Pioneer Trail: Horseshoe bundles offer free prizes with each purchase

One look at the monthly active users in Pioneer Trail shows that the game isn't doing so hot (at least when compared to Zynga's other major Facebook properties). Currently sitting at 4.2 million monthly active users (1.4 million of those being daily users), the game has been losing users pretty consistently over the past few months, but if you're a loyal veteran, you can now receive some free items by pouring some real world cash back into the game.

There are three bundles that are now available via a in-game pop-up that will likely appear the next few times you login to the game. Ranging in price from $20 to $100, these bundles come with bulk Horseshoe bundles, along with various other prizes. Here's a complete rundown, so that you can decide if any of them are actually worth your hard-earned cash.

$20 Bundle - 170 Horseshoes and five Poker Cards
$50 Bundle - 465 Horseshoes, 10 Speedy Hands Boosts, Green Lightning Drink
$100 Bundle - 1,000 Horseshoes, 12 Hour Triple Mastery Boost, Beef Jerky, Polar Bear

Like many Horses, your avatar can ride this Polar Bear, which was originally released back during the Christmas holiday season. Personally, I'm not sure $100 is worth it, even if you do receive 1,000 Horseshoes in the process, but that will ultimately be up to each user to decide.

This promotion doesn't come clearly marked with any sort of expiration date, but wouldn't expect it to last forever. Make sure to check out the game sooner, rather than later, if you're interested in taking advantage of any of these bundle offers.

FarmVille: Wither's off while Zynga fixes slew of bugs

Throughout the day, FarmVille has been suffering from a number of annoying, or even game-breaking bugs. From the inability to travel between farms to not being able to open our Gift Boxes, you can say that FarmVille has seen better days.

While these issues (including other bugs that have simply made it impossible to play the game in some cases) may have been allowed to go on longer than most users would have liked, Zynga has now openly acknowledged the many issues on Facebook.

"FarmVille has been experiencing some technical difficulties that have been resulting in some users being unable to travel, open their gift boxes & play the game. We are working on resolving these issues as quickly as possible and we would like to thank you for your continued patience and understanding."

Unfortunately, the only thing we know for sure at this point is that wither has been turned off in the game, saving all of our crops from withering or bringing them back to life if they already had, no Unwither Ring needed. With all of the goals that are available in the game though, it will be interesting to see if their timers are increased to make up for the downtime we've all received. Personally, I won't hold my breath, but if we are so pleasantly surprised by the Big Z, we'll make sure to let you know.

Have you been experiencing any issues with FarmVille today? Have you lost Farm Cash or in-game progress as a result of them?

FarmVille: Send your helpful neighbors a Mini Rose Horse

If you have agreed to receive the occasional email from Zynga, you might have received a new survey in your inbox this week, asking for your opinions on a few Zynga games, and also giving you a chance to rate the potential of some new game ideas. While the majority of the questions are fairly basic (how often do you play a specific game, etc.), the survey quickly turns to the heart of the matter, detailing what could possibly be a new game in the company's lineup. Of course, Zynga wants to know what you think of the game concept first.

"Cook delicious food! Craft over 200 recipes in your world-class kitchen using fresh, exotic ingredients collected from local merchants, your garden, and your friends. Use top appliances to whip up amazing dishes that delight your customers and friends, and build the restaurant of your dreams."

From there, we're allowed to rate various features that could potentially be in this as-of-now unconfirmed game. We might be able to visit restaurants owned by real world celebrity chefs (Bobby Flay, Rachael Ray, etc.), cook dishes using ingredients from real world brands, or cook dishes on state of the art kitchen equipment. All in all, there are tons of options here surrounding the use of real world brands or celebrities in this game concept. Could Zynga be planning to create a cooking game with direct involvement from some of these chefs, or even the Food Network as a whole? Or, is this all really just a large brain-storming session looking for fan feedback?

Either way, it's definitely easy to say that this game concept is incredibly familiar to Cafe World (in fact, the ingredient collection feature was already released in the game's Signature Dish event), so it will be interesting to see if anything actually comes from it (perhaps this could be Cafe World 2?). If you wish to take the survey yourself, you can do so by clicking right here.
If you're lucky enough to get FarmVille to work this evening, and have 10 Farm Cash or more to spend, you can now make one of your neighbors' day, week or even month by purchasing them a Mini Rose Horse as part of the Valentine's Presents event.

Similar to the Holiday Presents event that allowed us to give our friends Present Trees, this Valentine's Present event gives you a chance to send Mini Rose Horses to up to six friends at a time, from a fairly random selection of your neighbors. For sending a single Mini Rose Horse, you'll be charged 10 Farm Cash, but will receive an exclusive Romeo Bear for being so generous.

If you don't find the friend you'd like to send a gift to the first time you load this window, simply close it and open it back up by clicking on the box of candy in the top right corner of the FarmVille gameplay area. This will, in theory, show you six new friends. If you still can't find the person you're looking for, post a few item requests on your wall and then make sure they come and respond to them. This, according to the game, will make them a more "helpful" neighbor, and will likely make them show up.

Remember, if you want a horse for yourself, and you have a trustworthy friend, you can always swap items with each other. That is, you purchase a horse for them, and they purchase a horse for you. In that way, you'll both receive horses and bears for the equivalent of 5 Farm Cash each. Just remember to do that soon, as this feature won't be around forever.

Check out the rest of our Valentine's Day coverage right here.

Zynga survey hints at possible new cooking game

If you have agreed to receive the occasional email from Zynga, you might have received a new survey in your inbox this week, asking for your opinions on a few Zynga games, and also giving you a chance to rate the potential of some new game ideas. While the majority of the questions are fairly basic (how often do you play a specific game, etc.), the survey quickly turns to the heart of the matter, detailing what could possibly be a new game in the company's lineup. Of course, Zynga wants to know what you think of the game concept first.

"Cook delicious food! Craft over 200 recipes in your world-class kitchen using fresh, exotic ingredients collected from local merchants, your garden, and your friends. Use top appliances to whip up amazing dishes that delight your customers and friends, and build the restaurant of your dreams."

From there, we're allowed to rate various features that could potentially be in this as-of-now unconfirmed game. We might be able to visit restaurants owned by real world celebrity chefs (Bobby Flay, Rachael Ray, etc.), cook dishes using ingredients from real world brands, or cook dishes on state of the art kitchen equipment. All in all, there are tons of options here surrounding the use of real world brands or celebrities in this game concept. Could Zynga be planning to create a cooking game with direct involvement from some of these chefs, or even the Food Network as a whole? Or, is this all really just a large brain-storming session looking for fan feedback?

Either way, it's definitely easy to say that this game concept is incredibly familiar to Cafe World (in fact, the ingredient collection feature was already released in the game's Signature Dish event), so it will be interesting to see if anything actually comes from it (perhaps this could be Cafe World 2?). If you wish to take the survey yourself, you can do so by clicking right here.

Ravenwood Fair's Halloween costumes are too cute to pass up

Ravenwood Fair is one the fastest growing games on Facebook, with over a million players joining this cute and cuddly game since it launched earlier this month. While we've already brought you news concerning its Halloween themed decorations, games and buildings, today new costumes have been added to the mix, allowing you to give your in-game avatar a spooky touch to fit right in with the rest of the theme!

The costumes available are the Ghost, Mummy and Skeleton, and each is available for both girl or boy avatars. The costumes range in price from 19 to 59 Facebook Credits, or from around $2.00 to $6.00 US.

To change the look of your forest critter, simply click on them and click on the "Makeover" button, but do it fast! We're assuming these costumes won't be around for much longer.

Beware! PetVille brings back Midnight Crypt collection

PetVille Midnight Crypt
PetVille is on a roll with bringing back old themes and giving them a new twist for the Halloween season. First it was the Haunted Mansion theme, and now we're seeing a triumphant return of the Midnight Crypt collection. One of the cooler themes that PetVille has done, these items are great ones to snag while they're around. Here is a list of the new items:

Skullcraft II Collector's Rug - 23 Pet Cash
Wolf Cub, Lil' Kentetsu - 68 Pet Cash
Mystery Crate - 20 Pet Cash (contains 5 items)
Mace and Chain - 3,600 coins
Petrified Perch - 6,150 coins
Shimmering Twins - 36 Pet Cash
Bride of Frank - 39 Pet Cash
Rita Morris - 41 Pet Cash


Midnight Chandelier - 6,750 coins
Possessed Pipe Organ - 32 Pet Cash
Baron Noir Waistcoat - 8,400 coins
Dark Stripe Trousers - 2,925 coins
Baroness Noir Gown - 21 Pet Cash
Mini Malign Top Hat - 3,450 coins
Lucid Lioness Throne - 17 Pet Cash
The Keeper's Cabinet - 21,000 coins
Skullelabra - 20 Pet Cash
Mystery Eyed Painting - 29 Pet Cash
Eternal Sleep Bed - 21 Pet Cash
Double Wall Candle - 3,600 coins
Devilish Nightstand - 3,150 coins
Nu:Blud Type O Drink - 6 Pet Cash
Countess' Candelabra - 4,350 coins
Haunted Stained Glass Window - 8,250 coins
Antique Vampire Slayer Kit - 11,250 coins
Poltergeist Programmed TV - 27 Pet Cash
Three Wolves Painting - 14 Pet Cash
Haunted Piano - 40 Pet Cash
Gothic Table - 8,000 coins
Jar of Eyes - 5 Pet Cash
Reaching Hand - 4,000 coins
Trick-or-Treater Window - 29 Pet Cash

This massive set of decorations will all be gone in less than 5 days, so if you want a piece of the action you'll want to buy some of it soon. There are some expensive pieces in this collection, but they're also very elaborate. Who says having a permanent haunted room after Halloween ends is a bad thing? Everyone needs a little spookiness now and then.

Island Paradise: Dress for a zombie invasion or vampire attack

Island Paradise Vampire and Zombie costumes
Yesterday, Island Paradise rolled out the beginning of their new Halloween theme. Tonight the tropical game has just launched two Halloween costumes, giving players the last-minute chance to buy outfits to dress up in for the creepy holiday on Sunday. The two available costumes are the Vampire and the Zombie, and there are matching outfits for both males and females. There are also many other outfits that would work great for Halloween costumes, including the pumpkin shirt, pirate outfits, skeleton shirts, Egyptian garb, and other tattered clothing. Some of these costumes may not actually be intended for Halloween, but they will still make a good fit.

The price for the Zombie and Vampire costumes comes out to be about 15,000 coins total. The costumes come in more than one piece though, so they can be mixed and matched. Want a vampire head and a zombie body? No problem! Head into Island Paradise to see these new costumes and get your hands on some festive fare.