New FarmVille Gifts: Kensington Bench & Fancy Topiary

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

There are two new gifts we can send to our FarmVille neighbors starting today - the Kensington Bench and the Fancy Topiary, both of them looking really cute. Check them out below:

 

 

The Kensington Bench is a "regular" gift, while the Fancy Topiary (that makes me think of a Bonsai - the tiny little trees I simply adore) is a FarmVille.com exclusive.

Don't forget to send these new gifts to your neighbors!

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French-Themed FarmVille Decorations Released

We didn't get a huge update in FarmVille today, but at least there's something we can all enjoy: a bunch of cool new French-Themed decorations, most of them purchasable for regular coins! Oh, joy!

 

 

As you can see in the images above, the French-themed FarmVille decorations we can purchase for regular cash are:

- Provencal Pot (2,200 coins, rewards 22 XP Points)
- Tall Hedge (1,000 coins, rewards 10 XP)
- Provencal Hedge (700 coins, rewards 7 XP)

Also, there are two new decorations we can get for FV Cash:

- Forest (10 FV cash, 120 XP, not harvestable)
- Lavender Knoll (4 FV cash, 44 XP)

Even though few, the new decorations in FarmVille are quite nice, right?

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Mystery Animal Crate Reintroduced in FarmVille

Starting today, those who didn't get the chance to grab their cool animal from the mystery animal crate will get a new (and probably final) chance to buy it and expand their farm because Zynga decided to reintroduce the Mystery Animal Crate in FarmVille.

Just like before, the Mystery Animal Crate is available for just 7 days for purchase and it costs 20 FV cash. Inside it you can find any of the following limited edition FarmVille animals:

- Jackalope (past prize)
- Buffalo (past prize)
- Ox (past prize)
- Buck (past prize)
- Peacock (past prize)

Unfortunately nothing new from the Mystery Animal Crate, but still some really cool items!

Did you get the Mystery Animal Crate in FarmVille when it was first released or are you planning to get it now?

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How to use the FarmVille Wish List

Starting today, there's a new feature in FarmVille: the Wish List. Read on to find out all the details about the FarmVille wish list, how to use it and then let's start a discussion to decide how useful this new addition is!

Once you will log in to FarmVille, you'll see a pop-up message like the one below:

When you click OK, you will be taken to your gift box and there, you will notice a new button, the "Make a wish" blue button (so remember that if you want to access your wish list, you must enter the gift box!):

After clicking the button, you will be taken to a special page that looks like the regular gift page, but instead of sending gifts, you can ask for them. Here's a sample of that page:

In order to ask for a gift from the FarmVille wish list, simply click the pink button and you'r friends will receive a wall notice regarding your request. If they decide to help you out, they can click it out and send you the wish list item.

A pretty cool feature, I must say, even though it will probably fill our walls with our friends wishes.

What do you think about the introduction of the FarmVille wish list - useful or not?

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FarmVille Dog, Coming Soon

Finally, the moment many of us were expecting: the introduction of the dog animal in FarmVille will happen sooner rather than later, kind of making obsolete the list of 25 things that prove you have an addiction to FarmVille.

Back to the dog, there's a loading screen in the game that looks like the one below:

As you can see, there's just the "coming soon" notice and you can obviously see the legs and tail of a dog, so the mystery is solved: the DOG is coming to FarmVille! However, how much will it cost, what we'll harvest from it and, most important, when will the Dog arrive to FarmVille - these all are unanswered questions yet.

However, it is highly believed that by the end of the week we'll have the dog in FarmVille. Excited or not?

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Restaurant City Level List and Awards

Monday, March 1, 2010

Probably you didn't know that the level cap in Restaurant City is 65. Also, I am sure you always have wondered which are the rewards for each level. Fortunately, I have a list of levels for you below, including all the requirements and rewards to get there. So if you are curious, read on to see the Restaurant City level list with requirements and awards!

Level 1 - 50 Gourmet Points
Reward: 2500 Coins

Level 2 - 70 Gourmet Points
Reward: 3rd Employee and 1000 Coins

Level 3 - 100 Gourmet Points
Reward: Larger Restaurant 8x8 and 1000 Coins


Level 4 - 200 Gourmet Points
Reward: Larger Restaurant and 1000 Coins

Level 5 - 500 Gourmet Points
Reward - 4th Employee and 1000 Coins


Level 6 - 1,000 Gourmet Points
Reward - Larger Restaurant Unlock 1st Garden and 1000 Coins


Level 7 - 2,000 Gourmet Points
Reward - Larger Restaurant and 1000 Coins

Level 8 - 4,000 Gourmet Points
Reward - 5th Employee and 1000 Coins

Level 9 - 6,000 Gourmet Points
Reward - Larger Restaurant and 1000 Coins


Level 10 - 8,000 Gourmet Points
Reward - Larger Restaurant, 13x13, Serve 2 Dishes and 1000 Coins

Level 11 - 10,000 Gourmet Points
Reward - 6th Employee and 1000 Coins


Level 12 - 14,000 Gourmet Points
Reward - Larger Restaurant and 1000 Coins

Level 13 - 18,000 Gourmet Points
Reward - Larger Restaurant 15x15, Unlock 2ND Garden and 1000 Coins


Level 14 - 22,000 Gourmet Points
Reward - 7th Employee and 1000 Coins


Level 15 - 30,000 Gourmet Points
Reward - Larger Restaurant, Serve Drinks and 1000 Coins

Level 16 - 38,000 Gourmet Points
Reward - Larger Restaurant and 1000 Coins

Level 17 - 46,000 Gourmet Points
Reward - 8th Employee and 1000 Coins

Level 18 - 58,000 Gourmet Points
Reward - Larger Restaurant, Unlock 3rd Garden and 1000 Coins

Level 19 - 70,000 Gourmet Points
Reward - Larger Restaurant and 1000 Coins

Level 20 - 86,000 Gourmet Points
Reward - Larger Restaurant, Serve 3 Dishes, Unlocked 6x6 Outdoor Space Expansion Purchase, and 1000 Coins

Level 21 - 102,000 Gourmet Points
Reward - 9th Employee, Larger Restaurant and 1000 Coins

Level 22 - 122,000 Gourmet Points
Reward - Larger Restaurant, Unlock 4th Garden and 1000 Coins

Level 23 - 142,000 Gourmet Points
Reward - Larger Restaurant and 1000 Coins


Level 24 - 166,000 Gourmet Points
Reward - Larger Restaurant, Unlock 5th Garden and 1000 Coins

Level 25 - 190,000 Gourmet Points
Reward - Larger Restaurant, Unlocked - 8x8 Outdoor Space Expansion Purchase, and 1000 Coins

Level 26 - 218,000 Gourmet Points
Reward - Larger Restaurant, Unlock 6th Garden and 1000 Coins

Level 27 - 246,000 Gourmet Points
Reward - Larger Restaurant and 1000 Coins

Level 28 - 280,000 Gourmet Points
Reward - Unlock 7th Garden and 1000 Coins

Level 29 - 320,000 Gourmet Points
Reward - Larger Restaurant and 1000 Coins

Level 30 - 370,000 Gourmet Points
Reward - Unlock 8th Garden, Unlocked - 10x10 Outdoor Space Expansion Purchase, and 1000 Coins

Level 31 - 430,000 Gourmet Points
Reward - Larger Restaurant and 1000 Coins


Level 32 - 500,000 Gourmet Points
Reward - Unlock 9th Garden and 1000 Coins


Level 33 - 580,000 Gourmet Points
Reward - 1000 Coins


Level 34 - 661,000 Gourmet Points
Reward - 1000 Coins

Level 35 - 743,000 Gourmet Points
Reward - Unlocked - 12x12 Outdoor Space Expansion Purchase, Unlocked Floating Crystal Purchase, and 1000 Coins.

Level 36 - 826,000 Gourmet Points
Reward - 1000 Coins

Level 37 - 910,000 Gourmet Points
Reward - 1000 Coins

Level 38 - 995,000 Gourmet Points
Reward - 1000 Coins

Level 39 - 1,081,000 Gourmet Points
Reward - 1000 Coins

Level 40 - 1,168,000 Gourmet Points
Reward - Unlocked - 14x14 Outdoor Space Expansion Purchase and 1000 Coins

Level 41 - 1,256,000 Gourmet Points
Reward - 1000 Coins

Level 42 - 1,345,000 Gourmet Points
Reward - 1000 Coins

Level 43 - 1,435,000 Gourmet Points
Reward - 1000 Coins

Level 44 - 1,526,000 Gourmet Points
Reward - 1000 Coins

Level 45 - 1,618,000 Gourmet Points
Reward - Unlocked - 16x16 Outdoor Space Expansion Purchase, Giant TV Purchase, and 1000 Coins.

Level 46 - 1,711,000 Gourmet Points
Reward - 1000 Coins

Level 47 - 1,805,000 Gourmet Points
Reward - 1000 Coins

Level 48 - 1,900,000 Gourmet Points
Reward - 1000 Coins

Level 49 - 1,996,000 Gourmet Points
Reward - 1000 Coins

Level 50 - 2,093,000 Gourmet Points
Reward - Unlocked - 18x18 Outdoor Space Expansion Purchase and 1000 Coins


Level 51 - 2,191,000 Gourmet Points
Reward - 1000 Coins

Level 52 - 2,290,000 Gourmet Points
Reward - 1000 Coins

Level 53 - 2,390,000 Gourmet Points
Reward - 1000 Coins

Level 54 - 2,491,000 Gourmet Points
Reward - 1000 Coins

Level 55 - 2,593,000 Gourmet Points
Reward - Unlocked - Wishing Well Purchase and 1000 Coins

Level 56 - 2,696,000 Gourmet Points
Reward - 1000 Coins

Level 57 - 2,800,000 Gourmet Points
Reward - 1000 Coins


Level 58 - 2,905,000 Gourmet Points
Reward - 1000 Coins

Level 59 - 3,011,000 Gourmet Points
Reward - 1000 Coins


Level 60 - 3,118,000 Gourmet Points
Reward - 1000 Coins

Level 61 - 3,226,000 Gourmet Points
Reward - 1000 Coins

Level 62 - 3,335,000 Gourmet Points
Reward - 1000 Coins

Level 63 - 3,445,000 Gourmet Points
Reward - 1000 Coins

Level 64 - 3,556,000 Gourmet Points
Reward - 1000 Coins

Level 65 - 3,668,000
Reward - Unlocked - Egyptian Obelisk Purchase and 1000 Coins

What's your current level in the game?

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The Facebook "Become a Fan" Games Madness Begins!

Starting today, due to a change of Facebook's rules, Applications (including games) will no longer be allowed to send notifications to the users using them. This change was announced quite a while ago and it's been quite fun to see how the major players reacted to this change. Read on to see how did and how will this change the social games universe!

First of all, I'm sure you've seen them recently (I'm talking about the image above - click to enlarge). All the applications went mad to make you a fan (at least) or have you signed up to receive e-mail notifications. Zynga was one heavy promoter, offering huge cash prizes in Cafe World or impressive Limited Edition Items in Mafia Wars. All the other games did something similar.

There were rewards, bonuses, goodies - pure heaven for the regular player. But why do these games want you so badly? Well... it's all about the money and the viral aspect of the social games!

If you don't allow an application to specifically send you notices, it won't. Therefore, you will never know when new stuff is added to the game, an update has been made, a special event is being held - basically all the "spam" that made you play these games. And if you think that this is crap and you'd still be playing your social games no matter what, just try to remember how many times have you quit a specific game just to notice that an update was made, a new item was introduced or one of your friends started to play it, and start playing that game once more?

Well... that's why all the social games are trying to make you their fan - to keep you updated and to make sure you keep playing!

How will this measure influence the social games world? Probably on the short term there will be no major changes, but I do predict that in the near future the number of social gamers will decrease (and by social gamers I mean gamers that play at least a couple of times per day). Even more, newer games will find it a lot more difficult to "make it" - since they won't have the solid user base to help them naturally expand their boundaries, nor the trust from the new players to grant them permission to their e-mails, the upcoming social games will find it quite difficult to become popular.

In the long run, this will mean that the giants like FarmVille, Restaurant City, Mafia Wars etc will grow even bigger, with more independent developers having to shut down their games due to the lack of players.

On the other side, this might also mean that the future Facebook games will be innovative and of high quality since they should go viral by other means than those of "spamming". Which is good for us, since for some time now Facebook seemed to get invaded by poor FarmVille clones!

Will social games die in 2010? Absolutely not! But the rules will be changed a little and developers will have to do a bit more to get our attention. From this point of view, they have a lot to learn from FarmVille's creators, Zynga.

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