Top 25 Facebook Games - September 2011: Rise of The Sims Social

Will Zynga finally be dethroned? August saw one of the biggest upsets in Facebook gaming history, as EA and Playfish released The Sims Social. Short after its shoddy release in the middle of the month, the game has skyrocketed to third place this month with over 7.5 million daily players and fifth place on the monthly player charts with over 24 million players. While CityVille, Empires & Allies, Zynga Poker and FarmVille are on top of the charts yet again, all four games have suffered declines.

If this doesn't stir the pot a bit in the Facebook gaming world, nothing will. But The Sims Social isn't the only new game to upset the charts and displace a few hit games. Zynga's The Pioneer Trail expansion hit the monthly chart just under The Sims Social in sixth place at a healthy 19.7 million players. Words with Friends, the Facebook version of the popular mobile game, released in August to over 11.5 million monthly players, while Ubisoft set The Smurfs and Co. loose to over 8.6 million rabid fans and hit 16th place.

The casualties for this month include August's last five spot holders: Treasure Isle, Zombie Lane, Happy Aquarium, Mall World and Crime City. These games weren't just displaced because of the influx of new games hitting top spots, but all five were already on a decline. This allowed new additions like the Bubble and Ninja Sagas in the 21 and 22 spots at 6.6 million and 6.2 million monthly players, respectively.

Top 25 Facebook Games September
But look more closely at this month's chart, and you'll notice that each and every one of these brand new games to upset the charts is backed by a massive, recognizable brand. Perhaps this is what it takes to disrupt the status quo in Facebook games. And with ambitious branded games like Dexter Slice of Life on the way, our guess is that you'll be seeing a lot more from where The Sims Social and The Smurfs and Co. came from.

Pioneer Trail School House Upgrade: Everything you need to know

As your little ones sadly march off to another year of dreaded school, Zynga has turned that familiar fiasco into the next exciting update to Pioneer Trail. The School House can now be upgraded in a series of complex, repeatable Goals that will ultimately build your children's confidence in riding a pony to school. Of course, you must have at least one child and a completed School House. Since you probably just can't wait to send even more kids away to school, here's everything you need to know:

If you meet the above criteria, then a pop-up will appear next time you log in, click the green button to get started. (If you choose not to start immediately, just click on the School House and then "Upgrade" to start on the building.) To start the series of Goals, click on your oldest child, who will have an exclamation point hovering above its head.

Childhood Memories

    Have or Start the School House upgrade
    Feed 20 Pigs
    Feed 20 Ducks


Again, to start the upgrade, just click on the School House and then "Upgrade." From there, Humble Bob will appear with a message asking for a payment of 10 coins to start upgrading the building. Once you pay up, the School House will appear under a tarp during the upgrade process, which requires you to collect the following items:
Finish your School House
We image that, based on the wording of the upgrade menu, you will post requests to your News Feed for the 10 School Bells, School Desks and Text Books. The latter three, however, look as if you'll be asking friends directly for them. And that's especially unfortunate considering you need 15 of each.

The Pigs and Ducks must be fed on your Homestead, the first of which costs 365 coins, while we imagine the latter is referring to Injured Ducks and feeding them Critter Milk. Your rewards for completing this Goal include an Ice Cream Sandwich, 250XP and 250 Coins.

Make Hay While the Sun Shines!

    Tend 12 Horses on your homestead or neighbors'
    Collect 10 Small Pitchforks
    With your Child, mount the Playful Pony


This Goal is somewhat special in that it cannot be completed until you fill the Confidence Meter completely. This feature measures your progress in the repeatable Confidence Goals, which must be complete three times over. Though, each time you finish the set of Goals, you will be reward with a new animal and eventually the Playful Pony.

Before we get to that, however, you'll likely find the 10 Small Pitchforks through friend requests, as they're not a Market item. Your rewards for completing this overarching Goal will be an Apple Treat, 500XP and 500 Coins. Onto the Confidence Meter and its Goals.
Pioneer Trail Confidence Meter
Whenever you complete a "First Day of School" Goal, your child's Confidence Meter will grow, and completing the series will reward you with special decorative animals each time. The final reward will be the Playful Pony, which is exactly what you need to finish this series once and for all.

Fresh N' Fruity

    Harvest 20 Pink Roses
    Harvest 40 Apple Trees
    Collect 10 Salami


To harvest 20 Pink Roses, you will need at least 6,000 coins and 14 hours time, if you plant them all at once. Tending to an Apple Tree counts as harvesting it, though they don't produce Food until they're mature. Apple Trees cost 800 coins apiece. The 10 Salami more than likely come from asking your friends for them. For completing this Goal, enjoy a Green Apple Tree, six Wax Canvases and six Leather Straps.

Baby's Got A Brand New Bag

    Collect 15 School Supplies
    Collect 50 Reputation Points
    Craft two Rucksacks in the School House


School Supplies can be sent among friends through the Free Gifts page, so make sure to update your Wishlist with this item to increase your chances of friends sending them your way. To gather 50 Reputation Points, you must visit your friends' Homesteads and do favors for them. Since each visit provides five Reputation Points, just visit 10 friends and be done with it.
School House Crafting Workbench
To craft two Rucksacks, you will need a total of 16 Wax Canvases and 9 Leather Straps, both of which are found through asking friends (and the previous Goal's reward gives you a head start). Your rewards for this Goal are a Spring Water, 12 Copper Rivets and 12 Cloth Denim.

Upgraded School HouseGotta Look Good

    Collect Upgraded School House bonus once
    Collect 10 Pairs of Shoes
    Craft three School Outfits in the School House


Of course, you will have to have an Upgrade School House by this point. To find the 10 Pairs of Shoes, it looks like you'll yet again have to ask your friends. The same general idea in the previous Goal applies to this final Goal.

You're given a jump start with 12 Copper Rivets and Cloth Denim, but crafting three School Outfits will require a total of 27 Cooper Rivets and 18 Cloth Denim, the rest of which you must ask friends for. Enjoy your new Gala Apple Tree, 2,000XP and 2,000 Coins for completing this Goal.

The first time you complete this series of Goals, you'll earn a Giant Hamster. The second time around will reward you with a Cute Dalmatian (just a decorative animal), and the third tour will net you that Playful Pony required to finish the Goal titled "Make Hay While the Sun Shines!" Finally, that's the end of the School House upgrade Goals.
[Source and Image Credit: Zynga]

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

Have you started putting your digital kids through school once more? What tips do you have to complete these Goals even more quickly?

Pioneer Trail Halloween on the Homestead Contest: Walk away with 2,000 Horseshoes!

Talk about incentive! With Pioneer Trail throwing multiple Halloween events this year, you've got plenty to work with when it comes to decorating your Homestead for the holiday. That's a good thing too, as Zynga wants to see just what you can do with all of those items (even those that you still have from last year) in its Halloween on the Homestead contest taking place on the game's official forums.

From now until November 2, you can take a screenshot of your Homestead decked out in all of its spooky, creepy glory and then post it on the forums for judging. At the end of the submission period, the Pioneer Trail Community Team will judge each picture on three categories: Originality, presentation and holiday theme. Once they've picked the top 20 entries, the fans will get to vote on which three pictures they like best.

The top prize? A whopping 2,000 Horseshoes! If you don't purchase them while they're on sale, that's a current value of over $200 US! Just think of all the decorations, boosts and animals that could purchase! If you're not lucky enough to be voted into the top prize, you could also win second or third place, with prizes of 1,000 and 500 Horseshoes each, respectively.

For full details on how to enter the contest, or to jump right in and do so, make sure to check out the game's official forums.

[Image Credit: Forums User Otamay]

Check out the rest of our Halloween 2011 coverage right here.

Will you enter Pioneer Trail's Halloween on the Homestead decorating contest? What would you do with 2,000 Horseshoes? Would you save them for future use, or would you go on a shopping spree right now?

Capital One gets in Zynga's wallet with FarmVille, CityVille, Pioneer Trail

Capital One asks Zynga once again, "What's in your wallet?" To which the developer replies, "Why, FarmVille, CityVille and Pioneer Trail, of course!" Mashable reports that the national financial services firm has teamed up with Zynga again for three brand new in-game branding promotions involving Capital One's infamous goat character. Well, two outta three, at least.

Granted, keep in mind that these promotions are slowly rolling out to players, as I've yet to see most of them in my games. Starting with none other than FarmVille, Capital One returns (remember the Visigoths?) with its beloved goat to the game as a breedable animal, which comes just in time for the slew of Breeding Pens in the game.

CityVille, on the other hand, simply features a Capital One-branded Bank for players to use, and opening it offers players a bonus decoration as well as additional Coins, Energy and other resources. Pioneer Trail has its very own set of Goals to help the goat-on-arrival find his lost band mates, which ultimately reward players with a Capital One goat of their own.

This is the second time Capital One has worked with Zynga this year in a branding promotion, and it comes hot off of the heels of a Best Buy promotion conducted through CityVille. And this will be far from the last branded promotion to be featured in a Zynga game. (If anything, the work of Ecko|Code speaks to its popularity.)

The San Francisco-based (but global) developer is joining forces with Lucasfilm to bring Indiana Jones into Adventure World, Zynga Boston's debut Facebook game. Considering the game has been retitled, "Adventure World: An Indiana Jones Game," it could be the first Zynga game built entirely around a brand. So yes, branded Facebook games are here to stay.

Are you psyched for these upcoming in-game promotions across the company's three most recognizable Facebook games? What do you think of the movement toward branding in Facebook games overall? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment.

Pioneer Trail: Zynga offers a week of freebies in thank you letter to fans

Tonight, Zynga sent out an email to all Pioneer Trail players announcing a week-long, in-game giveaway to all its loyal fans. This email is signed by the John Osvald, the General Manager of FrontierVille, and carries the subject heading of "Been havin' trouble? Let us make it right as rain."

While he doesn't mention any specific performance issues with the game aside from success in being able to "cut the load times in half", he did very clearly acknowledge that "there have been more issues in the game than you're used to, and for that, I sincerely apologize." And just to show how sorry he is, players now have a week's worth of daily freebies to look forward to!

    From tomorrow, Saturday, September 10th through Saturday, September 17th, we'll be giving away a special present for every day you log into The Pioneer Trail, from horseshoes, to mystery crates... even the book of experience (which grants the holder a full level up!) We've also created a forum topic for discussion at forums.zynga.com. If you'd like to participate, I'll be reading! :)

You can see a copy of the official email for yourself below. (Click on the image if you need to make it bigger.)
FrontierVille Pioneer Trail Zynga fan letter from John Osvald
Will you be logging into Pioneer Trail daily next week for your free goodies? Sound off in the comments. 13 Comments