FIFA Superstars: Everything you need to know

Fifa superstars
EA Sports' FIFA Superstars has finally arrived, and just a week after going live, the soccer game already has 30,000 users. FIFA Superstars is accessible to all soccer fans whether they've played video games before or not. Like Gangster City, Playfish's other recent title, FIFA Superstars focuses on simple gameplay and fleshes it out with unique components and high production value. The result is a game that is deep, enjoyable and compelling.

Continue reading as we run through everything you need to know in order to successfully play FIFA Superstars.
fifa superstars
Start up FIFA Superstars and you'll hear music gnarly enough to get anyone ready to take on the gargantuan role of soccer team manager. After the brief load time, you'll be prompted to create your team and run through a tutorial. Finally, you'll come face to face with the home screen, the heart of FIFA Superstars. There is a ton of information on this screen, so we're going to break it down so you can begin training your team. Although the game may seem confusing at first, you'll see it is quite simple and you'll be winning matches and scoring goals with the professionals in no time.
fifa superstars crest
Home Screen
The first thing to do when you reach the screen pictured above is edit your team's crest. Click the crest at the top left of the screen and you'll be able to choose from a number of emblems, colors and nations.

Centered on the screen are the players currently selected to start in upcoming matches. Along the left hand side you have the options:

    Play - Allows you to choose a league and play matches.
    Manage - Where you can swap out players and change formations.
    Trade - Mysterious feature that is coming soon.
    Stadium - View the current training regiment, stadium facilities and coach. Make sure to buy stadium upgrades to earn more money, experience, and training from everything you do.
    Training - Choose a training regiment to keep your team in top form.
    Store - Purchase new players, coaches, stadium upgrades and match credits.


The bar along the top of the home screen also gives you important information such as your team's rating, your experience, your match credits and your current amount of coins.
fifa superstars buying players
Team Management
Your team's overall skill rating, shown in yellow at the top right of the home screen, is a combination of training and talent. Talent, shown at the top left of each player card and when rolled over, is predetermined and cannot be changed. To better your team's talent you must buy all new players. Click the store or manage button, then click players. Three tiers of player packs are available:

Bronze Transfers - 10,000 Coins or 8 Playfish Cash
Silver Transfers - 25,000 Coins or 20 Playfish Cash
Gold Transfers - Unlocks at level 10 or 60 Playfish Cash

The better the transfer pack the better players you'll receive. Each pack contains five random players from the tier you selected. After receiving new players, you can head to manage from the home screen and swap out players into their appropriate positions. Depending on the make up of your squad, you may want to change formations to reflect that. For example if you have a lot of great defenders, change your formation to 5 - 3 - 2 so more of your better players can play at once.
fifa superstars manage
Note that you can also sell players from this screen. Be careful, while you'll never need substitutes during a game, remember that if you switch formations in the future, you may end up needing a player you sold for a mere 200 Coins.

Training
Unlike talent, your training stat is not set in stone. Your training stat is left up to you and because training makes up your overall rating, it's important to keep your team in top form. If your team is well trained, you may have a higher overall rating than a team with more talent and as a result, be able to defeat them.
fifa superstars training
To begin training your team, click the training button on the home screen. Training is a combination of your Current Base Training (which increases every time a training regiment is completed), your Facilities (training equipment purchased at the store), and your Coach who can increase your training by 20 points.

To increase your base training, select one of the regiments. When the specified amount of time finishes counting down, you will gain that amount of training. Unlike FarmVille and its withering crops, FIFA Superstars will not penalize you for failing to see the training through. It will give you your training points whether you are playing or not.

It is possible to have up to 100 base training. However, don't think because you've maxed out you're training it's going to be smooth sailing all the way through the Barclays Premier League. Whenever your players are idle your training will begin to decrease, so it's important to sign in every day and have your team train to stay competitive.
fifa superstars match
Matches & Leagues
To earn money, gain experience and rank up in FIFA Superstars, you're going to have to play matches. To play matches, you're going to need match credits. Every time you play a game, a match credit is subtracted from you. There are several ways to refill your match credits. First, you are given a match credit every six hours, so you can just wait for them to refill. You also receive match credits when you level up. It is also possible to ask for and to send credits or mystery gifts to your friends (which may include match credits in addition to players and coins). Finally, you may purchase more match credits in the store for Playfish Cash.
fifa superstars leagues
To set up a game, click the play button from the home screen. You'll be prompted to select on of the following leagues:
fifa superstars barclays bremier league
2010 FIFA World Cup - Coming soon.

Premier League - Raise your overall rating enough and you'll be able to take on the teams of the Barclays Premier League such as Manchester United and Arsenal. (As you can see at the right, my mighty team defeated Blackpool.)

League Matches - This is what you'll select most often as you complete and advance through the various leagues until you reach the elite Superstar League.

Friendly Matches - This league lets you play with your friends. Select it then select a friend to challenge and play. You can only play each friend once every day. These matches don't cost match credits.

Once a league has been chosen, choose a team you wish to play. It's always a good idea to make sure your overall rating is higher than the opponents if you want to win. Instead of wasting your precious match credits when the odds are against you, either take on an easier team, train, or buy players and come back later. Once you've chosen a team, click play, a match credit is deducted, and the game is underway.

After a match has begun, the player has two options: watch a long series of cutscenes as the game plays out or skip straight to the final score. The way the game works is all based on stats and positioning. Throughout the game players will try to dribble other players, pass the ball, and shoot. FIFA Superstars compares the talent and training of the two interacting players and decides which one will be victorious.
fifa superstars
For example, my striker Hughes is on offense with the ball and encounters defender Maire. Because Hughes has higher stats and training, he was able to successfully leave "Amaud Maire standing!"
fifa superstars goalkeeping
Another example is shooting on goal. Enemy midfielder Toner, was able to break through my defense and get a shot on goal. Goalkeeping also works in a similar fashion to offense play. The match up this time is between my keeper Fejzic and Toner. Depending on the players' talent and training, the shot can either be saved or reach the back of the "potato sack."
fifa superstars goal
This continues until time is up and the final score is announced. Proportionate to the difficulty of the challenge and the outcome of the match, you will receive experience and money.
fifa superstars final score
Calling all Footie Fans
Whether you call it soccer or football, it makes no difference. FIFA Superstars revolves entirely around the sport we love. With the current scarcity of sports games on Facebook, we hoped the soccer simulator would begin to fill the hole in the social network's game lineup.

Despite our excitement, we would love to see more Facebook friend integration (perhaps in the trading feature coming soon). In addition we'd like some interactivity, especially in the matches themselves, allowing players to further influence the outcome. Finally, our last complaint is that we just can't get enough of it! The match credit system makes us wait for days just to get my team out on the pitch for just a few minutes!

However, in the end, beggars can't be choosers, and we're certainly relieved to finally see quality in a genre that has been struggling to produce a hit. Despite the game's relatively slow start, the FIFA World Cup is around the corner, and we're hoping to see FIFA Superstars catch on.

Click here to play FIFA Superstars>

Cafe World Super Stove "disappear?" Here's how to find it

So you've finally finished your Cafe World Super Stove -- now what? Many complain that their stoves disappear when they're completed, but they're actually semi-hidden in the in-game store. To locate your stove, click on the 'Functional' icon at the bottom of the screen (the icon with orange and blue gears).
cafe world functional menu icon
Once you click the gears icon, you will open the list of functional items,and you'll see several rows of stoves. The Cafe World Super Stove is located on the top row, next to last stove. It has the word 'HOT!' next to it and if you have a stove ready to go, it will also have a x1 next to it as well.

cafe world menu

The next step is to place the Super Stove in your cafe. Click on the Super Stove image, hold and drag the stove into your restaurant, and place where desired. Then -- let the cooking commence.

If you want to start building another stove, click on the Super Stove icon (the one with the blue wrench), buy a new frame and start the process all over again. For more information on how you build your own stove, read this guide: Cafe World: How to build your own Super Stove. Better hurry though, the Super Stoves might not be around much longer, and you'll miss your chance for one-click cooking.

How many Super Stoves do you have in your cafe so far?

What is your greatest Facebook game accomplishment?

At first glance, Facebook games seem like they're rather simplistic and easy to complete. But those of us who are dedicated players who spend a ton of time in these games understand that there are many accomplishments in these social games that are more difficult to achieve. Just like any typical game there are achievements, levels to earn, rewards and loot to either find or purchase, and quite an amount of dedication that can be put in to your game of choice to "beat the game". Similar to many traditional MMO-style games, social games don't really have a finish line. Even when you are the highest possible level in your favorite game, there is still content to consume such as visiting neighbors, new collections, or decorating your space with bigger and better items.

Occasionally, a game will release a feature that takes an extraordinary amount of either time, money, cooperation from friends, or a combination of all of the above. There are items that take an immense amount of perseverance, such as the Pandora Jackalope in Happy Pets that requires you to log in for 14 days straight to achieve, or the FarmVille puppy maturing into a full grown dog after many days of continuing to feed it. There are also exclusive items that take a ton of real life money to buy, such as the $40+ Unwither Ring in FarmVille. And lately, there seems to be a ton of items that require many pieces in order to build, like the Happy Pets Horse Stable, the Super Stove or Spice Rack in Cafe World, the PetVille Attic behind the Tahiki Magic Door, or the Nursery Barn in FarmVille.

Treasure Isle Level 40
If you've completed one of these, you know how exciting it is to finally unlock that item or functionality that you've been waiting for. Personally, the accomplishment that I am most proud of is my dog in FarmVille. Logging in every day to feed her was a ton of fun, and once she finally grew into an adult dog I felt an amount of pride that has been unrivaled so far in any other game for me. Unlocking all of the Mastery Fish in FishVille has also been a major preoccupation of our time here at Games.com - The Blog.

What is your greatest Facebook game accomplishment? Perhaps it's completing a YoVille puzzle collection, or reaching level 100 in Mafia Wars? Maybe it's getting all the items from a mystery box or finishing your backyard in PetVille?

Zynga & 7-Eleven promo update from San Diego, CA

Zynga 7-Eleven Promotion

The Zynga & 7-Eleven promotion is well underway, and has now been rolled out to just about all 7-Elevens across the United States. Being a huge Zynga fan myself, I stopped at a store near my work to check out what items they had available. They were in the middle of hanging up all of the signage for this exclusive promotion, but I did manage to snag some pictures of a few of the items. If you live in San Diego, you have a ton of stores available to scour for items. There are a massive amount of FarmVille, YoVille, and Mafia Wars themed food and drinks. Check out the pictures and commentary after the break!
The Slurpee drinks were available in FarmVille, Mafia Wars, and YoVille cups. The most notable thing about this promotion is that the exclusive promo codes are printed right on the outside of the cup, meaning that anyone can walk in and take a picture of the code. Note: I did end up buying this cup, and I already redeemed the code. Don't try to be sneaky!


Every kind of sandwich has a code on it, hidden behind a peel-away sticker. There is an entire case full of these codes, so there is definitely no shortage.
Unfortunately, the location I stopped at was still in the process of hanging up all of their promo art, so I only got to snap a picture of it on the counter instead of hanging up.
If you're not sure where to find a 7-Eleven in San Diego, you must live inside of a cave because they're everywhere! The 7-Eleven website has a handy store locator that will help you find the store nearest you. Have any pictures from your local store? Email them to editors@games.com to be featured here on the blog!

7-Eleven codes in YoVille: Everything you need to know

If you're anything like us, you've already rushed out to your nearest 7-Eleven store to pick up some YoVille promotional goodies. There are many foods and beverages at 7-Eleven that will qualify to be redeemed for exclusive YoVille items. Read on for the complete guide to redeeming your 7-Eleven codes to obtain sweet YoVille loot.

First off, when you first enter 7-Eleven you will have to go to the area where the deli case and soft drink machines are located. Here you'll find items labeled with YoVille specific branding, and also Zynga-themed packaging that represents YoVille, FarmVille, and Mafia Wars. The most important thing to remember is that you cannot redeem FarmVille or Mafia Wars codes in YoVille. Only packaging that is YoVille-specific or contains all three games will be accepted. Some YoVille themed items include certain Slurpee cups, and most of the sweets such as brownies and other cookies in the bakery case.

YoVille 7-Eleven Brownie

Bring home your cup or packaging, and peel off of the sticker if there is one. The Slurpee cups do not have any covering over the codes, so proceed with caution as there is a possibility someone already copied the code down or took a picture of it. Once you have the code, visit the Buy Earn Play website, and log in using your Facebook login credentials. Be very careful to sign in using the correct Facebook account, otherwise the points will be attributed to someone else's account.
7-Eleven YoVille
Once you submit your code, it will be verified and you will see a screen that looks like the following:
7-Eleven YoVille
Log in to YoVille using the "play now" link and you will enter the game like normal. A "Congratulations" screen will pop up and show you the prize that you have earned. The exclusive 7-Eleven gift will show up in your inventory, and can be found under the "Special" category.
7-Eleven YoVille
There is a handy gift tracker that will show you exactly how many codes you have redeemed for each game on the Buy Earn Play website. Buy 7 different YoVille product types and you automatically unlock the uber gift plus a special limited bonus gift. There is no required Zynga Task for YoVille like there is for FarmVille and Mafia Wars.

How close are you to collecting all of the 7-Eleven YoVille items? Have any pictures to share with us? Email them to editors@games.com and we'll share them here on the blog.

Mafia Wars going Hollywood? Rumors say a movie is in the works

The Internet rumormill says that Mafia Wars, Zynga's popular Facebook game, is going to be made into a movie. Zynga has not confirmed that this is true, and there are no additional details on the film, except that it's a "crime thriller based on the popular video game" and that Radar Pictures and producer Ted Field are developing the project.

At first, Mafia Wars: The Movie sounds like a crazy notion, but considering the fact that the game doesn't really have a set storyline other than the fact that it involves running a mob in different cities, creating a film that would tie into the game doesn't seem impossible.

Of course, the real challenge will be creating a film that people actually want to see. Given the track record with game-to-big-screen-translations (the majority of which are box office poison), it's hard to imagine that this movie would be anything other than a morbid curiosity for the Mafia Wars superfan.

Mafia Wars: Get 2 free Reward Points with 'The Expendables'

Oh, you action film fans are going to love this! And if you're a player who just wants your free Mafia Wars Reward Points, then this will be a walk in the park for you too. Just head to the Marketplace (note: you need to be at Level 7 to access that page) and scroll down until you see "The Expendables" offer, click on that, and you'll be shuffled through three questions while the rockin' trailer plays.
Mafia Wars The Expendables
The first question is there to see if you know how to read. But if you must know, the answer is Van Damme. And there's no wrong answers for the second and third questions, cause it's all about what you like. The best part is that you get a brief glimpse as to who and what everyone else voted for. The voting results are below this post. Don't look if you don't want to be spoiled! (There's no movie spoilers, though.)
Mafia Wars The Expendables Question 2
Above is Question 2. I voted for Statham. Why? He was outrageously awesome in Crank 1 and 2, and isn't as well-known as the others.
Mafia Wars The Expendables Question 3
Space Marines all the way, baby. ;)
Mafia Wars The Expendables Question 2 Voting Results
Everyone wants Stallone and Willis. Why are we not surprised?
Mafia Wars The Expendables Question 3 Voting Results
And it looks like I voted for the underdog here. But Die Hard appears to be winning! You guys deserve this awesome Yippee Ki-Ay fan-made music video to celebrate. Don't crank it up too loud though, as you know what the last word of John McClane's classic catchphrase is.

PetVille: Watch Kia's hip-hop Soul Hamsters and get 4 free Pet Cash

When you see a motor vehicle... do you see a car, or do you see a car-sized toaster with two hamsters riding on top of it?
Kia Hamster Riding Toaster
PetVille Kia Pet CashIt's an absurd question, but that's what the famous "Kia Hamsters" are asking viewers in their newest music video, featuring the song "The Choice is Yours", by the NY hip-hop group, Black Sheep.

Why should you care? Well, if you're a PetVille player, Kia Motors America (KMA) is offering you 4 free Pet Cash to mix clips of their vid to share on your Facebook profile. KMA is the US division of South Korea's second largest auto maker. And SocialVibe, whom most Facebook gamers know as the company which brings us freebies for surveys, is the one distributing this offer in PetVille.

You'll find the offer as an ad on the bottom of the game window. All you've gotta do is move 6 clips around in the 6 film editing slots on the timeline. You could use the same clip over and over again. You don't have to share the vid when you're done. And you don't have to join the Kia Facebook fanpage.

To launch PetVille, log into Facebook and click here.

FarmVille: Mozilla Developers Thank Zynga for Firefox Fix

Firefox and Zynga: Connecting the World Through Games
Mozilla's Firefox 3.6.4 came out last week on June 25th, with the team excited about a new crash protection feature meant to "reduce the number of Firefox crashes experienced by users who are watching online videos or playing games." Ironically, this crash protection ended up crashing most of Zynga's games (including FrontierVille), leaving a gray error screen, and the message, "The Adobe Flash plugin has crashed."

FarmVille Freak published a help guide for its community yesterday, shortly after the problem was officially recognized by Zynga. Players who hadn't updated their Firefox browsers, or who use Internet Explorer were unaffected and unaware of the issue. But the multitudes who had to deal with the downtime made their voices heard, and Mozilla itself has recognized Zynga's help in getting the Firefox browser speedily updated.

    We would like to thank vendors, such as Zynga, for working with us to ensure that Firefox continues to provide the best user experience for our shared users. [Source: The Mozilla Blog]

Mozilla developers reported that the crash protection feature was tested on "a beta audience of close to one million users." But it seems the browser's true testing ground was FarmVille's nearly 64 million monthly active users.

    Although complaints about Firefox's quick killing of hung plug-ins were not limited to Farmville, that game was the squeaky wheel that got the update grease.

    "A lot of people play Farmville. To ignore those people for any length of time could have a significant effect on Firefox's share of browser users," said Firefox user Jeff Rivett on Bugzilla Sunday. "The problem already existed, but the perceived impact suddenly changed, giving it a much higher priority." [Source: Computer World]

FrontierVille Fox
Speaking of which, one of those 64 million MAUs is gonna go chase some 'real' foxes off her FrontierVille homestead now. :)

Start rallying to get the free YoVille Turtle Balloon

yoville free turtle balloon
You can now start rallying your YoVille friends to win the cool green balloon we told you about. You will need 10 friend clicks to get the cute turtle balloon for free.

Furthermore, the third charity pet is now on sale. Get the cute turtle for 30 YoCash and help save the gulf as 50% of all proceeds will go to Audubon.
yoville free turtle balloon
Platinum Ninja also announced that an alligator which will be replacing this turtle in a week.

This is your chance to make a change!

This article originally appeared on YoVille Lounge.

YoVille Mystery Deals are here!

yoville mystery deals
Open your free gifts page now and start sending Mystery Deals coupons to your friends now! This new feature is live. Mystery deals coupons will give you the chance of getting discounts on certain YoVille items.

Angie and Spiralda gathered pictures of some of the deals they got. Check them after the jump.

A complete guide to this new feature can be found here.
yoville mystery deal
yoville mystery deal
yoville mystery deal
yoville mystery deals
yoville mystery deals
yoville mystery deals
This article originally appeared on YoVille Lounge.


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FarmVille Mini-Foal breeds: Mini Foal, Mini Stallion Foal, Mini Cream Foal

In the most recent update, FarmVille released new Miniature Horses and Mini-foals and once you breed them you'll get a variety of new ponies to add to your farm. Below, see official FarmVille pics of the Mini Foal, Mini Stallion Foal, Mini Cream Horse, and Mini Cream Foal.

   
   

Please note the Mini Cream Horse and Foal can only be obtained from stables and nursery barns. You can get a side-by-side comparison of mini-horses and foals in the image below

mini horses and mini foals -- see all fo t heme below

How many Miniature Horses and Foal do you have so far?

Kingdoms of Camelot maker Watercooler changes name, focus

What a difference four million players makes. It wasn't long ago that Watercooler, Inc. was, in its own words, "about serving the sports and media communities" with team-focused apps like Pittsburgh Steeler Fans. But that was before their Facebook game Kingdoms of Camelot became an unlikely hit on Facebook, attracting over four million monthly users since its launch last November.

So it's not that shocking that Watercooler has announced a new focus on "serving social gamers looking for deeper gameplay." The shift is reflected by a new name, Kabam, which COO Chris Carvalho tells Inside Social Games he thinks is more "impactful."

Carvalho told ISG he thinks the renamed company will look to succeed by filling a niche for more complicated games, like Kingdoms of Camelot, that the biggest developers don't seem interested in providing "I feel that we can be competitive with the top five industry players," he said. "We won't ever have the reach that they have - we're not focusing on the mass market titles ... But right now we feel there's a big opportunity with deeper games, and we don't feel anyone else is filling that." Yes, please!

Is Bebo planning a social gaming comeback?

Do you know that bittersweet feeling you get when you realize an ex-romantic partner looks like they could finally be getting their life together without you? That's how we here at AOL's Games.com -- The Blog! are feeling now that we've heard that Bebo -- the formerly AOL-owned social network that was left for dead and then sold off for a pittance earlier this year -- might be relaunching as a social gaming hub.

That bit of news comes from Inside Social Games, which cites "an industry source" as the nebulous originator of the rumor. ISG compares Bebo's rumored plans to those of hi5, which has loudly and pompously positioned itself as a more responsible and streamlined social gaming alternative to the Facebook behemoth. Indeed, Bebo recently hired hi5 co-founder Akash Garg, who probably knows a thing or two about launching a social-game-focused network.

We certainly hope the rumors of Bebo's return to social gaming prove true, especially given their ambitious past experiments in the arena . After all, we just want them to be happy... even if we don't get to be part of that happiness ourselves.

YoVille: Ten new permanent hairstyles in salon

Ten new Permanent Hairstyles have been released in the YoVille Salon. Four female and four male shiny hair for 18 YoCash each available in black, blonde, brown and red. For 20 YoCash ladies can get pink and guys blue.

Photos of all new hair after the link.
yoville permanent hairstylesyoville permanent hairstyles
This article originally appeared on YoVille Lounge.

YoVille Romantic Collectibles added in the furniture store

Romantic Hot Tub and Romantic Waterfall are now available in the YoVille Furniture Store! Both Collectibles are animated with running water and will add an elegant touch to any garden. These will be in the store for 2 weeks only.

You can purchase the Hot Tub for 32 YoCash and the Waterfall for 20000 coins. Check the pictures after the link.
yoville romantic collectibles
This article originally appeared on YoVille Lounge.

Zynga holds two Top 10 Facebook pages, but something is missing

Social Media Today released a list of the Top 10 Facebook Pages today, and the results are surprising (Lady Gaga is the most popular living music artist on Facebook). The list measures the top pages in "Likes," but try to find what's missing. Here's the full list of Social Media Today's Top 10 Facebook Pages as of this morning:



    Zynga Poker: 23.5 million "Likes"
    Michael Jackson: 19.4 million "Likes"
    Facebook (huh?): 17.8 million "Likes"
    Lady Gaga: 17.1 million "Likes"
    Family Guy: 16.5 million "Likes"
    Vin Diesel: 14.9 million "Likes"
    Mafia Wars: 13.7 million "Likes"
    Starbucks: 13,206,824 "Likes"
    House: 13,202,945 "Likes"
    Barack Obama: 13 million "Likes"



Still haven't figured it out? Find the answer and a few more questions after the break. FarmVille LogoWhile Zynga Poker and Mafia Wars are two of Zynga's most popular games on Facebook, its most popular title of all time, FarmVille, is nowhere to be found. With a steady 60 million players, you'd think it'd have more fans than Zynga Poker.

Well, it turns out that it does with 24.3 million fans, which is nearly one million more than Zynga Poker's 23.5 million. So, what gives? Is FarmVille so ubiquitous at this point that it is not even recognized in such competitions, or this just an oversight?

Considering FarmVille's undeniable clout on Facebook, is it fair to include the game in these lists? Let us know what you think in the comments section.

Mozilla sees a future in HTML5-powered browser gaming

Firefox creator Mozilla thinks the future of browser games will be backed by HTML5 and other improved web tech, if today's launch of Mozilla Labs' Gaming Division is any indication. Companies launch new divisions all the time, but since Mozilla is technically behind the curve with Google and Zynga joining forces to create Google Games the company can't afford to sit idly on this project.

This must be why Mozilla also launched a game development competition, Game On 2010, today to go along with its new Gaming Division. The competition asks contenders to develop their best browser-based games and is open to just about anyone with development skills. While official details have yet to be released, it's probably a good idea to put on those thinking caps right about now if you want to make a winning product.

So, what could this mean for social games? If HTML5 is truly where browser-based gaming is headed, isn't only a matter of time before we see games sporting full 3D graphics and live multiplayer on Facebook and other social platforms? With Google, Zynga and Mozilla all taking the initiative, consider it a done deal in our book. What do you think? Would you like to more robust Facebook games take advantage of HTML5? Do you think it's possible?

Quote of the Moment: Zynga Envy

"I think that Zynga is a fundamentally different type of company than we are. And I don't mean that in a bad way. But they are about marketing and selling and distributing. We are about making games. There are few notable great companies that got created in the last few years -- these kind of overnight sensations.

"There's always professional jealousy of 'Wow, how did they do that?' But we were never trying to burn bright, burn big. That's a Silicon Valley way of life. And its a venture capital-based way of life that creates a certain kind of company. They want their companies to fail fast or to succeed fast. That's the business model.

When you are in the Valley, you sort of get in the middle of all of that talk. Having lived down there for a while, you remember what that sort of frenzy is like. Everyone is chasing whatever the hottest, latest thing is. And people just fry themselves on it overnight, and if they don't succeed they move on to the next hottest thing. So, the bright, shiny object problem is not something that we've been in the midst of -- partly because of our geography -- but also just because of the way we are. We are more about, let's build a good business....
"I think you create a different kind of value, and it is a little slower to get there. But we are pretty happy. We have never had to compromise anything about what we believe in for great products. And Zynga actually is blazing some great trails for us. With hundreds of millions of people -- who now because of FarmVille -- say 'Hey, I can play games again.' ...

"So, yeah, there's always a little bit of jealousy that a company can be worth billions of dollars in two years. But, it ain't over til it's over. And I think we are going to continue to build some awesome value here, and people love the games. And we are going to keep making great games."

-Popcap CEO Dave Roberts talks to TechFlash about why he's not exactly jealous of Zynga's success in social gaming

Cafe World's Airport Theme and In Flight Meal take dining to the skies

With the recent addition of the Airport Cafe decor and In Flight Meal recipe to Cafe World almost immediately after Zynga threw a birthday party for the game, it's clear now that life in Cafe World truly never, ever stops.

Pressing onward into the next year, there is a slew of new decorations and some functional items in Cafe World to turn your cafe into an airline eatery. But more importantly is the new In Flight Meal, a limited-time recipe that requires Level 30 and 900 coins to unlock. This surprisingly delicious-looking meal serves 500 in 10 hours, earns 2,500 coins and rewards 155 Cafe Points total.

Check behind the break for a list of the items that will make this new dish a fit for your cafe.
Cafe World Airport Theme
While there are only a few items coming with the new Airport Theme, they're sure to turn your cafe into the next JFK International Airport (well, you might actually not want that). Here's what you can find in the game today:

    Baggage Carousel: 20 Cafe Cash
    Airplane Globe: 18 Cafe Cash
    Airplane Passengers: 16 Cafe Cash
    Airplane Lounge Drinks: 15 Cafe Cash
    Evacuation Slide: 15 Cafe Cash
    In Flight Beverage: 14 Cafe Cash
    Plane Statue: 5 Cafe Cash
    Runway Lights: 2 Cafe Cash
    Airline Walkway: 2 Cafe Cash
    Airline Gate Agent: 80,000 coins
    Flight Taxi: 60,000 coins
    Flight Attendant: 60,000 coins
    Airport Sign: 6,000 coins
    Glass Divider: 2,000 coins


For a total of 107 Cafe Cash and 208,000 coins, this entire set will run you about $20 USD (with some Cafe Cash left over) and quite a lot of time. You can easily make your cafe look like an airport without the Runway Lights or Airline Walkway, which cost 2 Cafe Cash per tile. While the other animated items somewhat justify the cost of Cafe Cash, it is a little unfair to charge paid currency for every square of area. So, why not just go with the all-white Bavarian Tile at 400 coins per square? That sounds much cheaper better.