CityVille Lost Puppy Goal: A ploy to attract more players

Lost Puppy Needs a Home
A new Goal--if you would call it that--has arrived in CityVille. Titled, "Lost Puppy Needs a Home," this new task requires players to ask their friends to adopt a brown puppy that they happened to find walking down the street. However, both neighbors and general Facebook friends can be requested. Furthermore, this technically isn't even a Goal. It appears to be just another way to attract new players to the game through you, the player. (I guess over 90 million players isn't enough.)

Puppy request
After sending out the requests, no Goal icon appears on the left side of the screen and no XP, coins or Goods are rewarded. Nada. In other words, this is a fine waste of your daily requests. So, do try to avoid it if you have no friends that are willing to join CityVille. If you think this would be a cute way to get your friends who have yet to try CityVille into the game, then by all means throw a couple puppies out there. Regardless, it begs the question: If there is no benefit to sending this request to fellow neighbors, then why include the option? Very sneaky, Zynga.

CityVille Expansions: Are they worth it?

When you are first starting out in CityVille, one of the first quests that you are prompted to complete is expanding your city. While I was going through the intro quests, I was especially excited for this quest because I wanted the space to add on to my already packed city. When I went into the build menu to purchase the expansion, I was completely blown away by the cost. 20,000 coins to buy a 12x12 expansion? I found that absolutely ridiculous.

20,000 coins is a ton of coins at the level when you first receive the expansion quest. I had dozens of neighbors to visit to earn coins from and I had to wait several levels before I could save up the money to purchase the expansion. When I finally got to the milestone of 20,000 coins, purchased the expansion and went to place it, I noticed that it was tiny. If placed side-by-side, only 9 buildings would fit in this space. That's not really what I expected with such a hefty price tag.

When reading the CityVille forums, I noticed that I am not alone. Many players agree with me that the expansions are too small and the price is too high. Some people have issues when they place expansions to the left as well. So far, color me unimpressed with CityVille expansions.

CityVille Hardware Store upgraded to actually become useful

When the Hardware Store was released in CityVille last month, many players quickly went from excitement to annoyance at the fact that A) You had to use 35 building materials to build it and B) It never really released enough bonus building materials when collected from it, even though we were assured building it would be worth while.

That all has changed with this week's update, however, with Zynga offering two changes. The first will help those that simply stopped before they ever really got started, by removing the requirement to collect any additional building materials to finish your Hardware Store's construction. That's right, even if you had never asked for one of these items from friends, the next time you log into the game, you'll be given the ability to name your automatically completed building.

What's more - we have now been guaranteed to receive some kind of building material (no specific types or order in which they will be found was released) each and every time we collect from the Hardware Store. The Hardware Store takes 160 Goods to operate, so you can collect from the building as often or as little as you'd like, depending on your Goods supply or how many other businesses you have "open" at once. At last - a basically free and easy way to earn building materials without having to bug friends!

CityVille: Help US Tornado victims by purchasing Blueberry crop

Zynga is doing its part to allow its many users to help those victims of the recent tornadoes that devastated the Southern United States by offering a new crop in CityVille for a limited time. The crop is the Blueberry - specifically the "Tornado Relief Fund Blueberries" - and they are available to purchase for 5 City Cash per square. As usual, this low price allows you to plant as many or as few squares of the crop as you want, depending on how much you'd like to donate. Blueberries grow instantly, giving you 275 Goods per square harvested.

Like other donation crops previously released, 100% of the purchase price of blueberries will go to Zynga's partnership with Save the Children to help those in need. However, your chance for donation is slim, as Blueberries will only be available to plant for a single week before they leave the store. If you've been waiting for Zynga to release a way to help the recent tornado victims in CityVille, now is the time so act fast!

Will you purchase Blueberries in CityVille to help those who suffered the terrible tornadoes in the Southern US?

The CityVille Beach expansion is coming after all, Edgar says

Oh, Edgar, you sure know how to keep us on our toes. Zynga could very well unlock the Beach area in CityVille this summer, according to what the in-game character Edgar has to say after players complete the recent Bridge Goals. Soon after players on the forums finished the Platform Bridge and perhaps established a few new businesses or homes, Edgar has appeared. And now, thanks to forum contributor Mark_R, we have this image.

Atop a massive crane with a construction crew and beach supplies beneath him, Edgar says, "We're going to be rich and friends from everywhere will visit! The real estate is perfect for your first hotel, and eventually an entire resort. It's going to be a very fun and busy summer!"

So, there you have it, folks. It looks like the Beach will open up after all, and we'll be there when it happens to reap the benefits with a sprawling vacation resort. (However, we still don't know whether this will be a full expansion or just another content update.) It'll be like going to The Shore--it's a Philly thing--without paying an arm and a leg for a hotel stay. That said, color us excited.

CityVille Pigeon Invasion: Everything you need to know

CityVille Pigeon Invasion
Hey, just be happy this isn't as serious as how Hitchcock envisioned it. Pigeons have invaded CityVille, and it's up to you and your City Hall employees to put a stop to it the old-fashioned way, rampant friend requests. However, this is a timed event, so you'll only have 24 hours to get rid of those pigeons for some sweet rewards like 10 thousand Coins, 40 XP or three Zoning Permits. Luckily for you, we're experts at winged-rat removal. So, join us behind the break to find out how to put an end to these pests.

CityVille Pigeon IconBefore we get into how to get rid of these pigeons, let's iron out a few details. First, you must be Level 15 and have at least one City Hall to be eligible. These Goals can only be completed once, and if you have multiple City Halls the most recently built one or the one with the most crew will become infested. And finally, if you've had Samantha run a few City Hall positions up until this point, you'll have the option to fill those positions with real friends (which we highly recommend). Now, to out-pester those pests with some friend power.

When you collect from your City Hall, there will be a chance to see an icon with a pigeon on it hovering over your building. This, of course, means your City Hall has been invaded by pigeons. Click on the building, and a menu will appear titled "Major Pigeon Invasion." Do not click "Start Mission" until you're absolutely ready, as you only have 24 hours to complete this. (A Level 3 City Hall gets 48 hours.)

When you see the below window, it's time to ask your friends for some help. Just click the "Post Help Request" button, which will post a News Feed to that friends' wall, but also will place a pigeon icon next to your face on their Neighbor Bar. This is especially helpful if your friends have email alerts or News Feed posts turned off. Your rewards by the time the 24 or 48 hours is up will increase depending on how many friends help you out, and the number required increases with your City Hall level.

Major Pigeon Invasion

Rewards:

    Prize Level 1: 10,000 Coins
    Prize Level 2: 40 Experience
    Prize Level 3: 3 Zoning Permits


Keep in mind that rewards stack, meaning if you make it Level 2 or 3, you will receive the rewards for the previous levels as well. Then, the waiting game begins, but you can track which rewards you've already won in the Goal window before the timer runs out.

CityVille Pigeon News Feed
Responding to a help request is a simple as combing your News Feed for posts from your friends (and clicking the words "Help Out") or clicking on friends' icons on the Neighbor Bar that are adorned with that pigeon icon. Then, you'll be taken to your friend's city where you'll have to click on their City Hall. Next, find your name and simply click "Help Friend." When the Goal is finally through, you can share extra rewards with every staff member that helped out.

CityVille Neighborhoods: Everything you need to know

Check out our CityVille Neighborhoods Goals Guide right here.

Here we go, mayors. A new feature has been launched in CityVille that will help one of the biggest concerns I personally have with the game (and I know I'm not alone). A new Neighborhoods feature has launched to players above level 30, with at least 620 population, that will allow you to move homes (including high rises) into smaller areas to save space. This feature, you guessed it, is similar to the Mall feature, but here's a complete rundown of how this works for homes.

First and foremost, yes, you can have more than one Neighborhood in your town, and there are different types of Neighborhoods depending on the kinds of homes you'd like to store. Gated Communities cost 10,000 coins and store up to 15 Family Residences. Uptown Estates cost 15,000 coins and store 15 Apartments and finally, Palm Towers cost 20,000 coins and store 15 Vacation Home.

For our example, let's say you wanted to build a Gated Community in your town. You'd go into the store to purchase the base, as seen below, and would then need to whack that base six times to build up the frame.

From there, you'll instantly have access to two storage spots, of a possible five on the first "block," or "floor," if we're comparing this to the Mall. To fill these spaces, simply click on your empty Neighborhood and then click on "Fill" under one of the empty spaces. This will cause all of the buildings that can fit inside to glow. Click on one and voila! It's stored inside your Neighborhood, which will change shape and complexity as new buildings are added to it.

To unlock additional space inside your Neighborhoods, you'll need to ask your friends to staff extra spots, as seen above. The rate of one user per one storage slot isn't bad, really. Once your first block is full, you'll have to go through the process of asking for building materials to open up the second block. In our particular example of the Gated Community, you'll need five each of Red Bricks, Crossing Signs, Roof Tiles, Cement and Lumber. These are earned either by purchasing them outright with City Cash, or by asking your friends to send them to you.

When you've unlocked your second block, the process will repeat (and so on until you've unlocked and filled all three blocks, with more building materials being required the second time). Again, at first, these Neighborhoods may be incredibly space-consuming, but once they're full, you'll find them to be fairly space-saving, especially if you choose to place the largest homes in each category into storage. Don't worry about losing their stats, though, as you'll be able to collect rent as normal while they're inside. That is, you'll be able to click on your Neighborhood, and will then be asked to spend a larger amount of energy to collect from all "ready" buildings inside, just as you collect profits from your Mall.

All told, these are some fairly time consuming building projects, but if you're willing to go through with building them (and have plenty of friends around that are willing to help you out), you'll end up saving tons of space for future purchases, whether residential in nature or otherwise. We'll make sure to let you know when other kinds of Neighborhoods, for other kinds of homes are released, so keep checking back with us.

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

What do you think of the Neighborhoods feature? Is the space you saved substantial enough to warrant building them?

CityVille Neighborhood Goals: Everything you need to know

To go along with the launch of the new Neighborhoods feature in CityVille, there's also a goal set to complete as well. If you remember, these Neighborhoods allow you to store homes for easier bulk access, and also just to generally save space (a huge factor in the game to this day). This goal series starts with one called Neighborhood Watch! (or, "On the House," if you prefer), which sees you simply placing a Neighborhood into your town to get used to the feature.

Neighborhood Watch!

    Build a Neighborhood
    Place 2 Residences into a Neighborhood


As we told you in our guide to Neighborhoods, they come in three varieties (currently) and range in price from 10,000 to 20,000 coins, depending on the kind of home you are trying to store (basic residences, apartments or vacation homes). Once you complete the construction of the Neighborhood, you'll be given these two storage spaces for free, so just fill them up and complete the goal! You'll receive a cute Garden Gnome decoration as a prize.

Block Party

    Ask for 6 Neighborhood Event Posters
    Place one more Residence into your Neighborhood
    Place a Garden Gnome Decoration


Luckily, there's a "Place" button right next to this final task, so you don't have to search through your inventory to find the Garden Gnome manually. In the meantime, you'll need to ask a single friend to help you open up that new slot in your Neighborhood so that you can store your third residence. Finally, the Event Posters can be earned by posting a general news item to your wall. For finishing this second goal, you'll receive a Family Home residence, which gives you 90-170 population.

Movin' On Up

    Unlock Block 2
    Fill Block 2


As we told you in our guide, to unlock the next block of your Neighborhood, you'll need to collect building materials with the help of friends. Once you've unlocked the second block, you'll also need to gather more staff to unlock the final slots on that block, and then fill it completely with homes. Finishing this goal gives you the Neighborhood Watch item, a watch-tower that takes up a 2x2 area on your land and provides a 5% bonus to surrounding buildings.

Welcome Wagon

    Ask for 8 Neighborhood Bake Sale Goodies
    Build a second Neighborhood
    Fill one Neighborhood


This goal will likely take you the longest to complete, as it requires collecting even more building ingredients than before, and even more staff to completely fill one neighborhood to its max of 15 houses. Finishing off this final goal of the series gives you the Deluxe Tree House.

All in all, these goals don't really require rushing, but as I'm sure most of you will likely want to build Neighborhoods for your own space-saving plans, you'll eventually finish them off with time.

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

What do you think of the Neighborhood feature in CityVille? Do you like the rewards for these goals?