FrontierVille: Trouble with 37x37 Land Expansion Goals? Finish the Foundry first

Several disgruntled players have reported in to FrontierVille Info that they are stuck in one FrontierVille Goal: The Hideout. It's part of the 37x37 Land Expansion Goals, and players who happen to be stuck here coincidentally have yet to complete the Foundry Goals from months ago. The thing is, the Foundry Goal titled "Fox Hunt" is where players unlock and first use the Fox Cannon. While we think you can gather what must be done, we'll give a hint: In order to complete The Hideout, you must have completed the Fox Hunt from the Foundry missions. If this doesn't help, take it to the forums and hope that someone can hear you above the Canning Goal revolts.

Have you had trouble with the Fox Cannon Goals? If this didn't help, but something else did,

FarmVille Sneak Peek: Cleveland Bay Horse, Juniper, European Beech Trees

We know you're split down the middle on posting unreleased content, but frankly, spoilers don't bother us. Besides, it's not like FarmVille is Days of Our Lives, people. So, FarmVille Feed has found three new pieces on content set to make it to FarmVille "soon." The first is a Cleveland Bay Horse, a brown, stern-looking steed with determination. Oddly enough, it reigns from England and the Cleveland district of Yorkshire. Join us after the break for a look at two fine firs.
Juniper Tree and European Beech Tree
OK, so they're not firs, but rhymes are cute, no? The first, a Juniper Tree, originates largely across the Northern Hemisphere in regions from the Arctic to Africa to Central America. Second is the European Beech, a deciduous tree reigning largely in--you guessed it--Europe. Prices, of course, are unknown, but these items will likely launch this week if they're being revealed now. FarmVille Feed also guess that the items will cost between five and 10 Farm Cash and that the trees will eventually become Mystery Seedlings. Here's for hopin' on the latter.

[Image Credit: FarmVille Feed]

What do you think of these three new additions to the game? Which of the three would you buy first, and why?

Final Fantasy Tactics artist launches Traveling Fairy mobile social game

With the help of Square Enix, the character artist for the Final Fantasy Tactics games on the Nintendo DS has launched a mobile social game in Japan titled Traveling Fairy. It's available only on the Mobage social network through mode-Duo, which has been home to mobile social versions of hyper-popular franchises like Shenmue and Phantasy Star. According to Siliconera, the game uses GPS technology to split Japan in 505 regions brimming with frilly fairies.

Players will travel across Japan--hopefully not literally, for a mobile game--to collect region-specific fairies, level them up in fights against demons and take down boss demons to conquer regions and earn rare items. Thankfully, players can effectively travel to other regions without going there through a hosting system that allows players to host others in their own physical region. Think of it as position broadcasting, of sorts. Of course, the game is free to play, but features goods for sale. Even if this won't come to the US (which has not been confirmed or denied), color us excited for what it means for location-based gaming when bigwigs get involved.

[Image Credit: Siliconera]

Have had a chance to try this game somehow? What do you think of location-based gaming?

America 2049 on Facebook: A dismal game about a dismal future

Professionals and supporters alike have clamored for social game developers to use the rallying powers of Facebook to create interesting interactive experiences that spur players to change the world around them. A noble cause, sure, but the struggle has always been the fun factor. Can you spur people's desire to change their abysmal environment without them knowing that they're doing it? After playing America 2049, a Facebook game by Breakthrough (a company that uses popular culture and media to raise awareness to severe social issues), it's beginning to seem as if that's impossible.

Don't worry, this isn't some bash session: America 2049 is a finely-designed game with a start-studded cast of characters like Harold Perrineau of Lost, Victor Garber from Alias, Cherry Jones of 24, Rent's Anthony Rapp, and comedian Margaret Cho. In other words, Breakthrough spent a lot of money to not only garner some notoriety for its game, but for its creation as well. America 2049 looks fantastic, and while it is just a series of menus and maps, those are damned beautiful menus and maps.

America 2049 Clue
The game starts with an immense premise: You are a new member of the Council on American Heritage and the country has collapsed. It's up to you to find out what went wrong and reclaim the American culture for good use in the future. You must follow a series of clues by commanding "operatives" to uncover spots on a map. These spots may or may not hide clues to the puzzle squares, which normally amount to word puzzles or code cracking.

Of course, these actions all consume Energy, which will replenish over time or recharged with capsules you'll find in otherwise empty squares. Unfortunately, it's all as boring as it sounds. However, playing the game for longer than a few minutes will unlock some seriously intriguing stuff. Breakthrough has created an entire alternate reality through mock news websites, blogs and even a website representing "your organization," the Council on American Heritage. Eventually you must use this crafty little alternate-reality to find answers to the games more difficult puzzles.

America 2049 Information Reward
While set almost half a century into the future, it's all a clever way to raise awareness to the scars on the face of America and other developed countries today. It most definitely is galvanizing to be reminded of societal plagues like violence, division and corruption with such a perspective albeit fictional. America 2049 is a success in its mission, but the lack of engaging gameplay might bring the excitement to change the face of America to lukewarm temperatures.

Click here to play America 2049 on Facebook Now>

Have you tried America 2049 yet? What do you think of social games built around the goal of social change?

Zynga cashes in on online poker stats site PokerTableRatings

"And we wonder why..." the Games.com writer typed with liberal snark as he stroked his long, Pai Mei-style beard. Alright, so I don't have a flowing white beard, but it's almost a given that Zynga's most recent acquisition of PokerTableRatings has something to do with its Zynga Poker game. TechCrunch reports that the company bought MarketZero, the company behind PokerTableRatings, so that its team could work on new features for Zynga Poker.

Our guess is that this new talent will work on improved tournaments and other competitive ranking systems. (Too much of a stretch?) While MarketZero and PokerTableRatings will continue operation, this marks the 11th buyout for the social gaming megalith in just under a year. Can Zynga make 12 acquisitions in one year? We're taking bets!

[Image Credit: Marie Clare]

How do you think Zynga will put this new talent to use? What type of company do you think Zynga should pick up next?

Zynga thwarts illegal Sheep and Pig Breeding once and for all

If you have one of those neon Sheep, you're one of the lucky ones. As of today, FarmVille players can no longer breed Sheep or Pigs using unreleased colors and patterns. Zynga posted the news on the FarmVille Blog, which states, "Certain types of sheep and pig colors/patterns not yet released have been improperly distributed in FarmVille; we are currently going through the process of making sure this practice stops." While players who received the illegitimate Sheep and Pigs through legitimate means--like the News Feed--will still be able to keep their flashy livestock, breeding them is no longer an option.

Confused about exactly how Zynga is handling the situation? Check out the full statement below:

    The steps that we have taken are:
    * The methods by which players were able to breed unreleased sheep and pig colors and patterns have been closed.
    * Players who bred sheep and pigs using illicit methods have had their animals revert to their original base colors and no patterns.
    * Pigs and sheep acquired from feed posts (but at some point were generated using illicit methods) will get to retain their unusual colors and patterns. However, attempts to breed with these pigs or sheep will result in default colors and no additional pattern inheritance.

    Should we release these additional colors or patterns legitimately then players will be able to breed that animal in the appropriate, correct manner. This is not an implication that you or your neighbors have done something wrong. This is a breeding restriction of colors and patterns that as of yet have not intended to be released.

    So what's currently allowed to breed and what's not?
    * Most current colors are allowed but the "flashing" colors are definitely not.
    * Currently Allowed Sheep Patterns: Plain, Spotted, Striped
    * Currently Allowed Pig Patterns: Plain, Spotted

The Zynga team went on to remind players that this move isn't to punish those who received the illegally-bred Sheep and Pigs legitimately. All the developer wants to do is stop the spread of these unreleased colors and patterns, and if these varieties are officially released, then everyone will be able to access them freely. So, don't worry about losing your strobe light Sheep anytime soon, just don't expect to make neon babies for a while.

[Image Credit: FarmVille Sheep Breeding]


Do you own any illegally-bred Sheep or Pigs? What do you think of Zynga's response to the issue?

Zynga gobbles up GodFinger developer Wonderland, creates Zynga Mobile UK

Zynga Mobile UK
Perhaps Zynga's recent sheep invasion in London was symbolic of something greater. The developer with more satellite studios than you can count on two hands just bought Wonderland Software, the UK-based studio behind the iPhone hit GodFinger. Gamasutra reports that the studio will operate as Zynga Mobile UK, but neither company disclosed what was spent on the acquisition.

While Zynga is assimilating the team, it is not taking over publishing rights to GodFinger, which is published by Ngmoco. That company was recently acquired by Japanese social game company DeNA, which could explain a lot. But more importantly, this is the company's thirteenth purchase in just 11 months.

Zynga has talent from nearly every major sector in gaming, but Wonderland is the company's third acquisition of a mobile developer. Like every social game developer in the world, Zynga is clearly going after the mobile scene in a big way. Wonderland joins Words With Friends creator Newtoy and Area/Code, the studio behind Drop7, as Zynga's mobile arms.

Wonderland CEO Matthew Wiggins will stay on the team and become the general manager of Zynga Mobile UK. "Wonderland Software has always been dedicated to pursuing big and creative ideas and turning them into games that players love," Wiggins said in a statement. "We are thrilled to continue our vision as part of the Zynga family and to reach millions of mobile players across a spectrum of devices."

What do you think Zynga will do with this new company under its belt? Will Zynga begin to create original mobile games through its three, freshly-bought studios?

Nickelodeon runs to the Royal Wedding with new Flash game

Royal Wedding Run
Did you take off from work to watch the Royal Wedding YouTube stream bright and early this Friday? Neither did we, but to help fuel the excitement for the biggest display of matrimony this year, Nickelodeon and its AddictingGames.com have launched Royal Wedding Run. This 2-minute Flash game is easy enough: Just press the space bar at the right time to leap over papparzzi, jealous ex-girlfriends and massive puddles of water. We'll suspend our disbelief for that last part, because the game is a hilarious way to spend your lunch break.

Click here to play Royal Wedding Run Now >

What are you doing to prepare for the Royal Wedding? What are some of your favorite Flash games?

FarmVille: Giant Ribbon Flower Tree pops up in Mystery Seedlings

    Ribbon Flower Tree Mastery
Zynga is getting sneaky with its item releases, huh? (Or it's just protecting its data better from leaks.) Without warning or leak, Giant Ribbon Flower Trees have begun to sprout up in FarmVille through Mystery Seedlings. The update comes as a surprise purely because these items normally leak days before they're released. At any rate, FarmVille Freak says that it is safe to assume that this is a Level 2 Tree, as it sprouted from Mystery Seedlings. The tree is one to throw in the fictional file: It resembles a bouquet of flowers with its trunk essentially a bunch of flower stems tied together. As it grows, it will sprout beautiful flowers of pink, purple and yellow, trimmed with shiny garland. You better throw on some makeup before playing, because FarmVille just got a whole lot prettier.

[Image Credit: FarmVille Freak]

Have you seen this tree crop up in Mystery Seedlings in your farm? What do you think of the fictional trees in FarmVille?

Little Cave Hero on Facebook mines for fun, strikes gold

Who remembers Dig Dug? You know, that classic 2D arcade game in which you dig through blocks of dirt, avoid obstacles and hunt underground monsters? (Maybe Mr. Driller rings a bell?) Play Little Cave Hero for about five minutes and the similarities become unmistakable, but trust us, this is a good thing. Developed and published by Chile-based Atakama Labs, Little Cave Hero embodies exactly what made those classic arcade games so nostalgic, while introducing interesting social features.

Upon logging into the game, its adorable pixelated graphics hearken back to a time when games delivered a sense of awe to your 6-year-old self. You are a miner, one of many who the mayor of a miscellaneous town has enlisted to help rebuild his city in ruins. To make it happen, you must venture into a series of small mines to dredge up resources and treasure. And like most social games these days, your day-to-day activities are guided through quests.

The Town ... and Mayor
But Atakama Labs decided to alleviate the monotony with a dash of humor. In fact, your interactions with the mayor will probably make for the funniest quest dialog you've ever read in a social game. The mayor essentially breaks the fourth wall with every chance he gets, making quips at the more obscure aspects of not just social games, but video game culture in general. All in all, it makes completing a seemingly endless amount of fetch quests a chuckle-worthy experience.

Atakama Labs isn't above borrowing the concepts that work in social games. Free gifts are aplenty, as are buildings, crafting materials and paid currency (known as Crowns). Little Cave Hero achieves that ultimate social game balance: Players gather resources to create new buildings; players use these buildings to create new tools to find better items and resources; finally, players use those resources and treasures to build even more grandiose buildings. And the cycle continues.

Gallery: Little Cave Hero

The crux of Little Cave Hero is how you find those resources and buried treasure, and it's brilliant. It's quite simple, really. Just click on the blocks in the direction of where the treasure chest is, busting through soil, gravel and sometimes rare gems. Of course, each block destroyed, key acquired and chest opened consumes one Energy point, which leads to what ultimately makes this game so refreshing.

Each mining mission is graded on a scoring system based on the amount of Energy you use to get from the origin point to the ever-present treasure chest. However, certain blocks will require more than one whack to destroy, so you must choose your moves wisely and plan ahead. The less Energy you use, the higher your score will be by the end of it all, which results in more coins and more XP to level up with. Read this paragraph again and see if it clicks: Atakama Labs wants you to play for as long as possible without spending money.

Little Cave Hero score
In fact, it's challenging you to do just that. Never have I heard of a developer do this, and it makes for one of the most admirable games you'll have played in a long time. So, go on and see how many A+ ratings you can score--just cancel any appointments you might have for the next hour.

Click here to play Little Cave Hero on Facebook Now >

Have you tried this game on Facebook yet? What do you think of Atakama's approach to the Energy system?

Empires & Allies Resources and Trading: Everything you need to know

Some guy somewhere once said, "An Empire is only as strong as its resources." Alright, so I said that, but managing and trading your resources effectively is crucial in Empires & Allies more so than any Zynga game before it. Between Coins, Wood, Oil and Ore of all kinds, there are plenty of levels and meters to keep track of. But the sooner you master the plethora of resources in Empires & Allies, the sooner you'll become a force to be reckoned with on the battlefield.

Bringing Home the Bacon (Coins):

Coins, the most recognizable resource in all of gaming, is of course in Empires & Allies as well. Luckily, just about everything you do in the game generates coins. Collecting from Housing, Government Buildings and Daily Bonuses provide the golden discs. But that's not all--doing favors for friends and defeating them in battle generates tons of Coins too. Not to mention defeating the Dark Alliance through the single-player campaign generates a bunch as well.

Empires & Allies Farms
However, there is one type of building that does nothing but generate Coins: Farms. These Industrial Buildings simply generate large amounts of Coins in exchange for smaller amounts, but take time to harvest just like farms in CityVille. While there are several ways to generate Coins in Empires & Allies, it would be a good idea to keep a few farms around for a guaranteed source of income that you can rely on. And don't worry, crops don't wither here on the islands (we hope).

Empires & Allies Lumber Mill
Wood you Kindly? (Wood):

Some puns are simply irresistible. Wood is required for several buildings in Empires & Allies, and important ones at that. Not only is Wood needed to create Houses, but you'll need the tree to create Military and Government Buildings, too. Now you can see why this resource is vital. While clearing Trees and Bushes from your island Empire provides tiny amounts of Wood in exchange for Energy, building Lumber Mills is the way to go. In exchange for Coins, these buildings can produce much bigger amounts of Wood that are always guaranteed.

Empires & Allies Oil Well
Digging for Black Gold (Oil):

What would a military game be without the one resource that keeps wars in business? Oil, ironically enough, makes the world go round in both the real world and in Empires & Allies. It fuels almost all of your military units, which you can likely imagine is vital. Thankfully, Oil is much simpler than most of the game's resources, as it comes from one place on your island Empire. Oil Wells are Industry Buildings that, in exchange for Coins, produce the modern-day salt of the earth in varying increments. This is the number one way to generate Oil.

Oooh ... Shiny (Ore):

Ore is perhaps the most complicated (and necessary) resource in Empires & Allies. And it all stems from one small problem: Your Empire can only produce on type of Ore, and there are five of them. Copper, Iron, Gold, Aluminum and Uranium are the five types of Ore in the game, but only one will become available to you upon finishing your Ore Mine. So, say you finish your Ore Mine, complete your first mining job, and Gold appears. That will officially be the only type of Ore that will appear in your Empire.

Empires & Allies Ore Mine
Luckily for you, a major component to the game is trade. If you're looking for Uranium, for instance, it would be a good idea to look around on the forums or on the Empires & Allies Facebook page for friends who have that resource available. Once you have a good, varied list of friends to trade with, just click on a Neighbor from the bar below your game screen and press "Ask for Ore." Then, you'll be taken to a familiar screen where you will send that friend a Facebook request, much like sending a gift.

Fortunately, this isn't the only way to score the ore. Defeating enemies in combat has a chance of dropping Ore at random. I even nabbed a few Uranium from opponents whose island doesn't even produce it. However, you wont be able to avoid making new friends and asking them directly for some Ore, as this is an extremely unreliable method. So, suck it up and get social, isn't that what these games are all about? (Admittedly, we'd like to see an in-game system for trading Ore like an auction house of sorts.)

Empires & Allies Combat
Take it From their Cold, Dead Hands

There are several ways to find resources aside from digging, chopping or harvesting--like killing! Most notably is Invasion, which, depending on the buildings you attack, can yield Wood, Coins, Oil and even Ore in decent amounts. Though, this requires far more Energy than simply getting your own.

If you successfully invade an Empire, you can also collect these resources every few hours until that Empire fights back. The Campaign is also a great way to gather resources through combat, though that too eats up Energy. Regardless, you have several options for gathering all the goods you need to thrive ... and bash the oppositions head in.

FarmVille A Test of Wool Goal: Everything you need to know

Get it? Zynga replaced what would have been "will" with "wool" in this new FarmVille Goal. (We'll admit, we're pretty big fans of play on word tricks, so kudos.) In "A Test of Wool," the second of four goals in Part 4 of the English Countryside, farmers must help Angus the Sheep Breeder fine-tune his Sheep Breeding skills. And it's surprisingly easy to get the little bugger in tip top shape.

    Make 3 Floral Scones in your Pub
    Harvest your Sheep Pen once
    Place a Lamb on your farm


See? We told you--easy peasy. To make three Floral Scones, you will need to stumble back into the Pub after mustering up two Bluebell Bushels, three Spring Squill Bushels and two Cornflower Bushels. Do this three times for a total of six Bluebells, nine Spring Squills and six Cornflowers. Oh, and each one will take six hours to cook in the Pub. You can also buy the Bushels from friends if you don't want to bother with planting.

A Test of Wool rewards
Don't worry, that was the hardest part. Just harvest your Sheep Pen once, place a Lamb on your farm (presumably from Breeding) and this Goal is complete. Finito. Done. And for your sort of hard work, enjoy 200 XP, a Wool Hat for your avatar and 2,500 Coins to throw around. Now, you can make it rain in the Pub in style.

FarmVille The Key to the Castle Goal: Everything you need to know

This is it, the moment you've been waiting for. Wait, what moment, you ask? Duh, it's time to receive the key to the Castle on the English Countryside. Well, not your castle, but the Duke's--and he doesn't even know which one it belongs to! This next FarmVille Goal is the third in a series of four to kick off Part 4 of the English Countryside. Titled "The Key to the Castle," this climactic courier mission sends players to find the key to one of the Duke's many castles and it's fairly simple ... fairly.

    Plow 200 plots
    Get 6 Magnets
    Get a Cow


Alright, we only said it was fairly easy. And, actually, it can be if you want it to. The Goal doesn't distinguish any particular crop used in the process or whether new plots need to be plowed. So, you could just plant a bunch of crops you need and give the Bi-plane an old run.

The Key to the Castle rewards
Or, just plant lots of Red Currant, the fastest-growing crop on this side of FarmVille at the moment. The six Magnets are friend-requested items, while getting the Cow is as easy as clicking on the "Get Cow" button in the Goal menu. Help find the Duke's castle key, and you'll score 200 XP, one Knight Gnome and 2,500 coins.

[Source and Image Credit: FarmVille Freak]

Have you met this Goal yet? Do you have any tips for completing this Goal any faster? And how many of you thought this was leading to the Castle feature teased for this expansion before?

Pac-Man chomps on Facebook with two social games from Namco

Instead of ghosts, will Pac-Man gobble up the skeletons in your Facebook closet? Probably not, unfortunately (damn you, Internet), but Namco Bandai Europe has released the ever-hungry yellow circle on Facebook in two forms: plain old Pac-Man and Pac-Man S. The former is the straight up Pac-Man you've come to love over 30 years. The latter, however, takes a cue from games like Bejeweled Blitz by PopCap, challenging you to gobble as many dots in one or two minutes as possible to rank on a social ladder. Keeping true to its roots, the game is controlled with either the arrow keys or WASD keys, and all the familiar sounds come through your speakers with all the nostalgia you'll ever need in a Facebook game. Give it whirl, and you'll soon start to notice a direct relationship between ghosts eaten and minutes wasted. It's science.

Click here to play original Pac-Man or here to play Pac-Man S on Facebook Now.

Have you tried either Pac-Man game on Facebook yet? Which would prefer? And what's the deal with Ms. Pac-Man missing?

FarmVille Country Bunnies Goal: Everything you need to know

Sure, bunnies are adorable, fluffy and all that good stuff. But you never know when this might happen, so watch your back! The final Goal to kick off Part 4 of the English Countryside expansion in FarmVille is here. Known as "Country Bunnies," this Goal tasks us with helping Olivia the Dairy Farmer wrangle up her favorite animal--you guessed it--bunnies. Start saving your Shovels now, as this Goal takes a lot of digging.


    Harvest 100 Radishes
    Dig your Storage Cellar to 50
    Buy 1 Country Mini Hedge


To harvest 100 Radishes, you'll need at least 9,000 coins and 18 hours of your time. Unless you have some Instant Grow (or Farm Cash) lying around, of course. To dig your Storage Cellar all the way down to Level 50, you will need at least 25 Shovels.
You can either buy them for Farm Cash or request from your friends. The Country Mini Hedge is a 200-coin decoration from the Market. Once you finish this fourth and final Goal, 200 XP, Bunny Ears for your avatar and 2,500 coins are yours.

[Source and Image Credits: FarmVille Freak]

Have you reached this Goal yet or completed it? What tips might you have for finishing this up faster? Are you flaunting your new Bunny Ears already?

FarmVille: Irish limited edition trees come back for new Spain theme

I don't even know where to begin with this farmers, so we'll jump straight to the point. In a completely mind-boggling move, Zynga has re-released the formerly Irish-themed Irish Strawberry and Chinese Strawberry Trees as part of the brand new Spain limited edition theme in FarmVille. On top of this, they've changed the "Irish Strawberry" name to just "Strawberry." Don't be confused though - if you had purchased an Irish Strawberry Tree back in May, you'll retain all of your mastery points even with this tree's new name.

One thing that hasn't changed about these trees is their price. The Strawberry Tree costs 5 Farm Cash, while the Chinese Strawberry Tree is 10 Farm Cash. Remember, you can always earn these Chinese Strawberry Trees from Mystery Seedlings, so don't feel bad if you don't have the Farm Cash on hand to spend.

While it's not unusual to see FarmVille's limited edition items come back in new themes, it does seem a bit fishy that the name has been changed. After all, if you can release a "Chinese" tree during the "Spain" theme, why not an "Irish" one? Did they think no one would notice and purchase another? Perhaps I'm just being too cynical, but this is definitely a time to watch before you purchase, farmers. Make sure you're not unintentionally spending Farm Cash that you don't need to.

What do you think of this Irish Strawberry Tree's name change? Do you like seeing trees re-released so that you can stock up on more, or would you rather only purchase brand new trees?

FarmVille: Irish limited edition trees come back for new Spain theme

I don't even know where to begin with this farmers, so we'll jump straight to the point. In a completely mind-boggling move, Zynga has re-released the formerly Irish-themed Irish Strawberry and Chinese Strawberry Trees as part of the brand new Spain limited edition theme in FarmVille. On top of this, they've changed the "Irish Strawberry" name to just "Strawberry." Don't be confused though - if you had purchased an Irish Strawberry Tree back in May, you'll retain all of your mastery points even with this tree's new name.

One thing that hasn't changed about these trees is their price. The Strawberry Tree costs 5 Farm Cash, while the Chinese Strawberry Tree is 10 Farm Cash. Remember, you can always earn these Chinese Strawberry Trees from Mystery Seedlings, so don't feel bad if you don't have the Farm Cash on hand to spend.

While it's not unusual to see FarmVille's limited edition items come back in new themes, it does seem a bit fishy that the name has been changed. After all, if you can release a "Chinese" tree during the "Spain" theme, why not an "Irish" one? Did they think no one would notice and purchase another? Perhaps I'm just being too cynical, but this is definitely a time to watch before you purchase, farmers. Make sure you're not unintentionally spending Farm Cash that you don't need to.

What do you think of this Irish Strawberry Tree's name change? Do you like seeing trees re-released so that you can stock up on more, or would you rather only purchase brand new trees?

FarmVille Spain Items: Andalusian Horse, Spanish Farmhouse, Outdoor Cafe and more

Are you ready to travel to Spain, farmers? Now you can! Well, not literally (sorry), but at least virtually on your FarmVille farm! Tonight's FarmVille update sees the launch of a new Spain limited edition item theme, full of not only new trees (ok, re-released trees), but also new animals, building and decorations. I'm sure buying these virtual items won't be nearly as exciting as actually traveling to Spain in the real world, but they can sure help to pass the time! Here's what's available:

Animals:

Galician Blond Cow - 16 Farm Cash
Andalusian Horse - 18 Farm Cash

If you're thinking "Wow, those prices are low for cows and horses!" you're right. Both of these animals are on sale for a limited time, with their eventual purchase price being 26 Farm Cash each. Of course, for either animal you also have the chance for breeding, if that at all increases your desire to make a purchase.

Buildings:

Spanish Farmhouse - 14 Farm Cash
Spanish Home - 350,000 coins

Like the animals above, the Farmhouse is also on sale, so you'll want to purchase one now before the price jumps up to 25 Farm Cash at a later date.

Decorations:

Thyme Flowerbed - 7,000 coins
Outdoor Cafe - 100,000 coins
Red Carnation - 7,000 coins

While it's great to see only coin items available, the selection here is rather small. It should also be noted that the Thyme Flowerbed and Red Carnation are rather small items, being the size of about a large planter, so you'd likely need to buy more than one to really make a statement on your farm.

Unfortunately, there just weren't that many items released in tonight's update, but that makes me think that more (many more) will likely be coming in the future. It's not like Zynga to release so small a theme without following up afterwards, and we'll make sure to let you know if they carry on with that tradition later this week.

FarmVille Summer Items: Flamingo, Snow Cone Stand, Backyard Fort and more

With the heat outside blazing, Zynga has turned up the temperature in FarmVille as well, by releasing even more items in the current Summer limited edition item theme. This update isn't a large one, but there are some fun items here, including one that's available for coins that I can easily assume most farmers will want to pick up. As usual, here's a complete rundown of the items.

Animals:

Flamingo - 16 Farm Cash
Spider Monkey - 18 Farm Cash

If these items look familiar, they should, as they were both released last year (the Flamingo came in the 2010 Summer event, while the Spider Monkey was released in the Island theme). The prices haven't changed here, thankfully.

Buildings:

Snow Cone Stand - 200,000 coins
Backyard Fort - 30 Farm Cash

The Snow Cone Stand (pictured) has to be one of the cutest buildings I can personally remember seeing in the game, and its fairly low coin price point makes it even better. It should be noted that this building is designed with a bit of sand sitting around its base, so if you don't have your farm laid out with sand currently, it will show up on a green/white background. As for the Backyard Fort, this is another re-release, first launching in the Summer theme last August.

Decorations:

Mt. Waterfall - 30 Farm Cash
Bamboo Fence - 5,500 coins
Beach Tent - 80,000 coins
Bouncing Castle - 32 Farm Cash

Yet again, this set of items is full of re-releases, as the only entirely new item is the Beach Tent. The other items were seen across the Summer and Island events from last year. Either way, these items are incredibly cute, so if you didn't have a chance to pick them up last year, make sure to take a look at them now.

All of these items will be available in the game for the next two weeks. Could this smaller update mean that the Summer theme has once again come to an end in FarmVille, or is this just a smaller update leading into something bigger? We'll make sure to let you know as we know more.

FarmVille Mystery Game (07/10/11): FarmVille goes to South America

It's Sunday farmers, which means that another round of the FarmVille Mystery Game has gone live in the store. This week's theme is South America, and it costs 20 Farm Cash per dart to play. That's up from the "normal" price of 16 Farm Cash, but with both animals and decorations being up for grabs here, I doubt that will alter sales.

Be extra careful this week, farmers, as not all of these items are new, so you very well may end up with a duplicate item if you're a frequent Mystery Game player. Here's what's available:

Andean Bear Cub
Andean Cat
Pygmy Owls (the cactus)
Gold Lion Tamarin
Maned Wolf
Spotted Owl

As usual, this week's Mystery Game will only be available for exactly that - a week. Hopefully, next week's box will include six all-new items, regardless of the theme, but we'll make sure to let you know either way if it does.

Do you already have the re-released items from this week's Mystery Game? Will you take your chances and purchase a dart? Which item are you hoping for?

Angry Birds Cheats and Tips: 'Like' it on Facebook, win three free levels

As if we had to ask. (We'd hope not with over 200 million downloads.) So, if you really like the Angry Birds, here's a way to squeeze three more levels out of your bird-flinging addiction. Rovio seems have included an Easter egg of sorts in the game that, when you 'Like' the official Angry Birds Facebook page after a certain point you will unlock semi-secret content. So, here's how to get three more puzzles, thanks to Social Times:

    Swipe ahead to "Ham 'Em High" (Scene 5)
    Gesture as far to the right as possible.
    Tap the Facebook symbol.
    If you have a Facebook account, sign in to it.
    From with Angry Birds, "Like" the game (Rovio steps you through this process).



The three new puzzles can be played immediately, and you should probably expect them to be more challenging than your standard levels considering the lengths they take to unlock.

Angry Birds Facebook level gameplay
And while Social Times reports that you must complete all the puzzles in the Ham 'Em High Scene, all you need to do is skip over these stages and simply press that 'Like' button. The levels keep the western theme of this collection, but look considerably more complex, so enjoy the infuriating difficulty challenge.

Have you already tried these levels before or since reading about them here? What did you think of them compared to other puzzles, and what other semi-secret levels have you found?

FarmVille Sneak Peek: Book of XP will let you level up instantly

First came the ability to purchase blocks of XP in FarmVille for Farm Cash, but apparently that isn't enough. It looks like Zynga will be releasing a Book of XP to the game sometime in the near future, that will let you skip the hassle of buying multiple XP bundles and level up in a single purchase.

While pricing still isn't known for these Books of XP, we do see the following pop-up, that looks like it might appear right underneath your XP meter at the top of the screen. It's likely this large 999 number will be the calculation of how many points you personally need to level up in your own game, giving you the chance to purchase a Book of XP right from the menu, if you so choose.

The picture at right is also the right size for one to be featured on the Specials page of the FarmVille marketplace, so we'll likely be able to purchase Books of XP in bulk there as well. If you're wondering why someone would purchase XP and levels rather than simply play the game, well... the only logical explanation I can come up with are those lower-level players that might want to skip the leveling up process to unlock new crops and items that might otherwise be unavailable to them currently. If there's another reason this is necessary, it's lost on me.

Either way, we'll make sure to let you know when these Books of XP launch in the game / marketplace, and how much you can expect to pay for such a convenience. Keep checking back with us for more.

Will you purchase a Book of XP, or are you fine playing the game and leveling up naturally? How much would you pay for such a book?

FarmVille Sneak Peek: Beagle, Pug, Maltese and more coming soon

While the Mystery Game in FarmVille won't technically update until tomorrow evening, we're now able to take a pretty good stab at guessing what will be included inside. Here's a clue: they're furry, have four legs and are often called "man's best friend." Of course we're talking about dogs, and it looks like a set of seven will be coming to the Mystery Game for your "winning" pleasure.

As for the actual selection of dogs, we see a Maltese, Chihuahua, Beagle, Shih Tzu, Boston Terrier, Yorkshire Terrier and a Pug. Unfortunately, we're not exactly sure which of these seven dogs will be the "bonus prize" for winning all six within the week that the game is available, but we can say that any of them would be stand-out prizes for your Pet Run Habitat on your farm. That's right - we believe many, if not all, of these dogs will be masterable as well.

Personally? I'm going for the Pug if it's not the ultimate, seventh prize, but what about you? Which of these dogs is your favorite?

If these are the seven animals released in the Mystery Game tomorrow, will you play? How much Farm Cash do you expect a single dart to cost? How much would you be willing to pay for all six ultimately?

CityVille Dessert Contest tests you in the kitchen for 200 City Cash

If you're running low on City Cash in CityVille and also happen to know your way around the kitchen, why not try entering CityVille's Dessert Contest currently being held on the game's official forums? This contest is fairly free-form, allowing you to use cakes, cupcakes, cookies, pies or any other sweet treat to create a masterpiece themed around CityVille (either its characters, specific items or buildings, goals, etc.). The options here are fairly limitless; so long as your entry is themed around CityVille and is technically a dessert, you're up for one of the three prizes!

From now until September 6, the CityVille team will be accepting entries, and after that point the team will choose the top ten designs. The final winners will be determined via a survey that all players are allowed to take, whether they entered the contest or not. As other forum contests have been accused of being partial to "friends," this survey will allow all finalists an even chance as the answers should remain anonymous.

The first place prize is a whopping 200 City Cash, while second and third place prizes are 100 and 50 City Cash each, respectively. That may not be enough to last you forever, but free City Cash is definitely better than having to pay for it yourself, right? What's more - you can eat your masterpiece when you're done with it! Good luck!

Total Domination Nuclear Strategy: A Getting Started Guide

Total Domination: Nuclear Strategy loading
Total Domination: Nuclear Strategy is a Facebook game developed by Plarium that puts you in the shoes of an army commander in an intergalactic war. Gamezebo's Total Domination: Nuclear Strategy strategy guide and walkthrough will provide you with a quick start guide, tips and tricks, hints, and cheats to help you build an impenetrable base.

Getting Started

    Total Domination: Nuclear Strategy is played on Facebook and you will need to have a current account to play. If you need to register for a free account click here - http://www.facebook.com
    Once you have a Facebook account you are ready to play and can click here to get started.
    You will be asked to give permission to allow the developer to post messages on your profile page at Facebook. Click on "Allow" and proceed to the game.
    After watching the short intro animation, General Trevor Winters will walk you through a pretty lengthy tutorial, explaining the basics of the game and introducing you to all the buildings of your base.



Producing Resources

In order to run a successful military base, you need resources, and as in any post-apocalyptic setting, you need them bad! In Total Domination: Nuclear Strategy, there are three resources that you can gather, which you use for running the place.

In order to see how many resources you have, and how many resources are produced, you can check the statistics in the top left corner of the screen. While somewhat vaguely described, the "increase" number is the amount of resources you are currently receiving every hour. You will want to try and produce approximately the same amount of each of the resources to grow your base most effectively.
Total Domination Uranium stats
Uranium is produced in uranium mines, which you can place wherever you want in your base. While uranium is needed for producing or upgrading everything, it is mostly used for training defensive troops.
Total Domination Uranium Mine
Titanium is produced in titanium mines, which can only be placed over the titanium fields. While titanium is needed for producing or upgrading everything, it is mostly used for training offensive troops.
Total Domination Titanium Mine
Credits are earned by gathering taxes, which are collected by vaults. While credits are needed for producing or upgrading everything, it is mostly used for maintaining the troops on the parade ground.
Total Domination Vault
Around the outskirts of your base, at items you can pick up droppings of 20 extra resources. Look around regularly for a little extra help in your campaign.

Crystals are special resources, which can be are mainly used for training elite troops, purchasing special items at the black market or building your base's defenses. Elite troops require less resources to train, and less credits to maintain. While crystals are not regularly produced like the other resources, they can be earned by daily visiting your base, completing missions, or buying extra crystals with Facebook credits.

Combat Preparation

No war has ever been won without soldiers fighting for their cause, and that is no different in Total Domination: Nuclear Strategy. To train soldiers, visit the barracks and indicate how many of which troops you want to train.

Total Domination troops
To unlock more troops, you will need to buy certain buildings, but the most important key to more advanced troops is researching new technology. By upgrading technology, you will improve the skills of your troops. In order to research technology, you need modules, which you can get from your scientists every day, or by requesting them from an ally.

Total Domination technology research
Troops can be used both in attacking other bases, or in defending your own base. However, each type of troop is specialized in either their offensive side or their defensive side, so choose wisely which troops you train for which situations.
Total Domination Elite Gladiator stats
When you start poking around on other people's bases however, you will attract their attention and risk having your base attacked. Besides leaving behind defensive troops in such a case, build defensive structures around your base, such as a wall, towers, gates and gun turrets.
Total Domination wall, tower, gun turret
By having recon drones on your base, as well as building sensors on your defensive perimeter, you can increase your intelligence defense bonus. The higher your base's intelligence defense bonus, the harder it is for other players to recon your sector. Without good recon, it is hard for enemies to come well-prepared and launch a good attack, increasing the chances of successful defending your base.

Finding Other Players

After years of war, the united world empire has been divided into thousands of sectors locked in a struggle for resources and power. It is a big world out there, though, and sometimes it can be quite difficult to find other players you can fight with; often, they are either too low a level, or way too strong for you. You can always ask your allies to keep an eye out for players that are within your level-range, and simply enter their coordinates in the map. If your allies can't help you, try randomly entering a set of coordinates to easily search around a new part of the map.
Total Domination Finding Other Players
This article originally appeared on Gamezebo.

World Chef: A Getting Started Guide

World Chef, developed by CyberAgent and played at Facebook, is an adorable and enticing game that allows you to develop a restaurant with international cuisine. You start with a small restaurant, but you'll be able to decorate it, develop your menu, and use your expertise to open branches all over the world.

Getting Started

    World Chef is played on Facebook and you will need to have a current account to play. If you need to register for a free account click here -http://www.facebook.com
    Once you have a Facebook account you are ready to play and can click here to get started.
    The game will ask you for permission to access your basic profile information, email address, and permission to post to your wall when you choose that option.

World Chef customize character
World Chef are you satisfied with your outfit

    Those that are members of CyberAgent's other popular game Ameba Pico and are registered for an account can play the game with their Ameba Pico avatar.
    First you will be asked to choose your game avatar and design it choosing hairstyle, color, face shape, skin tone, eyes, make up, and clothing.
    Note - Once you choose your gender you can not change it so make sure you are happy with your choice.
    Next you will start a brief tutorial that is handled in the form of completing quests. (See "Quests" below for more information.)
    Game settings - The game settings are located at the lower right side of the game screen. Here you can toggle the music and game sounds on or off as well as change to full screen mode.
    How to move - Click on any area of the ground and while holding your left mouse button, drag the area you wish to see into view.
    XP - XP, or experience points, are what you earn each time you purchase an item, complete cooking a dish, serve food to customers, and complete many other actions. As these XP add up you will level up once you earn a certain number of them. Place your cursor on the XP indicator at the top center of the screen to see how many XP you need at any given time to move to the next level.
    Levels - The chef hat indicates your level and each time you level up you will earn a large coin bonus and will unlock more items in the store and recipes in the recipe book. At some levels you will earn the ability to add more serving counters and more stoves. You can see your level at any time at the top of the screen. The bar is filling up with XP and when the pink bar reaches all the way to the right side you have reached a new level.

World Chef how to change cafe name or open and close cafe

    Open and closing your cafe/ changing name - You can click on the upper left corner at any time to change the name of your cafe.
    You can open or close your cafe at any time by clicking on the "Open" sign at the top left corner of the game screen. It is best to leave the cafe open if you have food cooking that takes a long time. Closing your cafe means items will not be cooking for you until you open again. It can also keep food from spoiling if you find you can't access the game for a few days and won't be able to serve it when the time comes. This is not an option you will use a lot but it is good to know it is there just in case you need it.

World Chef buy currency
Game Currency

    There are two types of currency in World Chef.
    Silver coins - This is the basic game currency and what you earn when you serve food to your customers, visit neighbors, and complete quests. You can use silver coins to purchase basic items for your restaurant as well as cooking various international recipes from the recipe book.
    Facebook Credits - In order to purchase higher end decor items or special privileges in the game you will need the secondary currency, which is Facebook Credits. You will have to purchase these yourself with either a PayPal account, major credit card, or one of several other options available to you, all of which can be found on the currency purchase screen.
    How to obtain currency - You are paid silver coins each time you serve a dish to a customer. You are also given coins when you visit a neighbor and help them out. The final way to earn coins is to complete a quest and earn a large reward.
    Facebook credits are not rewarded to you at any time in the game.
    How to purchase more currency - You will have to purchase Facebook Credits if you want to purchase additional silver coins for your game. Click on the "+" symbol to the right of the currency indicator and this will take you to the screen to purchase more Facebook Credits and/or silver coins.
    The coins are for sale in bundles which are cheaper if you buy larger amounts at a time.


Hiring Employees

    When you start the game you have your chef and one wait staff. As you level up you will be able to hire more staff but you must complete the necessary steps first.
    Employees can only be hired once you have received the required number of employee referrals.
    Employee referrals can only be given to you by your neighbors after you request them or if they send them to you as the daily free gift.
    The first employee you can hire is available once you reach level four and the second employee is available once you reach level eight.
    The game may prompt you when you can hire another employee. If you can't do it at that time when you are ready click on "Staff" at the bottom right of the screen.

World Chef employee referrals

    Request employee referrals - When the menu appears click on "Ask Friends" as the number of referrals needed will be listed.
    Once you get the referrals needed click on "Ready" and you will be taken to the available employees menu.

World Chef hiring staff

    Choose an employee - Here you will choose an employee to hire and pay the cost required. It is not known if purchasing a higher cost employee gives you any additional benefit.
    You should see the new employee immediately appear in your cafe and start working along the others.
    Firing employees - You can fire an employee at any time by clicking on the "Fire button" inside the staff menu.
    You will then need to purchase another employee if you choose to have one.
    It is a good idea to have as many employees as allowed as this keeps customers happy and keeps your cafe rating high which means bigger profits overall.

World Chef quests
Quests

    Quests are an important part of World Chef and used as a teaching tool in the game.
    The completion of a quest results in large coin and XP bonuses which will help you level up much faster especially in the early levels of the game.
    Quest list - The quest list is located along the left side of the game screen where you will see small icons. Click on any icon to read the quest and see the requirements.

World Chef cook to order

    A quest can be one task or several asking you to do things such as cook a certain number of dishes, add neighbors, expand your cafe, and so on.
    Each task offers you the ability to complete it by using your Facebook Credits.
    Use these offers carefully and only for tasks that you know will take a long time or will be very difficult for you therefore worth the expense.

World Chef Hire New Staff quest

    Once you complete a quest you will be notified of your award and you will be given the opportunity to share the news with a live feed post that offers your neighbors a chance to earn a coin bonus for clicking on the link you provide. This is optional, but most neighbors appreciate the chance to earn free money.

Preparing Food/Using Your Recipe Book

    To prepare food you will start out by clicking on your stove. This will open the recipe book, which can also be accessed at the bottom right of the screen. But you must click on a stove to prepare a particular food on it

World Chef recipe book

    Recipe book - The recipe book is divided up by region, and each recipe has a flag on it representing a different country. You will need to cook a certain number of recipes from each country upgrading to a specific level (ranking) then you will be allowed to open up more branches of your restaurant in different locations. Click on the "Branches" button at the bottom right of the game screen to see the requirements for each branch. (Also, see "Branches" below for more information.) Note there are four pages of recipes and you can scroll through at the bottom of the book.
    Note that each recipe takes a different amount of time to prepare. Some take as little as one minute and some take as long as several days. Each time you level up you will unlock more recipes to prepare.
    Each recipe will cost you silver coins to prepare and you will be given a certain number of servings, all of which will earn you back more money than you will invest to prepare it. All of the statistics and information about a recipes is in the recipe book and you need to read over it carefully before you choose a recipe to prepare.
    Most of the quests you will receive consists of preparing a certain dish a certain number of times.
    Once you start a long cooking recipe you can leave the game and it will continue to cook allowing you to come back later to check on it and serve it.
    Choosing a dish - One you are ready to cook a dish click on it and it will appear on the left side page of the recipe book. Read over the details and when ready click on "Cook" and you will be taken back to your cafe to prepare it.

World Chef preparing dish

    Preparing a dish - Now you will see a file folder on your stove. Click on it and your chef will begin the first step of cooking. You will see a progress bar fill up and you can hear sound effects of cooking the dish.
    You will now see an icon over the stove prompting you to click a second time for the final preparations. Once you click the second time the food will begin to cook for you.
    Place your cursor over a stove at any time to see how much time is left until the food is ready to be served.

World Chef click to serve dish

    Serving a dish - When a dish is ready, instead of cooking dishes you will see the food prepared on the stove. If you place your cursor over it there will be a "Ready" message there for you. Click on the dish and your chef will come get it and place it on the empty serving counter or add it to an already existing counter that is serving the same type of food.
    Instant preparation - At any time you can click on a food while it is cooking and an option will appear for instant preparation. You can do this by paying Facebook Credits. This is not recommended except for very long cooking times as it is very expensive. If you use this feature the dish will be instantly available to serve to customers and you can cook something else right away.

World Chef serving counters
Serving Food/Serving Counters

    Once your food is ready an bubble will appear over it. You must click on the food and your chef will pick it up and walk it over to the serving counter where your waitresses will pick it up to serve it to the customers.
    You are given one serving counter and stove when you start the game. You will be able to purchase more at certain levels so be sure to always purchase the maximum amount you are allowed to have.
    If you place your cursor over the serving counter once it has food on it you can see how many servings of that particular food are left. This is important so you can pace yourself. You don't want to cook food and have no place to put it, so time things out so that when one food item runs out you will have another to replace it with.
    Adding more food to a serving counter - It is important to know that once you place a specific type of food on a serving counter you can add more to it at any time. If you make 20 fruit salads and then start to cook more when they are ready just add them to the counter where it is already served and the total will increase. The waitresses will do this automatically for you. You just need to make sure you have a free serving counter if you cook a different kind of food. If there is no space you will lose the food you prepared.

World Chef throwing out food

    Throwing food out - At any time you can click on a stove or a serving counter and choose the option to throw food out. The only reason this might be wise is if you need to make space for something that has taken a lot of time or money to prepare. You will lose all the food you throw out and any potential earnings it may have brought to you.

Spoiled Food

    If food is not served from the stove in a timely manner it will spoil.
    You have the amount of time doubled to serve the food that it took to cook it. For example, it takes one minute to prepare the fruit salad recipe. Once it is ready you have two minutes to click on it and have the chef place it on the serving counter. If it takes an hour to prepare you have two hours to serve it and so on.

World Chef spoiled food

    Salvaging spoiled food - You can spend Facebook Credits to have spoiled food salvaged and restored back to serving status. This is only recommended for food items that are very expensive and in which you have invested a lot of time.

Recipe Mastery/Branches

    Each recipe in the recipe book is from a different country, which is shown by that country's flag in the upper right hand corner.

World Chef recipe mastery

    Mastery - Each recipe can be mastered up to three levels. You can tell the level of mastery by going into the recipe book, clicking on a food and on the left page look to see how many chef hats have been earned. (There is a meter running under the chef hats.)
    While in the recipe book you can place your cursor over the chef hats at any time and a message will appear telling you how many more times you must cook the dish to reach the next level of mastery.
    Once you reach the mastery level you will earn a large coin bonus.

World Chef Branches map

    Branches - Click on the branches button at the bottom right of the game screen. Here you will see a map with all the available branches. There are 15 potential branches you can open. Place your cursor over a location to see its requirements.
    Each location will require something such as, "Must master three American recipes to level three." In this case you will have to keep cooking this recipe until you master it to the maximum along with two other American recipes. When you reach this point you will be allowed to branch out.
    Once you meet the requirements click on the branch and you will earn a cash bonus.
    You can access the branches map at any time to see how many you have earned.
    Note - It can take quite a while to complete this phase as you may have to wait until you reach the unlock level for certain recipes.
    It is possible more branches will be added in future updates so check back frequently.

World Chef expand your cafe
Expanding Your Cafe/Building With Cubes

    Note the arrows on the perimeter of your cafe. Click on any one of these to trigger the purchase screen to expand your cafe.
    Zoning permits - You will be required to have a certain number of zoning permits in order to increase the size of your cafe. There are three ways to get zoning permits. The first is to ask your neighbors for them. There is a prompt to ask neighbors and a screen will appear that sends them a message asking for help. The second way to get them is to purchase them using Facebook Credits. The final way is to send a zoning permit to a neighbor as a gift and hope that they will return the favor and send one back to you.
    It takes a while to collect zoning permits so get started on asking for them right away.

World Chef build stairs expanding up

    Expanding up/building with cubes or blocks - World Chef is unique in that not only can you expand out, you can also expand up by building more floors on your cafe using cubes found in the shop. The cubes can be stacked strategically and walls and decor placed around them. Your staff and customers will be able to move onto these additional levels once you add stairs for them to climb up also using cubes.
    Have fun with the magic cube method to build an amazing cafe.

World Chef build an amazing cafe
World Chef how to use Magic Cubes

    Magic cubes (Special building tip) - If you want to make the cubes stand up in the air alone and build exciting walls and special designs follow these steps.
    1. Purchase cube and place it on top of a table.
    2. Remove the table under it and the cube will stay in place.
    You can put decorative items on the cube such as flowers or you can add even more cubes and use your imagination to make it interesting.
    Expanding up obviously takes time, money, and patience but it is well worth it if you want to try as you will see in the image above you can make a really beautiful cafe and it will send your style ratings through the roof which means very happy customers and much bigger profits for you.

World Chef shop icon
Purchasing Items From the Shop

    You are given a few items to get you started such as a stove, serving counter, and a couple of tables and chairs but you will want to add more of these items as well as decor items to increase your style rating as soon as possible.
    Style bonus - This goes up each time you add a decor item to your cafe. While in the shop you will notice items have a style rating and each item contributes a percentage to your overall score. The more expensive the item the higher its contribution to your style score. You can see your style rating at any time in the shop menu along the bottom near your currency indicators or by clicking on the "Decor" button and looking at the bottom of that menu.
    The higher your style bonus the more your customers pay when they visit your cafe.
    Note - Only items actually placed in your cafe count towards your style bonus rating. Having them in inventory does not apply.

World Chef Shop tables and chairs

    Making Purchases - Click on the "Shop" icon at the bottom of the game screen to open the shop menu.
    Inside you will see there are categories along the top from which you can shop. You can choose stoves, counters, tables and chairs, walls, flooring, and decor items.
    Click on the tab of the category you wish to shop in then be sure to note the cost and style contribution of each item.
    Once you make your choice click on "Purchase" and the item will go into your "Stock"or inventory.
    You can now go into your "Decor" area to place the items. (See "Placing items in your cafe below for more information.)

World Chef placing items in your cafe

Placing Items In Your Cafe

    Once you purchase an item you will be able to access it by clicking on the "Decor" button at the bottom of the screen.
    This is where you find all items that can be placed inside of your cafe.
    Click on the item you wish to place and it will appear near the bottom of your cafe with three options above it which are "Move," "Rotate," and "Pick Up".

World Chef moving cafe items

    Move - Click on "Move" and the item will stick to your mouse allowing you to move it to a new location.
    Rotate - "Rotate" will change the direction 90 degrees for each click.
    Pick up - "Pick Up" will place the item back in the decor inventory box.
    Important - You can also place items on top of each other. You must be careful as sometimes you can stack chairs on top of tables and it looks like they are on the floor but they are not. If you place anything on a table a customer will not be served on that table. This is not as much of a problem once you start expanding and have more room but in the early levels things will be tight as shown in image above.
    Tip - It can be very tricky to move items around especially when you have several items in your cafe already. You may want to empty all the items using the "Pick Up" feature and then carefully place them back in starting with the items that are furthest away and work toward you. Once you expand a few times this will get easier.
    Cubes - Cubes are another category in the shop, which you can build additional floors and stairways with. When you are ready to start expanding up you can place walls and cubes on top of each other to form new floors to your cafe. You will also need to build a stairway for your staff to walk to the upper floors. Be sure to always leave a path for your wait staff and chef to move or they won't be able to work. (See the magic cube method for building.)
    Tip - If you ever see one of your employees crying this means something has blocked their path and they can not do their job. Be sure to check that everything is placed correctly and nothing is on a table or blocking a path to stove and serving counters as well as front door.
    Selling items - You can sell items back to the store for one third of the purchase price. Open the decor menu and look for the icon at the very bottom of the menu. Click on this then the item you wish to sell and then on confirm. You can only sell for silver coins. You can not sell back items purchased with Facebook credits.

World Chef neighbor menu bar
Inviting and Visiting Neighbors

    It is critical that you have neighbors in the game as many of the items you need must be gifted to you by your neighbors. Also, visiting neighbors earns you coins and extra points toward the mastery of specific dishes.
    Your neighbor menu is located along the bottom of the screen.

World Chef inviting neighbors

    Inviting neighbors - People on your Facebook friend list that are playing the game but are not yet your neighbor are shown in a faded out image in the neighbor menu with an "Add" button. Click on this button to send an invitation directly to this person. He or she will have to approve it before they are seen on your neighbor list.
    You can also do a mass invitation by clicking on the "Invite Friends" button along the top left of the screen. Again, you will have to wait until they accept to see them on your neighbor menu.
    Once a neighbor accepts they will be placed in your neighbor menu in order of level. You will see their Facebook profile picture, heart rating, level, and online status.
    There is a button allowing you to either visit your neighbor or send them a gift. (See "Sending and Receiving Gifts" below for more information.)

World Chef visiting neighbors

    Visiting neighbors - To visit a neighbor click on their profile pic or the small house icon under the profile pic. This will take you to their cafe where you will see their wait staff and items they have cooking on their stoves.
    Helping your neighbor for rewards - You will see pink oven mitts over each oven of which you are allowed to choose three to help them with.
    You will see coins, hearts, and food plates thrown on the scene when you click on the mitts. You will need to click on these or wait a few seconds for them to be added to your score.
    Depending on the type of food they have cooking you will earn 10 servings of food for each type of food you help with. You will also earn heart points and coins for each time you help a neighbor. Your neighbors do they same when they visit you and when you log into the game it should notify you if any neighbors have visited, what they did, and give you the option to return the favor right away.
    Once you finish with your visit click on the profile of another neighbor or hit "My Cafe" to return home.

World Chef Heart Meter
Heart Rating

    Each time you visit a neighbor and help them out you will earn heart points. These are shown in an indicator at the top of the game screen seen only when you are visiting a neighbor.
    The more visits you do the more heart points you will collect and you will begin to level up.

World Chef heart level up

    Each time you level up in heart points you will earn large coin bonuses that you can share with neighbors via live feed posts.

World Chef free gifts page
Sending and Receiving Free Daily Gifts

    You can send one free gift every 24 hours to your neighbors and they can send one to you as well.
    Click on "Free Gifts" at the top of the game screen or click on the gift icon under and individual neighbor in the neighbor menu.
    You can send gifts one at a time or send one gift to a large group of neighbors.
    Your neighbor will need to accept the gift and may return the favor sending you back the same gift you sent them so be sure to send out what you need.

CityVille: Acrobat Apartments offer incredible population boosts at a high price

While there are a handful of terribly expensive homes in CityVille, unlocked at equally high levels (or by completing goals), that offer more than 1,000 citizens in a single home (the Eco Skyscraper or Cubic Modular, as examples), there's now a new option available for every user, so long as they have the City Cash to spend to actually purchase one.

Going along with the current Circus theme of items in the game is the Acrobat Apartments building, which knocks you back 75 City Cash for a single one. For that high price however, you'll make incredible progress towards unlocking your next Expansion (assuming that's why you're adding new citizens to your town), as it offers you 2,400 citizens to start. Via the game's random population boosts, this Apartment building can actually reach a whopping 4,600 citizens! Just think - all of those citizens packed into one tiny apartment; it makes the clown car joke look, well... like a joke! You'll also earn 301 coins per day from the home in rent.

Unfortunately, if you don't have the City Cash to splurge on one of these Acrobat Apartments, you'll need to go shopping rather quickly (or pull out your credit card), as it will only be available for the next two days. Just remember, if you do happen to buy a Zynga Game Card or e-Card and redeem it before the end of the day, you can earn 25% more City Cash in the game's Back to School promotion. Does that sale, along with its massive population boost make this home worth it? Personally, I think I'd rather save the City Cash for plenty of smaller decorative items, but that will ultimately be up to you.

Will you purchase the Acrobat Apartments for your town in CityVille? Have you enjoyed the Circus-themed items released in CityVille thus far, or has this home triggered you to start a whole themed area in your town?

FarmVille: Free Heart Rabbit with any Farm Cash purchase for a limited time

Here we go again, farmers. Zynga has given us another reason to question purchasing FarmVille Farm Cash, as it has re-released the Heart Rabbit as a free-gift-with-purchase for a limited time. Remember this little cutie? He was first released back in the Valentine's Day event of January and February of this year.

The Heart Rabbit originally cost 12 Farm Cash to purchase in the store, so if you skipped on purchasing one then, think about this offer this way: You're receiving, at the very least, 16 Farm Cash in "prizes" all for $1, even if you just purchased the minimum 4 Farm Cash for $1 package during this promotion.

As for this particular animal's stats, first and foremost, it can be mastered (the first star comes at nine harvests). If you choose not to place it in your Pet Run Habitat, where it can be harvested from once daily, you'll need to wait two days in between harvests instead. Keeping all of this in mind, just make sure to purchase some Farm Cash within the next two hours, before the offer expires, taking this cute little rabbit away again, possibly for good.

Will you purchase Farm Cash to receive the Heart Rabbit, or have you already purchased enough Farm Cash packages for animals within the last week. What sorts of animals would you like to see released as "free-gifts-with-purchases?"

FarmVille Mystery Game (08/28/11): Toy Dogs are the perfect accessory for your farm

Well, when we're right, we're right. Just as we predicted earlier this week, a set of toy dogs has launched in FarmVille, with these dogs only being available to win (for now) via this week's Mystery Game. As a recap, there are seven dogs available in all, with a single Dart, or dog (if you're lucky enough to win) costing 20 Farm Cash.

The six available dogs are the Maltese, Chihuahua, Beagle, Shih Tzu, Boston Terrier, and Pug. But wait - that's only six dogs. Never fear farmers, the seventh dog, as you might have guessed, is given away to all users that can win all six of these first dogs. That particular pup is the Yorkshire Terrier.

One thing to keep in mind with these dogs is the recent affinity for Zynga to release free animals with Farm Cash purchases. We've seen tons of animals released in such a way over the past week (including the English Bulldog), so I wouldn't be that surprised to see some of these dogs appear there as well.

Either way, if you'd rather have a greater chance of having these animals, rather than relying on Zynga to re-release them (which may never happen), you'll need to make sure and throw some Darts at this board within the next week as after that time the board will reset, taking these cute little canines with it.

Will you play this week's Mystery Game? Which of the six dogs are you hoping to win?

FarmVille Raffle Booth (08/28/11): Colonial Farm House and Rooster Compass up for grabs

It's Sunday night, which not only means that a new Mystery Game has been launched in FarmVille, but also that the Raffle Booth has received new prizes as well. This week, we see a set of three farm tools combined with two new decorative items, one of which happens to be one of the prettiest buildings I can recall seeing released in recent memory.

Here's the complete set of items, along with your odds of winning them:

    Colonial Farm House: 1:2000
    Rooster Compass: 1:500
    Bottle X10: 1:100
    Fertilize All X3: 1:20
    Special Delivery Boxes: 1:5


As usual, you'll have a week to collect as many Raffle Tickets as you can by receiving them from friends for free or by purchasing them outright for Farm Cash. While you're not guaranteed to win the biggest prizes, or anything in fact, you'll normally walk away with at least the free Special Delivery Boxes, which isn't too bad of a deal - again, it technically is free. We can't really argue with that, right?

Have you ever won the top two prizes in a Raffle Booth drawing in FarmVille? Which of these prizes are you most hoping to win?

FarmVille Fairy Garden Items: Fairy Tree, Fairy Pink Horse, Overgrown Manor and more

I have to admit: When the Fairy Garden theme launched in FarmVille, I didn't expect it to turn into the large event that it has. That growth continues this evening, as tonight's game update sees an (expensive) new set of items being released in the store. Why expensive? There are only two items in the update that go for coins, so I hope you have some Farm Cash sitting around, or your credit card standing by. As usual, we'll give you a complete rundown of the game's newest items, so let's get started.

Trees

    Fairy Tree - 7 Farm Cash
    Giant Fairy Tree - 15 Farm Cash


As you'd expect, the Giant Fairy Tree is the level 2 tree of the pair, allowing you to earn one or more of them for free just by growing your own Mystery Seedlings, or claiming those posted by friends on their walls. Full mastery for both of these trees comes at 75, 150 and 225 harvests each, for each of the three stars, so keep that in mind if you're new to the tree mastery "scene."

Animals

    Fairy Vine Pig - 18 Farm Cash
    Fairy Pink Horse - 26 Farm Cash


Depending on when you check your game, the prices of these animals might be different, as Zynga tries to settle into the proper price to earn the most money (sorry, but it really does all boil down to that). If you see these animals for what looks like a "really cheap" price, jump on them while you can.

Buildings

    Overgrown Manor - 30 Farm Cash
    Dark Thatched Hut - 20 Farm Cash


The Overgrown Manor is a particularly striking item, as it fits its name with vines growing down the roof, along with tons of trees and flowers growing along the outside. Quite a pretty building, I must say.

Decorations

    Magic Rings II - 2 Farm Cash
    Leaves Fountain - 15 Farm Cash
    Pebble Stone Pond - 100,000 coins
    Entranced Tree - 8 Farm Cash
    Purple Flax Leaves - 4,000 coins



And, here you have it - the two coin items in tonight's release: a fairly large pond, admittedly, along with a small purple plant. Sure, these items are lovely, but I can't be the only one that's a bit disappointed at the meager selection of non-premium items, can I?

What do you think of tonight's Fairy Garden item release? Are there any items you're going to immediately buy, regardless of the price, or will you hold off until you think about it longer?

Take-Two CEO sips on the haterade, says Zynga's 'metrics are sketchy'

You'd think gunning for a sweet $1 billion and the top spot among video games' largest publishers would be fun. Well, not for FarmVille maker Zynga: Not only is the media after the 4-year-old company, but so is everyone else. The next big timer to "be hype"--as the cool kids say-- is Strauss Zelnick, CEO of Grand Theft Auto publisher Take-Two Interactive. During the Reuters Media Summit in New York, Zelnick openly questioned Zynga's business model, casting doubt over whether it can make good on investor expectations as it quickly approaches an initial public offering (IPO).

"I would argue being the No. 1 player in (social gaming) is complicated, which is why Zynga hasn't gone public yet because their metrics are sketchy," Zelnick said to Reuters during a talk. "I think they have disclosure issues, I think you are seeing their acquisition costs go up, marketing costs go up and they have very high churn."

Zelnick was likely referring to the company's frequent amendments to its S-1 filing with the US Security and Exchanges Commission since it filed for IPO early this summer. His words also seem to allude to the 14 some companies Zynga purchased in a single year, which helped it amass nearly 3,000 employees worldwide. Finally, Zelnick could have been talking about how quickly the CityVille creator has lost daily players recently. (What a loaded statement, huh?) We can't wait to see who else gets "jelly"--that's cool now too, right?

[Via IndustryGamers]

Do Zelnick's words against Zynga have merit? Will Zynga be able to pull off a successful IPO with these negative vibes floating around?

UK Facebook users could soon gamble their earnings away (for real)

As in, gamble their real cash away with the chance of actually winning money in return. According to eGaming Review (eGR) [paywall link], Facebook is talking with a number of UK operators to possibly open up its platform to real-money gambling. And the change could happen as soon as the first quarter in 2012. We can almost hear the sobs of British men in the gutter already from bad Zynga Poker matches.

eGR reports, citing anonymous sources (of course), that Facebook is considering providing eight licenses to UK operators looking to get into a market that developers are already trying to crack. According to the website, Facebook is already staffing up in preparation for the initiative. This type of thing is likely years away from happening in the US, where online gambling is, for all intents and purposes, illegal.

The UK-based online gambling companies in question reportedly include Gamesys and 888 Holdings. However, more details on how age gates, payment solutions or revenue splits between Facebook and the companies would work aren't available. The website speculates that Facebook could be using the UK as a testbed for similar efforts in other countries.

The news comes as particularly striking considering the number of mock-casino and betting games that have hit Facebook in recent months from DoubleDown Casino to Yazino's games and Bet Tycoon, to name a few. In fact, Yazino CEO Hussein Chahine thinks that the social gaming market would be vastly different today if not for how the US handled online gambling prior to the rise of the genre. Well, it looks like those floodgates are about to open--at least elsewhere in the world.

[Via TechCrunch]

[Image Credit: Gabriel Not]

Would you ever gamble real money on a Facebook game? What do you think is the likelihood of such games hitting the US?

Everybody, start your engines: Zynga will go public on Dec. 16 [Report]

Did you remember your enormous salt shaker? Good, because Reuters reports that Zynga, everybody's favorite social game maker, will make its stock market debut on Dec. 16. According to Reuters, the CityVille creator will look to raise $900 million, a hair down from the almost unanimously-reported $1 billion that will bring its valuation to $14 billion.

But hey, that's still right on par with the most valuable games company in the West, Activision Blizzard. (Of course, Reuters cites "a source involved in the process.") Zynga will reportedly ask between $8 and $10 a share on the Nasdaq under the ticker ZNGA--a fairly noticeable one, no? However, Reuters does confirm that Zynga will start its roadshow next week to spur investor interest.

That is, if investors can look past the recent torrent of reports and quips that don't paint the prettiest picture of the company behind FarmVille. The New York Times allegedly revealed that Angry Birds maker Rovio turned down a $2.25 billion offer from the company, while a recent Wall Street Journal report seems to have exposed quite the stock scandal within Zynga. Worse yet, players are apparently leaving in droves. It's time for Zynga to shift into third gear: That $900 million is atop one giant hill.

Would you ever invest in Zynga at such a price? Do you think the company could at least become the second most valuable games company in the US?

Food Force on Facebook: It's FarmVille for do-gooders

Two of the biggest reasons people play social games are distraction and relaxation, but a new Facebook game hopes to add another reason -- to do good in real life.

Food Force, a game created by Konami and the World Food Programme, puts players at the head of a virtual humanitarian aid agency with the goal of getting rid of hunger in different parts of the world. To complete this monumental task, players will need to grow crops a la FarmVille, turn them into expendable goods and ship them off to countries in need. As per most social games, friends are required to get the job done, and you'll be able to visit neighbors' agencies for bonuses.

The game itself isn't exactly groundbreaking (and a tad confusing), but the main selling point is that you can use Facebook Credits to buy power-ups in the in-game store and the proceeds go to the World Food Programme school meal initiative (which helps feed 20 million children every year). So, basically, if you use Facebook Credits to buy a tractor or some kind of fertilizer, you'll help feed a certain number of children. A 'real-life impact" tracker in the game lets you know how many kids you've helped.

food force real world impact

It's worth noting that this is the second debut for Food Force. The first was back in 2005 when Konami released another game with the same name, in which players executed emergency operations on a fictional island. The new Food Force on Facebook game is a little broader in scope than the original and takes advantage of Facebook's social features.

"Through this title, we hope that people in Japan and across the globe not only strengthen their understanding of WFP's work but also support their worldwide efforts against hunger while enjoying an accessible social game," says Konami Senior Vice President Kazuhiko Uehara.

We've seen this trend of doing good in other social games, like the popular FarmVille's Sweet Seeds for Haiti promotions, but this is one of the few games entirely devoted to building awareness and raising money for a cause. While the idea behind the game is, well, admirable, one can't help but wonder -- is the game going to get enough people to play to really make a difference? An existing game like FarmVille, with 20-some-odd millions of engaged players, might be a better vehicle for organizations that want to make a difference.

Rovio goes nuts for branding: Angry Birds new pistachio-peddling game

Yet somehow ... it just feels right. Rovio and Wonderful Pistachios have joined forces to release The Hunt for the Golden Pistachio, a branded Angry Birds game playable on the nut-seller's website through Google's Chrome browser. Rovio calls this the developer's first fully-branded Angry Birds game, as it was built from the ground up with Wonderful Pistachios in mind.

Rovio told Mashable that this is different from Angry Birds Rio, which just received its final update, since characters were integrated into that game. We still don't really see the difference, but moving right along. In this web version of Angry Birds, players must crack open pistachios and crush enemy pigs across five new levels available through Dec. 31.

But there's more incentive to play this variety of Angry Birds than to simply feed the need. By playing The Hunt for the Golden Pistachio, players have the chance of winning a total of $300,000 in prizes. The goodies range from a year's supply of Wonderful Pistachios to Angry Birds plush toys and $25,000 in cash, but you need to get to at least Level 3 to qualify. From then on, you can invite your friends on Facebook to get extra attempts at each level, and more chances at prizes.
Angry Birds Pistachio game
This all started when the Angry Birds were featured in a Wonderful Pistachios commercial. But Rovio is certainly no stranger to branding: The company has released everything from Angry Birds t-shirts to a cookbook, and plans to release a feature-length film by 2014. Making sure everyone and their mother has heard of you is certainly a fine strategy to soar past 500 million downloads.

Click here to play Angry Birds: The Hunt for the Golden Pistachio (Chrome Users Only) Now >

Are you still and Angry Birds fan after all this time? What do you think of these five new Angry Birds levels?

Crime City maker assaults iOS first, Facebook later with Modern War

Now, isn't that odd? Crime City creator Funzio has decided to do the reverse of most social game companies: release a new on iPhone and iPad first, then come back to Facebook. Funzio has released its second original game, Modern War, to iOS devices. The game looks terribly similar to the iOS version of Crime City that released late this summer.

In other words, Modern War is essentially Crime City, but with dudes in military uniforms wielding M4 rifles rather than guys in torn jeans, brandishing knives. Players can take down terrorists (original!), bomb enemy vessels and structures and battle against other players in asynchronous, turn-based bouts. Of course, players can build alliances to defend themselves and bring to hurt more easily to other players.

According to TechCrunch, the game's graphics are designed to appeal to traditional gamers, and Modern War differentiates itself from Crime City with new combat options like jets and naval units. Players can share the game with friends on Facebook, but the focus here is mobile first, which is somewhat of a new concept for Facebook game makers.

It looks like we know just where Funzio's focus has shifted, just as the company takes on former EA exec Jamil Moledina. There's no word yet on whether the Facebook version will be connected to the iPhone and iPad varieties. But looking at how Mafia Wars 2 is doing on Facebook--a ... spiritual successor to Crime City--we can see why Funzio would hold back for a bit.


Click here to download Modern War on iPhone or iPad Now >

Are you a Crime City fan still? Do you think Modern War is different enough to pique your interest?

Snooki, Apps Genius to class it up with eight Facebook, mobile games

Known (by me) as this generation's Jerry Springer without the audience, Jersey Shore has already inspired a Facebook game to mild success. Now, Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi has teamed up with Apps Genius to develop, sell and distribute up to eight social games and mobile applications on Facebook, Google+, Android and iOS.

The first app, still shrouded in mystery, is set to land this November, while three more games are planned for release throughout the following year. We've certainly heard of games branded around TV shows, but this many games surrounding a single celebrity is certainly setting a precedent.

"These games and applications are my new favorite accessories, and I love them to death," Snooki said in a release. "Having worked on these from the beginning, I know Jersey Shore viewers and my other fans will love them. I can't wait to release the first one that we have been working on with Apps Genius."

That sounds like Snooki all right. The Jersey Shore star and New York Times bestselling author (wait, seriously?) will essentially spearhead Apps Genius's new Celebrity Entertainment division. The Red Bank, New Jersey-based company hopes this will inspire new celebs to hop on board. Well, after the stable of Pauly D games releases, of course.

Are you a Jersey Shore fan (come on, you can admit it)? What do you think of Snooki's plans to release a whopping eight games and apps surrounding, well, her?

FarmVille Pic of the Day: Kailanee's year-round spooky Halloween farm

Knifing through a massive field of Black Roses like a river, Kailanee's epic FarmVille Halloween farm is built to impress. Kailanee the player is no less impressive: The screen shot shows that Kailanee is Level 103! The farm is a mixture of Limited Edition Halloween specials from last year and this year. The items most released this year include the Candy Corn Home and Candy Corn Trees, the latter of which we first saw used in Onisuka057's farm.

For last year, there is an incredible amount to count, but the most obvious is the Black Roses crop. Kailanee also seems to have collected all the Haunted buildings, which include the Haunted Castle, two kinds of Haunted House, Haunted Hut and the Haunted Tower. I can also spot the Pumpkin Cottage and Frankenstein Lab.

Flanking the sides of this Halloween infrastructural deluge is the Limited Edition FarmVille Sign (from the California theme event) and the Pumpkin Tower. There are even super rare buildings from last year's FarmVille Mystery Game, such as Witch Home and Antiquated Home. Finally, if you look carefully to the left, you'll see the 3-piece Halloween Train set along with car and caboose. That's a lot of premium cash goods. In fact, Kailanee actually quit FarmVille for some time cause she was upset about last year's post-Halloween 50% discount after she had already spent 400 Farm Cash (which is somewhere between $50 to $100 USD depending on the Farm Cash package) on Halloween items.

How long do you keep your Halloween decorations up for in the real world? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment

If you have an AWESOME FarmVille farm that you want to see featured on Games.com, please email a picture to editors@games.com, Include a few words about the inspiration for your design and maybe a few tips for people who need an assist!

Playfish disables Pet Society feature amidst child safety concerns

While Playfish has been publicly silent over the arguable child safety concerns uncovered earlier this month in Pet Society, it was swift in addressing those concerns. Some time between that report and today, Playfish has quietly removed all signs of the game's 'Go to profile' feature.

For those unfamiliar with this feature, it was basically a link that appeared on the left side of your screen that allowed you to visit the real world Facebook profile of another player. The link would appear on the homes of pets that signed up to be viewable in the Pet Society Cafe, a virtual in-game hangout that allowed players to showcase their virtual pets and homes to people they didn't know on Facebook. Normally, you can only interact with players who already have Pet Society installed and are friends with you on Facebook.

Hence, the point of this feature was to make adding new Pet Society players as friends through Facebook a lot easier. Because Facebook games desire virality, many games will reward players for having lots of friends and tasks are also designed to be easier with the more friends you have. That said, the awesome connectivity of Facebook and other social networks can sometimes lead to wonderful, happy endings.
Pet Society Anonymous
But we all know children play many of these games, so the possibility of child predation in Pet Society became a concern with the existence of this feature. There was also no way to disable it or limit its use by age. Here's a review covering the feature's original launch by Pet Society Anonymous -- it's worth noting that the 'Go to profile' feature has been around for a little over two years without any complaints before Charles Conway came along to point it out.

Regardless, the review mentioned above shows that players had reservations from the beginning regarding the feature if not for children's safety, then just general privacy's sake. There's no word yet if Playfish has taken down the feature for good or if they're tweaking it to make it safer. We've contacted Playfish for comment.

[Image Credit: Pet Society Anonymous]

[Hat-tip: Scam Detectives]

Are you going to miss the 'Go to Profile' feature?