cheats goalsFarmVille Cheats & Tips:
Aviary Habitat Goals     farmville cheats aviary habitatFarmVille Cheats & Tips:
Aviary Habitat
farmville cheats zoo habitatFarmVille Cheats & Tips:
Zoo Habitat Guide     farmville cheats zoo habitat goalsFarmVille Cheats & Tips:
Zoo Habitat Goals Guide
farmville cheats pet run goalsFarmVille Cheats & Tips:
Pet Run Goals Guide     farmville cheats pet run guideFarmVille Cheats & Tips:
Pet Run Guide
farmville wildlife habitat guideFarmVille Cheats & Tips:
Wildlife Habitat Goals Guide     farmville cheats wildlife habitatFarmVille Cheats & Tips:
Wildlife Habitat Guide
farmville cheats raffle boothFarmVille Cheats & Tips:
Raffle Booth Guide     farmville cheats raffle booth goalsFarmVille Cheats & Tips:
Raffle Booth Goals Guide
farmville cheats super cropsFarmVille Cheats & Tips:
Super Crops     farmville cheats sheep breeding patternsFarmVille Cheats & Tips:
New Sheep Breeding Patterns
farmville water wheel gift linksFarmVille Cheats & Tips:
Water Wheel Guide & Gift Links     farmville sheep breedingFarmVille Cheats & Tips:
Upgraded Sheep Breeding Goals Guide
farmville cheats craft shopFarmVIlle Cheats & Tips:
Craft Shop Guide     craft shop goals guide farmville cheatsFarmVille Cheats & Tips:
Craft Shop Goals Guide
farmville royal wedding party guideFarmVille Cheats & Tips:
Royal Wedding Party Guide     farmville cheats pig breedingFarmVille Cheats & Tips:
Pig Breeding Guide
farmville spring basketFarmVille Cheats & TIps:
Spring Basket Guide     farmville cheats spring gardenFarmVille Cheats & Tips:
Spring Garden Guide
farmville english countryside FarmVille English Countryside: The Complete Guide
farmville cheats greenhouse goalsFarmVille Cheats & Tips:
Greenhouse Goals Guide     farmville cheats gnomeFarmVille Cheats & Tips:
Gnome Guide
farmville cheats greenhouse guideFarmVille Cheats & Tips:
Greenhouse Guide     farmville cheats greenhouse breeding guideFarmVille Cheats & Tips:
Greenhouse Crop Breeding Guide
farmville cheats ducklingFarmVille Cheats & Tips:
Duckling Guide    
farmville cheats breedingFarmVille Cheats & Tips:
Breeding Guide
farmville cheats duck pond
FarmVille Cheats & Tips:
Duck Pond Guide
   
FarmVille Cheats & Tips:
Pigpen Expansion Guide
farmville cheats gifting links
FarmVille Cheats & Tips:
Gifting Links
    farmville cheats turkey roost
FarmVille Cheats & Tips:
Turkey Roost Guide
farmville cheats tree orchard
FarmVille Cheats & Tips:
Tree Orchard Guide
    farmville cheats feed trough
FarmVille Cheats & Tips:
Feed Trough Guide
farmville cheats haunted houe gifting links
FarmVille Cheats & Tips:
Haunted House Gifting Links
    farmville cheats combine
FarmVille Cheats & Tips:
Combine Vehicle Guide
farmville cheats truffles
FarmVille Cheats & Tips:
Truffles Guide
    farmville cheats pc world guideFarmVille Cheats & Tips:
PC World Guide
farmville cheats crafting masteryFarmVille Cheats & Tips:
Crafting Mastery Guide     farmville cheats storage cellar
FarmVille Cheats & Tips:
Storage Cellar Guide
farmville cheats garage materials
FarmVille Cheats & Tips:
Garage Materials Gifting Links
    farmville cheats garage
FarmVille Cheats & Tips:
Garage Guide
farmville cheats bakeryFarmVille Cheats & Tips:
Bakery Guide     farmville cheats crafting recipe
FarmVille Cheats & Tips:
Crafting Building Recipe Guide
farmville cheats crafting building
FarmVille Cheats & Tips:
Crafting Building Guide
    farmville cheats queen bee
FarmVille Cheats & Tips:
Queen Bee Guide
farmville cheats beehive
FarmVille Cheats & Tips:
Beehive Materials Gifting Links
    farmville cheats biplane
FarmVille Cheats & Tips:
Biplane Cost Formula
farmville cheats level guideFarmVille Cheats & Tips:
Level 90-999 Guide     farmville cheats crop mastery
FarmVille Cheats & Tips:
All Crops Mastered
farmville cheats farmers market
FarmVille Cheats & Tips:
Farmer's Market Guide
    farmville cheats lost dog
FarmVille Cheats & Tips:
Keep Your Dog From Running Away
farmville cheats botanical garden
FarmVille Cheats & Tips:
Botanical Garden Guide
    farmville cheats nursery links
FarmVille Cheats & Tips:
Nursery Barn Gifting Links
farmville cheats nursery barn
FarmVille Cheats & Tips:
Nursery Barn Guide
    farmville cheats puppy kibble
FarmVille Cheats & Tips:
Puppy Kibble Gifting Links
farmville cheats puppy links
FarmVille Cheats & Tips:
Puppy Kibble Guide
    farmville cheats hay bale stacking
FarmVille Cheats & Tips:
Extreme Hay Bale Stacking
farmville cheats hay bale stacking
FarmVille Cheats & Tips:
Fence & Hay Bale Stacking Guide
    farmville cheats topiary
FarmVille Cheats & Tips:
Topiary Guide
farmville cheats trees
FarmVille Cheats & Tips:
Top 5 Trees
    farmville cheats crops
FarmVille Cheats & Tips:
Top 10 Cash Crops

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

Do you have any more FarmVille Cheats or Tips?

FarmVille Sneak Peek: CityVille promotion coming to your farm soon?

FarmVille will soon get another taste of the city in one of Zynga's infamous cross promotions. While we covered this still unreleased item a few weeks ago, our friends at FarmVille Freak have found more images confirming that this CityVille promotional item will more than likely hit FarmVille soon. In addition to an image of the item itself, the blog found promotional artwork that will likely be placed in the game as pop ups.

However, we still haven't an idea in the slightest as to when or how this item will be implemented. But if you look closely at the item, it looks as if the Cow and Chicken are plotting a building design. With that said, we can imagine that players will be sent into CityVille on a quest that involves either what FarmVille players know best, farming, or creating a building of some sort. However, this is purely speculation. We'll have to wait and see what Zynga has cooking for another journey into the city.

FarmVille Sneak Peek: Ski Shop, Alaskan Totem Pole, Resort Firepit

    Alaskan Totem Pole     Resort Firepit
Soon, players could be taking the farm to the North, if FarmVille Freak's most recent findings are any indication. The FarmVille fan blog recently found two unreleased decorations and one building that may or may not make their way into the game. But if they do, it appears that FarmVille is headed to Alaska for its next theme update. All three items have a decidedly northern look, but it's the word "Alaskan" in the title for the Alaskan Totem Pole item that's a dead giveaway.

Also included in what FarmVille Freak dug up is a Ski Shop and Resort Fire Pit. We can only hope that the Ski Shop becomes a functional building, if only a place to find new decorations much like the recent Holiday Tree. We'll see what comes of these items soon enough, but for now let's revel in the possibilities.

Earn 100 Free FrontierVille Horseshoes for buying from Pro Flowers

Flowers are crazy!
The Valentine's Day fever has caught up with FrontierVille now too? Is anyone safe? No, not really. But that's not necessarily a bad thing, because when you buy from Pro Flowers for that special lady through FrontierVille's Sponsored Link you'll earn a sweet 100 Horseshoes.

Just click on the banner ad beneath your game screen and then the big ol' green button to be redirected to Pro Flowers' website. From there, just order whatever you darn well please (but be generous, she deserves it) and allow about 30 minutes for the Horseshoes to post to your account. Now, how does it feel making both yourself and your loved one happy in a single purchase? Actually, that sounded kind of selfish--you better grab them some chocolates too.

Check out the rest of our Valentine's Day 2011 coverage right here.

Have you taken advantage of this offer yet? What do you plan to do for that lucky loved one this Valentine's Day?

Play social, casual games for cash in YooMee Games Arcade

Sure, you can play games like FrontierVille for Horseshoes, but how would you like to play for higher stakes? YooMee Games has launched its arcade platform of the same name where players can connect via Facebook and play adaptations of social and casual games for real cash money. Some of the launch games include established Facebook games like Bubble Town and classics like Pac Man and Frogger. All the while, the dollars just rack up, but there's a small catch.

By creating an account with Facebook Connect, you can immediately start playing games for cash through ongoing tournaments. However, you will have to make wagers to enter tournaments, which is where the prize money is drawn from. More players within a tournament means a higher cash pool, but it also means a higher chance of you losing to someone else. Wagers range from just $.50 to nearly $100, and the amount of potential gamers out there means those wagers could add up fast.

"More than fifty million people in the US are playing casual games online at least once a month, and they're spending more than $500 million per year on virtual goods and currencies," says YooMee Games CEO Prita Uppal. "YooMee is all about giving people a similar social gaming experience with the ability to win real-world cash and prizes."

Yoo Mee Games
But players don't earn cash or prizes directly. The arcade operates in a currency known simply as Gold, but it essentially represents American dollars. However, a player would have to turn in Tickets, another currency, for that cold hard cash. Tickets are earned through player wager games for Gold. Confused yet? I figured as much.

Basically, you will have to buy Gold with real cash via debit or credit before wagering it in tournaments. Then, winning high-stake tournaments will yield even more Gold and Tickets, which can be redeemed for cash and other prizes like digital cameras and iPod Touches. Sure, it all sounds like quite a gamble, but if you're the best Pac Man player you know it wouldn't hurt to give it a go.

[Source: The Next Web]

Would you be willing to bet on your Asteroids skills with the promise of real cash? Do you see this type of gaming platform taking off?

CityVille Valentine's Day mini-game + prizes: Everything you need to know

In honor of the day of love, CityVille on Facebook has rolled out a new Valentine's Day mini-game, where you create custom virtual cards and send them to friends. Of course, what good is sending cards if you don't get any in return. You'll also collect as many custom V-day cards from your fellow CityVille players, which will give you access to a slew of V-day themed prizes -- all of which, IMHO, are pretty freakin' adorable.

cityville valentine

To get started spreading the love around, click on the red heart that's on the right hand side of the game screen. The number in the middle heart shows how many admirers you have (in my case, that's 26) -- more about this soon.

valentines day make card tab

After you click on the heart you will open a pop-up window with three tabs -- Make Card, Your Admirers and Prizes.

The first tab that says 'Make Card' is the card creator, and you will be able to custom create a V-day greeting which you can send to your friends. You have the option of changing the text message at the top, the two characters on the card and the gift in the middle. Once you've come up with your favorite combo, hit 'Send Valentine.'

cityville send valentine friends list

The friend selector will appear and you can choose the lucky few who will receive your V-day card.

On the 'Your Admirers' tab, you'll see a list of friends who have sent you V-day wishes. Note that you can have several pages of admirers, so you might have to use the left and right arrows to scroll through them all.

cityville valentines day admirers
From this screen, you can view each of the customized cards by clicking on an admirer's picture. I found this one rather amusing. If you want to be polite, you can hit the 'Share Thanks' button and post a message on your admirer's Facebook Wall that says, well, thanks!

cityville admirers card


The last tab in the CityVille Valentine's minigame is Prizes. Basically, the more admirers you collect as well as the variety of cards you receive, the more Valentine's Day themed prizes you will be able to call your own. If you don't want to wait until you have all of the admirers/cards you need, you can also buy each item using City Cash. You are also able to ask friends for help with you collection by posting a message to your Facebook wall. Note: Each prize can only be collected once AND you need to be at least level 5 to collect them.

cityville valentine prizes


Below is a list of the prizes and what you need to snag 'em all:

Cupid Statue: 1 Admirer
Photo Booth: 5 Admirers
Cupid Fountani: 15 Admirers
TK: 30 Admirers
Bed & Breakfast: 50 Admirers

cityville valentine day prizes

As I mentioned before, you can also get prizes based on the types of virtual cards you receive from friends. There are six types of Valentine's Day cards and you can tell which one belong to which category by the icon that appears at the bottom right of the card. The card in the image below is a 'Tough Love' card, denoted by the crab icon. Tough, indeed! Icons for the other cards (as well as the prizes for each card) are listed below.

citville vday card

Pink Heart Topiary: Return to Sender card
Pink Cupid Topiary: Tough Love card
Red Cupid Topiary: Love Hurts card:
Red Heart Topiary: Feather Friends card:
Yellow Heart Topiary: Food Fight card
Yellow Cupid Topiary: Secret Admirer card
Spa Business: Collect Them All
cityville valentines day admirers

cityville valentines day prizes

JUST ADDED! If you are wondering how to create a certain type of card, take look at the six images below.

cityville valentine day card types

And, that's it for the CityVille Valentine's Day mini-game!

We need your help! We're missing a few names of the prizes above. If you know what they are, please leave 'em in the comments below.

Check out the rest of our Valentine's Day 2011 coverage right here.

CityVille Cheats and Tips: A Characters Guide

Characters!
Zynga first introduced characters to its games with FrontierVille. Now, the game features a sprawling storyline in which characters interact with each other and you're the mediator of sorts. Naturally, the developer took the positive reception of characters on the frontier and applied that to its biggest hit yet, CityVille. The game features quite a lot of characters, most of which have become to center of your Goals in the game. Some guide your way to the coveted mayor's office every step of the way while others simply ask for favors every now and then, so this guide is to inform you of the who's who in the city.
CityVille Sam
Samantha:
The first person you'll ever meet in CityVille. Also known as CityVille Sam, this illustrious woman will teach you the basics of city building and provide you with your first Goals in the game. She's also your first neighbor in the game--just like Frontier Jack in FrontierVille. Visiting her sprawling (and infinitely better) city daily is basically free rewards, so be sure to take advantage! Not to mention her city is also the first you'll expand into with a Franchise. (Trivia: She's also the woman sitting on the ledge as the game loads.)

Conductor Charlie
Conductor Charlie:
As you might have already guessed, Charlie runs the trains in CityVille. He's the guy who will ship or send out for Goods and is ready for an order either in or our at all times of the day. (Guy doesn't catch a break, really.) He's also who guides you through the initial Railroad Goals and even has his own route to CharlieVille that produces a high amount of Goods in a short amount of time, but for a large amount of money. Use this route when you're in a pinch for Goods.

Chef Andrea
Chef Andre:
This star chef serves as the guide to create your first Business. He will guide you along the first Goals surrounding the creation and management of your Businesses. Not much is seen of him after creating the Bakery and Restaurant, but we're sure he'll be back soon enough.

Farmer Rita
Farmer Rita:
Rita lives right in your own city inside the Country Home. It's her job to make sure you're on top of your crops and that you know how to plant, harvest and use them effectively. She's also involved in the Lost Bunny Goal and a few others. Remember to collect her rent daily as she seems to drop Collection items more frequently than other properties.

Governor Phil
Governor Phil:
Another guide character, Governor Phil officiates your expansion and future election to the mayor's office. He's the fellow who guides you along the way to expanding your city boundaries, growing your population and planting a city flag. Other than that, old Phil hasn't seen much action yet in CityVille.

Edgar
Edgar:
This is the guy to go to if you want to talk business. In fact, he's the man who spurs you along to launch new Businesses like the Toy Store and Burger Joint as well as create a Franchise HQ. From there, he's here to teach players how to effectively manage and supply Franchises from the HQ. Oh, and he also makes you build him a Chateau for letting some of that business savvy rub off on you.

Paul
Paul:
The city's resident lumberjack is also a guide for several Goals including teaching you how to remove trees from your city and building him a comfy Country Home to raise his family in. (Were all these people homeless before they met you?) However, he also serves a more interesting role: He's the guy who cuts down your trees every time you select the Remove option and then click on a series of trees.

Louise
Louise:
Presumably an aspiring teacher, Louise guides along in a few Goals that all surround either education or extra-curriculars. She''s the lady to answer to when building the School and also oversees the building of the Playground and a Goal known as "School Safety."

Captain Rusty
Captain Rusty:
Of course, this guy appears after you complete the Seaport in your city. He guide you along the process of sending out ships to deliver Goods internationally through a series of Goals starting with "Captain's Trip." Other than that, he just mans the helm.

Coach Jack
Coach Jack:
This guy runs your city's baseball team and is involved in the Goals that lead you along building the Baseball Field Community Building. Because the Baseball Field is one of the more difficult to complete in the game, you won't see Coach Jack until much later in the game.

Firefighter Sue
Firefighter Sue:
If you hadn't already guessed, Sue is involved with creating the Firehouse Community and also appears much later in the game. After purchasing the Firehouse, you'll be tasked with a series of Goals involving feeding her crew of firemen and other preparations.

Dr. Sheperd
Dr. Sheperd:
This handsome (and rich) fellow appears after purchasing and building the Hospital. Again, this is another Community Building that isn't available until much later. He'll give you a series of Goals pertaining to running the joint and also has a little on crush on that teacher Louise.

Sid
Sid:
Finally, this simply name gentleman is a friend of Rita's. He'll appear once you receive a Goal from Rita to build the guy a Corner Store to run. Other than this, Sid seems to mind his own business in the Corner Store, but we hope he comes around more often in the future.

FarmVille Feed Trough lures in the Elephant

Be on the lookout for any massive, gray bodies roaming your FarmVille farm, because it's probably an Elephant. FarmVille Freak reports that the next animal to be roped in via the Feed Trough is the Elephant. FarmVille Freak guesses that this Elephant might be the Baby Elephant previously offered during the Country Fair event in 2009. If it's anything like previous additions to the Feed Trough, the Elephant will only be around for a limited time. So, stock up on that feed before you miss your chance at what might a once limited edition animal.

[Image Credit: FarmVille Freak]

Have you seen Elephants on your farm thanks to the Feed Trough? What animals would you like to see appear next?

FarmVille Spring Countdown contents revealed

Just last night, the Spring Countdown was launched in FarmVille, which is a new 12-day event that will see you asking your friends for one exclusive item each day of the countdown. If you can collect all 12 items, either by receiving the items for free from friends, or by purchasing the ones you missed with Farm Cash (check out our full guide for more), you'll receive a special prize at the end.

Luckily, the folks at FarmVille Feed have spotted the entire list of 12 daily prizes, along with the grand finale, which you just might feel is worth the effort of collecting the other items to get to it. After Day 1's prize of the Pastel Hay Bale, which is already available, the 11 items that have yet to be released are:

Day 2: Flower Bucket
Day 3: Little Wagon
Day 4: Spring Flowers
Day 5: Milk Crate
Day 6: Azalea
Day 7: Stone Archway
Day 8: Spring Balloon Arch
Day 9: Weather Vane
Day 10: Fruit Crate
Day 11: Bouncing Horse
Day 12: Green Patch Cow
You will likely recognize many of these items from the various FarmVille Sneak Peeks we've brought you over the past few days and weeks, so it's nice to see these items finally find a purpose in the game. You'll also likely recognize some of these items from the other color variants that have been released in the game previously.

Either way, if you can collect all 12 items, your grand prize is a free use of Instagrow Potion. It's unknown right now as to whether or not the Instagrow can only be applied with a biplane (which costs 30,000 coins), or if this will be an instant application, as we've seen in the past. Either way, we'll take a chance at free crop-growth, if it means we can more easily master some of those four or three day crops in the game.

Be sure to check your farm once per day for the next 12 days to not miss out on any of these prizes, lest you miss out on the great prize at the end.

[Image Credit: FarmVille Feed]

What do you think of these prizes in the Spring Countdown? Are you happy that different colors of others items are being released, or would you have preferred to see entirely new items released in the event?

FarmVille Animal Sneak Peek: Irish Cob Horse & Shamrock Unicorn

Unicorn lovers rejoice! It looks as though another variety of unicorn will be added to FarmVille in the current St. Patrick's Day limited edition item theme. This unicorn is of course green, with a cute bunch of shamrocks on its side. We believe it will be (fittingly) called the Shamrock Unicorn.

Another new animal also offers reason to become excited, as an Irish Cob Horse and Foal are apparently launching soon in the game as well. With its name, it's clear that this animal will also appear in the St. Patrick's Day theme in some fashion, although this seems like something more suited to a Mystery Game, rather than a store release (as store released animals tend to be a bit more whimsical than the Mystery Game animals). It is believed that you'll be able to place this Irish Cob Horse into your Horse Stable to have a chance at breeding an Irish Cob Foal.

We have images of both the Irish Cob Foal and the Shamrock Unicorn in action, so check them out below. And keep checking back with us, as we bring you all of the details about these new animals if and when they do officially release in the game.


Check out the rest of our St. Patrick's Day 2011 coverage right here.

Which of these two animals is your favorite? Do you appreciate more realistic animals in FarmVille, or do you love the fun animals like this Shamrock Unicorn?

FrontierVille Great Coyote Caper Goals: Everything you need to know

Earlier today, we brought you the news that two new collections had launched in FrontierVille concerning the upcoming launch of coyotes in the game. We didn't know when coyotes would launch, but it turns out it was sooner than later, as a series of coyote missions has launched in the game this evening, called "The Great Coyote Caper." We have all of the info about this new quest set, but keep in mind that this is subject to change at any time. As of this writing, however, this is what you can expect.

Part I of this V part goal series is called "Coyote and the Hen," and it introduces us to this new varmint, which is particularly fond of chickens.

Tend 50 Chickens
Clobber One Coyote
Place Four Fences

Chickens can of course be tended for one energy per one chicken, or you can still collect the Daily Bonus on your Chicken Coop to feed all chickens at once. We can confirm that this method does count in your quest progress. As for the Coyote, you'll likely receive one if you go the "Daily Bonus" route, and you might even be able to scare it off after clobbering it just once. Your reward for finishing this quest is 75 XP. Part II of V will take quite the toll on your Wood count in the game, so I hope you have plenty to spare.

Have/Craft 8 Fire
Have 1000 Wood
Chop 20 Neighbor Trees

Fire can be crafted inside the Covered Wagon for 7 Wood and 5 Cloth each. Your rewards for this part of the mission set are 2 Powder Kegs and 150 XP.

Part III of V will require you to protect some chickens, but we're not entirely sure if you can simply remove chickens from your coop and then replace them for this to work, or if you will actually need to upgrade. This could also be a case where already upgraded and protected Chickens count, as details are still sketchy at this point. We'll make sure to let you know when we know.

Protect 10 Chickens
Clear 5 Rocks
Collect 15 Turquoise Arrowheads

Turquoise Arrowheads are a new item to the game that can be collected by asking your friends to send them to you. Meanwhile, simply clear off an area of your homestead for debris to grow, and you'll likely have enough rocks in no time. Finishing this quest rewards you with 1 Coyote Tail (a Coyote Collection item) and 100 XP.

Moving on, Part IV of V will see you sacrificing more of your poor chickens to drag out more coyotes.

Clobber 5 Coyotes
Protect 25 Chickens
Collect 10 Rabbit Steaks

Rabbit Steaks are another new item to the game, that are earned through a general wall post asking all of your neighbors to help you. You'll receive 1 Coyote Rug and 150 XP for finishing this final quest before the finale.

For the finale itself, Part V of V will see you clobbering even more coyotes, and this time goes after your Food, rather than your Wood.

Collect 3 Chicken Coop Daily Bonuses
Clobber 5 Coyotes
Have 600 Food

The Food will unfortunately be taken from you at the end of this mission, but hopefully, in the three days that you're required to wait to claim your Chicken Coop bonuses, you will have either planted enough crops, harvested enough trees, or sold enough animals (among other tasks) to make up for this required loss. Your final rewards for this quest are 300 XP, a Basket of Chicks (a new decorative item), and 5 Fireworks.

And there you have it! A somewhat lengthy, especially costly (in terms of wood anyway) quest line that will see you tackling your Homestead's new threat head-on. Will you be victorious? Only time will tell, but this is at least a good start.

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

What do you think of the new threat on your Homestead? Will you eradicate every coyote you see, or do you not mind losing a few chickens?

FarmVille: Unlock Daikons in Japan Earthquake Relief Effort

After the tragedy that has overcome Japan this week, Zynga has decided to act out in a way they know how - by releasing a limited edition, premium crop to FarmVille that will support Save the Children's Japan Earthquake Emergency Fund. The new crop is the Daikon, and as with other donation crops, it gives off more XP than a traditional crop, can be mastered and will never wither, regardless of how long you leave it unattended on your farm.

For the specifics of how to donate, you can contribute to the charity in one of three amounts - 25 Farm Cash, 55 Farm Cash or 240 Farm Cash. All donors, regardless of donation amount, will receive a one week permit to grow Daikons - you can plant as many as you'd like within that seven day period. Daikons cost 10 coins to play, reward you with 3 XP per square planted, and can be harvested in 6 hours. You'll receive 125 coins for each square harvested, making them a very profitable crop if you're looking to earn some coins fast, and you'll be helping a great cause in the process.

In addition, you'll receive a free collectible gift with your donation - a Japan Relief Flag which you can see at the top left of the image above.

Zynga and Facebook will donate 100% of all proceeds (meaning that Facebook is also donating their 30% cut of all Facebook Credit transactions) to support the Japan Earthquake Emergency Fund. There is no time limit as of this writing as to how long the Daikon will be available to purchase, so if you don't have the Farm Cash on hand right now, you'll likely have some time to purchase some before missing out on this opportunity to donate, and master a new crop all in one go.

Game of the Day: Steak and Jake: Midnight March

The Game of the Day is changing it up and bringing something spooky. Steak and Jake: Midnight March is a wild ride through the dark side. Help Steak and Jake guide the marching Ghouls along the a scary trail. Multi-task in this puzzle-platformer, with Jake the color-changing bird matching colors in the puzzle screen, while clearing the trail above for Steak and the Ghouls.
Click --> play Steak and Jake: Midnight March

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

PopCap: EA 'knows that PopCap isn't just a collection of IPs' [Interview]

When veteran games publisher EA announced that it had acquired Bejeweled Blitz creator PopCap, it was scary to think of what might happen to the Seattle-based casual and critical hit machine. Game company acquisitions have a history of killing creative direction and even axing entire game franchises, so the fear wasn't entirely unfounded.

Even Peggle franchise director Joe McDonagh might have been a little squeamish at the thought of telling his staff that everything was going to be OK. Now that the dust has settled since the buyout, we recently sat down with the Peggle head to get an idea of what things are like at PopCap HQ since EA. There isn't much of anything intense to report, but according to McDonagh, PopCap has had an interesting if profound effect on the publisher.

Now that it's been a few months since the EA acquisition, what has it been like at PopCap--specifically in the studios--since?

I can honestly tell you that nothing has really changed. EA has been incredibly respectful of what they bought. I mean, think about it: They spent $1 billion acquiring this company. They obviously value what we have. They want us to keep on doing what we've always done. So, they've been incredibly respectful, they've really allowed us to carry on doing what we do.

Well, there have been some good things--there have been some interesting things. I would say that our day-to-day hasn't changed, but what has changed is we're certainly part of this big organization. And there are certain opportunities that have opened up to explore some things that we couldn't have done before.

In fact, one of the reasons I was so excited about the deal is that EA has got some awesome teams--some of the best teams in the world. And this was a chance for us to explore working with these people. So, we've had some meetings with the folks at DICE [Ed. Note: creators of Battlefield 3], at Bioware and the folks at Playfish to see what ways that we can work together. And that's been really exciting.
PopCap Zombies letter to EA
Now, EA CEO John Riccitiello has said that the publisher will treat PopCap with a "if it's not broke" approach. Will you say that's largely been the case?

So, when we did the deal, I was really lucky and got an hour with John Riccitiello one-to-one. I asked him, "Look, John. I've got to go back and sell this deal to my teams. And they're gonna ask me, you know, the elephant in the room is what happened to these companies that you bought back in the late '90s, sort of the Bullfrog's and the Origin's and Westwood?" And I said, "I've got to be able to look these guys in the eye and say that that's not going to happen to them."

He was incredibly candid with me about his experiences with the company and said, "Look, we've learned from that. And we've learned that this is about talent, and that if you don't create an environment to keep that talent happy, it's gonna leave." So, I really believe that he was sincere about that, and I believe that EA is sincere in its belief that it's learned its lessons about the importance of talent management. And that, when it looks at PopCap, it knows that PopCap isn't just a collection of IPs [Ed. Note: intellectual properties].

It's essentially about two things: It's about the talent that's here and it's about the culture around the creation of those games. And the thing that I can say about PopCap that's very true is that the people that work here really love the company. That's reflected in the games that we make, and I think that, if you're going to spend a billion dollars on something, you know there's something special there. They have really been true to their word, and I really believe they respect what we do. I couldn't be happier with the way it's gone.

Before PopCap was acquired, it opened 4th & Battery, a label where designers could create and release whatever games they wished. But ever since, no games have been released under that label. Will any more creative outlets come from that label or PopCap proper now that EA is in the picture?

So, this week we're actually going through a thing called PopCamp, which is a thing we do we do every quarter, [and] I think it's quite unique to PopCap. It's basically like Google 20 Percent Time, which is once a quarter the whole studio downfalls all around the world. And people some to studio management and say, "I have this crazy idea and I want to work on this thing, and I got a bunch of people that want to do it, too. Can I do it?" And we're like, "Yeah, you can."

This week is PopCamp, and that has not changed since EA bought us. Further to that point, and even more excitingly, I think that idea is taking hold even within EA. A bunch of studios at EA are actually excited about doing that themselves. And I think that people like Frank Gibbeau, president at EA Games, have seen that, and think, "How can we take some of PopCap's magic and spread it wider inside EA?" Not only have they not clamped down on that creativity and freedom, I think they're sort of trying to take lessons from that and apply it to their own studios.
Peggle in action
Talking about the future, how will PopCap fit into EA's larger social/casual games strategy?

I believe I'm right in saying that EA's kind of core strategy is digital in that on one side, EA wants to grow its digital business and the recognition that the business is growing away from retail goods and more towards online and connected. And secondly that the implicit recognition that the growth, at the moment, is coming from the arrival of hundreds of millions of new gamers coming to vehicles like Facebook and smartphones. Most of those gamers are, by definition, casual gamers. I think that was the driving force behind the acquisition. So, I believe we're kind of right at the heart of what they're doing.

Will PopCap simply create go on creating PopCap games, or will it also have a working relationship with EA's other companies like Playfish or Bioware's social studio?

I personally would love to work with some of those guys. I believe it will happen where it makes sense. I mean, are we suddenly going to turn into a place that starts churning out EA-licensed games? I think you can safely say no, right? But also, where there's some really cool collaborations to work on, we'd be crazy not to. So, we retain to a larger degree our creative independence, but I think there's an opportunity to do some cool stuff with other studios.

PopCap's Blitz games have been largely successful on Facebook. Will we see more of those, and how are those games performing financially compared to the downloadable games?

Social's been tremendously successful for us. But I think, going back to the reasons EA bought us, I think that one of PopCap's core strengths is that we are one of the few publishers and developers in the world that can develop great games across different platforms. If you look at the PC, console, social and phone spaces, we're right up there in the top 10 publishers of all those businesses. Our success has really been based on that cross-platform strategy. So yeah, we will probably focus on a lot of new social games, because it's been successful for us. But we'll also stay true to our cross-platform heritage.

Kindle FirePopCap has been bullish on mobile for some time, too. What are your thoughts on tablets, especially more emergent devices like Kindle Fire and Nook Tablet?

What I can say as the franchise director for Peggle is that I'm very excited for the Kindle Fire. That's something I'm watching very closely, and the reason why is because I think the success of the iPad is really about the store as much as it is about the device. That's why some of the competitors to the iPad have not been as successful is because it's not just about the hardware itself, but it's the consumer experience.

I think the Kindle Fire is a really interesting an exciting device. I'm really excited about tablets. I don't know about you, but it's really interesting. My experience is the change in the relationship I have with my PC over the last year relative to the tablet. You're seeing huge growth in that market, and you're going to see some really interesting, exciting games coming out on that that will really focus on the touch functionality.

Generally speaking, where do you see social games going in, say, the next few years?

I think social games are at the place MMOs [Ed. Note: massively mutliplayer online games] were at before the release of World of Warcraft. I think there are lots of commonalities in the core gameplay loop. A lot of sort of grindy, character growth-driven experiences that are presented in a lot in an unpolished way.

Every game that comes out in the social space is sort of an evolution. I was just playing CastleVille a few weeks ago and really seeing that that's a jump forward from where Zynga was before with a lot of its other games. I'm actually really excited about it, because I think this is the start of something huge.

I'm really excited to start making social games, because it's a chance to get my games into more people's hands. But I also think that it's a rapid-evolving design environment and what we see today is not what we're going to see in two-three years time.

[Image Credits: PopCap, Amazon]

What do you think the EA acquisition means for PopCap? Are you excited to see what finally comes of the deal in 2012?

Games.com's 2011 Social Gaming Predictions: How did we do?

Well, not to toot our own horn, but beep-beep. As it turns out, we did pretty darn well, thank you very much. At the start of 2011, the Games.com team sounded off on what we thought would be the top trends of the year. It's been a crazy year of ups and downs, bringing about the most impressive social games to date.

Almost more importantly, 2011 also brought the most interesting developments. And we pretty much called the lot of them. Some might call it back patting, but we call it ... a retrospective. Here's how we did in our predictions for 2011:

The Mobile Explosion
Our list devoted entirely to the best mobile social games of 2011 pretty much sums this one up. Social games broke out on mobile phones in a big way this year, so much so that some traditional companies have either focused huge portions of development to the genre or simply reorganized entirely to that end. Zynga released eight mobile social games this year alone. Boom.

3D is Gonna Take Off
Hey, we never said social gamers were going to dig it. Numerous 3D games came out on Facebook this year ... and none of them did as well as we might have hoped. However, the push for 3D games on social networks hasn't slowed down. Flash Player--what almost all social games are made in--now supports 3D. Better yet, the hardcore games creation tool Unreal Engine now supports Flash, as does the Unity Player. Next year will be different, we promi--wait, never mind.
CityVille
CityVille Shall Fall
Alright, so this one didn't happen at all. But we came pretty damn close, right? We know, horseshoes and hand grenades, but at least The Sims Social threatened Zynga's stranglehold on the social game market. While EA and Playfish's social masterpiece has been on the decline for some time, it still has disrupted much of its competitor's top games.

Interactive Billboards?
We're sad to say this prediction was 100 percent on the money. Unfortunately, branding in Facebook games has only become more popular. Just look at the number of celebrities featured this year in Zynga's top games. At least we've seen some gems that make sense, like Indiana Jones's takeover of Adventure World. Farmers Insurance in FarmVille was clever, too, but an ad is an ad.
Zynga zTag Project Z
The Zynga Network
While it wasn't exactly what any of us expected, Zynga announced Zynga Direct, popularly referred to as Project Z. We figured this would be The Big Z's move to escape Facebook, but the social network appears to be baked right in. This leaves us wondering just what value zTags, similar to Xbox Live's gamertags, will add for its fans much less Zynga.

The Advent of the Advergame
Another sad-but-true prediction, advergames, or branded games as some like to call them, exploded in 2011. Almost every TV series you can think of--from Weeds to The Vampire Diaries--has launched a companion social game. In fact, Game of Thrones will soon get its second tie-in Facebook game. At least that Dexter Facebook game was pretty neat-o.
Order & Chaos Online Facebook
Facebook MMOs Go Big Time
Not quite. We've certainly seen more MMOs come to Facebook in 2011, though none of which were any good nor successful. The combination simply makes sense on paper, but perhaps it's just not a good fit for the more casually-minded social gamer. Now, if you count Facebook-connected MMOs, we were right without a doubt.

The Fat Cats Get Fatter
Zynga acquired some 17 companies since 2010. How's that for fat cats? Hell, EA bought the biggest name in casual gaming for a whopping $1 billion. Looking at the disparity between even the top two Facebook game makers and the rest of the market, according to AppData, we'd say this estimation was about accurate, wouldn't you?

Facebook Gets Friendly Again
While social game makers will never see the viral success they did in early 2010 ever again, Facebook has made strides to support its game creator community. Sure, Zynga has quite the deal with the social network, but the company has made numerous changes to how games are presented on the network for all developers. Although to the dismay of many, Facebook even championed the top games on the platform with the rest of us.

By our math, that's seven out of 10. Not too shabby, huh?

What do you think of our predictions for 2011 compared to what actually went down this year? How did your own predictions pan out?

The Top Five Tools for the Facebook Gamer

Look, we both know that you played the hell out of your favorite Facebook games this holiday. (And you lucky bastards that have off all week are probably playing right now.) So, tell us if this is you: You can crack your wrist at will, and it hurts to lift much of anything that isn't, well, a mouse. Also, you've developed quite the hunch and your laptop feels like it's about to blow any minute.

What's that? You scored a ton of gift cards to Best Buy or Amazon because your extended family didn't opt to actually spend brain cells on thinking of a more suitable Christmas present? By golly, you're in luck, because we know of five tools you can spend that not-so-hard-earned plastic on that could help boost your (Facebook) game on the cheap:

A Solid Clicker
If Mr. Ian Bogost has taught us anything, you absolutely need a computer mouse that not only A. can keep up with you, but B. feels comfy underneath your hand, too. And there are plenty of options that won't break the bank. We personally recommend the Microsoft Arc Mouse or the Apple Magic Mouse, as they're most compatible with tools featured later. But more economic options include the Microsoft Wireless Mobile Mouse 3500 or the Logitech Wireless Mouse M305.

Cool It, Will Ya?
We don't know about you, but most Facebook games drive our laptops into dangerous temperature territories. This is because either our machines don't have fancy graphics or that most social games wouldn't take advantage of them anyway. At any rate, a trusty laptop cooler would do the trick to keep your precious FarmVille machine from overheating. We recommend the Targus Lap Chill Mat or the Xpad Laptop Desk, both of which are affordable options.
IMAK SmartGlove
Protect Your Greatest Weapon
Anyone who works with a computer all day can tell you: Carpal tunnel is downright terrifying. So, to fend off that dastardly, seemingly irreversible damage to your wrist, consider picking up a wrist brace. There are several varieties to the modern day gauntlet, but we highly recommend those that include both a splint and some type of padding underneath. In that case, try looking for the IMAK SmartGlove--it's only 15 bucks.

Homedics Massage Chair PadTake a Load Off
Sitting in front of the computer for hours can be not only excruciating on your wrist, but on your back, too. There isn't much to help with that hunch you might have developed without without training yourself to practice good posture. To that end, you can at least make sitting back a little more enticing. How about a lovely, robotic massage every time you sit back? If you're looking to save the most money possible on this buy, look out for the Homedics Massage Chair Pad.

Seriously, Protect That Wrist
Look, we may have been cute or cheeky before, but carpal tunnel is no joke. Seriously, double up on protection and preventative measures if you want to be able to keep at The Sims Social for much longer. Luckily, there isn't much price or guess work to wrist rest-equipped mouse pads. This writer personally prefers the Fellowes Microban mouse pad, but just make sure whatever you buy has a gel wrist rest with an indent for your wrist to, well, rest on.

[Image Credits: Microsoft, Homedics, Edova Innovations]

Are there any tools that you recommend for social gamers that we failed to list? What's your favorite gadget that helps with your social gaming habits?

LA Times gets its game on with Mahjongg and more from Arkadium

Is it about time we trade in the paper's (literally) two-dimensional crossword puzzles for the depth of Mahjongg? The Los Angeles Times seems to be headed in that direction, as the news outlet announced a partnership with New York-based social game maker Arkadium. As a result, Arkadium has already thrown the lot of its hit games on the "Games" section of the LA Times website.

The Arkadium games available on the LA Times Games page include several of its varieties of Mahjongg (including Mahjongg Dimensions), Sparks, Monkey Gems and more. All of Arkadium's games on the LA Times are packed with Facebook and Twitter integration throughout, and the deal was made in hopes of increasing advertising revenue, according to the news organization.

"Given the ever-rising popularity of casual games, adding Arkadium's titles allows us to further engage latimes.com's users and entice previously untapped gaming enthusiasts to visit our site throughout the day," LA Times' VP for Digital Revenue Products Jennifer Collins said in a statement. "We are also creating a previously unavailable opportunity for our advertisers to reach Southern California's casual gaming audience and in the process establish another digital monetization platform."

It's interesting for a social games company to make such a move, and perhaps a terribly smart one. (This is the second of such deals Arkadium has made with a news organization; the first was CNN.) When you think about it, the majority of Arkadium's games cater to the same audience that enjoys crossword puzzles and the like. However, we'll see whether those "casual" gamers will be keen on making the leap from word searches to, say, Monkey Gems.

[Via Reuters]

Do you think Arkadium's deal with LA Times will prove successful? Which of the developer's games is your favorite?

Fruit Ninja: Puss in Boots slices into Android for free through Amazon

If you love turning watermelons and oranges into gushing half-circles of juicy deliciousness, then today is your lucky day. Halfbrick announced that the movie-themed sequel to its hit Fruit Ninja is available for Android for free once again. That's right, Fruit Ninja: Puss in Boots is available for Android for the fine price of zilch on the Amazon Appstore one more time.

We personally adored the Puss in Boots edition when it released in time for the Dreamworks flick for iPhone and iPad. As you know, we're quite accustomed to ... branded properties here at Games.com, but Halfbrick truly treated this sequel as if it were Fruit Ninja 2. With a refreshingly challenging Bandito Mode that puts players through the gauntlet of fruit-based tests of finger flinging dexterity, there's no way we couldn't recommend downloading this gem immediately.

Seriously, because this deal is only good for today. So, get to it already. And don't hang too tightly on that "Fruit Ninja 2" quip, because that's coming too. If you love Fruit Ninja even remotely as much as this guy, you owe to yourself to pick this one up.

Click here to download Fruit Ninja: Puss in Boots for Free Now >

[Via Joystiq]

Are you a Fruit Ninja fan? What do you think of the Puss in Boots version, and what do you hope to see in Fruit Ninja 2?

Canadians get to have all the fun: ForestVille testing way up north

Maybe it's consolation for being cold all the time? (Can you tell this writer has never been to Canada?) Inside Mobile Apps reports that Zynga is currently testing the recently-leaked ForestVille iPhone game on Canadian audiences. In fact, you can download the game on the Canadian iTunes App Store right now for absolutely nothing, but only if you have access (i.e. are actually Canadian).

The Facebook page has since been pulled, but we had enough time to catch a glimpse of the game's early promotional artwork. Now, we have a brief idea of what the game will look like, based on a few screen shots. The game looks decidedly more macro than previous 'Ville games on mobile phones, namely CityVille Hometown and Holidaytown. However, players can connect their ForestVille game to the two CityVille games and check pending messages from both while playing this new game.
ForestVille map
The play hooks seem to be all the same: Help a fledgling community (in this case, woodland creatures) build a thriving city, decorate said city, make money from said city, continue growing city, repeat. The visuals in ForestVille look less detailed than their CityVille counterparts, but that might be because the game view is more zoomed out than previous versions.

ForestVille will work on all iOS devices dating back to the iPhone 3GS, and it will feature Facebook Connect, according to the Canadian app page. However, keep in mind that this game is testing, which means it may not even make it elsewhere. (You know, like Kingdoms & Castles?)
ForestVille balloon
[Image Credit: Zynga]

Are you excited about this new 'Ville game? Based on these early images, what do you think of the game's graphics? Play mechanics?