Mystery Game: May 1, 2011

The Mystery Game this week takes a look at some of FarmVille’s very best Animals, as it is a “Best Of” Mystery Game! Each dart will cost 16 FV Cash.

In a surprise twist, the recently-released Thoroughbred Stallion has made a return as the top prize in the Mystery Game. Yep, you read that right: Stallion — as in, Permanent Stallion. Plugging this fellow into your Horse Stable will allow you to produce Foals, EXP, Arborists, and Farmhands, as well as additional Coin bonuses for your neighbors to collect. Beyond that, the dude’s a stud, with an original model type that set him apart from the rest of the pack when he was released back in March. We love the great color scheme, as the blacks/deep browns look terrific against its white hooves. This is the definition of a Rare Mystery Game item.

Now here is an item that received an upgrade since last time: the Teacup Pig. Originally, the Teacup Pig was an Uncommon item in the Mystery Game, but due to the arrival of Pig Breeding, the Teacup Pig has been deemed a Rare item. Well, this returning Pig, dubbed the Teacup Pig, is absolutely adorable and should provide a ton of variety due to its crazy amount of colors. Pig Breeders, take notice of this really cool returning piggy.

The first Uncommon of the week is the other decorative Animal haven, the Butterfly Fountain. Do not let the fact that this one cannot be collected from fool you, it is also an absolute winner in every sense of the word. If you love fancy fountains that catch the eye of your friends and neighbors, prepare to fall in love with this one, which features a couple of gorgeous blue butterflies fluttering around the flowing water. The most impressive part of its design is the rainbow of colors that grace its base. This is a definitive keeper.

Now here is a true blast from the past: the Blue Jay. Much like the Butterfly-related items in this Mystery Game, the Blue Jay is strictly decorative, offering nothing in terms of collecting from it. It does have the always-appreciated “Fly!” option under its drop box, and it should complement our collection of Cardinals very well. We missed the Blue Jay when it originally appeared in FarmVille long, long ago, so we’re pleased with the option to receive it as an Uncommon item in the Mystery Game.

Speaking of butterflies, here is yet another ancient item in this week’s Mystery Game in the form of a decorative piece that is simply dubbed “Butterflies.” Again, this is strictly decorative, meaning that it will not provide you with any type of harvest and will not be “Ready.” That said, this is a really cool old school item that fans have been longing for for quite some time. We love hiding stuff like this behind lakes or ponds to give the illusion that the butterflies are flying above the pond rather than the bush that they’re actually hovering over.

Way back when, around the time that the Mystery Game first started up, it was the Mystery Chest. It eventually evolved into the Mystery Box, and then became the Mystery Game as we know it today. When it was the Mystery Chest, the second Animal that was ever available in the entire thing’s history was the Alpaca. It returns today as a Common entry in the Mystery Game. This Animal has quite the history in FarmVille, which we suppose goes without saying, making it a must-own for die-hard FarmVille fans.

We will be back this week with tons of other FarmVille coverage!

Mystery Game: April 24, 2011

Here are our results from this week’s Mystery Game!

Not too shabby at all! We even hit three Rare prizes out of these Darts. This is an above average week for us, and the only thing that was a bit tricky to obtain was one of the Uncommons. The Mystery Game costs 20 FV Cash per Dart this week, but is it worth it?

The only thing lamer than the Black Shire Horse being the top Rare prize of the week last week is the White Shire Horse being this week’s top get. Seriously, we have seen many excellent black and white Horses over the past six months throughout FarmVille, we desperately need something else – and no, we do not mean a pink variation of the Shire Horse as the top prize for next week. This is a disappointing top prize for a second straight week.

On the other hand, it is hard to go wrong with a secondary Rare prize that’s in the form of the White Wolf. It has the feel of an Uncommon prize more so than one of the two Rares, but it’s still adorable if you do not have a Wolf up to this point (otherwise it would be redundant). The best part about this White Wolf is, of course, the animation where it howls at the moon, as seen above. This is the usual Wolf model, so as mentioned it may seem a bit pointless if you’ve already got a Wolf on your farm.

Get ready to say “Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!” as loud as possible, as the returning White Kitten has arrived in FarmVille as an Uncommon Animal in this week’s Mystery Game.  We were hoping for a separate feature on Kittens, sort of like how the Ducklings and Piglets became a small factor in the game, but we suppose this will make do. The White Kitten is fairly cute is an unorthodox way, as it closely resembles a big cat’s kittens compared to a domesticated cat’s babies.

We previously spoke of the Red Fox Kit, an Uncommon Animal from the Mystery Game on March 22, 2011, and mentioned how it was an improved repaint of an older Animal named the Arctic Fox. Well, now you’re staring at it. We always thought this design was stellar, but it seems a little strange to us that Zynga is re-releasing this one so close after launching the paint job just one month ago. Certainly a curious decision, and one that will be met with mixed views, we’re guessing.

Yeah, there are even more re-releases in this week’s Mystery Game, as half of the items that comprise the Mystery Game this week. This is the White Squirrel, which will cheer up the majority of our readers despite our hatred of this goofy-looking critter. As always, we’re here to slam the beloved Squirrels. We were shocked to see how many of our readers loved the Squirrels as their favorite Animal in all of FarmVille, so we definitely recognize that we are in the minority here, but yikes… We really dislike their design. Oh well, love it or hate it, it is a Common item this week.

To wrap up this week’s Mystery Game is our favorite item of the entire shebang and one of the two Common items to fill out the Mystery Game’s roster, the White Stork. This is a brilliant design that closely resembles the previously-released Baby Alpaca and Deer Fawn from older Mystery Games. We’re guessing the same, very talented artist designed this one, as well, as it certainly visits the slender, tall, and stylistic profile. Regardless, we love it because it really stands out. It ruffles its feathers occasionally by the twitching of its wings.

All-in-all, we recommend passing this week. It costs too much at 20 FV Cash per throw, it has a weak top prize and features not one, not two, but three returning items. Overall, this one is a bummer.

News: Cream Egg Tree Popping Up in Mystery Seedlings

Just when we thought that a cool Easter item would evade FarmVille, we get a creamy treat!

One of our favorite FarmVille Posters, Tracy, sent us this picture of a brand new Tree that might be available on the Market come Wednesday evening: the Cream Egg Tree! This is the newest Tree to be popping up in Mystery Seedlings throughout FarmVille, so we suspect that it will arrive in the very near future!

Are you excited to see this delicious treat of a Tree? What do you think the Level 1 version of the Tree is? Do you think it will arrive in the Wednesday update?

Mystery Game: April 17, 2011

Tonight’s Mystery Game kicked us pretty hard in the butt.

Pictures speak louder than words, so here is a picture of how black and blue our rear will look in the morning. Combine this hefty toll with the fact that it is an expensive Mystery Game this week (20 FV Cash per Dart), and you have a formula for us crying in the corner. We guess that’s what we get for nailing six prizes on six darts last week.

Here is the item that we searched all across the board for before finally finding it on the second-to-last row, the Black Shire Horse. We have, of course, seen this particular Horse in FarmVille before only with a different coat of paint on it, so we’re none too pleased to see it as the top prize of the Mystery Game this week. At best, this should have been an inexpensive Market Horse due to the fact that it is a clone of an older Horse. We would have much preferred to see a new Cow instead of a repainted Horse. It produces its own Foal if you’re a Horse Breeder and that’s a selling point for you.

Zynga, if you’re listening, we have around 25 Horses outside of our Horse Stable because we are out of room and desperately need several expansions. Please make it a priority, as it makes Horse Breeding very difficult for devout, paying Breeders. Thank you!

The other Rare item in the Mystery Game tonight is one for the Owl lovers out there, the Burrowing Owl. Once again we are faced with a Rare item that looks a little too similar to past Market purchases, although at least this one is unique enough to warrant collectability. We love the variety of spots that encase its large head. We’ve got a soft spot in our hearts for those darn Owls and their “Fly!” ability, as seen in the above picture. It’s not the best Rare item, or the best Owl, but it is the best Rare item this week and should appeal to Owl collectors.

In fact, if you collect Birds in general, this week’s Mystery Game might appeal to you on more than just the Rare level. One of the Uncommon items this week is a really awesome new Bird, the California Condor. For those unaware of the lingo, the California Condor is a member of the vulture family, and a little fun fact: FarmVille Post’s Zoop is a vulture aficionado, so we’re happy campers with this selection. We never thought we’d see such an awesome critter in FarmVille. It looks slightly out of place on that gorgeous perch, but we’re not complaining: this one’s a big-time winner.

Hey, bub! It’s time to sharpen some claws, as the second Uncommon item is Wolverine! …Oh, sorry, A Wolverine, not THE Wolverine. We thought it was the X-Men star until we saw it was actually a four-legged beast. This dude looks like he could use a big massage or something – look how tense the poor thing looks. Somebody hook him up with a Massage Envy gift card or something. He’s super cute, regardless of how he looks like he wants to rip our face off.

One of the reasons we actually like this Mystery Game, despite the lackluster top Rare prize on the week, is the fact that all of the Uncommons and Commons are really good, and that’s more than likely what you will get when you play. Take, for example, the first Common of the week: the Sonoran Pronghorn. Wait, what? That’s a weird name. Despite knowing our way around aviary life, we had to Google this fella to find out that he is a member of an endangered subspecies living here in America. Regardless, we love its absolutely gorgeous markings, which almost look tribal by nature.

To round out the Mystery Game this week, we have the final Common item: the Mountain Goat. In a word, it’s pretty “awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww.” Seriously, look how cute that little guy is, all furry and smiling like everything’s goin’ right for him today. We particularly love the legs and feet on this one. Very rarely can you describe something in FarmVille as “cuddly,” but we’d be hard-pressed to find any other Animal that has come out as of late that is cuddlier than this Mountain Goat.

All-in-all, it’s an expensive Mystery Game with a so-so top prize that many will seek out, simply because it produces a new baby. On the contrary, we think this Mystery Game is worth playing for the stuff you’re more inclined to get in the first place.

Mystery Game: April 10, 2011

Oh-me-oh-my-oh, would you just look at how good we managed to do in the Mystery Game tonight!

Wow! What incredible luck! This is, by far, our best Mystery Game luck ever recorded: six Mystery Darts, all six prizes. Incredible! Document it to give us hope when we pop twenty balloons next week! The Mystery Game revolves entirely around Decorations, so steer clear if you’re looking for Animals. It costs 16 FV Cash per Dart, and has some truly amazing stuff inside. Let’s take a look!

This is the advertised top Rare prize of the week and the final item that we acquired on that bottom balloon, the Cob Cottage. We figured this prize would be massive in scale, given the fact that it is Rare and we have seen many huge Buildings as of late, but it is about moderately-sized, as you can clearly see from the above depiction. We love the sloping rooftop on this one, seemingly made of straw, and the surrounding foliage in back and along the sides of the Building. The floral arrangements out front really set it off, too. This is one Building that is worthy of one of the Rare slots.

The other Rare spot in the rotation this week belongs to another Decoration, the Lilypad Bridge. Unlike the Cob Cottage, this is the head-scratcher of the evening, as it certainly does not belong in the Rare spot of the Mystery Game. Don’t get us wrong, it is not a poorly-designed Decoration, but it merely lacks the punch that Rare items require. When you receive a Rare item, it should stimulate your brain and make you think “Wow! That is great!” The Lilypad Bridge, however, feels more like an Uncommon item at best. It has slight animation with a tiny frog on one of the lily pads, but because of the animation it cannot be rotated, a major hang-up for bridges, as we cannot adjust it to fit our farm, as it definitely would if we had that ability.

All’s not lost, though, as Bird lovers can rejoice due to the new selection as one of this week’s Uncommon items: the Amazon Parrot. The Amazon Parrot is one of the best Bird Decorations to come to FarmVille in many, many months, as it offers a very adorable design with many bright colors to keep your eyes working overtime. This could have been the Rare prize instead of the Lilypad Bridge, in our opinion. It has the usual “Fly!” option under its drop box, which you can see above. We absolutely love the Amazonian flowers that adorn the branch that the Amazon Parrot perches upon, as well. This one is a keeper.

Here is a blast from the past, and one of the items that has been on our original farm for what seems like over a year. This is the Leapfrog Well, an old school well that is just littered with many different frogs, from purple to green to brown to olive. This is one of our all-time favorite Decorations, and its return is a testament to how highly Zynga thinks of it. We  get many compliments on this item, so we are happy to see it return to FarmVille as an Uncommon entry in this week’s Mystery Game so that our neighbors may have the opportunity to obtain it.

For all of you Sheep lovers out there, one of the Common items this week may satiate your taste for cutesy Sheep without diving into your Sheep Pen. We are, of course, talking about the decorative Lounge Swing, an animated swing that flies to and fro through the air with a regular Sheep in the driver’s seat, with a Pig riding shotgun. This is a really cute addition to the Decorations, as the animation is fluid and we love the ivy growing along the wooden boards holding the swing together.

Lastly for this week’s Mystery Game is the final Common item of the endeavor, the Tulip Fountain. This is not one of our favorite Fountains in the game, though to its credit there are already many, many fantastic pieces in the category throughout FarmVille’s history. We simply dislike the design of the flora surrounding the Fountain, and its animation is nothing to write home about, either. Playing the Mystery Game on a week full of Decorations can be a lot like shooting yourself in the foot… actually, it’s nothing like that at all, but play along with the turn of phrase and don’t take it literally. Our point is if you hit four Commons and they are all Animals, it’s not so bad because you will receive Coins from them. But let’s assume you hit four Tulip Fountains… What on Earth will you do with four of the same Decoration?

Overall, there are some hits and misses in this one, but if you need a new Decoration to spruce up your farm, you can certainly do worse.

Mystery Game: April 3, 2011

Well, it has been one wonky ride, let us tell ya, but we finally have a review of this week’s Mystery Game, thanks to FarmVille Poster Eric, who has subbed in his winnings this week with ours.

We tried to play the game this week, but our board is still reading that we have won an Appaloosa Horse and a Woodpecker from the glitched game. Zynga refunded our FV Cash, but did not fork over the Rare and Common items that we should have won. Ouch. Call us kooky, but landing that top Rare prize of the week in a single dart is a great, rare feeling; imagine receiving that Rare prize, but it’s the wrong one, and then being refunded instead of given the Rare prize. It’s like winning the lottery, only to be told a drunk guy picked the numbers, so it doesn’t count anymore. Leave us unimpressed.

As you can see, Poster Eric had tremendous luck this week! He managed to obtain all six of the items on a mere ten balloons! Hey Eric, spread some of that luck our way! He is one of our neighbors and was kind enough to spread his winnings out across his farm for us to gawk at and judge accordingly! It costs 20 FV Cash per dart this week.

This is the big bad Maltese Tiger, the grand prize that we should have landed ourselves with that fateful dart we flung at the board. Oh well. Too bad, as it’s a pretty great new Tiger in FarmVille for all of you fans of exotic pets. It is solid gray along its back, striped with black lines spaced out conveniently across. The grays slightly lighten up similar to the change in a sunset, becoming white by the time it reaches the belly and chin of the adorable beast. This is a great Tiger, and a fun top prize.

The other Rare is an unconventional pick, as we sparsely see bigger wild Animals in the Mystery Game’s top spots, which are usually reserved for new Cows, Horses, and interesting Buildings. This is the Red Deer, and boy, does it blink often; we tried to take a photo four times, and every time it had its eyes closed. We’ll call it “destiny” and simply move along! This is a cute addition, but doesn’t feel like a Rare prize to us; Rares are usually reserved for something truly unique, as to where this fellow looks so much like many of the other Deers in the FarmVille universe that it does not pack the punch that the top spots deserve. It’s definitely not a bad choice, but it feels more like an Uncommon prize.

On the flipside, this Uncommon Red Kite does feel like a Rare prize. Strange how it all evens out, isn’t it? Not that we are complaining, mind you; we much prefer incredibly cool prizes as Uncommons and Commons compared to Rares, since they are so much easier to obtain. Most will see the Red Kite and immediately assume it is a Bald Eagle, but that is not the case. Either way, it will attract the attention of your neighbors’ eyeballs, as it certainly caught our eye. This one is strictly decorative and contains a “Fly!” feature from the drop box.

The second of the two Uncommons this week is about as cute as they come. It is the Red Wolf, an Animal that will certainly make waves at the heartstrings of our dear readers who adore puppies; after all, doesn’t this baby wolf resemble a dog? Closely related by DNA and cuteness, it seems! The tipping point for this Uncommon Red Wolf is that it occasionally howls at the moon. It’s so adorable, it almost seems too cute to be true… hopefully it doesn’t morph back into Michael Jackson or something, ala Thriller.

The Red Squirrel is an infinite improvement over the, in our opinion, completely lame Brown and White Squirrels. This guy resembles those two strange oddities in the FarmVille universe, but manages to give the squirrely look his own flair with fuzzy red cheeks and tail. Somehow, it looks more like an Animal in FarmVille this way instead of some deranged cartoon character. Sorry Squirrel fans, we know there are a lot of you out there who are regular Post readers, but we cannot change the way we feel in our heart of hearts. You can make fun of our love for ivy and moss, if it makes you feel any better!

Finally, we will conclude this evening’s Mystery Game review with the final Common prize of the event: the Blue Arrow Frog. This might be our favorite of the whole game. You see, on our original farm, we bought heavily into the old Frog Mystery Boxes waaay back in the day, and managed to come out with a boatload of Frog-related goodies, so our farm is coated with all colors of Frog-decorated items. This is a simple paint job of a popular Animal, but isn’t it a splendid paint job? Just look at that shade of blue! Now if only we could manage to make a sheep with those colors.

Overall, this week depends solely on your decision whether or not to play. There are a few really cool, unique Animals in this week’s game, but with no “functional” ones to spread around, we have a hard time justifying the entry fee on 20 FV Cash.

Glitched Mystery Game for April 3, 2011

There seem to be technical difficulties in tonight’s Mystery Game. We grabbed one Mystery Dart and flung it onto the board, becoming ecstatic when we realized we popped the top Rare of the night on the first dart…

…only to realize that the Rare we received was the Appaloosa Horse, a Horse that has been available heavily in the past, and not the sought-after adorable Big Cat that can be found on the “Play Mystery Game” teaser, as seen below…

…What the heck? Seriously, that sucks. We are putting in a customer support ticket, since we lost two Mystery Darts full of a bunch of old Southwest items that we’ve previously gotten, including a Woodpecker that we are almost certain we paid Coins for around a year ago.

Unless you are looking for the likes of the Bobcat, Longhorn Cow, and several other previously-readily-available FarmVille Animals that have been available for Coins or for free, save your Mystery Darts.

Mystery Game: March 27, 2011

It’s that time of the week again, the Mystery Game has arrived! This week’s entry focuses on everybody favorite flyin’, feathered friends, birds! Each Mystery Dart this week will run you 18 FV Cash per shot.

As you can see, this week did not go so well for us. You wouldn’t guess it by looking at the picture, but we actually started off on fire this week, going five for five with the top row of balloons. We always go top shelf to start and always recommend it, as we have good results at the top. Of course, things took a turn for the worse when we tried to obtain…

The White Barn Owl, otherwise known as our great FV Cash nemesis since we burned through so much to acquire it, is a gorgeous new Owl for the FarmVille players out there who are like us and just can’t get enough of the Owls in the game. We really love the design of the actual Owl in this one, with its white trim around the bottom of its chin and the light tan face in a heart shape. It is a really beautiful Owl, though considering it is a decorative piece instead of a collective Animal, we question every time something you get nothing in return from is in one of the Rare slots of the Mystery Game.

On the flipside of this argument is something that you not only collect Coins from, but can receive rare Mystery Eggs from when placed inside of the Chicken Coop: the Sussex Chicken, a brand new English Countryside-themed Chicken that fits the part. This guy slightly resembles your average FarmVille Chicken with a few exceptions; most notably that it has black “Rorschach test”-type print patterns in black that resembles the psychological association exam. We also love the fact that it is more of a smoked gray color than plain white. It gives away English Countryside Eggs, for those interested.

Onto the Uncommon releases in this Mystery Game, the first of which is the Tufted Duck, a new addition to the Duck Pond to make all of your visiting neighbors a little more jealous. We got to be honest, the Tufted Duck rocks, and the reason is in the eyeliner: look at those gorgeous purple rings that envelop the eyes of this new aviary buddy of ours. Otherwise, this guy is a pretty standard-looking Duck, isn’t he? Good thing for a little bit of make-up!

The second Uncommon item in this week’s Mystery Game is another decorative piece to add to your bird collection, and a worthy one at that. The Kingfisher Decoration is a pair of two Kingfisher birds perched atop a floral-adorned branch, and features the beloved “Fly!” option that all of the decorative birds have. These birds themselves are truly beautiful, albeit a little too small to see. They are a glorious shade of teal across their backs, with their stomachs exposing their true, gold colors. This is the perfect addition to the Uncommon slot.

As for the Commons, which we received a lot of, we have the Grey Heron. Truth be told, this is probably our favorite addition to the Mystery Game this week, though it is mostly a crapshoot based on preferences. We love cranes in real life, so seeing the Grey Heron, a bird which is not entirely dissimilar to the crane or stork, so accurately portrayed is a definite plus. One issue that we have with it is the fact that it is has the same animation as a common Chicken, which seems a little… off.

Lastly, wrapping up this week’s Mystery Game is the final Common selection, the English Partridge. This little fellow is the perfect Common to receive, as it can be collected from, is very small and thus easy to find a space on your farm to store duplicates, and is completely unique in its design. It has an off-gray color around its body with little specks of brown, somewhat similar to a pigeon’s gray-on-black markings. It flutters its wings softly, though the animation is minimal.

All-in-all, nothing truly blew us away in this week’s Mystery Game, but if you love birds, toss a dart or two.

Mystery Game: March 22, 2011

It’s the Mystery Game! This week’s game contains nothing but Animals, and the top two Rares for the week are worth busting out those free Mystery Darts for!

As you can see, we hit up around half of the board in search of the Rare Horse, capturing two Jersey Cows in the process. We can’t complain with our results, as they came on free Darts. We’ve been saving all of our Darts for the games that cost 20 FV Cash per Dart, such as this week.

First up is the top pick of the week, the Rare Thoroughbred Stallion. Yep, you read that right: Stallion — as in, Permanent Stallion. Plugging this fellow into your Horse Stable will allow you to produce Foals, EXP, Arborists, and Farmhands, as well as additional Coin bonuses for your neighbors to collect. Beyond that, the dude’s a stud, with an all-new original model type that sets him apart from the rest of the pack. We love the great color scheme, as the blacks/deep browns look terrific against its white hooves. This is the definition of a Rare Mystery Game item, and our favorite in months.

Likewise, the other Rare of the week is one of the best Cows we have ever seen in the FarmVille universe: the Jersey Cow. We managed to get two of these guys, and plan on putting one on each of our farms. Simply put, this one is just… cute. It has a boxed-in head shape and occasionally bobs its boxy head, chewing on something tasty. What can we say? We are suckers for cute Animals in the world of virtual farming. The color pattern is truly exceptional, to boot, making this week a big thumbs up from a design standpoint.

Now we are dipping into the Uncommons, where things go from terrific to less so. It’s not so much that the first Uncommon, the Red Fox Kit – not to be confused with the comedian Red Foxx – is a fine Animal, but it is, after all, just a repaint of the Arctic Fox. It is, at least, an improvement over the original design, as it looks a little more natural than its snow-bred brethren. All-in-all, this is our least favorite of this week’s Mystery Game.

And then things get a little ugly, but in a good way, as the other Uncommon in this week’s Mystery Game is a pretty heinous-looking Mole. Not to be confused, of course, with the Storage Cellar Mole that could be obtained after trading in so many Shovels. This one is a flat, fully-visible entry into the sneaky Mole lineage in FarmVille. It features a scrunched-up face that is pretty indistinguishable when it comes to rodents, so they certainly nailed the actual design itself down quite well.

In a land of repaints, we never mind seeing new Cats hit FarmVille, regardless of how shameless their paint jobs are. This is the Short Haired Cat, an entirely gray-haired feline with a frisky tail that sways to and fro freely. We noticed that its head, as with most cats, is super huge. Man, do we love cats. This is a must-have for FarmVille players who own gray cats with big noggins, just as we ourselves collect black cats with big noggins. Let us know if you’re a cat owner, we’d love to hear stories about your cats!

Lastly, the final Common item in the Mystery Game this week is the Hedgehog. This is a returning item to the Mystery Game, so you can find our previous review by clicking here.

Our verdict: if you love Cows and Horses, you pretty much have to play this week. If you are not into them, skip it, as it is a rather expensive Mystery Game.