Happy Pets: NEW! Color Lenses for pets

Happy Pets Color Lenses
Calling Happy Pets new Color Lenses "contact lenses" can be misleading. Just like the Color Dyes, using these items to change the colors of your pets make the colors permanent. The new color also becomes a trait that can be bred into new pets. Each pair of lenses costs 13 Facebook Credits, or a little over $1 USD. Colors currently available are: Blue, Green, Orange, Purple, and Yellow . And since there's no storage option, once you buy this, you have to use it on a pet right away. So decide on a pet carefully.
Compare Happy Pets Purple Contact Lenses
Not content to simply give you the ability to affect a pet's eye color, the colors of these lenses have actually been intensified and are different from the normal color offerings. For example, you can easily tell the difference in the shade of purple eyes between the two cats shown above. The cat on the left is the one wearing the new Purple Color Lens.

YoVille player builds a virtual 7-Eleven

YoVille Babol WYID virtual 7-Eleven
Babol, a member of an online fan community called the Worldwide YoVille Interior Designers (WYID) Club, created an awesome in-game replica of a 7-Eleven store in YoVille.

This is definitely a nod to the partnership between 7-Eleven and Zynga, which actually launched kickoff parties in six major American cities from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. today.

FarmVille: Unreleased Dairy Barn Expanded 1, 2 and 3

FarmVille Dairy Barn Tank Expansion
The Dairy Barn is a unique building with purpose, unlike the Horse Stable, Nursery Barn and Coop, players are allowed to have more than one. The limit of five Dairy Barns makes it the largest animal storage option (20 per barn, 100 total).

The Nursery and Dairy Barn are the the only buildings with purpose that do not have an expand option. These new unreleased images suggest that Dairy expansion will be coming soon!

This article originally appeared on FarmVille Freak.

FarmVille Unreleased Button Collection

Thank you to FarmVille Freak Martijn for finding these unreleased button images.

It's been a while since we've seen FarmVille make any updates to the Collectables, now it looks like a new collection is in the works!
FarmVille Button Collection
As always, we cannot guarantee if and when these unreleased items will be released, but it's great to get a sneak peek and hope that they are.

Do you still work towards completing FarmVille Collections? Will new collections encourage you to do so?

This article originally appeared on FarmVille Freak.

FarmVille Unreleased Flower Crops - Gardenia and Flamingo Flower

Thank you to FarmVille Freaks Martijn and rainexel for finding these unreleased flower crop and mastery signs.

While there's no guarantee we'll see them any time soon, it looks like two new flower crops are in the works. As there are mastery signs for each, we can only hope they'll be not only masterable, but possibly a permanent crop addition.
FarmVille Flamingo Flower and Gardenia Flower
The Flamingo Flower, nthurium andraeanum (scientific name), thrives in moist soils with high organic matter. In milder climates the plant can be grown in pots of soil.

Gardenia plants are prized for the strong sweet scent of their flowers, which can be very large in some species.

Source: FarmVille Unreleased Flamingo Flower Mastery Sign – Zynga FarmVille

This article originally appeared on FarmVille Freak.

Treasure Isle releases browser toolbar for easier gameplay

Treasure Isle toolbar
Those of you who play FarmVille might be used to the concept of installing a game toolbar. Now, Zynga have released a browser toolbar for their popular digging game, Treasure Isle.

This new toolbar gives several added benefits. First, it tracks your energy so that you can always see when you're ready to go back and dig more. It also alerts you when your crops have grown and are ready to harvest. The one game bar works for all of your favorite Zynga games, so you can easily switch back and forth across games. And finally, you get 25 free Island Cash simply for installing the toolbar. You will earn 5 Island Cash each day for the first 5 days. Even if you decide to uninstall after the first 5 days, this is still an excellent option to earn 25 free Island Cash.

I personally consider Treasure Isle to be my main game, as its the one I log into every day and I'm relatively high in level (55). This is something that I will definitely install in Firefox so I can keep track of my harvestable fruit.

Will you be installing the Treasure Isle toolbar? What do you think?

FishVille dives down to the Deep Sea abyss

Atlantis is coming to an end in FishVille, therefore all of the mysterious items will be leaving the store to make room for the new Deep Sea theme. In addition, the Pearl Stash will be leaving as well, so those of you who have been hoarding your precious pearls should probably consider trading them in before it's too late. So far, there are only a handful of Deep Sea items, and here is the list:

Fish:

Black Angler - 12 Sand Dollars
Black Devil Angler - 10 Sand Dollars
Decor:

Brisingid Starfish - 5 Sand Dollars
Sunken Propeller - 31,250 coins
Submarine Wreck - 312,500 coins
Green Anemone - 10 Sand Dollars
Deep Sea FishVille
This won't be the last of the Deep Sea items in FishVille. Keep an eye on Games.com - The Blog for the latest releases!

Happy Pets Dino Den and Dinosaurs let players create their own Jurassic Park

happy pets dino den
Happy Pets has unleashed a new set of animals to inhabit your homes. Only these animals have been extinct for millions of years. That's right, dinosaurs are now available at the Happy Pets store for purchase. The best part is, though the Dinos don't come cheap, most of them can be bought with Happy Pets Coins.

Continue Reading to see all the new dinosaurs and discover how to own one. happy pets dino den

Owning a dinosaur in Happy Pets requires a few steps, the most important being the Dino Den. The Dino Den costs 800 Coins in the Happy Pets store and is a crucial requirement for buying a dinosaur.

Once you buy it you'll need to collect 80 parts to finish its construction. Ten torches, cement bags, hammers, drills, rocks, rivets, I-beams, and shovels are required. To get these parts, you'll need to enlist your friends, asking them to send you the various parts (pictured below).

You may also skip that process and complete the Dino Den instantly for 320 Facebook Credits.
happy pets dino den
Once complete, you'll receive a free Green Triceratops and finally unlock the ability to purchase Dinos. While there are just two different species: the T-Rex and the Triceratops, they are available in a variety of colors including once with a rather familiar head of hair. See below for prices.
happy pets dinosaur     happy pets dinosaur     happy pets dinosaur     happy pets dinosaur
happy pets dinosaur     happy pets dinosaur     happy pets dinosaur     happy pets dinosaur
happy pets dinosaur     happy pets dinosaur     happy pets dinosaur     happy pets dinosaur
happy pets dinosaur     happy pets dinosaur        

    White Triceratops - 37,795 Coins
    White T-Rex - 37,795 Coins
    Grey Triceratops - 39,795 Coins
    Grey T-Rex - 39,795 Coins
    Brown Triceratops - 41,795 Coins
    Brown T-Rex - 41,795 Coins
    Red Triceratops - 58 Facebook Credits
    Red T-Rex - 58 Facebook Credits
    Black Triceratops - 38 Facebook Credits
    Black T-Rex - 38 Facebook Credis
    Teal Triceratops - 68 Facebook Credits
    Teal T-Rex - 68 Facebook Credits
    Mr. T-Rex - 52 Facebook Credits (We had a chuckle when we saw Mr. T-Rex sporting Mr. T's famous hairstyle.)


I think the dinosaurs make for a pretty swell addition to Happy Pets. It's definitely worth making the effort to finish the Dino Den just because in the end, it's all free! Sure it'll take a little effort, but imagine having a T-Rex stomping around, blowing fire among your dogs and cats. Crazy stuff. Head over to Happy Pets to check it out for yourself.

Click here to play Happy Pets>

Mafia Wars Mystery Animals: Add more fearsome friends to your arsenal

Mafia Wars just released Mystery Animals that you can send and receive from friends. As you may be aware, animals have recently become increasingly important in everyone's favorite mobbed up Facebook game -- these critters are now part of your arsenal and the stronger the animals you have, the more powerful your family. See how these new Mystery Animals work after the jump. To send Mystery Animals to friends:

Head to the Free Gifts page and send Mystery Animals to your friends. Pretty simple!

mafia wars mystery animal

To snag your own Mystery Animals:

Head to your Facebook wall and when a friend sends you a Mystery Animal, click the Retrieve Mystery Animal button.

mystery animals

That will load the game, and in the homepage, you'll see a small window that says Retrieve animal (this kind of works like the Mystery Bags). Click 'Open It' and...

mafia wars mystery animal

... a pop-up window will let you know which animal you successfully retrieved.



Which Mystery Animals have you received so far? Leave a note in the comments below.
(AND, if you have images of your Mystery Animal, please send them to libe@games.com, and I'll feature them here with your name! Thanks!)

Mafia Wars Mystery Animals: See the complete collection *Spoilers*

The new Mafia Wars Mystery Animal collection will most likely have you hunting down a complete list of critters that can be added to your arsenal. See the entire lineup below. *Spoiler*


King Cheetah (rare)
21 Attack 42 Defense

Arabian Leopard (common)
20 Attack 16 Defense

Kangaroo (uncommon)
30 Attack 29 Defense

Electric Eel (uncommon)
36 Attack 20 Defense




Piranha (uncommon)
23 Attack 35 Defense

Badger (common)
17 Attack 19 Defense

Cassowary (common)
18 Attack 18 Defense

Dingo (common)
13 Attack 24 Defense

Buffalo (common)
25 Attack 12 Defense

Badger (common)
17 Attack 19 Defense

Are we missing any Mystery Animals? Which Mystery Animals do you have so far?

Treasure Isle drops more hints about Monkey Palace island

There's a big monkey party happening in Treasure Isle, and everyone's invited ... as soon as Monkey Palace island officially opens its doors. We've been teased with hints about what the new Monkey Palace will contain for the past week, including everything from Gorilla Bouncers that need to be paid off, harvestable banana trees and a mysterious monkey in "flashy clothes" that may or may not be bearing gifts.

monkey palace small

From the looks of the images posted on this Treasure Isle Facebook fan page, it looks like Monkey Palace will work like the Volcano -- the goal is to dig as little as possible, using dig clues, to uncover the treasure and then move to the next level. Instead of SPF-3000 sunscreen, it also looks like you'll have to collect Golden Tickets to gain access to the new isle.
You can find the Monkey Palace by traveling to the Tiki Isles III map and it's located at the top of the page with a 'Coming Soon' sign above the name. The rest of the details are still a big mystery, but looks like all of these dropped hints are doing their job -- I can't wait to yield a shovel and get down to (monkey) business.

treasure isle monkey palace 2

monkey party three golden tickets


    treasure isle
   

Do you think the new Monkey Island is going to be B-A-N-A-N-A-S?

Wild Ones' Poison Cloud will kill you dead [video]

Wild Ones' latest tool of death is by far the goriest one yet and the fans are absolutely loving it. And what weapon could cause such a hoopla? The new Poison Cloud.

I'll admit, I was just as skeptical when I heard about this new non-explosive weapon. I scoffed in the face of what appeared to be merely a drifting flatulence! What could a petty cloud of gas really do when opponents are packing nuclear warheads in their back pockets. Well my friends, I was proven wrong. Possibly even more dangerous than unlimited submarine warfare, the face-melting Poison Cloud does serious damage with style.

Continue reading to see it in action.

I'm pumped to see Playdom raising up the carnage levels to near Mortal Kombat levels. The effect also reminds us of the finale to Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark.

However, with great power comes great amounts of virtual money. Just 20 Poison Clouds costs 297 Facebook Credits, so ultimately it's up to you to decide whether it's worth it or not.

But seriously, parents, you don't need to worry. I offer this disclaimer: it's harmless violent fun made just for kids and I'll admit I can get carried away exaggerating a little. I just can't help myself when there's poison gas burning the skin clean of the bones of enemy pets out on the battlefield!

Click here to play Wild Ones>

Market Street Cheats & Tips: Seven easy ways to get ahead

Market Street is a Facebook application game developed by Playdom (or shall we call it, Disney?) Get ready for some fun as this game allows you to build and have your own dream business. Player starts with a small store with one stand and one display that you can eventually expand and add along the way. Unleash your creativeness in decorating your own store! Decorations are offered and vary to suit your taste. Use your managerial skills to earn more coins, crowns, experience points and store happiness. This guide will help you out in playing Market Street.


Creating displays

Before selling your products, you need to have stands and displays first so you will have a place for your out merchandises. To put a display in your store simply click the "Registers and Displays" button. Grab a display and drag it to your store. You may rearrange it by clicking again the Registers and Displays" button. Level up or expand to increase the allowed number of your displays for your store.

market street cheats and tips

Adding products to displays

In the tutorial, items are readily available that you just need to drag them in your displays and click the check button. Click the "Stockroom" button to see the available items for your store and drag them to your displays so shoppers can see and buy it. To order of items, click "Orders" button and then "Click to order". You can order items as many as you want but just be reminded that one display can only accommodate one order only. A product catalog will appear in your screen upon clicking giving you the selections of items you can order. You need to level up first to unlock different items. In the catalog you will see how much the cost of the item is, how much is your profit in that item and what is the waiting time before the item will be delivered in your stockroom. In the product catalog you can choose from three product selections you will see at the top right of the game screen. After clicking, select the product you want and the cost will be automatically deducted in your coins. Wait until the item is available in your stockroom. Note that each item has expiration time. It will vanish once you did not put it in your display.

market street

Decorating your store

Purchasing decors adds up experience points at same time putting decorations in your store adds up happiness. To purchase decors, click the "Decoration" button. There are five selections you can choose from. You can change your floor, door and put frames, windows and plants in your store. Each decor can be purchase using coins or crowns. Also, each décor has a corresponding experience points. The higher the cost of your décor is, the more experience points you will get.

market street to dos

Managing Tasks

Aside from your usual order-sell-clean routine in your store, you also have some task that once you completed you will be given a reward. You can see all available tasks by clicking the "Manage Clipboard" button located at the left side of the game screen. A "To Do's" clipboard will prompt you of all the tasks you can do like purchasing two decorations, etc. You will be notified that you finished a certain task when the clipboard is blinking. Click the clipboard and you will see that the completed task is blue highlighted. Click the "Get Reward" button and you will get your reward. Reward varies, sometimes it is coins and sometimes it is crowns.



Tracking the status of your store

Take notice of the smiley icon located at the left side of your game screen. That icon shows the happiness status of your store. You may also know the status of your store by the digits on the right side of the smiley icon. Once the digit hit 100, it means that your customers are fully satisfied with your products and store. Mouse over your cursor on the smiley and you will see the things you can still do for your store to make it a happy environment for everyone and as well as what is the rate of your store when it comes to customer satisfaction.

market street personalizing

Personalizing your store

You can actually change the name of your store to make it more yours. To do this, click the "My Store" button located at the left upper side of your game screen. Type in the name you want for your store and click any where. To change the shirt of your cashier, mouse over your cursor to your cashier and click the "Change Color". A selection of colors will appear, click your desired color and click the check button. You can have two or more cashier upon reaching certain level. You can also fire your current cashier and choose another.

Inviting neighbors

There will be great fun in your store if you have neighbors. Adding neighbors will also adds up experience points in you once you help them in their store. Adding neighbors will also allow you to expand your store because that is once major requirement when expanding.

Top 10 fastest growing Facebook games this week

Need to take a break from tending those virtual crops or slaving over at hot stove at your virtual cafe? Look no further than this week's list of the top 10 fastest growing Facebook games, courtesy of AppData.

Market Street
Playdom
A new Facebook game that puts you in charge of your own virtual shop. Make sure you place orders in a timely fashion to keep your shelves stocked and keep customers coming back for more. This is one of several virtual shop games that have opened recently, and even though it's not really unique, it's still well done.

Jewel Box
Mob Science
This goal of this game is to open friend's jewel boxes and complete your gem collection. The number of boxes you have to open depends on the number of friends who are also playing the game. Don't really see the appeal, but, then again, diamonds are a girl's best friend.

Office Wars
Broken Bulb Studios
If the movie 'Office Space' were turned into a Facebook game, well, you'd probably get something like Office Wars. This fighting game set in an office environment has your employees go head to head with other offices, and fighters are armed with everything from spoiled lunches to fluorescent light bulbs. This game doesn't have the mass appeal of FarmVille, but it's charming and fills the hole that Ponzi left behind.
Cafe Life
Icebreak Games
This is a pretty simple cafe game where you make and serve up coffee and baked goods to customers. It's girly and charming, but if you've played Baking Life, Restaurant City or Cafe World -- you've pretty much played this.

crazy taxi on facebookCrazy Taxi
Tubeyou
If you're looking for something a little more arcade-like, this is a little like Pole Position, except your car can hop over the competition. Your goal is to get as far as possible when the timer runs out and then post your final score on your Facebook Wall for bragging rights.

Knighthood
Hive7
This medieval themed role-playing game joins a slew of others on Facebook. This one is more text based and doesn't look as good as some of the others out there, but it offers a fine level of detail that a seriously hardcore RPG fan craves in their games. The tutorial was a little confusing, so I recommend reading the game's Getting Started guide before jumping in.

Four in a Row
Core 10 Gaming
This Connect Four clone matches you up against another live player and then you try to get four chips in a row while blocking the other player's move. Simple execution of a classic game. Once you get into a game, however, there's no way to pause for a bathroom or dinner break. Bummer.

bingo island on facebookBingo Island 2
Mytopia
It's Bingo! On Facebook! Even if you don't think you're a big bingo fan, you'll find yourself sucked in by the relaxing beach theme and the friendly players who send each other gifts that boost popularity and never forget to wish each other 'GL' in the live chat when a round begins.

Tellywood
Tellywood
TV star? Oh, yes, you are in Tellywood, a game where you run your own television studio.

Platinum Life Web Edition
Heatwave Interactive
Want to live the Platinum life? This is your chance to sing, DJ or rap your way to the top by taking on gigs and showing everyone what you've got. Think Mafia Wars for the hip-hop set, with real-life tracks thrown in for good measure.

Treasure Isle's giving away 1 million Island Cash - can you dig it?

Treasure Isle is holding a contest, and it isn't just any old contest. You can win 1 MILLION Island Cash if you complete the recently launched Monkey Palace island with the least amount of digs. (To put this giveaway into perspective, actually buying 1 Million Island Cash would cost somewhere in the ballpark of $200,000).

To explain further: On Treasure Isle's new island, called Monkey Palace, the goal is to complete each level by finding the one buried treasure with the least amount of digs, using dig clues to guide your way. To get started, randomly pick spot to dig and then keep your ears for a clue that will let you know if the treasure is one square away or two squares away (see image below).

treasure isle dig clues
If you don't get a notification, then pick a spot on the opposite side of the map to see if you're hot or cold. Keep digging until you hear a clue, and use the process of elimination to find the treasure, digging as little as possible. Once you find the treasure for that level, you'll move onto the next level and do the same thing again, and so on, until you find all of the buried treasure in Monkey Palace.

The rules for the 1 Million Island Cash Giveaway are as follows (as per Treasure Isle Community Manager TerriHelper's post)


    "RULES:
    - Play Monkey Palace from Friday July 30 until Friday August 13 at 12:00 PM Pacific Standard Time GMT-8

    GRAND PRIZE
    - 1 Million Island Cash
    - There will be a store item that only the winner can buy

    HOW TO SUBMIT:
    - No sign ups or registration necessary
    - Just play and conquer Monkey Palace in the least amount of digs.
    - No need to sign up on the forums, however, we'd love to hear it. Share and show off your score."

Treasure Isle Dragon Sailboat: Build a new boat and sail away

I'm not sure about you, but my Treasure Isle island is brimming with construction projects. The newest one that I'm adding to my already lengthy 'To Do' list is the new Treasure Isle Dragon Sailboat.



When you login to the game, you'll get a pop-up notifying you about the Dragon Sailboat, and you'll have to option to place it in the water or put it into storage. Once you have the docks for the boat in place, you will spend a total 20 energy building the frame:

Create Frame (5 Energy)
Build Support (5 Energy)
Mount Posts (5 Energy)
Clear Deck (5 Energy)

Once the frame is ready, then you'll need to start begging friends for parts. The ship requires the following materials:

    5 Planks
    5 Rope
    5 Cloth
    5 Resin
    5 Nails




You can collect these materials in several ways:
1. Ask friends to send them via a Facebook Wall post
2. Receive them as Free Gifts from friends
3. Buy them using Island Cash

PetVille Designer Dogs: Doggie day bed gift coming tonight

PetVille designer dogs daybed
If you've been following our coverage of the Designer Dogs collection in PetVille, you already know that a total of four dogs have been released on the game's gift page. Tonight at midnight Pacific Time, a new doggy Day Bed will be released. This Day Bed will also be a gift, just like all of the dogs so far. We don't know the full details on this bed yet, since it hasn't yet hit the gift page.

We think it's pretty generous of Zynga to release these dogs and accessories for free on the gift page. Could PetVille be seeing a decline in activity, causing its developers to pull out a "Hail Mary" feature to bring players back in? Or is Zynga just feeling particularly thoughtful? We'll have to see what comes next!

Check the PetVille gift page tonight at 12:00 PDT to be one of the first to send this bone-afied present.

PetVille Labor Day weekend contest gives away the whole kingdom

PetVille Enchanted Kingdom weekend giveaway
PetVille is a bustle of activity this Labor Day weekend! Late Friday night, players were informed that there is a big weekend giveaway to participate in. One lucky winner will win the entire Enchanted Kingdom collection, all for free. This is a huge opportunity to save a lot of coins and Pet Cash, and we're sure whoever is chosen will be one happy PetVille fan for life. This would also allow players to bypass having to open up their Enchanted Kingdom Magic Door, so this could be a huge help.

To enter the contest, it couldn't be easier. Simply log into PetVille and you will automatically be entered. As you are loading in, the screen will tell you that you have been entered into the contest, and to come back tomorrow to enter again. You can only enter the contest one time per day. The winner of the contest will be announced on Tuesday, September 7th, so you have two more days to get your entries in.

Fashion World now provides storage for shop goods

Fashion World, Metrogames' clothing store management game has just released a feature that makes players happy in just about any Facebook game - storage! There is now room in a storage box for any decorations, accessories, and furniture that your store may have accumulated but be unable to accommodate.

To access the new storage option, click on the cardboard box icon in the main game toolbar at the bottom of your clothing store. This will open up your storage box, showing you all of the available slots for storing items. At this time, it seems like there is plenty of space available and no option to upgrade. To place an item in storage, click on the item with your storage box open. You will then see a popup menu with the option to Move, Rotate, or Store. Click on "Store" to put the item in your storage box.

To remove an item from your storage, simply click on it and drag it out into the desired location in your store. Easy as can be! Players should be thrilled that their Fashion World store no longer needs to be cluttered with decorations that aren't being used. No one likes to shop in a messy store!

Tall Tree Games Candy Shop leaves our sweet tooth wanting more

Tall Tree Games, developers of popular games Garden World and Fish World, have just released a brand new game titled Candy Shop. While this game aims for the over-the-top cuteness that other baking and cooking games boast, Candy Shop sort of misses the mark.

When you first log in, you will not be greeted with a tutorial. Only a simple bobbing arrow prompts you to click on the electric mixer to collect and display your finished Chocolate Squares. After that, there is nothing to help guide you into the gameplay. If you are familiar with other baking games such as Cupcake Corner, Cafe Life or Cafe World, this will all be very easy to understand. However, if I were new to the genre of baking games I would be completely lost on what to do next.

Candy Shop uses the same exact game mechanics as our favorites, Chocolatier, Baking Life, and Cafe Life. Your candy machines allow you to make different recipes that unlock as you level up. Making a recipe involves clicking the machine several times to progress your candy to the stage where it needs to wait a set amount of time until it is ready. After ready, the candy must be clicked on to move it to a display before it spoils. On display, your candy sells to the patrons who visit your store. The goal of the game is to level up, make money, and decorate your candy shop.

Graphically, there is nothing wrong with Candy Shop. They opted to go with a more realistic looking avatar than the cartoony Baking Life, which kind of makes it them clash with the bubbly cutesy interior graphics. The player avatar isn't customizable at all, and doesn't move around the shop as far as we could tell. The interface is rather standard, with nothing particularly hard to understand or innovative. Socially, Candy Shop isn't doing anything new. Players have neighbors to visit, can share their candy with people on their wall, and can send gifts.

While Candy Shop appears to be doing everything right, we don't see anything unique or innovative in this game. Literally everything about the game is being done in other games, and most often is done better elsewhere. There is no element of user creativity beyond simple decoration (for example, the Cupcake Creator in Baking Life), the core game loop is just more of the same. While some might say we're being a little rough on this game, this particular developer has two other games under its belt that saw huge early growth followed by massive declines. We would have hoped that Tall Tree would be more comfortable with bringing something new and exciting to the Facebook games space.

To conclude, if you're looking for yet another baking/cooking game to add to your arsenal, give Candy Shop a go. However, a lack of anything innovative has Candy Shop leaving us desiring more than it can offer.

Play Candy Shop on Facebook Now >

FarmVille Mule arrives in the market

    farmville mule
Open up the market in FarmVille, head to the animals tab, and you'll find yourself looking at the limited edition Mule. Don't be fooled though, this new addition to the market doesn't mean its for sale. Notice that the Mule, despite being in the market doesn't have a price or a buy button. Clicking the "Get" button will take you to FrontierVille in order to complete the FarmVille FrontierVille quest. Only by completing this quest can you earn a FarmVille Mule.

Hurry though, it will only be available for four more days.

Learn more about the Frontier/FarmVille quest and how to earn a Mule >

FarmVille Dog Toys and Items show pups some love

FarmVille dogs are truly a farmer's best friend. Ever loyal, they never stop following us around our farms, helping where they can. They never question, never complain, and they're quick to cheer us up with a cute trick. Friends, it's about time we sent some love back to our FarmVille dogs.

Continue reading to see the FarmVille Dog Toy and learn more about the dog items.
farmville dog toy
Ifarmville dog toyn the market are four new dog items:

    Toy Bone - 4 Farm Cash
    Water Bowl - 4 Farm Cash
    Red Water Bowl - 5 Farm Cash
    Dog Toy - 5 Farm Cash


If you've ever owned a dog, you must agree that the Dog Toy has 'huge mess' written all over it. I don't know about yours, but my dog, Max, would have torn that thing to shreds in a matter of minutes, leaving little bits of cotton all over my house. Awesome. Not to mention the Bone Toy, which would have been devoured in under an hour.

Note: All of the dog items are purely decorative. Sadly, your pup will not drink from the Water Bowl, munch on the Bone Toy, or tear up the Dog Toy.

Restaurant City Oktoberfest welcomes Molasslehoff and other Deustchlanders for a bier

In the spirit of the world's favorite month to drink frothing brew and munch on sizzling bratwurst, Playfish has introduced the Oktoberfest Theme to Restaurant City. Joining the usual bier maidens and schuhplattler dancers is Molasslehoff, because no German celebration is complete without a Hoff parody.

Join us behind the cut for a full list of the items you'll find to turn your cafe into a full-blown brauhaus, but remember to look out for the Frau-lein this Sunday who can serve drinks faster than any other server.
List of Oktoberfesst Decorations
First things first, if you want a traditional brauhaus, you can't just throw in a Wurst and Sauerkraut Stall and call it day. It needs to look the part, so here are all the pieces from the Oktoberfest theme starting with furniture:

Furniture:

    Oktoberfest Bench: 1,200 coins
    Oktoberfest Table: 1,400 coins
    Oktoberfest Door: 1,200 coins
    Oktoberfest Banner: 1,500 coins
    Oktoberfest Tile: 65 per tile
    Timberframe Wallpaper with Banner: Free through gifting
    Timberframe Wallpaper: 950 coins per
    Wurst and Sauerkraut Stall: 15 Playfish Cash, earns 850 coins every four hours
    Oktoberfest Basket: 1,000 coins
    Oktoberfest Side Table: 1,200 coins
    Accordian Hanging Pillar: 3,200 coins
    Bavarian Platter: 3,800 coins
    Bavarian Fireplace: 55,000 coins (unlocks at Level 48)



Decorations:

    Fake Bear Rug: 6 Playfish Cash
    Oktoberfest Arch: 7 Playfish Cash
    Clarinet Player: 7 Playfish Cash
    Accordian Player: 8 Playfish Cash
    Molasslehoff: 10 Playfish Cash
    Schuhplattler Dancer: 12 Playfish Cash
    Oktoberfest Bandstand: 12 Playfish Cash
    Stein: Free through gifting
    Edelweiss: Free through gifting
    Tuba Player: 9,000 coins

For a grand total of 79,515 coins and 77 Playfish Cash, or about $15 USD, you can have the complete Oktoberfest set. So, get to it if you want to have the full set before it all goes away come November, but just remember to save some cash to fill that real stein sometime this month.

FarmVille Costumes let players dress up on the job

           
We all know how mundane working the land can be sometimes. It can be tedious when our fuel supply is low, frustrating when our crops whither, and annoying when we don't have enough Farm Cash. We could really use something to spice up those endless hours spent out in the fields. Fortunately, FarmVille is releasing a collection of crazy costumes for our avatars. So while you won't be able to skimp out on your farm chores, you can at least do them in an astronaut suit.

All we know about the FarmVille costumes is that they're coming soon, probably right around Halloween. Only these four costumes have been spotted so far: Bee, Astronaut, Fantasy, and Devil.

Check back here for more info on the FarmVille costumes.

FarmVille Black Forest Horse & Foal arriving with glam metal hairstyles

       
In all my years I've never seen a horse with such a beautiful mane. The Black Forest Horse and Foal feature long flowing platinum blond locks that all but obscure their vision. As a result though, we can't help but notice the uncanny resemblance the FarmVille Black Forest Horse has to the glam metal look, popular back in the 80s.

In my opinion, this unreleased Black Forest Horse belongs right along side the members of Twisted Sister. Similarly, the FarmVille Black Forest Foal would look completely natural up on stage with Bret Michaels and Poison. Not to mention, with a little more makeup, either one of these horses could easily hang with Kiss up on stage. They already have black coats and gnarly head banging hair; a little more fire breathing and they would be perfect.

Look for these horses and their luscious glam metal locks to arrive around Halloween.

Continue reading to see them in action.
[Images via FV Fan & Wikipedia]

Mafia Wars Haunted Halloween Missions: Crash the Mayor's Halloween Party

Zynga will be spooking up Secret Missions in Mafia Wars this weekend, and just in time for Halloween. This missions will operate just like normal Secret Missions, but with a haunted twist. Players will have to team up in order to complete these missions for some more Halloween-themed items like the Exploding Pumpkin and Supercharged Hearse. According to the Mafia Wars Blog, these missions will contribute to your Missions Achievements progress.

So, now's your chance to get some more rare Halloween-themed loot and get started on your Missions Achievements. Stay tuned to Mafia Wars this weekend when these missions finally go live through Oct. 31.

FarmVille, Facebook game addiction runs rampant in recent headlines

Over the past year, Facebook gaming addiction has turned into a hot-button topic as we've been bombarded with news headlines about mothers neglecting their children while playing FarmVille and other games. Studies have also shown that fifth of all social gamers consider themselves hooked on these games, treating it as their drug of choice to escape reality.

There is little to no empirical evidence of psychological addiction to social games or games in general, the American Medical Association says, but when these sometimes shocking stories start to make headlines, it's hard not to wonder if there's more to the story.

If this is the case, who's to blame? Some experts point to the games' creators for creating games designed to get players hooked, others cite personal responsibility as the answer.

We'll let you draw your own conclusions, but take a look at how the alleged epidemic has spread over the past year:

October 2009:

Teens 'Addicted' to FarmVille; We Are Too

Nurses Ditch Patients for FarmVille

December 2009:

Google Real-Time Search reveals rampant FarmVille addiction

De-motivational posters designed to curb FarmVille addiction

January 2010:

Addicted to FarmVille! Dr. Phil scolds mom for tending to crops, not family

March 2010:

FarmVille freak: Bulgarian politician fired for farming on the job

May 2010:

When the local news looks at "Farmville addiction"

August 2010:

FarmVille freak hooks up computer to treadmill

September 2010:

ABC's Good Morning America asks, 'Why are women obsessed with FarmVille?'

Social game-addicted mother neglects children, starves dogs to death

Facebook users: 55% play social games, 19% say they're addicted

October 2010:

'Social games are designed to be addictive,' says internet rehab founder

Newsweek rates Facebook's 'most addictive games', the most fun epidemic in years

FarmVille-addicted mom shakes baby to death

Cute Game of the Day: Pussycat Frenzy

Can you tell that I just got a cat? The cat game hits just keep on coming! Pussycat Frenzy is a bit more difficult than the prior Cute Games of the Day. Your job in this flash game romp is the feed, play and clean up after each cat on the screen. Sounds easy huh? Not so fast my friend! In your way are dogs that chase your cats away and an ever increasing number of cats under your care. When you are trying to herd 4-5 cats the game can get tricky in a hurry! Oh and did I mention that the game is timed? Yeah, its hard.

Click here to play Pussycat Frenzy -->

PetVille's Haunted Mansion Set updated with creepy animations

Haunted Mansion Animated Items
While PetVille's Add Commentreleased earlier this month with a slew of eerie items like Grandma Ghost, Zynga decided that they just weren't spooky enough. So, the team has updated a few of the items already featured in the Haunted Mansion Set with new animations that are sure to spice things up in your pet's home this Halloween. Unfortunately, no mention has been made whether Zynga will refund those who paid for the original versions of these items (it's doubtful).

Like normal with PetVille's animated items, each one costs a set amount of Pet Cash and some are only available for a limited time--just over four days to be exact. Adding a googly-eyed, tentacled monster, a ghostly piano and a bloody guillotine that drops of its own accord to your room will ensure you've hit just about every horror trope under the full moon.

Find a sneak peek of these limited edition items after the break and make a decision quick as these are set to disappear forever come Nov. 1.
Trap Door and Guillotine
Mysterious Trap Door and Heartless Guillotine (left to right)

Piano
Haunted Piano

Trick-Treater Window
Trick-or-Treater Window

Find our Halloween 2010 guide on FarmVille, Mafia Wars and more right here.

What do you think of these new animated items? If you've already purchased the original versions of these items, would you buy them again?

Chocolatier Giveaway: Get your hands on this tasty game

It's the Thursday before Halloween and we're celebrating by giving away free stuff to our dedicated fans. In the past, we've given away neat stuff like FarmVille T-Shirts, a Bejeweled Picture Frame, and Zynga swag. While that was great and all, this week we're going big and giving away a game: Chocolatier.

Continue reading to find out how to enter a free copy of Chocolatier for PC.
free chocolatier giveaway
You know a game is serious when it comes in a metal box. It just so happens Chocolatier comes in a metal case shaped like a box of chocolates. How much more awesome could it get?

Well, I guess I should tell you a bit about the game. In Chocolatier you'll run a factory producing delicious chocolate. Throughout the game, you will find rare ingredients, concoct new recipes, and outwit the competition to become a chocolatier extraordinaire. Sounds chocolaty... Enter to win below!
chocolatier free giveaway
To enter:

Step 1: Go to the Games.com Facebook fanpage: (http://www.facebook.com/gamescom).

Step 2: 'Like' the fanpage so you can see the latest Facebook game news, tips, and cheats.

Step 3: Enter the giveaway by heading to the fanpage and leave a comment telling us how much you love chocolate. What's your favorite brand? Do you like milk, dark or white? Maybe you prefer chocolate covered things (cherries, almonds, pretzels, etc). Any choco-holics out here? Let it all out on the fanpage.

(While I can always enjoy milk chocolate, lately I've been LOVING dark chocolate. I mean really really dark. For some reason it seems to have a fancy, gourmet taste. Droool...... Oh, I almost forgot, I love Reeses too haha.)

After a few days, we'll randomly select a winner, message them on Facebook for their address, and send them their free Chocolatier PC game. Sound easy enough?

Get started by heading to the Games.com fanpage to enter for the free Chocolatier game.

It Girl celebrates Harry Potter movie with new couture clothing

It Girl Harry Potter Outfits
Tomorrow brings the new release of the next installment of the Harry Potter movie series, and Crowdstar is giving players the option to show their house pride in It Girl for the launch. Four new items are available for purchase, and while they're not branded with Harry Potter specifically, you can definitely tell that they're for wizarding.

There is a new Good Wizard Jacket Set for 41 Facebook Credits, and a matching Good Wizard Schoolgirl Skirt for 20 Credits. And of course because not everyone is Gryffindor, an Evil Wizard Jacket and Schoolgirl Skirt for the Slytherin in all of us, available for 41 and 39 Facebook Credits respectively.

These new outfits are limited in quantity, with somewhere between 2000 and 2600 remaining. You'll definitely want to hurry up and buy your house outfit if you plan to dress up for the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows release tomorrow. As always, these limited edition couture items can be found by clicking on the "Store" button in the lower left corner of your game.

Happy Aquarium goes subzero with new Arctic theme

Happy Aquarium Arctic theme
It's snowing in winter fashion in many places around the world, and Happy Aquarium is embracing the chilly side of things with their new Arctic collection. A rather large set of items is now available to transform your fish tank into a freezing scene out of an episode of National Geographic, and if you're into snow and ice you will love this theme.

To set the scene, an Arctic Tundra or Winter Dream wallpaper will be the perfect backdrop to start decorating. The Arctic Tundra wallpaper has a limited quantity with just over 6,000 available as of this writing. There is also an Ice Slate Gravel for 29 Facebook Credits that has over 8,000 left.

For animals, the Ice Dolphin and Black Beluga are both pretty darn adorable and priced at 50 and 40 Facebook Credits respectively. Both of these are also limited, and the Black Beluga only has 1,000 left so you'll have to be quick if you want to have one floating around your aquarium. The Emperor Penguin is also a must have at 40 Facebook Credits.

Decoration-wise, you'll find tons of various ice mountains, sculptures, and glaciers in all different sizes and shapes. Many of these are available for coins, but there are a few that will require Facebook Credits. There is also an igloo for 230 coins which your fish will enjoy swimming in and out of.

This collection is large and fairly spread out, so it might take you awhile to find everything in the set. Make sure to check the "Specials" tab to find the majority of the Arctic items.

Icy Tower Facebook game debuts on iPhone and iPod Touch

Icy Tower is a Facebook game made by Free Lunch Design that is ancient in Facebook terms, having released in September of 2009. It has gained traction over the last few months and currently has 1.5 million monthly players. The game has now broadened its reach and spread to the Apple App Store with an iPhone and iPod Touch version. The iPhone version of the game is being marketed as a Digital Chocolate game, so it is clear there is some kind of partnership between the two companies for this title.

Icy Tower is a classic casual game, probably much better suited to a mobile device than Facebook. It's similar in play to the popular iPhone game Doodle Jump in that you have the ability to jump and control the direction of your character, and your objective is to reach the top of the tower. You go up and up, bouncing off platforms, avoiding enemies while passing your friends in rank. You're given the opportunity to brag about passing your friends, and accumulate a high score to share on your Facebook wall.
Icy Tower game

There are four towers available and you can play as 5 different avatars. There is a free version and a paid version available for $2.99 in the App Store, so you can give the game a try and see if you like it before buying it.

Social City's Thanksgiving 5 Days of Gifting reflects on first Turkey Day

Soon enough, all of us will be gorging on delicious food, but why? Playdom and Social City want us to remember why with its upcoming Thanksgiving Edition of 5 Days of Gifting. While the whole set is available now in the Raffle, soon you'll be to gift your friends items like the Native Villages, Pilgrim Towns and a Pilgrim Hall. But why would you want to pay 4 City Bucks a spin when they'll be here for free in just a few days?

The items will, just like normal, be spread out over a period of five days. Each day you'll have a chance to give and receive one item. After that, the item will no longer be available and you'll miss out on the grand prize, so remember to log in.

Collecting all five gifts will reward players with the Thanksgiving Feast (22,000 Happiness), a item featuring Native Americans and the Pilgrim settlers working together under a massive cornucopia to create the greatest feast to ever occur on American soil. Well, on what would eventually be American soil, but you get the point.

Treasure Isle hikes up fishing bait prices by tenfold

Treasure Isle new Basic Bait and Good Bait prices
Everyone's gone fishin' in Zynga's newest fishing feature in Treasure Isle. We're into our 4th day now, and the fun hasn't stopped. It's simple to understand and easy to play. There's plenty of new content to discover and lots of rewards to be earned. But our honeymoon with the new feature seems to be moving a bit too fast, which is the only way to explain why Zynga has decided to increase the prices on fishing bait at the store.
Treasure Isle Sunken Treasures Magic Bait
Basic Bait debuted on Monday, selling at 625 Coins for a 25 batch. Also selling as a 25 batch was the Good Bait, priced at 2,500 Coins. Now, the price has been multiplied by ten, so you need 6,250 Coins for 25 Basic Bait, and 25,000 Coins for 25 Good Bait! We know they aren't trying to gouge us for real dough here, because at least the prices for the premium baits, Special Bait (9 Island Cash for 5) and Magic Bait (25 Island Cash for 5), haven't changed. These baits also won't help you nab the same kinds of fish that the regular baits do, so they're not in competition with each other. The premiums just let you have access to rare fish with higher awards.

On the upside, the game does contain a few other ways to earn free bait, so this sudden price hike shouldn't hurt players much. For starters, every Level 1 Fish Mastery gets you one free Basic Bait! Ok, that isn't too awesome, but look, the Sunken Treasure awards actually offers free Magic Bait as a prize! And as a bonus, after you grab it, you can share one with your friends. Now doesn't that just beat all?

Treasure Isle Holiday Theme begins with Gingerbread House Relic & Holiday Tree

If you're ready to celebrate the Holiday season in Treasure Isle, you'll be happy to know that Zynga has launched not one, but two holiday-themed events in the treasure-hunting game.

The first is a new buildable relic, in the form of a Gingerbread House. You'll be able to gather items like Gingerbread, Gumdrops and even Frosting to build the foundation and eventually the walls and roof of this Gingerbread House, but we'll get to more of that later. The other new event is the Holiday Tree event, similar to that launched in FarmVille, that will see you collecting presents to put underneath your tree, that can then be redeemed for all sorts of cool goodies.

Meet us behind the break for an in-depth look at both the Gingerbread House relic, and the Holiday Tree collection event.

First, let's look at the Gingerbread Relic. Every user will be given a free Gingerbread House base when they login to the game. You can either use this relic base right away, or, if you're like many users, and have run out of room on your Home Island for such a large item, you can store it in your gift box until you have done a bit of rearranging to have the room required to place it. Either way, you won't lose the item, so don't fret.

Once placed, you'll need to collect building ingredients, just like with all of the other relics. In this case, though, some of the items are holiday themed, as you'll be collecting not only Dye and Fire (presumably for the cooking needed to bake the Gingerbread House), but also Gingerbread, Gumdrops, and Frosting. The first levels of construction sees you building the foundation of the house, and requires just one of each item.

There are four stages of building in all, each one requiring more and more of each of the five ingredients. You can ask your friends for help in gathering these ingredients by clicking on the "Ask for More" button associated with each item, which allows you to post an item request to your wall, or you can simply buy the ingredients outright for 1 Island Cash each. Remember, if you want to ask your friends for help, the game allows you to have five active ingredient requests on your account at once, so if you want to ask for every ingredient at once, go right ahead.

As for the Holiday Tree, it will also be given to you for free when logging into the game. This is a smaller item, requiring just a small square of land on your Home Island. In a clever move, the tree starts out looking exactly like Charlie Brown's Christmas Tree - the famous branch with a red ornament causing it to sag.

Clicking on the Holiday Tree will allow you to view the internal menu of present collection event, where you'll see the six goodies that are available to earn by collecting presents. If you're at all familiar with the FarmVille Holiday Tree event, you'll know what to expect here.

You can click on the "Ask for Presents" button to be taken to a reverse of the game's free gifts page, where you can ask individual friends to send you a present, rather than posting a general plea on your wall (the current method is much preferable, believe me). You can also send presents to your friends voluntarily by choosing the Present from the game's free gifts page.

Once you start collecting presents, you'll be able to trade them in for fun decorations, or functional items that will help you progress in the game. You'll need just 6 presents to start earning items. Here are the full list of prizes, along with their costs:

Fruit Cake - 6 Presents
Street Lamp - 10 Presents
1 of Each Gem - 12 Presents
Building Materials - 20 Presents
McLovin' (a cute dog wearing a Santa hat) - 50 Presents
JD Turkleton - 75 Presents

It should be noted that the highest prize - the JD Turkleton is the same healable turkey that was released back in the Thanksgiving event (for free, mind you), so unless you missed out on the event entirely last month, you're better off saving your presents for other items.

If you don't have many Treasure Isle neighbors, or simply aren't earning presents quickly enough for your liking, you can buy them for Island Cash, at a rate of 2 Island Cash per one present, or 10 presents for 19 Island Cash, a 1 Island Cash discount on the bulk package. As you collect presents, no matter how you earn them, your tree will change shape, becoming more lush, taller, and elaborate, until it is eventually an entirely decorated tree, leaving the days of Charlie Brown's Christmas special in the dust.

As of this writing, this concludes the available Holiday activities in Treasure Isle, but one only need to look at the entire World Map to get a feeling for what's coming next. The North Pole section has been locked, with a "Coming Soon!" marking on it for weeks, nay, months now, and it would be more than disappointing if Zynga didn't capitalize on this downright perfect opportunity to unleash them on players. Santa, after all, lives at the North Pole - shouldn't we be able to visit him, and dig for holiday-themed treasures along the way? Hopefully Zynga has the same idea, and we'll be sure to let you know if that is indeed the case.

FarmVille Mystery Game (12/12/10): Red & green items for the holidays!

It's Sunday, and during the holiday season in FarmVille, that means update time. Tonight's update sees the expiration of the former Mystery Game, and the launching of another. In keeping with the Holiday Season, which is now in full swing, this week's Mystery Game contains a series of red and green items. Not only are these items red and green, but of course they go with the holiday theme to boot - aren't we so lucky!

This week's Mystery Game brings us back to the standard price of 16 Farm Cash per dart, if you'd like to take a chance at receiving one of this week's prizes. The confirmed prizes in this week's Mystery Game are:

Holiday Sleigh
Winter Bridge
Holiday Dining Table
Elf Pig
Red Panda

Some of you may recognize the names of some of these items, as we've given you FarmVille Sneak Peeks of them in the past (most recently the Elf Pig, which we first brought you a look at just yesterday).

This week's Mystery Game will be active until next Sunday, when presumably another installment, filled with another set of exclusive items (that is, found only in the Mystery Game) will be made available. Check back with us then to see what's inside!

FarmVille Tree Update: Sugar Plum Tree now available, Mint Candy Tree fixed

If you're a tree-lover, you'll be happy to know that there are two items to report on with tonight's FarmVille update. The first bit of news comes in the form of the official release of the Sugar Plum tree as part of the Winter Holiday theme of items, while the second sees Zynga apparently fixing the many issues associated with the recently released Mint Candy Tree.

First things first, the Sugar Plum Tree is now available to purchase from the store for 5 Farm Cash. Considering that this is a limited time tree, only available for the next 35 days as part of the Winter Holiday theme of items, the price is actually quite low. You can harvest the tree every 2 days, and you'll receive 150 coins in the process of doing so. Finally, the tree can be mastered, with the first star of mastery being available after 75 harvests.

In trying to figure out why the price of the Sugar Plum Tree is so low, perhaps it could be because the price of our next tree, the Mint Candy Tree, is so high. How are the two connected? The Mint Candy Tree is a level 2 tree, available from mystery seedlings, and reportedly also available from specific seedlings received when harvesting from an orchard that contains a Sugar Plum Tree. That being the case, the 5 Farm Cash price for the Sugar Plum Tree could help ensure that all users eventually get their hands on a Mint Candy Tree through the Mystery Seedling system, rather than having to pay 30 Farm Cash for the tree outright.

Speaking of this Mint Candy Tree, the problems that we detailed yesterday, that saw the tree being displayed as other kinds of trees in the store image, and then becoming entirely invisible when placed on a players farm, have now been fixed with tonight's update. Feel free to spend the 30 Farm Cash, if you simply can't wait for a Mystery Seedling to appear that may end up growing into one.

Interestingly, even though the Mint Candy Tree seems like it should be listed as a Winter Holiday limited edition offering, it is currently entirely white in the store, so it's presumable that it is in fact a permanent addition to the store, rather than something you'll need to rush to purchase. That's good news for farmers, as the lack of a limited edition branding will allow you more time to save up the necessary Farm Cash to purchase it (if you can concede to spending that much on one tree in the first place - I don't think I could).

Check out the rest of our Holiday 2010 coverage right here.

Did you already purchase a Mint Candy Tree in FarmVille? Did you see a change in your tree after tonight's update, or are you still receiving problems?

FarmVille Mini Candycane Pony & Mini Candycane Foal now available

This evening's FarmVille update brought with it some very interesting animal additions. Only one of these animals is actually available to purchase in the store, but horse lovers will know where to find the other.

Not to be confused with the Candy Cane Pony (or Candy Cane Foal) that first launched in the game last week, Zynga has launched the Mini Candycane Pony and the Mini Candycane Foal in FarmVille this evening. What's the difference between these two sets of animals, other than the fact that one is spelled "Candy Cane," and the other is spelled "Candycane" (we think it's odd too)? Simply put, the Mini Candycane Pony, and subsequently the Mini Candycane Foal are much smaller than their full-size counterparts that were released last week.

If you ask me, the miniature version of this red and white striped mammal is definitely cuter (look at that face!), but for that extra cuteness, you will find yourself paying two Farm Cash more than if you went with the full sized offering, bringing the mini pony to 26 Farm Cash. You'll gain a whopping 2600 experience points for purchasing the Mini Candycane Pony, and it can be harvested from every 3 days, offering you 84 coins each time.

Of course, you can place the Mini Candycane Pony inside your Horse Stable for a chance to spawn Mini Candycane Foal, which might just be one of the cutest things we've ever seen released in the game (it is pictured on the right in the image at the top of this post).

If you want to get your hands on a Mini Candycane Pony, you'll need to do so within the next 12 days, before the time limit in the store expires and you miss your chance at adding one of these cute animals to your farm.

FarmVille Holiday Avatar Costumes: Elf, Miss Santa, Penguin, Teddy Bears, & Ski Bunny

If you aren't satisfied with your avatar's current wardrobe in FarmVille, and want to make your farmer look a bit more seasonal, tonight's FarmVille update will allow you to do just that, with six (yes, six!) new options available to make your avatar as cute as can be through the holiday season and beyond.

The six new options all have something to do with either the Winter Holidays or just winter in general, but they interestingly come with a variety of expiration dates and even prices. Here are the list of newly available costumes:

Elf - 15 Farm Cash
Miss Santa - 15 Farm Cash
Penguin - 5 Farm Cash
Cream Teddy Bear - 5 Farm Cash
Tan Teddy Bear - 5 Farm Cash
Ski Bunny - 15 Farm Cash

As for how long they'll be available in the store, the Elf, Miss Santa, and Penguin costumes will expire from the store in just 12 days, while the two teddy bear options will be available for 19 days. The Ski Bunny costume will be available long after the holidays have passed (presumably due to the fact that it isn't exactly a holiday item), with an expiration date of 35 days from now.

Depending on the costume you purchase, you'll earn either 175 experience points or 525 experience points for purchasing one of these costumes - obviously the more the costume costs, the more experience points you'll earn.

I don't know about the rest of you, but some of these costumes are just too cute to bear (Get it? Bear? Bear costumes? Sorry...). I've already made my avatar look like the cutest little Penguin, and I think I'll go back for more costumes before everything is said and done. Will you join me?

New Year's Guide: FarmVille, FrontierVille, Cafe World & more

farmville frontierville cafe world new years facebook
Happy New Year's to all players of FarmVille, CityVille, FrontierVille, Cafe World and other Facebook games! Pat yourselves on the back, you made it through the entire 2010 Holiday Season. You survived Halloween, Thanksgiving, and the Holidays. Even more impressive is how you managed the bombardment of new Facebook game updates, features, and items that each holiday brought about. New Year's is no exception, there's new items and features in all of your favorite Facebook games, welcoming in the new year with style. So don't miss these 2011 New Year's Facebook game specials, they only come once a year.

Jump in to the 2011 New Year's Facebook game festivities below.


Jump to: FarmVille | FrontierVille | Cafe World

Note: The newest posts are at the bottom of each list. Posts in BOLD are the biggest New Year's updates.

farmville new years
FarmVille New Year's

    FarmVille Party Barn / New Year's Ball Drop Event: Everything you need to know
    FarmVille New Years Clothing: Tiaras, Top Hats, Party Dresses, and more!
    FarmVille New Years Tree: Confetti Tree
    FarmVille Winter Countdown: Everything you need to know
    FarmVille New Years Items: New Year Horse, Party House, Cider Fountain & More
    FarmVille Winter Countdown items revealed - here's what to expect over the next 11 days
    FarmVille New Year Animal: Disco Ball Sheep
    FarmVille Disco Ball Tree makes an appearance in the market
    FarmVille New Years Items: Fireworks I, II, III, & New Year Gnome
    FarmVille: Get ready for a New Years Double Mastery Weekend!




frontierville new years
FrontierVille New Year's

    FrontierVille New Years Party Goals: Everything you need to know
    FrontierVille Winter Collection: Everything you need to know
    FrontierVille New Years RSVP Prizes: Everything you need to know




Cafe World New Year's

    Cafe World New Years Party Goals: Everything you need to know
    Cafe World Prep for the New Year Mission: Everything you need to know
    Cafe World New Years Party Catering Order: Everything you need to know
    Cafe World: The Saga of the New Years Goals continues, but this time with free iPads!




playfish new years
Playfish New Year's

    Playfish's New Years Event Round-Up: Catch up with Restaurant City, Hotel City, Pet Society & More!

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

Partridge in a Pear TreeThe day has finally arrived. The final Goal of FrontierVille's 12 Days of Christmas series is here. And it's refreshingly, shockingly simple. "On the First Day O' Christmas," all you lucky pioneers have to do is scare one Bear, plant one Pear Tree and collect 10 Letters to Santa.

Simply chop down fully grown Pine and Oak Trees to make Bears appear and work your magic to scare them off. Pear Trees can be purchased from the Market for 972 coins and all you need to do for the 10 Letters to Santa is ask around. I know, the begging continues, but just think of the 1,000 coins, Fruitcake and Frozen Bear that await you as reward.

And, if you've been keeping up with these Goals, a Partridge in a Pear Tree will serve as your final reward for putting up with nearly two weeks worth of Goals. This tree will soon become your resident Food machine, producing three units of the good stuff and 2 XP every two hours. And, get this, it will never wither! I'd say that's a mighty handsome prize for the work. Now, off to the New Year.

Lunchtime Poll: Are third-party companion apps cheating?

Bonus Checker Cheating
Well, it depends on who you ask, really. Since Facebook games have surged in popularity, small-time developers have created several applications that, when used in conjunction with popular social games like FrontierVille and Mafia Wars, simplify certain aspects of said games. Take the infamous Bonus Checker, for instance. This app (at nearly 180,000 monthly users), which supports dozens of Facebook games but is most commonly known for use with FrontierVille, aggregates all of the bonuses that appear in your News Feed from friends. It then provides a quick link to reap the rewards, which eliminates plenty of time perusing through hours worth of bonus posts. But is that cheating?

One crowd seems to believe that applications like this oversimplify the game and give players who make use of them an unfair advantage over those who don't. Not to mention that many think these apps drain a primary social element from social games. The other group appears to feel that these applications only make the game easier for everyone to enjoy and that, because they're open to everyone, we all should use them liberally. Of course, some players won't care either way and continue their normal modes of play. But we want to hear your thoughts in the issue, which makes this the perfect opportunity for a lunchtime poll:

Push on Facebook: Set (lots of) time aside for this puzzling battle of wits

If you hadn't noticed, Facebook games are steadily becoming more polished, for sure. But they're also growing to be more challenging, deep and visually appealing. Push on Facebook is one of those games, but it's not without a few minor flaws. This competitive puzzle game, developed by Social Spiel is a fresh take on games like Chinese Checkers and Peg Solitaire and takes a great deal of ingenuity to play well in. Push plays almost exactly how it sounds. Players are supplied with Pops, cutesy little balls with eyes that act as the playing pieces on a hexagonal board filled with holes.

To defeat your opponent you must push three of their Pops off the edge of the board using strategic movements and coordination with your team of Pops. If three of your Pops get pushed off the board, it's game over for you and those Pops are toast for good. Trust us, you'll soon enough see that it's not as easy as it might sound.

Join us after the break for more of our impressions of Push.

Push in Action
Throughout the beginning of the game, you'll be guided by Pon Du Bear, a strangely pear-shaped bear that has an affinity for post-modern furniture and high-heel boots. It's this odd creature that will tell you that you can move up to three Pops at a time either sideways or in a straight line by clicking on the Pops and then selecting their destination. It takes one more Pop than the amount of Pops you're trying to push in order to push them back one space in direction you're trying to move them. For instance, if you're trying to move one Pop, you'll need two of your own Pops to push it. If you want to move two of your opponent's Pops, you'll need three in a row to make it happen.

While the gameplay sounds simple enough, it's working against an opponent's wits that makes Push challenging. Opposing players and AI opponents alike are going to catch on to what you're up to rather quickly, forcing you to corner their Pops using feint moves and smart positioning. Unless you have a knack for puzzlers, you're going to use far more than just two Pops to push one enemy Pop off the edge.

Ranked matches, or games of Push with players in real time that contribute to a global leader board, are another beast entirely. This is because, in respect of the opposing player, you only have about 30 seconds to make each move. While you're given two time-outs, meaning you take longer than the 30 seconds to make a move (shifting the turn to your opponent), your third means game over. However, Pops double as the game's currency, which when bought in excess from the Pop Shop using Facebook Credits can be used for special powers in ranked matches.

Push Ranked Match
There are three powers to choose from: Teleport, Double Move, and Revive. Teleport allows you to move a Pop in danger to any location on the board while Double Move allows you to make two moves in one turn. Revive does just as it sounds: brings one pushed Pop back onto the playing field. Each runs on a cooldown, meaning you can't use them every turn, and cost 60 Pops each. While the game supplies players with 15 free Pops daily, big spenders could easily dominate games using these powers, somewhat trivializing the ranked system.

However, if you're just looking to add a few friends to play around with in real time and flex that thinking muscle a bit, this is a fine place to do just that. Just make sure you have a lot of time to put aside for a match as equally matched players could potential duke it out for hours, which isn't exactly what Facebook games are all about. Regardless, it's Facebook games like Push--you know, the ones that require thinking--that do well to give the genre a good name.

Games.com's Top 10 Facebook Games of 2010

top ten facebook games 2010 games.com
This year has been both a turbulent time and a renaissance for social gaming. The first half of 2010 showed immense growth and opportunity for almost everyone involved in this brave new world of gaming. There were multiple stories of buyouts and new development studios cropping up at least once a month for quite a while with new games being released twice as often. And even in the midst of drastic changes to the way we discover games, developers kept cranking out hits with tens of millions of players flocking to the social game of the week. While most of these games competed for the same audience using slightly perfected design each time, there were a few that dared to be different and tread new ground. And with that, we've present our back at our Top 10 Facebook Games of 2010.

top ten facebook games it girl
10. It Girl
Crowdstar
For girly girls who want to get their shop on without opening their wallet, It Girl from Crowdstar is the way to do it. Customize your very own It Girl and then take her shopping, doll her up and then flirt to find a boyfriend. Use your style prowess to win showdowns against other It Girls. It's The Hills meets the Kardashians meets a Facebook game (if you're into that sort of thing). Even if you're not a fashionista, you'll be surprised at how easily this game sucks you in.


top ten facebook games mighty pirates
9. Mighty Pirates
Crowdstar
Hunt for treasure by digging, chopping, and slashing your way through tropical islands, searching for goods and fighting off the undead. Deck out your ship with crew members, weapons, and decorations. Then take your deadly war vessel out on the high seas and do battle with the meanest pirates the world has to offer. There are a number of pirate games on Facebook, but Mighty Pirates distinguishes itself from the rest with its epic mixture of action and adventure.


top ten facebook games robot unicorn attack
8. Robot Unicorn Attack
Adult Swim Games
"Always, I wanna be with you, and make believe with you, and live in harmony, harmony oh love!" If you know the song, you certainly know the game. This addictive, simple, two-button platformer starring a unicorn that zaps enemies with rainbow beams made a seamless transition from Adult Swim Games to Facebook. With weekly tournaments, leaderboards, and of course the new Heavy Metal Version, Robot Unicorn Attack will continue to capture our imaginations and our free time for many moons to come.


top ten facebook games flutter
7. Flutter
Runaway
Reminiscent of high-concept video games like Flower and flOw, Flutter brings a refreshing approach to social gaming with a heavier focus on exploration rather than maintaining a farm, city or other type of property. Flutter's smooth animation, soothing music and extremely detailed visuals are a sight to behold as you guide butterflies through a rainforest interacting with wildlife and completing quests. In what might be a first for social games, there's no pressure to be the best in Flutter, just be.


top ten facebook games city of wonder
6. City of Wonder
Playdom
Until the recent release of CityVille, City of Wonder was our favorite 'city' game out there -- mostly because it's the closest a Facebook has come to recreating one of our all-time favorite PC games, Civilization. You start out building a city and, while keeping your population growing (and happy), you learn new skills that will enable you to trade with and/or go to battle with other civilizations. Make allies to fortify your city and be prepared for enemies attack -- you'll need might and mettle if you want to give it back.


top ten facebook games pocket god
5. Pocket God
Frima/Bolt
The game that made a name for itself on the iPhone got ported to Facebook and managed to keep its main premise in tact -- you play a vengeful god to an island of pygmies -- while adding in some clever social elements (like being able to turn friends into pygmies and kill them) and a slew of brand new powers. Let the pygmy torture commence.


top ten facebook games ravenwood fair
4. Ravenwood Fair
LOLApps
Deep within the mysterious, dark forest of Ravenwood, a fun fair is under construction. Build rides, decorate your world and build games to attract friendly animal folks to your fair. But be wary, evil lies in the forest. Abandon your fair for too long and those creepy trees you originally beat back will slowly reclaim their home. Though Ravenwood Fair was struck by controversy and shares a lot in common with FrontierVille and other Facebook games; its charm, simple features and cute fantasy setting make the world of Ravenwood one worth returning to again and again.


top ten facebook games cityville
3. CityVille
Zynga
We all knew that Zynga's last release for 2010 was going to be huge regardless, but to dethrone FarmVille in monthly players in less than a month? That, for lack of a better word, is insane. Though, CityVille sure does deserve it for taking the stale city-building game and making it fresh through more social features than you can shake a friend request at. While the game's Reputation system and Franchises are nothing new (see FrontierVille and Millionaire City, respectively), Zynga gave them their signature polish to attract close to 78 million monthly players in December alone.


top ten facebook games zuma blitz
2. Zuma Blitz
PopCap
Let's face it -- PopCap's "Blitz" approach to Facebook gaming just works. Zuma Blitz is no exception, bringing back the gameplay that folks on the run crave for combined with the lasting satisfaction of traditional social games. Being pressured into scoring as many points in 60 seconds as possible demands quick skill and critical thinking that most social games don't even bother making a crack at. Top it all off with weekly tournaments, leader boards and impressively smooth gameplay for one of Zynga's most formidable opponents.


top ten facebook games frontierville
1. FrontierVille
Zynga
Zynga's Wild West game FrontierVille took us off the farm and plopped us down in the middle of a wilderness that we had to tame and turn into a thriving frontier town. Aside from the fact that we love Fr'ville's setting, the real reason this rootin' tootin' game sits at the top of our list is because it was one of the first Facebook games to integrate a series of quests, introduced us to characters and reminded us how fun it is to pick up stars, coins and other loot that drops after performing an otherwise mundane task. Oh yeah, and then there's the game's racy Facebook wall messages that give us a good laugh (and always manage to raise an eyebrow or two). FrontierVille set a new standard in social gaming, and we're already starting to see other games (CityVille, Ravenwood Fair) follow the same trail that this pioneering game blazed before them.

Unreal-powered mobile games could go social with Facebook Connect

Soon, it won't just be our tiny, cutesy farms that get all the attention on Facebook. (It'll be our tiny, axe-wielding warriors.) Epic Games has released the next version of its Unreal Development Kit for iOS, and it includes new iOS Facebook Connect features along with various visual enhancements. In other words, beautiful 3D mobile games with looks of Infinity Blade could very well go social in the future.

More specifically, the new Unreal Engine for iOS will support Facebook wall posts, the ability to download friends lists and requests for additional Facebook permissions from a user. Yup, those sound like the classic trappings of a Facebook game, all right. This news marks just another move by Epic Games toward the mobile, social and casual games space.

Just recently, the developer/publisher/engine licensor brought a less visually intense version of the Unreal Engine 3 to Flash. In theory, this could result in Facebook games--most of which are created in Flash--taking on shiny new 3D graphics. Come to think of it, this news marks a shift for the industry in general. When a technology that has become nearly ubiquitous in the traditional games scene recognizes mobile, social and casual, so to will the creators. Are you ready for Facebook frag fests?

Mystery Manor to puzzle iPad gamers, Resort World chills on Google+

Instead of excitedly prodding your laptop screen accidentally during that intense session of Mystery Manor, you'll soon be rewarded for that. (But you'll still have a smudgy screen.) Russian developer Game Insight has announced that Mystery Manor is coming to iPad later this month, Inside Social Games reports. Better yet, Resort World is available on Google+ Games, too.

While we'd expect the former to hit Google+ Games, considering the lack of hidden-object games on the platform, but Game Insight VP of Business Development Darya Trushkina told ISG that both Google+ and Android could be in the game's future. Resort World was chosen first for its Google+ Games expansion as a test of sorts. The developer will decide whether it will continue releasing games to Facebook's growing competitor within the next few weeks.

"From what I know, Google choose the games that will be the most complimentary to their platform," Trushkina told ISG. "We just pitched them with Resort World because there is no game like it there yet. It's actually perfect because we can test the social network and see how it actually performs."

Resort World marks the 21st game to launch on Google+ Games, which Trushkina hopes will grow in time. However, Trushkina's words are more revealing about Google's policy on how games arrive on its games platform. The company has been rather picky in which games its allows through Google+. Game Insight also revealed that a new game, Lords of Atlantis, may soon hit Facebook and other social networks.

PlayStation Home renovations make 'a true social game platform'

The idea of PlayStation Home was always an intriguing one: Rather than simply log into a service, go to a more literal destination to connect with your game friends. While Home has enjoyed 24 million users worldwide, Sony hasn't exactly capitalized on that healthy player base. Since its launch in 2008, the company has listened to feedback, and here we have the new Home, "a true social game platform," Sony says.

Now, wait a minute, we thought social games were reserved for social networks or at least connected to them. Well, consider this Sony ... redefining the term "social network." The new core of PlayStation Home is the aptly-named Hub, which serves as the main place for PS3 gamers to socialize in real time through their avatars.

This Hub also provides players with quests that span a number of new free-to-play games and community events through the Activity Board. The Hub, as its name implies, also connects players to the various districts of Home:

        Action District: A gathering place for hardcore gamers, the Action District has a gritty, urban feel reminiscent of a first-person shooter level and provides a direct travel point to action and horror games.
        Sportswalk: The Sportswalk has an exciting outside-the-stadium feel with instant major league sports scores, headlines and highlights and sports-themed games.
        Adventure District: At the launch of the PlayStation Home redesign, the Adventure District will present the Uncharted 3: Fortune Hunter total game integration event, providing a third-person adventure experience including a partial recreation of the Yemen level from Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception multiplayer mode and a cover-based shooting system complete with weapons and gameplay inspired by the hit series. Players can unlock content that can be used in the Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception Blu-Ray Disc game as well as additional PlayStation Home rewards.
        Pier Park: A waterfront boardwalk leads players to carnival, puzzle, outdoor and arcade games. Take a ride on the Pier Park Ferris wheel or visit the arcade for more games.
        PlayStation Home Theater: The PlayStation Home Theater features an ultra-modern architectural design and hosts a wide range of videos programmed specifically for PlayStation gamers, including episodes of Pulse and Qore, trailers and interviews from the PlayStation Blog, and exclusive user-generated videos in the popular Community Theater.
        PlayStation Home Mall: The PlayStation Home Mall is loaded with thousands of pieces of content from some of the most popular games and entertainment in the world. Shop for PlayStation Home games, extravagant personal spaces, costumes, clothing items and other avatar enhancements, and tons more in the redesigned Mall.

PlayStation Home Cogs
But what sounds most "social" to us are the several new free-to-play games strewn across the new Home. These new games are supported by microtransactions, much like the Facebook games you likely play daily. However, most of these games certainly cater more to the traditional gamer, and here's why:

        Bootleggers '29: Set in the seedy underbelly of the Roaring Twenties, this PlayStation Home exclusive first-person shooter found in the Action District pits cops vs. criminals in a Prohibition-era game of Capture the Cask. Boasting real-time multiplayer action, a variety of vintage weapons and unlockable rewards, and the unique ability to play as your PlayStation Home avatar, Bootleggers '29 is a 100% free-to-play game that introduces a classic narrative to the modern shooter genre.
        PlayStation Home Hold 'Em: A series of backroom poker tables hosted in the brand new Sportswalk district, PlayStation Home Hold 'Em squares players off in a no-holds-barred, winner-take-all battle of the bluffs. Only the best of the best will progress to the high stakes tables and collect all the prizes in this free version of the wildly-popular Texas Hold 'Em card game.
        PlayStation Home Sports Trivia: Test your sports expertise against the PlayStation Home community and unlock a series of themed rewards in this massive sports trivia game, found in the Sportswalk. Packed with over 10,000 trivia questions, this game will challenge the memories of even the most die-hard sports fans.
        RC Rally: Build and customize your own remote controlled car and race against friends over multiple courses, performing stunts and tricks and unlocking numerous upgrades along the way. This fast-paced PlayStation Home original game can be found in the new Pier Park.
        Cogs: A 3D version of Lazy 8 Studios award-winning Steampunk puzzle game, Cogs can be found front-and-center in PlayStation Home's new Hub. Build a variety of machines from sliding tiles and unlock exclusive PlayStation Home rewards in this highly-addictive puzzler.

PlayStation Home RC Rally
The new focus for Sony's PlayStation Home is the games, according to PlayStation Home director Jack Buser. However, we're still hung up on this whole "social" thing. (And not only with Home, but with that PS Vita, too.) Whether Home will better connect players through its increased focus on games will be seen starting tomorrow. PlayStation Home launches on the PS3 on Nov. 3, but until then, tease yourself with this trailer.

Gree vies for global takeover with mobile social game platform in 2012

Yeah, and so is everyone else. Gree announced its plans for a global mobile social game platform that is said to launch in mid-2012. The Japanese mobile social games giant plans to use OpenFeint to bridge the gap between Asian and Western gaming audiences in hopes of reaching 1 billion players. However, the company didn't say much of anything beyond that.

"This new platform allows our partners to focus on increasing engagement and revenue, while continuing to offer the most comprehensive free-to-play gaming experience," Gree International CEO Naoki Aoyagi said in a release. "The new platform will leverage OpenFeint and GREE assets and will bring together Western and Asian mobile social markets with a goal of reaching over one billion users."

Gree plans to release more details on the service this December, but said that its network in Japan grows at a rate of 3.8 new players per second. The company's main competitor is DeNA, the Japanese owner of ngmoco and the Mobage mobile social games network. Mobage is already available in the U.S. and other English-speaking countries on Android. However, both Zynga and EA--the largest social game makers in the nation--both already have a host of mobile games.

Let's not forget that the former has plans for a (somewhat) independent social games network, Project Z. We're almost certain that's going to extend to mobile devices, which would provide Gree and OpenFeint just one more competitor to worry about. We're not sure just what the duo is cooking up, but to come out on top of this healthy competition, it better be huge.

Ultima's Garriott: Zynga only exists because EA, Blizzard didn't step in

On the streets, we call that "finders keepers." Richard Garriott, creator of classic PC RPG (role-playing game) series Ultima and co-founder of social game maker Portalarium, said that Zynga merely beat the big time game creators to the punch. Speaking to IndustryGamers, Garriott said, "The only reason Zynga exists is because people like EA, people like Blizzard, failed to step in."

Well, we're sure the 200 million player-strong company sees this as a compliment to its industrial skills. Garriott believes that the creator of World of Warcraft--the most successful massively multiplayer game, um, ever--faces a greater threat from "the Zyngas of the world." And while Portalarium has since created casual casino games, Garriott says that its next game, Lord British's New Britannia (working title) will go straight for that audience.

"I think you'll see that the quality level that comes up through the casual games will rival the quality of traditional massively multiplayer games and then, because it's not something you have to subscribe to, because it's something that virally spreads, and especially because, as people churn out of a big MMO they've got to go somewhere," Garriott told IndustryGamers.

While that may turn out to be true, we've seen RPGs that target the core gamer flop again and again on Facebook. (Unless you're Kabam or Kixeye.) Garriott told IndustryGamers that he sees Blizzard as direct competition, which we imagine means he sees Zynga and EA in the same light. That said, it'll be interesting to see how Portalarium's first major game attracts an audience at such a scale.

Earn 2 FarmVille Farm Cash free from Gnomeo & Juliet promo

Here's an interesting way to get some free Farm Cash. Just open FarmVille and scroll below the game screen and click on the link that reads "Earn 2 Farm Cash. Play the Gnomeo and Juliet 'Find the Gnomes' game and get Farm Cash!" After that, a pop-up window will appear and take you into a simple poll accompanied by the film trailer, but it doesn't end there. Then, you'll need to find the seven gnomes featured in the movie on a FarmVille farm within just 20 seconds to earn your keep.

Don't worry, it's simple. Though, it did take me 14 seconds--I wonder what that's saying. And fret not, you do not have to reserve tickets for the movie to score your Farm Cash. You'll notice above that after finding the gnomes the page reads, "You've earned your Farm Cash." Just refresh the game every once in a while and your account should be awarded the free dough in a few minutes. And remember, this is the only safe way to earn free Farm Cash from a third party.

FrontierVille Chapel: Everything you need to know

Just when we started to think that we'd hit another drought in missions after completing the Groundhog Day missions in FrontierVille, Zynga has decided to officially kickstart the game's Valentine's Day event by launching a new, fairly romantic building in the game in the form of a Chapel.

The Chapel is a new constructable building that can be purchased from the store for around 500 coins (depending on whether or not you have the store discount activated in your game). You'll also need 100 woord to place its base on your Frontier. From there, you'll need to whack the base nine times, with each whack costing 5 wood (that's a total of 45 wood spent, on top of the base 100 purchase price).

The base completed, you'll need to collect a whopping 60 items, all of which are new to the game, in order to complete the construction on the Chapel. These items can be requested from friends in two different ways - meet us behind the break to see what those are.
You'll need to collect six different items in quantities of ten each. Three of these items - the Limestone, Stained Glass windows and Pews - can be collected by clicking on the "Ask Friends" button and then sending individual gift requests to your FrontierVille neighbors, while the other three items - Hope posters, Dreams and Wishes - can be requested by posting a general news item to your wall that you friends can click on in limited quantities.

Unfortunately, this isn't a case where you'll be able to ask for the latter three items all at once, so your best bet to a quick completion would be to look out for your friends' wall posts, when they ask for items that you currently haven't in order to fill in the gap of progress. As it stands, you should be able to post your first two requests within an hour of one another, so this gives you something to look out for in the meantime.

Once you complete the Chapel, you'll be able to craft new items inside (like a Choir Outfit and Pamphlet), with these items being used in the equally new set of FrontierVille Chapel Goals that were also released this afternoon. For a complete overview on how to complete those goals, including the prizes you'll receive for doing so, check out our guide.

FrontierVille Chapel of Love Goals: Everything you need to know

Along with the release of the new Chapel building project in FrontierVille comes a four-part goal series, appropriately titled "Goin' to the Chapel of Love." Apparently, the love that Miss Fanny Wildcat and Bess have started to feel for our man at the General Store, Hank, has culminated in a need for a church on our Homesteads, but who exactly will be getting hitched inside? Let's take a look at this four-part mission series to see if we can find some clues.

The first step of this goal series will show up for users automatically when logging into the game. As you'd expect, your first action should be to set the construction of your Chapel into full swing, and that is appropriately one of the tasks required for part one of four of this set.

Place Chapel on Homestead
Harvest 25 Squash
Have 25 Cloth

Earlier today, we gave you a complete rundown on the requirements you'll need to fulfill to build the Chapel - a complete set of 60 items - so check out our guide to its construction to learn more. As for the Squash, this is a six hour crop, but remember, you don't have to actually wait to harvest your ready crops to pass this task - simply have some of your FrontierVille neighbors visit your Homestead and water your Squash. This will count in the same way as if you had harvested the Squash after the full 6 hours.

Your rewards for completing part one are 100 XP and 100 coins. You'll be able to share a bonus of 25 XP with friends.

Meet us behind the break for a look at the rest of these missions.
Part II will require you to first complete the entire construction of your Chapel, even though that isn't technically a stipulation of the goal's completion. You'll also need to break out the hoe and watering cans once more (figuratively of course) and plant some more crops.

Customize the Chapel
Harvest 25 Cotton
Get 10 Paving Stones

Paving Stones can be received by asking your friends to send them to you, while the Cotton can be grown in the same way as any other crop, and completed just as quickly despite the fact that they technically take three days to grow. This is, more than ever, a real example of when using your friends to water your crops becomes a truly valuable gameplay strategy. Otherwise, you'll be stuck waiting for Cotton to grow for three days, or paying Horseshoes to more quickly complete the task, and who wants that?

Finish Part II and you'll be rewarded with 50 coins and 200 Food. You'll be able to share a Pamphlet item with your friends as a bonus (this item is one of the new constructable items inside the Chapel).

Part III puts that free Pamphlet from the last mission to good use, as you'll need to craft 10 Pamphlets inside the Chapel in order to complete the mission.

Craft 10 Pamphlets
Craft 10 Batter
Sell 10 Adult Pigs

Hopefully you still have some pigs around after completing the New Years Resolution goals (one of which required you to sell off 50 of them), as you'll need to have at least 10 Adult Pigs on hand to finish this step. Hopefully, if you read our guide before going into the Chapel goals, you'll be able to kickstart some Baby Pigs into a growth spurt before you even have this goal active on your Homestead. Meanwhile, the Batter can be crafted inside the Inn, with each Batter costing 20 Food and 900 coins.

These tasks completed, you'll receive a reward of 300 XP, and you'll be able to share 50 coins with your friends on you wall. You'll also be able to move onto the final goal in this mission series, which will turn your attention from the Chapel's grand opening to the supporting of the local choir.

Have 2 Bouquets
Craft 5 Choir Outfits
Have 10 Triangles

The Choir Outfits can be crafted inside the Church, while you'll be able to click on the "Ask" button to ask your friends for the ten Triangles. Most everyone should already have Bouquets on-hand, but if you don't, you can receive a single Bouquet from turning in the Wildflower Collection. Simply do this twice, and voila - the step is finished.

Finishing this final mission will give you 400 XP and 10 Cloth as a reward, and you'll be able to share a Chapel Hymnal with your friends. This is an item in the new Chapel Collection, and while it hasn't been made clear as to whether or not it will be needed in the future, it might be nice to have on hand all the same.

And there you have it - a fairly simple (all things considered) set of goals that most of you should be able to finish well before Valentine's Day proper rolls around. It still doesn't answer our question though - just who will be getting married? We can only assume that building this Chapel has been for some overarching purpose, and we can only hope that our assumption was correct. We'll make sure to let you know what ultimately ends up happening in our new Chapels as soon as we know more, so keep checking back.