Games.com Blog: “Crowdstar announces Fan Appreciation Week with giveaways!” plus 18 more

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• Crowdstar announces Fan Appreciation Week with giveaways!
• Happy Aquarium: Loch Ness Monster Expedition
• Report: Social gaming spam "more effective" than e-mail spam
• Happy Aquarium: New Mystery Treasure Chests!
• Quote of the Moment: Learning the wrong lesson
• FarmVille: April Free Farm Cash Email
• Report: CrowdStar backing away from Microsoft buyout talks
• PetVille Easter Prizes Revealed: Chick Plushies, Bunny Furniture & Decor
• Happy Pets: Mystery Easter Basket Gifts
• Restaurant City: Links to Four Free Weekend Ingredients
• Cafe World: Super Stove Cheats and Link Hacks
• Pet Society Product Reviews: Easter Mystery Gifts
• FarmVille: Links to La Maison Materials - Round 2
• FarmVille: Grape Sheep Action Shots
• FarmVille: La Maison Building Returns for a Limited Time
• FarmVille: Unreleased Red Tractor Version 2
• FarmVille: One Free April Farm Cash Bonus
• FarmVille: Gold Medal Co-op Completed!
• FarmVille: Unreleased School Bus Tractor

Crowdstar announces Fan Appreciation Week with giveaways! Posted: 05 Apr 2010 11:30 AM PDT Crowdstar -- the creator of popular Facebook games Happy Pets, Happy Aquarium, and Happy Island -- has announced that April 5th (that's today, folks!) through April 9th, shall be known as "Fan Appreciation Week", and every day shall be a day of free giveaways. We've only got results from Happy Pets and Happy Island for Day One, so far. But be sure to come back this week as we track all the giveaways! Happy Pets Day One (c/o Angela Nichols via the Happy Pets Community forum): - Log into Happy Pets Monday 2PM PDT through 2PM PDT Tuesday and receive a one FREE Love Potion! In order to claim your Love Potion, breed a set of pets (You'll receive a prompt to use a Love Potion, Cost = Free) - You can choose to decline this option and save it for another set of pets to breed - You can only use this once! - Free Love Potion expires at 2 PM Tuesday. (PDT) If you don't use it within the 24 hours, you lose it. Happy Island Day One: - Log into Happy Island Monday 2PM PDT through 2PM PDT Tuesday and receive a one FREE Whimsical Tree 2.5! - The Whimsical Tree 2.5 sells for 4,809 Coins!   More on Games.com | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Happy Aquarium: Loch Ness Monster Expedition Posted: 05 Apr 2010 10:30 AM PDT In addition to the on-going Super Sea Shell Hunt, a new feature, called "Expedition", has joined Happy Aquarium. Available to those Level 20 and above, Expedition requires you to recruit 10 crew members for awesome prizes. Right now, the awesome prize is the elusive and mysterious "Loch Ness Monster", a new aquarium creature introduced along with this feature. We first saw several baby Nessies swimming in Harold's Demo Tank, but they're not always there. But we do have an official image of Nessie released by Crowdstar. To find out what an adult Nessie looks like, and how to add crew to your Expedition, keep reading... Click on "Start" on the "Fill Your Crew" window, and you'll have the option to add or buy crew. Recruits can be hired amongst your Facebook friends via Wall posts to your profile... ...or bought for a hefty 30 Pearls each. Depending on which crew member you're hired for, you'll get a certain amount of XP. After you've collected 10 crew members, a message should appear letting you know that your crew was successful in hunting down the monster. Happy Aquarium expects to release many more rare creatures using the Expedition feature. If you can't find 10 people to play with you, I suggest you visit the official Happy Aquarium forum and ask for players willing to temporarily add you in the game, so you can all obtain XP and a Nessie of your own.   More on Games.com | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Report: Social gaming spam "more effective" than e-mail spam Posted: 05 Apr 2010 10:15 AM PDT OK, social gamers, listen up. We know it's tempting, when going for that 500th friend on Mafia Wars, to just accept whatever random friend request comes along. We know you think their profile looks pretty tame, and hey, they're members of a Mafia Wars fan group, so they must be nice, real people, right? Well, no. In fact, they could actually be spammers out to harm your computer. We know a lot of you need to hear this because of a recent BitDefender report out of MIT's Spam Conferebce (yes, that's a real thing, apparently). The report details an experiment where two different types of fake social network accounts looked to recruit new friends -- one set of accounts was subscribed to general interest groups, the other to social gaming groups. The results? Unsurprisingly, the fake accounts with fake social gaming connections attracted many more followers looking to increase their in-game stats. What's more, a full 24 percent of these social gaming followers were willing to click on a shortened link from this total stranger. That link could have gone anywhere! Even here! The conclusion? "This fact brings spam and social engineering schemes closer and more effectively to the user than any e-mail spam or scam," said BitDefender Team Leader George Petre. "Moreover, we have seen that in the social applications environment, users can be easily tricked into adding spammers to their profile. Thus, we recommend social gaming aficionados to use extreme caution before enlarging their circle of friends." You hear that guys? EXTREME CAUTION! [Via SocialTimes]   Read | More on Games.com | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Happy Aquarium: New Mystery Treasure Chests! Posted: 05 Apr 2010 10:00 AM PDT Crowdstar, responsible for Happy Pets, has decided to port over their Mystery Boxes idea into Happy Aquarium, in the form of Mystery Chests. These chests are being sold at the in-game aquarium store for 100 Coins each. You can find it in the "Special" section, which has the tab of a yellow star. After purchase, the chest will sink into whichever tank you've got open, and stay there for a 23-hr countdown before they release a mystery item. Just like the Happy Pets Mystery Boxes, these Mystery Chests allow your friends to "Add Luck" to them, which is suppose to help you get a 'better' item. To do this, you'll need to click on your Mystery Chest to make a post notifying your friends on your Facebook Wall. As you can see, my Cubicus Boxfish is eagerly awaiting for my box to open. I bet he expects lots of goodies in store for his home, or maybe even new fishmates to hang out with. Who knows? If these Mystery Chests are anything like the Mystery Boxes at Happy Pets, it'll be possible to get aquarium critters too!   More on Games.com | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Quote of the Moment: Learning the wrong lesson Posted: 05 Apr 2010 09:45 AM PDT "The popularity of Farmville advances a thesis I've been working on for years: Gaming is the best form of entertainment (ever!!) and a lot more people would take part in it if the barrier to entry wasn't so high. But the masses don't have a good way to find out how fun it is. Once they do, it's generally prohibitively expensive to get started. (That can't be helped on the console side, but PC developers could certainly stop making things worse.) And even once you find out about games and have the machine, games do a bad job at welcoming the truly uninitiated. What I'm worried about is that publishers will see Zynga's success and wrongly conclude that these people are playing Farmville and Mafia Wars because the gameplay is uniquely fun. This is the wrong lesson to learn. Zynga is simply going after a demographic that's been largely ignored for the past three decades: People who aren't already gamers. This new surge doesn't mean that simple management games with adorable graphics are the wave of the future. It means that years of advertising hardcore games to hardcore gamers in hardcore gaming communities has made the hobby far more insular than it needs to be. The next move should be to see what other kinds of games these people might like to play." -The Escapist's Shamus Young takes Zynga's cookie cutter imitators to task for not branching out from the same tired old social gaming genres [Emphasis in original]   Read | More on Games.com | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

FarmVille: April Free Farm Cash Email Posted: 05 Apr 2010 09:30 AM PDT In a previous post, found here , you got 1 free Farm Cash (1FV$) from a link that was given to us by FarmVille Freak Vishal, FVFreak Robbie, FVFreak Maggie and FVFreak Lexingtim. Today, many FarmVille players got an email from Zynga saying, "Howdy Farmer, Thanks for playing FarmVille! For a very limited time, we're giving you one bonus Farm Cash. Click here to claim your Farm Cash! Happy Harvesting, Your friends at FarmVille" Do you think the Zynga gods will give free FV$ on a monthly basis? This article originally appeared on: FarmVille Freak.   More on Games.com | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Report: CrowdStar backing away from Microsoft buyout talks Posted: 05 Apr 2010 09:15 AM PDT Remember back in February when we first heard word that Microsoft had expressed interest in buying social gaming giant Crowdstar? Perhaps you've spent the past couple of months wondering what, if anything, ever happened with that. Or perhaps you spent those months focused on other things. We're guessing the latter. Either way, you may be interested to know that Crowdstar has reportedly backed out of the talks, according to a new Bloomberg News report. The business news wire service cites "a person with knowledge of the situation" as the source, so it's not exactly written in stone. That said, the original Bloomberg report of a potential buyout was based on the word of "two people familiar with the matter," so we'll just have to trust Bloomberg on the reliability of the whole thing. Anyway, the new report says Crowdstar balked at Mcirosoft terms that would have restricted Crowdstar's growth, and note that the company is still looking for other buyers. So if you've got a spare $200 million or so lying around, why not give them a call?   Read | More on Games.com | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

PetVille Easter Prizes Revealed: Chick Plushies, Bunny Furniture & Decor Posted: 05 Apr 2010 08:00 AM PDT Hey PetVille players - don't forget: the PetVille Easter Egg Hunt ends this Friday, so collect baskets from your friends and pick on those bunnies until you find all the prize-filled eggs! Yesterday, players were able to start opening up their eggs and finding some special (albeit useless) prizes inside. I've listed several of the Easter Egg prizes below in case you're too curious to wait any longer. Also, even though the mini-game will be available until Friday 4/9, the associated challenge will end much sooner - you have less than 15 hours remaining to complete the Easter Egg-cellence challenge (find all 12 different eggs in the PetVille egg scavenger hunt game). In other words, if you want to collect the Easter Egg-cellence badge, Love Points and Coins, then hurry your furry butt over to the Easter Egg Hunt now. In case you need some extra baskets (one basket equals one round of egg hunting), Zynga is offering a couple of freebies to help out. Click on these links for one extra basket each: http://zyn.ga/3U and http://zyn.ga/3L Egg prize spoiler alert! We've found 11 out of 12 egg prizes so far - have you found the final prize egg? If you've found all 12 eggs and earned the Deluxe Egg prize, we'd love to know what's inside. All tips and feedback welcome in the comments below! UPDATED: The 12th Prize is the Pink Bunny Table! Go below to see pics of the prizes! Prizes in the PetVille Easter Eggs include: Chick Plushies: Kristian Chick Plushy, Sally Sue Chick Plushy, Tyler Chick Plushy Bunny Furniture: Pink Bunny Chair, Bunny Bathtub, Pink Bunny Toilet, Pink Bunny Table Rabbit Decorations: Radiant Rabbit Lamp, Timely Rabbit Clock, Brightening Bunny Chandelier, Bunny Toaster, Ceramic Bunny Bank This article originally appeared on Frisky Mongoose.   More on Games.com | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Happy Pets: Mystery Easter Basket Gifts Posted: 05 Apr 2010 07:30 AM PDT In a final Easter-themed roll out, Happy Pets brought in a Limited Time offer of Easter giftables into the game. Launched on Easter Sunday, these 9 new items are as follows (in the image above from left to right): Faberge Eggs: Blue, Green, and Pink Plush Bunny: Pink, Yellow , and Blue Lilies: Orange, Stardust, and Yellow You can only get these if your friends send them to you as gifts via the Mystery Easter Baskets, which will only be around until April 12th.   More on Games.com | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Restaurant City: Links to Four Free Weekend Ingredients Posted: 05 Apr 2010 06:30 AM PDT Restaurant City has been posting links to free ingredients to fans on their official Facebook page over the weekend. To make it easier for everyone, we've rounded up all the links here (in order of oldest to newest since the offers are time-sensitive): Note: All links below will launch the game. FREE Egg: http://bit.ly/bdmabd FREE Raisins: http://tiny.cc/pfraisin FREE Easter Spices: http://bit.ly/csyBkj FREE Flour: http://bit.ly/b9cz8m The Raisins are one of four required ingredients to learn the Limited Dish Recipe, "Hot Cross Bun", which will be around for the next 21 Days. Raisins are very rare; it currently sports an Ingredient Star Rating of 5 (as is the Flour ingredient) for this week, and is usually given away through random appearances of the Food King.   More on Games.com | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Cafe World: Super Stove Cheats and Link Hacks Posted: 05 Apr 2010 06:00 AM PDT Ever since I posted the tutorial on how to rapidly build the Super Stoves in Cafe World, I imagined that pretty soon somebody will manage to find a cheat for Super Stoves or at least hack the links so we can easily get the materials we need to complete the awesome stove. However, I was unable to find such a cheat to share with you, but I am 100% sure that something like that exists so I am asking you, our beloved readers, to post in the comment section any Super Stove cheats you might have and I'll update this article to help everybody get that amazing item on their Cafe. UPDATE: I have managed to find the Super Stove links/cheats/glitches to send any of the Super Stove needed items. Here they are and make sure you click them ASAP! Grill Rings: http://apps.facebook.com/cafeworld/send_fhs_help_request.php?view=in_game&mission_name=build_a_stove&type=stoveAssembly&style=2 Metal Plate Link: http://apps.facebook.com/cafeworld/send_fhs_help_request.php?view=in_game&mission_name=build_a_stove&type=stoveAssembly&style=3 Computer Chip: http://apps.facebook.com/cafeworld/send_fhs_help_request.php?view=in_game&mission_name=build_a_stove&type=stoveAssembly&style=0 Control Knob: http://apps.facebook.com/cafeworld/send_fhs_help_request.php?view=in_game&mission_name=build_a_stove&type=stoveAssembly&style=1 This article originally appeared on Social Games Help.   More on Games.com | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Pet Society Product Reviews: Easter Mystery Gifts Posted: 05 Apr 2010 05:30 AM PDT Fawns Merry Go-Round As promised, the Easter "Mystery Gifts" in Pet Society were revealed this weekend. Sushi was excited to find a Fawns Merry Go-Round, thanks to a generous friend. The pastel-colored fawns are super cute and they move up and down, though not round and round, like a merry go-round should. He wanted to go for a ride, but found that he could not mount a fawn, no matter how hard he tried. This made him un-merry. Sigh. Pink Tree Swing A player named Nam was disappointed that the Pink Tree Swing can't be swung. Still, we gave this a higher score (3 paws out of 5) than the other item. Both the merry go-round and the swing are glorified chairs, but the pet looks nice sitting on the swing, whereas sitting at the foot of a merry go-round is just plain dumb, not to mention dangerous in the real world. Still, the swing and merry go-round do look good, so if you want to get them, they're available at the Boutique until next week. This article originally appeared on Pet Society Anonymous.   More on Games.com | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

FarmVille: Links to La Maison Materials - Round 2 Posted: 05 Apr 2010 05:20 AM PDT Do you need to send certain Maison building supplies, but do not have access to it on your FarmVille Gifting page? Since the Maison Building Supplies are once again available, we are reposting the Material links. They will be available for gifting until APRIL 12th at 9pm PT (Pacific Time). You can send any Maison Building supply using the links below. Courtesy of FarmVille Freak Matt. - Paned Window - Slate Tile - Aged Brick - Clinging Vine - Weathered Board This article originally appeared on FarmVille Freak.   More on Games.com | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

FarmVille: Grape Sheep Action Shots Posted: 05 Apr 2010 05:15 AM PDT Here is FarmVille Freak Joe and FarmVille Freak Jana's Grape Sheep on their farms! The Grape Sheep is rewarded as a prize for completing the Co-Op farming "Fashion Bug" job. The job will require you to assist your FarmVille neighbor by growing a crop of Grapes that will be used to dye the "Organic clothing". You must obtain Gold level status in order to receive the Grape Sheep. It cannot be purchased in the FarmVille Market. Cute! This article originally appeared on FarmVille Freak.   More on Games.com | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

FarmVille: La Maison Building Returns for a Limited Time Posted: 05 Apr 2010 05:10 AM PDT By popular demand and at the request of many FarmVille Freaks, La Maison building and supplies have returned to the FarmVille Market and Gifting page. The La Maison supplies will be available until APRIL 12th at 9pm PT (Pacific Time). This is a great opportunity to get the supplies to finish your La Maison without having to purchase them with farm cash. This article originally appeared on: FarmVille Freak.   More on Games.com | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

FarmVille: Unreleased Red Tractor Version 2 Posted: 05 Apr 2010 05:05 AM PDT Thank you to FarmVille Freak Vside for finding this unreleased FarmVille "convertible" Red Tractor. Sources: 1. FarmVille Unreleased Tractor V2 - Zynga FarmVille This article originally appeared on FarmVille Freak.   More on Games.com | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

FarmVille: One Free April Farm Cash Bonus Posted: 05 Apr 2010 05:00 AM PDT Would you like to receive 1 free FarmVille farm cash (1 FV$)? FarmVille Freak Vishal, FVFreak Robbie, FVFreak Maggie and FVFreak Lexingtim all shared with us the free farm cash link and asked us to post it to share with the FarmVille Freak community. You may use the link only once during the month of April and it will reward you with 1 free FV$. Yay for free farm cash! All you have to do is click the link: http://apps.facebook.com/onthefarm/reward.php?frType=AprilFreeCash After clicking the link you should receive a pop-up message indicating that you received it. Please check your FarmVille Gift Box for the farm cash. Did the 1 FV$ free link work for you? This article originally appeared on: FarmVille Freak.   More on Games.com | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

FarmVille: Gold Medal Co-op Completed! Posted: 05 Apr 2010 04:40 AM PDT Below are images of a completed Co-op job as well as the Mail Truck (Gold Medal Reward for A Pack Of Pickled Patty Pans) on the farm. This process is whole new experience for farmers, waiting for others to grow and harvest their crops may cause all new kinds of addictions to our beloved FarmVille game! Today there were several 'enhancement' messages, hopefully through those this feature will be able to all farmers. This article originally appeared on: FarmVille Freak.   More on Games.com | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

FarmVille: Unreleased School Bus Tractor Posted: 05 Apr 2010 04:30 AM PDT Another unreleased image, the FarmVille School Bus Tractor: Source: 1. FarmVille Unreleased School Bus Tractor - Zynga FarmVille 2. FarmViller.com Do you think this will be a reward for Gold completion of a Co-op challenge that is yet to be released? This article originally appeared on: FarmVille Freak.   More on Games.com | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

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