In America, social gaming on the iPhone, iPad and other mobile devices has not reached its potential -- though this new We Rule infographic shows that, that might be changing soon (esp. considering the explosive growth of Android devices and tablets in general).
Ngmoco's freemium social kingdom simulation game for IOS devices celebrates its one-year anniversary this month, and to mark the occasion, has come out with some impressive sounding stats like 3 billion minutes played, 13 million downloads and 40 billion coins spent daily.
Of course, if you compare this game to Angry Birds, which has 100 million downloads, the numbers don't seem quite as epic as this infographic makes them out to be. Then again, Roxio's other hit, Cut the Rope, has somewhere in the ballpark of 6 million downloads -- so We Rule might not be number one, but just might hold the keys to a mobile social kingdom that has not yet reached its heyday.
Great Site to Earn From Home
Thursday, January 5, 2012
FrontierVille Flash Mob: Win Horseshoes in this forum trivia contest
How fresh is your FrontierVille knowledge? Zynga wants to test just that in its next FrontierVille Flash Mob. This trivia competition will test your ability to regurgitate random facts about the game. (You know, like how all trivia games test useless knowledge.) However, five prizes of 50 Horseshoes are up for grabs for the most savvy pioneers. It all starts at 2 p.m. EST, so open that FrontierVille Wiki page and hop in the forums for your chance at some free Horseshoes. If you're at work, don't worry--we won't tell.
Do you plan on joining the competition? How do you think the next few rounds will pan out?
Do you plan on joining the competition? How do you think the next few rounds will pan out?
FarmVille English Countryside buildings leak to FarmVille iOS Market
The deluge of FarmVille English Countryside information continues with more item details leaking through FarmVille for iPhone. Players can log into their FarmVille game right now on their iPhone and see nearly every building the English Countryside will have to offer at launch, but it's all on lockdown. Nonetheless, this gives us a better idea of how much these items will cost, and it varies greatly from just a thousand coins for the Orchard to the 60 thousand-coin English Farm. Whether these prices are indicative of their cost in the actual expansion in unknown, but at least these give us a good idea of what to expect. Check behind the break for the rest of the leaked buildings.
FarmVille English Countryside Buildings 2
[Via FarmVille Freak]
Check out the rest of our English Countryside coverage right here.
Have you seen these items in your FarmVille game for iOS? When do you think the expansion will release given all of this leaked information?
FarmVille English Countryside Buildings 2
[Via FarmVille Freak]
Check out the rest of our English Countryside coverage right here.
Have you seen these items in your FarmVille game for iOS? When do you think the expansion will release given all of this leaked information?
Buy Bejeweled for iOS this weekend, help the Japan earthquake relief effort
PopCap, the publisher responsible for such casual gaming classics as Bejeweled, Peggle, Bookworm, Plants vs. Zombies, is cutting prices on the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad versions of its games this weekend and 100% of the proceeds will to the Red Cross for Japan earthquake relief.
The sale kicks off on Saturday, March 19 at 12:01 a.m. PDT and ends Sunday, March 20 at midnight PDT. During that time, all PopCap games for iPhone will drop to 99 cents (down from $2.99) and iPad games will be $1.99 (down from $6.99). Not a bad deal -- buy a great game on the cheap and do some good all at the same time.
The sale kicks off on Saturday, March 19 at 12:01 a.m. PDT and ends Sunday, March 20 at midnight PDT. During that time, all PopCap games for iPhone will drop to 99 cents (down from $2.99) and iPad games will be $1.99 (down from $6.99). Not a bad deal -- buy a great game on the cheap and do some good all at the same time.
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
The Sims Social Cheats and Tips: Bunk Beds Stacking Guide
Move over carpet art, stacking in The Sims Social has become the de facto way of home design.
Our first guide showed you the basic principles of stacking, and gave you some cool, simple ideas to use. They only required one stacking tool. This one is going to take a bit more than that, but it's just as easy.
Many Sims Social items also aren't made to be stacked, so you'll need a workaround for it, which we'll show you here.
What You Need:
6 tables from the store that are 2 tile lengths long, preferably the Basix TV Stand - Tan (costs 350 Simoleons), because it's the cheapest option. (Another popular, though more expensive option is the ShortNSweet tables, but they've been discontinued.) My example also uses the Black stand (costs 650 Simoleons), cause I want to make it easier for you to see what I'm doing.
Any 2 beds you want. I'm using the SweetDreams Classic IV (the red one with the bed posts) and the Spartan Special.
Sims Social bunk bed requirements
Step 1: Arrange everything the way you see in the above picture. Unlike the first guide, which had you making and using one stacking tool, "L-tool". This time, you need to make two stacking tools. Let's start with the first tool.
Sims Social Stack Tool 1
Step 2: To make the first tool, look at the table set that has one Black stand and one Tan stand as its base. You need to grab that Black stand on the bottom and move it away. The Tan stand on the top should automatically get dragged off too when you do this. If this worked, then congrats! These two stuck tables are now your Stacking Tool #1. (Note: Always move your Tool by holding the bottom or it'll fall apart!)
Sims Social stacking tools
Step 3: You should have a leftover Tan stand after the first tool (shown in the above pic on the right). Take the leftover Tan stand and place it upon the other table set.
Sims Social Stacking Tool 2
Step 4: Now we need to make Stacking Tool #2 out of the second table set! To do that, grab the Black table to the far back and drag it away like you did with the first example. This should leave you with a leftover Black table, which you won't need anymore.
Sims Social bed stacking
Step 5: With your two stacking tools, you're now ready to stack the beds. Because your bed is three tile lengths long, you'll need to layer the tools on top of the bed like so -- Stacking Tool #2 will cover 2/3 of the bed, while Stacking Tool #1 will cover the last 1/3 of the bed. (Note again: Always move your Stacking Tools by holding their bottoms or they'll fall apart!)
Step 6: The next part is like the classic tablecloth trick, where your tablecloth are the stacking tools and the bottom red bed is the table. Grab the bottom of Stacking Tool #1 to slide it away from the red bed. Do the same for Stacking Tool #2. You should have a pair of bunk beds now where the red bed is on the bottom and the gray bed is floating above it!
Sims Social Bunk Beds and Plush
BONUS: Would you like to put Plumpkins Bear plush on the top of the gray bed like you see in the picture? To do that, add two of the TV stands to Stacking Tool #1. Then shove the tool on top of the gray bed, like in the first guide, and put Plumpkins Bear on top of the beds and the stands. As you see in the above picture, there's two Tans and one Black stand perched atop the Black base. When you move the Black base, Plumpkins Bear will stay on the gray bed!
Sims Social bed action
Now to see if the beds will work after all that fussing, and guess what? My Sim can nap or sleep and there's no glitches in sight. SUCCESS!
Finally, special thanks to Jhail for first posting about bunk beds in the official forums.
What other items do you think will look good stacked together?
Our first guide showed you the basic principles of stacking, and gave you some cool, simple ideas to use. They only required one stacking tool. This one is going to take a bit more than that, but it's just as easy.
Many Sims Social items also aren't made to be stacked, so you'll need a workaround for it, which we'll show you here.
What You Need:
6 tables from the store that are 2 tile lengths long, preferably the Basix TV Stand - Tan (costs 350 Simoleons), because it's the cheapest option. (Another popular, though more expensive option is the ShortNSweet tables, but they've been discontinued.) My example also uses the Black stand (costs 650 Simoleons), cause I want to make it easier for you to see what I'm doing.
Any 2 beds you want. I'm using the SweetDreams Classic IV (the red one with the bed posts) and the Spartan Special.
Sims Social bunk bed requirements
Step 1: Arrange everything the way you see in the above picture. Unlike the first guide, which had you making and using one stacking tool, "L-tool". This time, you need to make two stacking tools. Let's start with the first tool.
Sims Social Stack Tool 1
Step 2: To make the first tool, look at the table set that has one Black stand and one Tan stand as its base. You need to grab that Black stand on the bottom and move it away. The Tan stand on the top should automatically get dragged off too when you do this. If this worked, then congrats! These two stuck tables are now your Stacking Tool #1. (Note: Always move your Tool by holding the bottom or it'll fall apart!)
Sims Social stacking tools
Step 3: You should have a leftover Tan stand after the first tool (shown in the above pic on the right). Take the leftover Tan stand and place it upon the other table set.
Sims Social Stacking Tool 2
Step 4: Now we need to make Stacking Tool #2 out of the second table set! To do that, grab the Black table to the far back and drag it away like you did with the first example. This should leave you with a leftover Black table, which you won't need anymore.
Sims Social bed stacking
Step 5: With your two stacking tools, you're now ready to stack the beds. Because your bed is three tile lengths long, you'll need to layer the tools on top of the bed like so -- Stacking Tool #2 will cover 2/3 of the bed, while Stacking Tool #1 will cover the last 1/3 of the bed. (Note again: Always move your Stacking Tools by holding their bottoms or they'll fall apart!)
Step 6: The next part is like the classic tablecloth trick, where your tablecloth are the stacking tools and the bottom red bed is the table. Grab the bottom of Stacking Tool #1 to slide it away from the red bed. Do the same for Stacking Tool #2. You should have a pair of bunk beds now where the red bed is on the bottom and the gray bed is floating above it!
Sims Social Bunk Beds and Plush
BONUS: Would you like to put Plumpkins Bear plush on the top of the gray bed like you see in the picture? To do that, add two of the TV stands to Stacking Tool #1. Then shove the tool on top of the gray bed, like in the first guide, and put Plumpkins Bear on top of the beds and the stands. As you see in the above picture, there's two Tans and one Black stand perched atop the Black base. When you move the Black base, Plumpkins Bear will stay on the gray bed!
Sims Social bed action
Now to see if the beds will work after all that fussing, and guess what? My Sim can nap or sleep and there's no glitches in sight. SUCCESS!
Finally, special thanks to Jhail for first posting about bunk beds in the official forums.
What other items do you think will look good stacked together?
The Sims 3 Showtime: A Facebook game, minus Facebook
A live news feed, in-game gifting and the ability to visit your friend's games -- this might sound like the next big 'Ville' game on Facebook is actually none other than a new expansion for the hit PC game Sims 3.
This new add-on, Sims 3 Showtime, lets Sims take the stage as a performer -- a DJ, acrobat, what have you -- and eventually work their way to the top of their chosen profession. This will all take place with the help of friends though -- not Facebook -- but an in-game network that will have Facebook-like functionality. Players will be able to send in-game gifts, post updates to a news feed and visit each other's customized stages using something called a Sim-Port. Whether this new Sims network will be confined to this game -- or something larger -- remains to be seen.
sims 3 showtime
It's interesting to see this kind of convergence of social gaming and more traditional types of games. We've been watching Facebook games crib from more traditional games, in an effort to beef up the gameplay experience, for a while now. Maybe things are starting to go the other way as well.
Sims 3 Showtime will roll out in March 2012 for Mac and PC.
This new add-on, Sims 3 Showtime, lets Sims take the stage as a performer -- a DJ, acrobat, what have you -- and eventually work their way to the top of their chosen profession. This will all take place with the help of friends though -- not Facebook -- but an in-game network that will have Facebook-like functionality. Players will be able to send in-game gifts, post updates to a news feed and visit each other's customized stages using something called a Sim-Port. Whether this new Sims network will be confined to this game -- or something larger -- remains to be seen.
sims 3 showtime
It's interesting to see this kind of convergence of social gaming and more traditional types of games. We've been watching Facebook games crib from more traditional games, in an effort to beef up the gameplay experience, for a while now. Maybe things are starting to go the other way as well.
Sims 3 Showtime will roll out in March 2012 for Mac and PC.
The Sims Social lures players into a Winter Wonderland this week
Unfortunately, not everyone (including this writer) can fly to Sweden on a whim and stay in a gorgeous ice hotel. Well, at least EA and Playfish look to provide the next best thing in this week's update to The Sims Social. Fittingly titled "Winter Wonderland," this update (coming Thursday) will allow you to build your very own ice house, complete with frozen furniture and ice sculptures.
The Sims Social Eskimo KissOf course, a number of these items will likely cost SimCash, but hopefully a few of the cool ones go for at least Social Points. Take the Pola-Ice Igloo, for instance. This interactive decoration has several uses: Players can use the Pola-Ice as a toilet for their Sims, throw rotten fish in their friends' igloos and make frozen WooHoo with other Sims inside--the igloo even shakes. We're ... not exactly sure how to feel about that last point.
Players can also pick up special Santa outfits for him and her that allow Sims to Eskimo Kiss during visits. Of course, the Thursday update comes with a quest, "Revenge of the Simch," which will reward players with a Rocking Reindeer decoration should they complete it in time.
The festivities continue throughout the weekend, with Saturday and Sunday seeing the release of the Ice Ring, an interactive decoration that lets Sims do pirouette spins. Finally, players will gain access to an Ice Block on Monday that, when used, will increase Sims' sculpting skill and eventually result in an Ice Wolf Statue. We're calling next week's theme: "The Simch Strikes Back."
The Sims Social Ice Block
Check out the rest of our Holiday 2011 coverage right here.
What do you think of the winter celebrations in The Sims Social so far? Are you still digging the game since its release this summer?
The Sims Social Eskimo KissOf course, a number of these items will likely cost SimCash, but hopefully a few of the cool ones go for at least Social Points. Take the Pola-Ice Igloo, for instance. This interactive decoration has several uses: Players can use the Pola-Ice as a toilet for their Sims, throw rotten fish in their friends' igloos and make frozen WooHoo with other Sims inside--the igloo even shakes. We're ... not exactly sure how to feel about that last point.
Players can also pick up special Santa outfits for him and her that allow Sims to Eskimo Kiss during visits. Of course, the Thursday update comes with a quest, "Revenge of the Simch," which will reward players with a Rocking Reindeer decoration should they complete it in time.
The festivities continue throughout the weekend, with Saturday and Sunday seeing the release of the Ice Ring, an interactive decoration that lets Sims do pirouette spins. Finally, players will gain access to an Ice Block on Monday that, when used, will increase Sims' sculpting skill and eventually result in an Ice Wolf Statue. We're calling next week's theme: "The Simch Strikes Back."
The Sims Social Ice Block
Check out the rest of our Holiday 2011 coverage right here.
What do you think of the winter celebrations in The Sims Social so far? Are you still digging the game since its release this summer?
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