FarmVille Pic of the Day: Roads to Duckula's Castle at Als2417's farm

Have you ever heard of the proverb or idiom, "All roads lead to Rome"? Well, folks used to mean it literally too, as the Romans had built more than 250,000 miles of roads to carry trade and troops across their once mighty empire. Here, on Als2417's FarmVille farm, it's clear that all roads lead to Count Duckula's Castle.

This incredible farm, which seems to be divided into five to six separate provinces, has the Count Duckula Castle at its heart. To the north is a fairy town that appears to be populated by fairy land and Lady Gaga items ruled by the King Castle (from the English Countryside event). Northeast of the castle, you've got the snowy peaks of last summer's Swiss Alps. To the west (where you can see a Dutch Windmill and three tall Candy Corn Trees) is a small, bustling town full of warm autumn colors, where even the buildings have brown to orange roofs. The ones with the darkest brown roofs -- Flower Cafe, German Home, and Clock Tower 2 -- are from the Germany event. Bordering the Germany town is a train and railroad tracks from the Wild West event. Below that, you'll find a fully built Haunted Mansion from last year's Halloween, including this year's Kraken Lake. And when you round that bend, you'll find an entire line of farm animals and what appear to be gnomes, lined up to the castle, possibly there to bring tribute to their quacking, blood-sucking feathered lord.

Did you know that "Count Duckula" is also the name of a 1980s British cartoon series? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment

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FarmVille Halloween Model Farm offers free Arborists and more

While I know I've expressed my problems with the Model Farm in FarmVille in the past, with the new Halloween Model Farm that launched this evening, I might have to eat my words. Not only is it great to see Halloween-themed items (from one of my favorite holidays) in all of their "life-size glory," but this particular Model Farm also combines these Halloween items with Lighthouse Cove items so that we can see how that looks without spending our own money beforehand.

To add to this, you're even given free prizes just for visiting, giving us even more incentive to do so. Tonight's free prize, for example, is an Arborist. While it's unclear as to whether or not that prize is static just for today's date on the calendar or for each user's first visit to the Model Farm, but either way, it doesn't hurt to just spend a few seconds allowing the farm to load each day to receive your free prize. It could be anything from functional items to coins and beyond so isn't the mystery alone enough reason to check it out?

No? Well, also remember that you can purchase items directly from the farm if you happen to see something you like but that the store never gave you enough detail to before. I suppose that's the real purpose of the Model Farm, after all, so feel free to put it to good use.

What prizes have you received from the new Halloween Model Farm? Do you find the Model Farm feature useful, or is it just wasted space in your eyes? Let us know in the comments!