Show your true colors with Treasure Isle flags

Treasure Isle Flags
Treasure Isle rolled out a set of 34 new animated flags today, and each one will be around for a limited time. These flags come perfectly timed with the FIFA World Cup 2010, and we're sure that isn't a coincidence. You can now represent your homeland (or your favorite team) by purchasing one of these bright and colorful flags. Each flag costs 12 Island Cash, which is definitely not cheap, especially for a simple flag (and let's face it, who wants to fly just one flag? We want a whole mess of flags on our islands). As an added bonus, buying a flag will give you 72 XP.

These flags vary from the United States, UK, and Australia, to more obscure flags such as Turkey and Thailand. They also through in a Zynga logo flag, a Treasure Isle logo flag, and an Earth flag. Not every Treasure Isle release is super exciting, and flags are definitely not a new invention in the social gaming world. Perhaps people will be motivated by the limited time availability, since these flags are only going to be purchasable for the next 5 days.

See the complete collection of the new Treasure Isle flags after the jump.

What flags are you flying on your Treasure Isle island?

Treasure Isle: What's going on with the new Mysterious Egg?

Treasure Isle Mysterious Egg
If you logged in to play Treasure Isle tonight, you may have noticed that a mysterious egg has randomly washed up on your island. Once you click "okay" on the initial popup when you first load in to your Home Island, you can then place the Mysterious Egg anywhere on your island. You can then click on the egg and "investigate it" however the only thing that occurs is a window with the following message:

    I wonder where to take this to hatch?


We're a little baffled by this, because that's it. There is no further details about what can be done with this egg. Players are trying to buy various items from the Market and place the egg inside to no avail. This truly is a mystery egg, because there does not appear to be any clues whatsoever about what this could be. After it is placed, the egg does occasionally float up and hover over the ground.


Our early prediction is that this egg will be taken to the Fire God Mountain and placed in the circle pictured above in front of the statue. It seems to be the perfect spot for the egg, and it's clear that the Fire God Mountain is coming soon with all of the buzz lately. This is just another fun way that Zynga are growing the anticipation for the new volcano maps, and we can't wait to see what's next.

What do you think the Treasure Isle Mysterious Egg will be used for?

Mafia Wars London: Chapter 2 opens with four new jobs

Mafia Wars London: Chapter 2 officially opens today, and you have 14 days total to get through all of the jobs -- of course, you'll also have to mind your British passport inventory and those pesky London police who are always slowing down your work. The nerve!

The jobs for Chapter 2 include the following:

Stage a distraction at a Nightclub
Kidnap a Partying Royal Family Member
Hand off the Royal to Russian Agents
Steal a Military Police Helicopter

All in a day's work. Good luck on your second set of London missions, mafiosos.

mafia wars london jobs

Did you finish Chapter 1 yet? Got any expert tips on how to breeze through these jobs?

FarmVille July 6 Mystery Box: Find out what's inside *Spoilers*

FarmVille released a new Mystery Box tonight, and it is offering some old limited edition favorites that many players have been hoping for. Like all Mystery Boxes, this one costs 16 FV Cash and is only available for 7 days. You can buy it for yourself or for a friend if you wish. It has a random chance of giving you one of the available items, so it is all in the luck of the draw.

If you wish to see what's inside the Mystery Box this time, read on for the spoilers and pictures! Confirmed items in the Mystery Box include:

Teal Victorian
Alpaca
Pleasant Crow
Cabana
Brown Pony
Waterfall

Here are a few pictures of these items.
FarmVille cabana

FarmVille alpaca

FarmVille waterfall



Did you get what you wanted out of this Mystery Box? What items were you hoping for?

YoVile permanent sparklers added to the clothing store

Three new permanent sparklers have been added to the YoVille clothing store. These three sparklers are available in red, blue, and white for 10 YoCash each. These are great for any holiday, but will only be available for a few more days.

Go on to the clothing store and buy some sparklers before they are removed!

What do you think of the sparklers? Tell us in the comments section!
yoville sparklers
This article originally appeared on YoVille Lounge.

FarmVille Unreleased Stone Path, Path, Sparrows, Meadow Grass, Lush Green & Grape Trellis

Thank you to FarmVille Freak Farmer for finding these unreleased FarmVille Stone Path, Path, Sparrows, Meadow Grass, Lush Green, & Grape Trellis!
FarmVille Unreleased Stone Path, Path, Sparrows, Meadow Grass, Lush Green & Grape Trellis
Note: Unreleased items have no official release date or guarantee that they will make it to the FarmVille Market.

This article originally appeared on FarmVille Freak.

FarmVille Tuscany Themed Items Return for 24 hours

FarmVille Tuscany Castello
Today, Thursday August 12th, some FarmVille Tuscany LE items have returned as part fo the 7 days of Summer Sale!
Animals:

Tuscan Cow – 20 $FV

Haflinger Horse – 24 $FV

Buildings:

Observation Dome – 42 $FV
Castello – 65 $FV
Tuscan Villa – 54 $FV
Allegra's Abbey – 42 $FV
Dante's Ristorante – 38 $FV
Galleria – 38 $FV
Cafe Caprice -32 $FV
Alberto's Shop – 42 $FV
Angelo's Books – 38 $FV
Tuscan Barn – 30 $FV
Tuscan Tool Shed – 24 $FV

Tuscan Decorations:

Tuscan Trellis – 18 $FV
Tomato Cart – !2,000 coins
Castello Fence – 5,000 coins
Tuscan Table Set – 12,000 coins
Bellissimo Square – 12 $FV
Tuscan Knoll – 4 $FV
Floral Pot – 6,800 coins
Lamp Post – 5,500 coins
Stone Archway – 7 $FV
Terra Topiary – 3,000 coins
Vine Trellis – 2,500 coins
Elegant Planter – 2,000 coins
Tuscan Pool – 22 $FV
Blue Umbrella – 2,400 coins
Green Umbrella – 2,400 coins
Yellow Umbrella – 2,400 coins
Lawn Chair – 1,200 coins
Oak Tree – 4 $FV
Tuscan Bench – 1,800 coins
Tuscan Fence – 1,000 coins

Will you be purchasing the 'rerun' Tuscan items?

FarmVille: Today's your free chance to play the 7 Days of Summer Mystery Game

FarmVille Mystery Game free dart
Today all players will get a free dart at the FarmVille Mystery Game! When clicking on the Mystery game you should receive a pop-up allowing one free try!

Official FarmVille Forum Community Manager Grimwell states:

    FarmVille has a special gift for our players! Upon logging in, all players will receive 1 free Dart for the Mystery Game! Use your Dart to pop a balloon and win a Mystery Prize! Head to the Market and play our latest Mystery Game to receive your free Dart!

Source: Official FarmVille Forum

Tuscan theme items, as well as one new addition to FarmVille, are now in the FarmVille Mystery Game!

Keep in mind, each try will cost 16FV$

:: Spoilers Below::

Tuscan Items:

Rare – Rosetta Hall
Rare – Bee Catcher x 2
Uncommon – Bellissimo Falls
Uncommon – Fattoria
Common – Florella Fountain

New Item:

Common – Roe Deer

Have you played the new Mystery Game today? How many tries did it take you to receive the prize you were looking for?

Treasure Isle Secret Japan Isles unlocked, plus Monkey Ninjas!

Treasure Isle has opened up a new chain of Islands called Secret Japan. The official post on the Treasure Isle forums says the following about these isles: "Discover the secrets of the strange rocks, trees and statues and witness a log transform into a Ninja Monkey on the seven (7) Isles of Secret Japan." A Ninja Monkey!? I'm so there.

treasure island secret japan ninja monkey

Here's a complete list of the seven Secret Japan Isles, and how much they cost to open:

(i) The Outpost
(ii) The Old Road
(iii) Snowbound (opens for 5000 coins)
(iv) Tiny Village (opens for 50,000 coins)
(v) Mini Metro (opens for 12 Island Cash)
(vi) Forest Creatures (opens for 15 Island Cash)
(vii) Samurai vs Ninja (opens for 19 Island Cash)

Mafia Wars 7 Deadly Sins crates: Find out what's inside

Another week, another new crate arrives in Mafia Wars. This one's called the 7 Deadly Sins Crate and it contains a slew of oh-so 'sinful' items inside. As usual, you can buy a single crate for 12 Reward Points (RP) or three crates for 35 RP.

mafia wars 7 deadly sins crates

Before you decide to buy, take a more detailed look at what's hiding inside those boxes.
Without further ado: here are the items in the new 7 Deadly Sins Mystery Crates:

Weapons


Armor


Vehicles


Animals


[Via Mafia Wars Wiki]

What did you get in your 7 Deadly Sins Crate? Is this crate better than the excellent Underwater Crates?

Mafia Wars Loyalty Program: Pay your way into the Mafia Wars elite

mafia wars loyalty program

Mafia Wars has rolled out a new loyalty program, and it has three levels Emerald, Gold and Platinum. Each level can earn various rewards, including Loyalty Points (which can then be used to buy items exclusive to your level). Essentially, the goal of this whole program is to encourage you to spend more money on the game -- if you do -- you'll get exclusive access to rare items, beta programs and Mafia Wars events (among other things).

Seems like most everyone stars out at Emerald and will work their way up by spending more money. Emerald level players get the following benefits:

    Earn 1 x Loyalty Points for every dollar you spend
    Use these points to buy Emerald items
    Get access to special discounts on reward points.


Below, you can see the differences among the three levels. If you're Gold level, you will gain access to exclusive items and Platinum members will get that, plus access to beta content, access to 'exclusive rewards' and invites to Mafia Wars events. Oh yeah, and "platinum customer service" as well. Shouldn't everyone who plays Mafia Wars get 'platinum customer service?"

mafia wars loyalty player

Here's what you can buy with your Loyalty Points, once you have enough saved up.

Emerald Members


Gold Members

mafia wars loyalty gold reward items

Platinum Members

platinum members

Will update this post as more info is released.

What do you think about this new Mafia Wars loyalty program? A way to make you pay more cash or do you think it's worth it?

Four things that drive me crazy about Facebook games

For the record, I love social games. I love that they're free to play and accessible to all types of people. I love that their popularity has exploded over the past two years, and that they've been turning all of game-dom on its head.

But, after playing FarmVille, Mafia Wars and the rest for just over a year now, there are a few things in these games that have really started to gnaw on my nerves -- four in particular. They don't actually make me want to chop down a door with an axe like Jack Nicholson in The Shining, but they make me go, ya know, something, something.

Bugs, bugs, bugs

My biggest gripe about social gaming is the bugs. I'm talking about all of the little glitches in games that never really seem to go away. Examples of this include items that mysteriously disappear, buttons that don't work or losing connection to a game. It's like Whack-A-Mole, once one bug is bopped in the head, another one pops up somewhere else.

For instance, I was tending my FarmVille crops this weekend and got the ever annoying 'Game out of sync with server' message, which means you have to reload the game and re-do everything you just did again. So after spending five minutes harvesting and planting crops, then I had to do it again. Then I had to reload the game again. Then harvest the same crops again. Ugh.

This has happened to me several times in Mafia Wars as well. After promising that a more stable game experience was on its way, Mafia Wars rolled out a special event, San Juan, and then had to roll it back again. Then it launched again. This had also happened a few weeks before with the similar Beat the Feds event. FrontierVille, lately, has also been a big reloader.

Some might say that's the nature of social gaming -- everything's created and pushed out to players without proper testing, but I'm looking forward to the day that this whole form of gaming evolves and it will not be acceptable for games to have so many problems after it's made public, especially considering how many players might be losing real-life money due to some random in-game hiccup.

frontierville huge savings sale

Annoying pop-ups advertising virtual currency sales

I've also recently noticed that more games have started introducing random pop-ups, informing me that I've been especially been chosen to participate in a sale on the game's virtual currency. It's all very annoying, kind of like those silly TV infomercials that play on a loop after midnight. No, I don't want a Slap Chop or a Perfect Fit button, and I don't want to buy any Horseshoes in FrontierVille either. The only way that I'm might possibly consider spending my real-life cash for virtual cash is if there was a 75% clearance sale. And that's just to consider it. Zynga games have particularly been aggressive with this form of advertising, and it ain't working for me.

Pop-ups in general are also annoying. If I have already given blanket consent for a game to post messages to my Wall, why do I still have to click on pop-ups that ask for my permission to post something to my Facebook wall?

treasure isle too many t

Too many extra things to do in a game

One of the great things about playing games on Facebook is that you can get in and out quickly. I can take a break from writing or whatever I'm doing, jump into a game for five minutes, play and then be done. In the beginning, it was easy to run out of things to do in FarmVille and the other big Facebook games. Once you reached the max level, it was pretty much game over. To keep people playing, developers responded by rolling out more and more new features -- special fighting events, buildable items, holiday-themed events, etc. While these new add-ons will certainly keep the average virtual farmer busy, they have also started to pull players into too many directions, rather than giving players a more directed experience.

Zynga's Treasure Isle is one of the worst offenders -- I am literally working on four side projects at once, and instead of digging for treasure, I usually spend most of my time posting message on my Facebook Wall, begging for friends to send me dye, ropes and other building materials to get the jobs done. RockYou's Zoo World is another serious offender. Just slow down on the projects, partner. Not everyone is playing your game 24/7.

gifting-facebook games drive me crazy -- blog.games.com

Accepting gifts ... for hours

Sending and receiving gifts is an integral part of the social game experience. And let me tell you, I like getting gifts, however, accepting them. A few games like Pet Society, Cafe World and PetVille have streamlined the gifting process quite nicely. But, when it comes to accepting gifts in the three games I probably play the most -- FarmVille, FrontierVille and Mafia Wars -- it's a time-consuming affair.

The process breaks down like this: I click to accept a gift on Facebook, then I wait while I'm bounced to the game. Then, I click another button confirming that I want to accept the gift. Then I click another button to go back to my Facebook game gift page (if available). Sometimes I'll accept a gift from someone and instead of directing me back to Facebook, the game loads automatically right afterward. Then I'm frantically scrambling to hit the back button so I don't get stuck waiting for the game to load. Exhausted yet? I am.

While I'm sure there's a reason the gifting is set up this way; I really wish there was a better way to get the job done. I don't want to click anything to receive gifts -- just let them flow automatically into some virtual gifting box and let me have those hours I spend accepting gifts every week back to actually spend more time playing the games.

FarmVille Halloween Sneak Peak: Dracula Duck, Dragon, Pegasus, and Griffin

FarmVille Halloween: Dracula Duck, Dragon, Pegasus, and Griffin
Classic mythological creatures are in the works for FarmVille this Halloween, and these include a Pegasus, Dragon, Griffin, and one ridiculously charming little oddball -- the Dracula Duck.

All these creatures come fully animated (which you can watch by viewing the bottom of this post). The pegasus proudly flaps its wings; the griffin is the bouncy, easily excitable sort; the dragon shows off with a little bit of fire-breathing; and the duck does an evil laugh, followed by the twinkle of a sparkling fang.
   
   
[Via FarmVille Latest]

Find more stories on our 2010 Halloween Guide for FarmVille, Mafia Wars & more.

Treasure Isle Atlantis: Venture deep into the forbidden city soon

Atlantis
When you've explored nearly every mysterious island sitting on the high seas where else can you go? Well, you could always go down. In Treasure Isle, players will be exploring the forgotten, underwater city of Atlantis in Zynga's next content update. While details are essentially nonexistent, this could very well be the first time us adventurers will be on the hunt for treasure under the sea. Expect plenty of ancient Greek references considering the first recorded references to the ancient mythological city were in 360 BC from the philosopher Plato's writings.

Stay tuned to the blog for when we finally see Atlantis open up after thousands of years of being invisible to man.

New FrontierVille Mystery Animal crate arrives in the market

FrontierVille keeps us guessing with a new Mystery Animal Crate that you can buy in the Market for 50 Horseshoes for the next two weeks. Every crate will contain one of three animals: Chinchilla (white or gray) a gecko (pink or blue) and a shaggy haired long-horned cow, better known as a Highland Cow (brown or gray).

mystery animal crate

Mafia Wars Atlantic City is live, a brand new city inside your phone

For those who have suffered the inexplicable (albeit much flashier) horrors of Zynga's Mafia Wars app for iPhone, the wait for a true Mafia Wars experience on mobile is over. Atlantic City is live and ready to be pillaged for all players above Level 18. All you need to do is type this address, m.mafiawars.com, in your phone's native mobile browser (this hasn't been tested on Opera mobile yet, sorry folks) and log in using Facebook Connect.

Find out what the first real Mafia Wars game for mobile is like after the break.

Mafia Wars Fight
After logging in, you'll be surprised at how similar the experience is to its big brother on the full web Facebook. Not to mention how much faster it is (I was connected via WiFi). You have the choice of either hopping in fights--that is, with all Mafia Wars players--or taking on Atlantic City's unique jobs.

Mafia WarsJobs
Jobs operate just like normal ones with one key difference: since this is a casino town, the exclusive currency for Atlantic City is Vegas Chips. Though, for veterans of Sin City, these jobs should be cake with the amount of leftover Chips they should have. While the jobs don't contain the pretty artwork like they do on Facebook, at least completing these contributes to your actual character and not one made up for a poorly executed social app. You can even used your saved Energy packs if you run low.

Mafia Wars Level Up
Leveling up in Atlantic City is just like normal, but again, much faster. So this is what it feels like to be free of Flash, huh? Better yet, you can collect from your properties in all cities (even Italy!), though this city unfortunately doesn't have properties of its own. All in all, Mafia Wars Atlantic City is more than the ultimate companion app; it's nearly an entire city on your phone. With how smoothly the game runs on mobile, we hope this is just the beginning.

FarmVille Sneak Peek: White Ram, Snow Goose, Arctic Rabbit, Muskox

It's time once again for a FarmVille Sneak Peek, where we bring you leaked images of unreleased items that might be coming to FarmVille in the near future. This time around, we've come across a set of unreleased animals, all of which seem to have a connection to the upcoming winter holiday.

The animals are (from left to right), the White Ram, Snow Goose, Arctic Rabbit and Muskox. It's unclear yet as to whether or not these animals will be available for Farm Cash or coins (we're assuming the former for all of them), or how much they'll be worth when harvested.

As usual, there is no guarantee that any of these items will officially launch in the game, so keep that in mind.

Cafe World: Earn 50 Cafe Cash for Harry & David purchase

If you've been waiting for another shopping promotion in Cafe World, Zynga has launched a new one this weekend that you might be interested in. This newest promotion is from Harry & David, a gourmet gifts retailer.

Via this promotion, you'll be able to receive 30% off gourmet gifts, and get free standard delivery on all purchases. You'll need to activate this offer by clicking on the link (as seen at right) which appears below the Cafe World gameplay area. From there, place a legitimate order between now and December 18 and you'll receive 50 free Cafe Cash a reward for taking part.

While this offer will, of course, require you to put out some real money before you receive your Cafe Cash, if you had been planning on making such a purchase anyway, why not take a few extra seconds to activate the Cafe World deal and earn something for yourself in the process?

FarmVille Sneak Peek: Mini Black Stallion & Mini Black Stallion Foal

This weekend has been a good one for the released of leaked images from FarmVille, allowing us to bring you another FarmVille Sneak Peek, which contains images of items that may or may not be coming to FarmVille in the near future.

This time around, we've spotted images of a Mini Black Stallion, perfect for those users that are tired of waiting for the Wandering Stallion to appear and help them breed foals in the Horse Stable. We're assuming this Stallion will be sold in the store for Farm Cash, but of course that hasn't been confirmed as of this writing.

The Black Stallion Foal, then, is what we're assuming would be produced when a Mini Black Stallion is placed inside the Horse Stable.

As usual, there is no guarantee that these animals will actually be released in the game, so keep that in mind.

FarmVille New Years Sneak Peek: Sign, Band, Confetti Tree, Disco Sheep, Horse & More

If you thought the Party Barn / New Year's Ball Drop event would be the one and only set of New Years items that we'd see released in FarmVille, think again, as we have come across a slew of new New Year's Eve themed items that are currently unreleased, but we're expecting to be added to the game in the very near future (perhaps in an update this weekend, if things go as scheduled in the world of FarmVille updates).

The items are as pictured, from left to right at the top of this post: New Year Horse, New Year Foal, Confetti Tree, Disco Ball Tree, Disco Sheep, Cider Fountain, New Year's Eve Sign, New Year's Eve Band, Glitter Palm Fireworks, Dahlia Fireworks.

The names of these items are subject to change at any time, and remember that there is no guarantee as to whether or not we'll actually see these items officially released in the game, so keep in that mind (however, we would be surprised if they all didn't show up in one form or another).

Also, we've read on the official FarmVille forums that some users are receiving Discoball Trees already from Mystery Seedlings. We are working to confirm, and will let you know if they are indeed already available in the game. Keep checking back with us for more.

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

What do you think of the New Year's Eve Party in FarmVille so far?