In one of the weirdest FarmVille crop photos ever, Gorbie from the official FarmVille forums has shown us the before and after of the Watermelon Baby Crop from FarmVille China. This isn't your typical watermelon - this crop actually makes a little odd looking baby pop out of it when it's ready for harvest. When it dies, the watermelon dies and turns brown, taking the baby down with it. The dead baby watermelon becomes less bright, but otherwise remains the same.
Needless to say, some players are finding it a bit disturbing that there is a "dead baby" in the game. Because the Watermelon Baby Crop is a 5 minute crop, players have to harvest it very quickly before they end up seeing it dead on their farm. This can be a little disturbing to players who are sensitive to that kind of imagery. Of course, it isn't a human baby (it looks more like a groundhog) and we're sure Zynga didn't intend for it to disturb players. This crop is only available in the Chinese version of FarmVille.
Check out the rest of our FarmVille Cheats & Tips right here.
What do you think of the Baby Watermelon Crop? Disturbing, cute, or funny?
Friday, January 6, 2012
Game of the Day: Word Roundup
The Game of the Day needs your wordsmithing skills once more. Word Roundup: If you think word searches are too easy, or if you're a regular word search wrangler looking for a new wrinkle on an old favorite, give Word Roundup a try. Make sure you come back every day for a new puzzle.
Click --> Play Word Roundup
Important side note: Just by playing The Game of the Day you will be entered into a monthly drawing to win a FlipCam HD. You don't need to do anything else, just play! The more you play, the more chances you have to win. For more information on the Game of Day check out the official Game of the Day hub.
Click --> Play Word Roundup
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.
Thursday, January 5, 2012
FrontierVille Detective Agency: Everything you need to know
Zynga must really be getting desperate for users to come back to FrontierVille (after leaving for any number of reasons), as they have created an entirely new building that is focused on the task. Making their current players work for them, the new building is Finkerton's Detective Agency, and it will have you, quite literally, searching for lost players.
This building, just as with all others, is on a slow rollout, so if you don't see it in your own game just yet, have patience as it will come to you with time. You'll know that this building is now available on your land when you see a screenshot like the one above appear at your next login.
Before you can track down lost players, you'll need to place your Detective Agency and then whack the frame 20 times in total, with each whack costing 7 Wood. From there, you'll need to collect six new items to complete the actual construction of the building, so meet us behind the break to see what those items are. The six new items are Desks, Curtains, Large Hings, Coat Racks, Frosted Glass, and Floorboards. The first three items (Desks, Curtains and Large Hinges) are earned through general news feed posts, asking all of your neighbors simultaneously to send you an item, while the other three (the Coat Racks, Frosted Glass and Floorboards) are earned through individual gift requests sent to those neighbors that you think will be most likely to help you.
Once you complete the construction of the Detective Agency, you'll be able to actually use the building to help bring missing players back to the frontier. Before this goes any further - yes, this building has been created with the goal of asking you to get your friends who have stopped playing the game to log back in, even if just for a moment. You will be rewarded for each friend you get to come back to the game (via a request), with different friends being worth different amounts of money.
FrontierVille Legend has an image of the interior of the completed Detective Agency, and we can see that you'll have three tabs - Missing, Open Cases, and Claim Rewards. Missing lists all of the players that you're friends with that have quit playing the game, with different amounts of Dollar Signs representing their worth if you can bring them back. Open Cases shows which ones you have attempted to bring back (but have yet to respond), while Claim Rewards allows you to claim your reward for successfully bringing back players. You'll be able to track your score for "finding missing players" on a leaderboard of your friends.
It doesn't take a FrontierVille veteran to know that this building will likely be the cause of a lot of controversy. While there are new quests available to complete along with this new building, I doubt many players will want to go through with either constructing this building or finishing the quests since it will undoubtedly work its way into the "spamming" of friends with unwanted requests to come back to the game. After all, if your friends no longer play, there has to be a reason for them to have left in the first place, and we doubt that a single request is suddenly going to make them forget about whatever issue they had with the game that causes them to leave.
As usual, though, whether or not you go through with building this new structure, or even completing the goals associated with it will be entirely voluntary. We can see pros and cons to completing most of these missions, even if you don't use the building for its intended purpose afterwards, but I'm not sure that many others will think the same. For a complete walkthrough to the five new Detective Agency missions, check out our guide.
[Missing Persons Image Credit: FrontierVille Legend]
Check out the rest of our FrontierVille Cheats & Tips right here.
What do you think of this new building? Will you work to earn rewards for bringing back "missing" players, or will you leave your friends alone, regardless of how blatantly Zynga is begging you to "spam" them?
This building, just as with all others, is on a slow rollout, so if you don't see it in your own game just yet, have patience as it will come to you with time. You'll know that this building is now available on your land when you see a screenshot like the one above appear at your next login.
Before you can track down lost players, you'll need to place your Detective Agency and then whack the frame 20 times in total, with each whack costing 7 Wood. From there, you'll need to collect six new items to complete the actual construction of the building, so meet us behind the break to see what those items are. The six new items are Desks, Curtains, Large Hings, Coat Racks, Frosted Glass, and Floorboards. The first three items (Desks, Curtains and Large Hinges) are earned through general news feed posts, asking all of your neighbors simultaneously to send you an item, while the other three (the Coat Racks, Frosted Glass and Floorboards) are earned through individual gift requests sent to those neighbors that you think will be most likely to help you.
Once you complete the construction of the Detective Agency, you'll be able to actually use the building to help bring missing players back to the frontier. Before this goes any further - yes, this building has been created with the goal of asking you to get your friends who have stopped playing the game to log back in, even if just for a moment. You will be rewarded for each friend you get to come back to the game (via a request), with different friends being worth different amounts of money.
FrontierVille Legend has an image of the interior of the completed Detective Agency, and we can see that you'll have three tabs - Missing, Open Cases, and Claim Rewards. Missing lists all of the players that you're friends with that have quit playing the game, with different amounts of Dollar Signs representing their worth if you can bring them back. Open Cases shows which ones you have attempted to bring back (but have yet to respond), while Claim Rewards allows you to claim your reward for successfully bringing back players. You'll be able to track your score for "finding missing players" on a leaderboard of your friends.
It doesn't take a FrontierVille veteran to know that this building will likely be the cause of a lot of controversy. While there are new quests available to complete along with this new building, I doubt many players will want to go through with either constructing this building or finishing the quests since it will undoubtedly work its way into the "spamming" of friends with unwanted requests to come back to the game. After all, if your friends no longer play, there has to be a reason for them to have left in the first place, and we doubt that a single request is suddenly going to make them forget about whatever issue they had with the game that causes them to leave.
As usual, though, whether or not you go through with building this new structure, or even completing the goals associated with it will be entirely voluntary. We can see pros and cons to completing most of these missions, even if you don't use the building for its intended purpose afterwards, but I'm not sure that many others will think the same. For a complete walkthrough to the five new Detective Agency missions, check out our guide.
[Missing Persons Image Credit: FrontierVille Legend]
Check out the rest of our FrontierVille Cheats & Tips right here.
What do you think of this new building? Will you work to earn rewards for bringing back "missing" players, or will you leave your friends alone, regardless of how blatantly Zynga is begging you to "spam" them?
FrontierVille Detective Agency Quests: Everything you need to know
Along with the release of the already controversial new Detective Agency in FrontierVille comes a series of five new missions that can also be completed. Just as with the Detective Agency building itself, these missions are on a slow rollout to users. While you may receive these quests within a few hours, you may also have to wait until tomorrow or later, so if you don't see them in your game, please be patient. Also keep in mind that as these missions are incredibly new, these details are subject to change at any time.
The first of these missions is called simply "Finkerton's Detective Agency," and it has you placing the new building on your Homestead.
Purchase Finkerton's Detective Agency from the Market
Clear Ten Grass on Your Homestead
Harvest 15 Apple Trees
FrontierVille Forums user Thanisa has an image showing off this first quest, which gives us a sneak preview of what the completed Detective Agency will look like, if you don't already have it on your land. Remember, if you don't have 15 Apple Trees on your land, simply harvest the ones you do have and come back to finish this step 30 minutes later. Your rewards for finishing this quest are 250 XP and 250 coins.
From there, you'll unlock Part II of V, which has you collecting some new items that are themed quite well to this new building.
Tend Ten Adult Pigs
Collect the Detective Agency Bonus
Get Ten Missing Person Posters
You'll receive the Missing Person Posters by asking your friends to send you the ten you need. At this time, we believe the request is a general wall post, but this is subject to change to individual gift requests in the future, if Zynga so chooses. Your rewards for this mission are 500 XP and a Trackin' Pig, which is a themed animal, all dressed up to search for the missing players.
Part III of V has you completing similar tasks, in terms of animal tending and item collecting.
Tend 15 Sheep
Have 25 Cloth
Have 15 False Mustaches
The False Mustaches are another item you'll have to ask your friends to send you. Completing this mission gives you a reward of a Sheep and 750 XP.
From there, you'll move onto Part IV of V, which primarily asks you to collect two new items.
Visit 10 Neighbors
Have 3 Invisible Ink
Collect 15 Decoder Rings
As you might have guessed, you'll need to ask your friends for the Decoder Rings, while the Invisible Ink is a new collection item in the Detective Agency collection, and can be earned either when whacking the frame of the building, or by collecting the Daily Bonus as it drops at random. Your rewards before the finale of this mission series are an Old Time Camera and 850 XP.
Finally, Part V of V will unfortunately force you to use your Detective Agency to bring back missing friends, so I hope this is a time when you're willing to ask friends personally to come back to the game long enough to help you out. Either that, or have some Horseshoes on hand to skip this step altogether.
Buy 3 Breakfasts
Have 3,000 coins
Recover Two Lost Settlers
For finishing this mission, you'll receive 1,000 XP and Finkerton's Detective Suit for your in-game avatar.
We can understand if users wouldn't want to work their way through the first four goals only to have to resort to begging their friends to come back to the game, but if you're picky about completing things, at least you know what to expect before going in.
[Top Image Credit: Thanisa]
Check out the rest of our FrontierVille Cheats & Tips right here.
What do you think of these new goals? Will you complete these goals and never use the Detective Agency for its intended purpose afterwards, just to receive the coins, XP and other rewards, or will you skip both the missions and the new building entirely?
The first of these missions is called simply "Finkerton's Detective Agency," and it has you placing the new building on your Homestead.
Purchase Finkerton's Detective Agency from the Market
Clear Ten Grass on Your Homestead
Harvest 15 Apple Trees
FrontierVille Forums user Thanisa has an image showing off this first quest, which gives us a sneak preview of what the completed Detective Agency will look like, if you don't already have it on your land. Remember, if you don't have 15 Apple Trees on your land, simply harvest the ones you do have and come back to finish this step 30 minutes later. Your rewards for finishing this quest are 250 XP and 250 coins.
From there, you'll unlock Part II of V, which has you collecting some new items that are themed quite well to this new building.
Tend Ten Adult Pigs
Collect the Detective Agency Bonus
Get Ten Missing Person Posters
You'll receive the Missing Person Posters by asking your friends to send you the ten you need. At this time, we believe the request is a general wall post, but this is subject to change to individual gift requests in the future, if Zynga so chooses. Your rewards for this mission are 500 XP and a Trackin' Pig, which is a themed animal, all dressed up to search for the missing players.
Part III of V has you completing similar tasks, in terms of animal tending and item collecting.
Tend 15 Sheep
Have 25 Cloth
Have 15 False Mustaches
The False Mustaches are another item you'll have to ask your friends to send you. Completing this mission gives you a reward of a Sheep and 750 XP.
From there, you'll move onto Part IV of V, which primarily asks you to collect two new items.
Visit 10 Neighbors
Have 3 Invisible Ink
Collect 15 Decoder Rings
As you might have guessed, you'll need to ask your friends for the Decoder Rings, while the Invisible Ink is a new collection item in the Detective Agency collection, and can be earned either when whacking the frame of the building, or by collecting the Daily Bonus as it drops at random. Your rewards before the finale of this mission series are an Old Time Camera and 850 XP.
Finally, Part V of V will unfortunately force you to use your Detective Agency to bring back missing friends, so I hope this is a time when you're willing to ask friends personally to come back to the game long enough to help you out. Either that, or have some Horseshoes on hand to skip this step altogether.
Buy 3 Breakfasts
Have 3,000 coins
Recover Two Lost Settlers
For finishing this mission, you'll receive 1,000 XP and Finkerton's Detective Suit for your in-game avatar.
We can understand if users wouldn't want to work their way through the first four goals only to have to resort to begging their friends to come back to the game, but if you're picky about completing things, at least you know what to expect before going in.
[Top Image Credit: Thanisa]
Check out the rest of our FrontierVille Cheats & Tips right here.
What do you think of these new goals? Will you complete these goals and never use the Detective Agency for its intended purpose afterwards, just to receive the coins, XP and other rewards, or will you skip both the missions and the new building entirely?
FrontierVille: Detective Agency Collection rewards muddy Footprints as prize
As usual, along with the release of a new building in FrontierVille comes a new Collection that can be completed by earning the appropriate items when whacking the frame of the new building, or when collecting that building's Daily Bonus. Such is the case with the new Detective Agency, and this new Detective Agency Collection.
There are five new items to keep an eye out for:
Badge
Invisible Ink
Walkin' Shoes
Notebook
Handcuffs
Once you complete this collection, you can trade it in for a set of Footprints, as seen below. This item is purely decorative, and would make a perfect accompaniment beside your new Detective Agency building. Check out our full guide to building the Detective Agency, if you've yet to do so already.
What do you think of this new collection? Will you build the Detective Agency in FrontierVille, even after you learn what it's used for (that being recruiting past players to come back to the game)?
There are five new items to keep an eye out for:
Badge
Invisible Ink
Walkin' Shoes
Notebook
Handcuffs
Once you complete this collection, you can trade it in for a set of Footprints, as seen below. This item is purely decorative, and would make a perfect accompaniment beside your new Detective Agency building. Check out our full guide to building the Detective Agency, if you've yet to do so already.
What do you think of this new collection? Will you build the Detective Agency in FrontierVille, even after you learn what it's used for (that being recruiting past players to come back to the game)?
FrontierVille: Detective Agency Badges offer free Fast Hand Boosts
If you're one of the (presumably few) players that go through with finding "lost settlers" in FrontierVille's new Detective Agency - that is, you use the building to ask your non-playing FrontierVille friends to come back to the game and are successful at doing so - you'll be rewarded with one of four new Badges in the game depending on just how many players you can bring back to the game.
This new Badge starts at the Private Eye level, which asks you to find 10 "Lost Homesteaders." Your rewards for doing so are 250 XP, 200 coins, and 1 Fast Hands Boost. Of course, this badge has three other levels, and they are as follows:
Super Sleuth: Find 25 Lost Homesteaders - Rewards 500 XP, 500 coins and 3 Fast Hand Boosts
Incredible Investigator: Find 60 Lost Homesteaders - Rewards 1,000 XP, 1,000 coins and 6 Fast Hand Boosts
Dashing Detective: Find 100 Lost Homesteaders - Rewards 2,000 XP, 2,000 coins and 10 Fast Hand Boosts
I'd imagine that it would take an incredibly persuasive individual to convince the full 100 people to come back to the game, although it is unclear right now as to whether or not you could find the same person more than once; that is, find them once, wait for them to leave the game long enough to be considered missing again, and then bring them back a second time and so on.
Good luck if you attempt this Badge - I have a feeling you're going to need it (that and lots of understanding, helpful Facebook friends).
What do you think of this new Badge's requirements? Will you try to bring lost players back to the game, or will you respect your friends' decision to leave the game?
This new Badge starts at the Private Eye level, which asks you to find 10 "Lost Homesteaders." Your rewards for doing so are 250 XP, 200 coins, and 1 Fast Hands Boost. Of course, this badge has three other levels, and they are as follows:
Super Sleuth: Find 25 Lost Homesteaders - Rewards 500 XP, 500 coins and 3 Fast Hand Boosts
Incredible Investigator: Find 60 Lost Homesteaders - Rewards 1,000 XP, 1,000 coins and 6 Fast Hand Boosts
Dashing Detective: Find 100 Lost Homesteaders - Rewards 2,000 XP, 2,000 coins and 10 Fast Hand Boosts
I'd imagine that it would take an incredibly persuasive individual to convince the full 100 people to come back to the game, although it is unclear right now as to whether or not you could find the same person more than once; that is, find them once, wait for them to leave the game long enough to be considered missing again, and then bring them back a second time and so on.
Good luck if you attempt this Badge - I have a feeling you're going to need it (that and lots of understanding, helpful Facebook friends).
What do you think of this new Badge's requirements? Will you try to bring lost players back to the game, or will you respect your friends' decision to leave the game?
FarmVille Scam Alert: Union Jack Mystery Egg posts are fake
Just this week, we brought you an early sneak peek of a new kind of Mystery Egg that will be available when FarmVille launches the English Countryside expansion next week. This egg is the Union Jack Mystery Egg, and it will presumably come from an also unreleased Union Jack Chicken.
Imagine my surprise then, when I started seeing free Union Jack Mystery Egg posts appearing in my news feed, looking very much like an official post from FarmVille. Of course these posts are fake, and we're here to stop you from falling victim yourself. If you see a post like the one above, avoid it at all costs. While it doesn't seem to try to get you to install any new apps, it does take you to a never-ending loop of pop-ups, that can apparently only be stopped by posting the same wall post to your own feed, or simply closing out the window altogether.
We'll make sure to bring you news about any other scams we see popping up, regardless of the items they supposedly give away, so keep checking back.
Check out the rest of our FarmVille English Countryside coverage right here.
Have you seen any of these Union Jack Mystery Egg posts?
Imagine my surprise then, when I started seeing free Union Jack Mystery Egg posts appearing in my news feed, looking very much like an official post from FarmVille. Of course these posts are fake, and we're here to stop you from falling victim yourself. If you see a post like the one above, avoid it at all costs. While it doesn't seem to try to get you to install any new apps, it does take you to a never-ending loop of pop-ups, that can apparently only be stopped by posting the same wall post to your own feed, or simply closing out the window altogether.
We'll make sure to bring you news about any other scams we see popping up, regardless of the items they supposedly give away, so keep checking back.
Check out the rest of our FarmVille English Countryside coverage right here.
Have you seen any of these Union Jack Mystery Egg posts?
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