FrontierVille's It's Canning Time Goal puts you on the stopwatch... Go!

For the real hardcore pioneers out there, Zynga has added a timed Goal to FrontierVille titled "It's Canning Time." Players only have two days to complete this Goal, which you could think of a Cafe World Catering Order... except without the friends, cooking or fancy chef hats. Alright, it was a bit of a stretch, but either way you'll only have 48 hours to complete the three requirements and the Goal will expire for everyone on Nov. 8.

SundialHarvesting the 100 Tomato plants is fairly simple considering they ripen in just 15 minutes, but the 20 Cherry Trees will take some finesse as they take four eight-minute stages before they're ready for harvest. Not to mention that they can only be harvested every eight minutes after the fact. All the while, you'll need to ask your friends for 10 Canning Jars. In other words, this will not be an easy feat for the average pioneer, so--I can't believe I'm saying this--casual players need not apply.

For tackling and accomplishing this daunting task, you will be rewarded one Sundial decoration. "Wait, you mean to say 'no XP'?" Yes, my fellow trailblazers, only a mere sundial awaits you for all of your hard work. But it is a limited edition item that we probably won't see again--so let that comfort you after slaving over multitudes of tomatoes and cherries.

Zynga's RewardVille: Is it working as intended?

Perhaps it's already old news, but Zynga officially launched its RewardVille service over the weekend. Players can now be rewarded with zCoins for playing the gamut of Zynga games. It appears that this new service is designed to replace the cross-promotional Goals and missions that were so popular between games like FrontierVille and Mafia Wars in 2010. But is RewardVille working any better than those did? Does Zynga even care?

FarmVille forum contributor Annabelle Smitty asks in a nine-page thread, "Has RewardVille been successful at getting you back into [games you once gave up on]?" Several players have emphatically answered to the contrary while a few admitted that, yes, it has caused them to pop in on games like Treasure Isle for more zCoins towards new items. However, another player, Shini2, sums up what I think is more likely the case: "Well, it's not as bad as I thought. For those games I can just do a few specific things, and it's not that hard to get my 80 points. By this I mean that I don't really have to get into the games. Just spend like 15 minutes each."

Money!Isn't that what you do, anyway? It's pretty difficult to believe that RewardVille has magically reignited the old flames most of you had with Vampire Wars or PetVille. It's more likely that most players behave just like Shini: They'll log into each game and play for the 15 minutes required to net the 80 points and jump right back into their main crush whether it be CityVille or something else. This is because it's an incentive-based system. Once players find out that all they have to spend in one of these games is a few minutes for those points, that's all Zynga will have them for. And that's OK, because we're human (and naturally opportunistic).

However, a multi-billion dollar company like Zynga didn't get where it is now by accident. Perhaps Pincus and his crew know exactly what they're up to. Zynga already realizes that a vast majority of its gamers simply does not have time to keep track of more than one game. That said, it's understandable for the company to make the requirements for acquiring points in other games so simple and fast.

More importantly, it doesn't matter how long a player is logged into a game--that data is automatically recorded by websites like AppData. If even half of FarmVille's daily active players cosign to RewardVille, that's a boost worth millions in "new" users for games that are miles behind Zynga's top three. That could translate into more promotional and advertising opportunities as well as even better standing in the leader boards. Maybe, just maybe, everything is going according to plan.

[Image Credit: Social Trackr]

What do you think of RewardVille so far? Do you think Zynga intended for it to work this way or the players have already exploited it?

CityVille Cinco de Mayo Goals: Everything you need to know

While some would call today "Revenge of the 5th (The sequel to May the 4th Be With You)," it's also Cinco de Mayo. And the worldly developer we all know as Zynga has kick started its celebrations in CityVille. Two festive Goals have appeared in the game to honor the Mexican army's defeat of France during the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862 in the middle of the Civil War. And what better way to celebrate that legendary victory than gathering Maracas and harvesting corn?

1. Cinco de Mayo:

    Have or place one Mexican Taqueria
    Collect 3 Maracas
    Harvest 30 Corn


The Mexican Taqueria is a new business in CityVille that costs 2,500 coins and earns 330 coins for every 75 Goods consumed. To find the Maracas, just ask your friends for them through the Goal menu. All the while, harvesting 30 Corn will cost 1,860 coins total and take at least one day to harvest, if you plant them all at once.

CityVille Cinco de Mayo
2. Ready to Party:

    Have a Mariachi Band in your City
    Have 3 Mexican Flag Poles
    Send 3 Tour Buses to Neighbors Taqueria Restaurants


This second Goal is slightly more difficult in that it relies on your friends actually attempting the new Goals. First, we imagine the Mariachi Band is a quest reward for completing the first, as it's unavailable in the Market. Mexican Flag Poles are available in the market for 200 coins, but sending three Tour Buses to neighboring cities will be the tough part. Try collaborating with your friends through walls posts, messages or chat to make sure you can send all three before Cinco de Mayo becomes but a memory.

[Source: CityVille Info]



Check out the rest of our CityVille Cheats & Tips right here.

Have you seen or completed the new Cinco de Mayo Goals? How else do you plan to celebrate the holiday?