FarmVille 2 on Facebook

As regular readers know, I have always advocated that social games require a social mindset. The best way to get ahead in levels is always to get a bunch of neighbors, and help them.

There's both free money and free XP points to be gained from this so you should get involved in these games by helping neighbors.

If you haven't already played FarmVille 2, I'll have to say it is a major improvement over the previous FarmVille, and Zynga have definitely made an effort in creating nice sounds that go with feeding cattle...

Have a nice X-mas everyone, and a Happy New Year. See you on the other side of the fireworks. :-)

Level 736 In Mob Wars

Today, I leveled at 736. Moving quickly ahead, and I sure hope you will join the fun. It's easy to do. Simply add your Mob Wars code as a comment so both I and regular readers can add you.

Remember to have fun. :-)

Level 700 In Mob Wars

A major milestone was reached this evening when I reached level 700. I welcome your comments as to which information you need about the game of Mob Wars.

It is my primary intention to supply good information, and for that I need some feedback about what is good, what you're missing, and whether there is information you need more information about.

thanks very much beforehand. :-)

Level 691 - Two Great Tips For You

I have now reached level 691 in Mob Wars, and today I want to share two great tips with you.

Energy Shortcut
If you send energy requests, there is a limit to how often you can satisfy such a request. Shortcut? Send energy to a mob friend. In that way the receiver can send more back to you at the same time.

Money Shortcut
In the same way as mentioned above, you can do exactly the same when you send a 10% money refill.

You have just got a multiple chance of replenishing BOTH energy and money.

Have fun. :-)

Level 675 In Mob Wars

As I havementioned before new weapons become available as you reach new levels. Of those available I already have plenty, but am looking forward to reaching levels 680 and 690 where weapons and armor become available respectively.

What levels have you, dear readers, reached? You're welcome to link to your add code so people may also join forces with you. Pure win-win for all involved

Mafia Wars - Join the Fun

I was reminded you dear readers might like to get a direct link so you can join the mob in Mafia Wars, and therefore I want to share the link with you right away: http://apps.facebook.com/inthemafia/profile.php?id=%7B%22user%22%3A%22cHwxOTk1NzMz%22%7D. In that way you can start off with 185+3 members supporting your efforts to climb the levels in Mafia Wars...

Come join the fun, and enjoy a good game of Mafia Wars on this sunny Sunday. :-)

Level 638 in Mob Wars

Today I reached a double promotion, and something very interesting happened. I have just under 200 mob members in Mob Wars, and I beat a guy with 600+ members.

Apparently this player hasn't followed my blog because he may earn quite a bit of money, but equipment (armor, protection, weapons, vehicles etc) must follow the number of mob members to be effective.

Amazing he has ever reached any levels at alll without understandingvthe game... :-)

Mob Wars Level 636 - And a Word of Caution

Today I reached level 636, and that in itself isn't all that important. Daily promotions are no longer any surprise since I began using the Mob Wars app on my iPad.

But p•ssing people off IS dangerous in the game. I committed the mistake of adding someone to the hit list who had whacked me since I won fair and square in fights with a member of his family.

I ended up with -4,348 in experience points because he noticed I refilled my energy, and was online, doing other business.

Some people take this game all too personal. :-)

Anyway, I logged off for a couple of minutes, and then started rebuilding the experience. So now I am well on the way to level 637.

But just thought I would share the experience with you.

Remember: if you have anything in the games of Crime City, Mob Wars or Mafia Wars you want to share or ask about, then comments are more than welcome.

Have fun out there. :-)

Fight Your Way Through Levels

In both Mafia Wars and Mob Wars, an effective tool to increase your levels is fighting other bosses. The experience points you get from these fights is gold for both your 'street credibility', but also when compared with completing jobs.

Since your ammo comes back more quickly than your energy that will cause you to move much faster through new levels.

Have fun playing - and have a nice weekend. :-)

Mob Wars - Level 619

Now at level 619, I have had a chance to take a closer look at the Mob Wars app on my iPad. What is still missing is both the ability to 'super' attack large mobs, something you can do when you play Mob Wars using a browser logged in on Facebook.

Furthermore, access to your stockpile cards is unavailable when playing through the app.

Is Zynga listening?

That is a fair question.

If they want to increase their earnings from those who BUY their way to increased favor points they can spend in the black market, they should keep enhancing the app.

Now, you don't need to spend any money to become succesful in Mob Wars, but some of the people who have attained level 10,000 and above, and who run hitlists against each others costing trillions of game dollars must have resources from somewhere...

But Mob Wars must be enhanced in the app sphere to survive. Game players ARE becoming mobile so this is where the market is...

Mob Wars - Level 616

Things are moving rather fast in the field of Mob Wars. Many are playing using the app on mobile devices. Actually I have also noticed something rather amazing. People with under 50 mob members have also achieved levels 500 and above.

So size isn't the only thing you need, but creativity comes in all colors.

Have a nice, and playful, weekend everyone. :-)

Mob Wars - Level 608 Reached

As I wrote a few articles back the use of the Mob Wars app on the iPad has been very helpful in maintaining a regular player role.

This, obviously, doesn't mean I didn't play regularly before this, but it has been proven that I have played it considerably more since I bought the iPad.

What are YOUR favorite games on Facebook? Are there games you would like to hear more about, or special things about any of the games I have already written about you need more information about?

In other words: I welcome your comments. :-)

Mob Wars - Level 600 Reached

Just as I recently mentioned the Crime City game on the iPad, I must say improvements to the Mob Wars app has also gone very excellently, and I have reached level 600.

The only thing that hasn't yet been added to the Mob Wars app is checking your stockpile with all the bonus cards you get when you reach new levels in each job in cities, but that is easily checked using your internet browser since you don't get a complete collection in one go...

All in all, Facebook games are beginning to be rather well designed, and the worst of games don't really enjoy the same type of growth. So just as I mentioned 17 million users of Mafia Wars, a good determining factor is how many users are running the game. When the numbers have reached a certain level it is rather safe to assume that the game actually works.

Have fun playing - and as always, you are welcome to join my various mobs. :-)

Crime City App on the iPad

I must say quite a lot has happened since I originally tried the Crime City on the iPhone 4. Originally, I was somewhat surprised - and, yes, even disappointed - that you had to start all over from scratch when you played the Crime City game on the iPhone.

I am still disappointed that you can't transfer the level achieved on your Crime City profile connected to your Facebook profile when you play using the browser on your computer...

But the speed of the app on your iPad IS fast. Not just faster than on the iPhone 4, but it is quite literally fast and the gameplay is FAR improved compared with Flash running on your computer.

Funzio have really improved the app, and is warmly recommended if you want to enjoy the game.

The Art of Social Gameplay in Social Networks

When it comes to gameplay in social networks such as Facebook games, there is an art that has been forgotten. In order to GET help in your own games, you need to start the circle of good karma.

I have seen numerous players who gladly add themselves to your network, and even though they get help for the boss fights in Crime City or wars in Mafia Wars, they don't return the favor. Some even start a fight with a boss in Crime City, and don't even spend the first bullet (stamina), but expect their friends to do the entire work.

First of all, added bonus - special hardware - is earned by delivering at least 10% of the damage in Crime City. If you do more, some would say it was wasted. That is the wrong attitude, and here's the reason why this is so. If the fight ends (after 2 or 3 days) without a full win even your 10% help is wasted.

So for tougher bosses you need to go all in - and don't waste time adding several bosses to the fight list at the same time. You will only lose everything from that strategy.

But if you want some real fun, and are willing to return the favor you can get a lot of help by being social in your gameplay. Start being succesful today so you won't be considered a leech as some are in online games.

Game Design - Why Change When It Works?

Today I am going to focus on a general issue which affects both Mafia Wars and Mob Wars players. That subject is Game Design.

Why is it some designers keep changing the design of their games? They have millions of active players who ENJOYED their games as they were - and yet they begin changing the whole appearance of their games?

It has long ago been established that people are annoyed by the changes made to their Facebook profiles. Recently, the so-called Timeline has been a major issue with many Facebook users. You can't go back once you have activated your Timeline.

I would agree changes are good when you fix bugs in your system.

I would also agree changes are good when you increase the speed of your applications.

But when you just make changes for the change itself - that really annoys me.

What is your stand on this?

Thanks beforehand for your feedback

Crime City Collections

It never ceases to amaze me how collections gathered from laundromats in the Crime City game on Facebook are somewhat identical all the time. Just watch this:



Over 400 sweat pants - and that multi-colored t-shirt is actually the key to trading in the collection. More t-shirts certainly needed to remove this stock of incredible proportions...

Have you had similar experiences in this game - or in other games on Facebook?

About Crime City

Dear readers, I want to correct myself here. I previously said Crime City was produced by Zynga. That is wrong. The company behind Crime City is Funzio.

Zynga have created Mafia Wars and Mob Wars, but they are NOT the authors behind Crime City, and I just wanted to rectify that as soon as I discovered I had made a mistake.

Have a nice weekend everyone. :-)

Now Over 18 Million Players

Welcome to 2012, and welcome to over a million more players during the last few months. When I played the game just a few minutes ago, the number of users was listed at 18.008.519 players of Mafia Wars.

So beyond reaching level 588, it is safe to say that Mafia Wars is a game that is picking up quite a bit of momentum. You can join the fun, and I wish everyone a succesful 2012 with lots of fun playing Mafia Wars. :-)