29 June 2015

Unlocking the Mine and Volcano

The same Island expansion that unlocks the Volcano in Family Farm Seaside unlocks the Mine automatically but if you pay to skip any of the Expansion Requirements because your Dev Point totals are insufficient to complete them, you may find that you will be unable to take full advantage of many of the options that are connected to the Mine.

You see, you need 2960 Dev Points to unlock the Violet Crop.  500 Violet Essential Oils are one of the expansion Requirements.  You can pay RC to skip the Requirement as you can to skip any Expansion requirement.

Basically, however, you will need a total of 2500 Dev Points to make any of the Items that are required either to use the Mine or to use the Products you obtain from the Mine.  These include the Pickaxe and Sawdust made in the Sawmill, the Gunpowder, Dynamite, Bomb and Barrel Bomb made in the Workshop and the various Ores that can be transformed into Ingots in the Hardware Store.

Earning Dev Points can be a slow affair.  You earn them essentially by completing Helicopter Orders and Island Quests.  The problem with Helicopter Orders is that only the first two in any given day give 10 Dev Points each.  After that, the value of completion gradually declines, with 5 Points as the next Reward.  Many Farmers choose to complete two per day, storing the Items needed to complete more until the next day.

Take heart, however.  Your Farmer can obtain Mine Bag Gifts from Neighbours who have chosen him or her to aid on THEIR Farms when they access their Mines.  Save enough of these and you can use your Mine before you reach 2500 Dev Points!

Furthermore, by choosing this Expansion over the other two that are available at the same point in the game, you gain the Volcano that dispenses Power regularly.  This is very helpful to any Farmer.

26 June 2015

Ice Cream Friendship Flower

There is a sale in Family Farm Seaside that offers a new Friendship Flower named the Ice Cream Friendship Flower.   The concept of the Friendship Flower is a good one, but the likelihood of obtaining one naturally through crossbreeding is very rare, evidently.  With all the crossbreeding I have done, I never created one.  Apparently the developers have realised this and given us the opportunity to purchase a new type.  The rewards when the Flower is crossbred are greater than those given by an ordinary Friendship Flower or the Macaron Friendship Flower.  For example, where the Macaron Friendship Flower gives 1900 Coins, 1 OP, 1 Organic Fertiliser, 1 Yellow Mystron, 1 Electric Saw, 1 Macaron Road and 3 RC, the ice Cream Friendship Flower gives 8 RC.  That is the only Reward, but it is a good one!

To crossbreed an Ice Cream Friendship Flower, you first must tend it until it matures and then crossbreed with one of your own Level 1 Flowers.  You and the owner of the Friendship Flower then should receive a gift bag containing 8 RC.

Incidentally, at the same time that the Ice Cream Friendship Flower was released, a new Level 1 Flower  appeared in the Mystery Store.  It is the Colourful Plumeria and it costs 500 Coins,  It appears to be the fastest growing flower in the game at present.  It does not appear in the Book yet and the vacant spot that did exist now has disappeared.    I have brought a number of them to maturity and crossbred them  but they transformed into Level 2 super Viola Flowers.  I think the beautiful Colourful Plumeria may have been a temporary item, as I now am not finding them in the Mystery Shop any longer, sadly.

Remember that you can sell any Flower in your Garden, even one that has not matured yet.  Sometimes, one sacrifices a new Level 2 Flower to be able to place a new Level 1 Flower, especially if a Neighbour has a mature Friendship Flower in your Garden waiting to be crossbred.  If you have the same Level 2 Flower or have had it in the past, it will be in your Book... you do gain more Stars if you bring the Flower to maturity and selling one that is not mature yet gives you nothing but 2000 Coins.  It will not be registered as a 'sale' in the Book.   Even so, with limited space in the Garden, it can be worth doing in my opinion.

Note that the Flower Book has the following:

Sell (up to 3 Stars)
Coins (up to 3 Stars)
Crossbreed 2 (up to 3 Stars)

The categories are:

Level 1 Flowers
  All can be purchased from Mystery Shop

Level 2 Flowers
  Crossbreeding

Level 3 Flowers
  Crossbreeding

Neighbour Flowers


At present, the Book contains the following entries:

Level 1 Flowers
  Epiphyllum
  Chrysanthemum
  Venus Flytrap
  Viola Tricolour
 

Level 2 Flowers
  Super Lily
  Super Viola Tricolour
  Super Epiphyllum
  Super Venus Flytrap
  Super Chrysanthemum
  Super Jagger Lips

Level 3 Flowers
  Mega Chrysanthemum
  Mega Epiphyllum
  Mega Rafflesia
  Maga Rose
  Mega Viola Tricolour
  Mega Venus Flytrap
  Mega Lily
  Mega Jagger Lips

Neighbour Flowers
  Super Cupcake Flower
  Mega Cupcake Flower
  Cupcake Flower
  Lollipop Flower
  Doughnut Flower
  Super Doughnut Flower
  Mega Doughnut Flower
  Mega Lollipop Flower
  Blank entry (could become the Macaron Flower?)
  Blank entry (could become the Ice Cream Friendship Flower?)
  Super Lollipop Flower

The only reason that the Macaron and Ice Cream Friendship Flowers might not be entered in the Book is the fact that they were time-limited.  How could one obtain all Stars if they cannot be obtained again?  The Colourful Plumeria, on the other hand, should be an entry at some point.  Whether flowers we have matured before the entry is made will be counted or not is another matter.

I believe that the item obtained by crossbreeding is entirely random.  On my lower level farm, I obtained one of the rare Jagger Lips.  On my higher level farm, where I have planted, crossbred and matured MORE Flowers, I never obtained anything unusual!

This was discussed in an earlier post, but I might as well repeat the information here.  Recently, there was an offer for a special Macaron Friendship Flower.  It was a Neighbour Flower like the Ice Cream Friendship Flower but there were items that could be received if you met the requirements.  These were the Spoon Shovel and the Macaron Flower Decorations.  To obtain these, you first had to buy 8 Macaron Friendship Flowers (for the Spoon Shovel) and a total of 10 for the Macaron Friendship Flower.  In other words, you would meet the requirement for both by purchasing a total of 10.

Registration of Macaron Road:
  1 Medal, 8 Organic Fertilisers

Registration of Spoon Snovel:
  2 Medal, 15 Green Mystrons

Registration of Macaron Flower:
  3 Medals, 20 Green Mystrons

Collection:
  Includes Macaron Road, Spoon Shovel and Macaron Flower
  3 Medals, 200 OP, 1 RC

There is a Collection called 'Macaron Friendship Flower' as well.  This is time-restricted, unfortunately.  At the end of June, one has only 15 more days to complete the Collection.
The problem here is that you will not receive the Decorations until you have opened the required number of Gift Bags.  In other words, your Neighbours have to bring a total of 8 Macaron Friendship Flowers to maturity in order for you to obtain the Spoon Shovel.  It has to be placed on the original Seaside Farm for registration.  Only when you have opened the 8th Gift Bag will you obtain it.  Two more Gift Bags for a total of 10 will give you the Macaron Flower Decoration.  You need to register the Macaron Road, the Spoon Shovel and the Macaron Flower to obtain the Collection Reward.

This is of more interest to farmers who want 100% Collection than other Farmers.  You can gain all the Achievements for Gallery Registration with only a few Registrations!

A note finally about the expanded Mystery Shop or Store.  In the past, there was only the options to use Green Mystrons or Yellow Mystrons to purchase random items that changed daily.  Now there is a Coin Shop and a Blue Mystron Shop.  You will find that the Blue Mystron Shop contains Decorations usually that were obtained only when a time-restricted Quest was completed.  The only way at present to earn the coveted Blue Mystrons is by completing EVERY Order Board Reward.  Once this has been done, you will begin to earn Blue Mystrons when you complete Orders.  This means, in effect, that it is a rather advanced game option.

The Order Board has been expanded, however, to give you a greater number of Daily Orders to fill, making it easier to earn the various Rewards that are in a specific sequence.  The ones that appear as wrapped Gifts are the various Sheep that provide Farm Aids for a limited time.  Register these in the Gallery.  I warn you, however, that it takes DAYS to complete a Registration of any one of these special Farm Aid-dispensing Sheep!

Finally, the Coin Mystery Shop is one that offers a number of interesting items, including Materials, Crops, other Products, Farm Aids and Seafood.  It is the source of your Level 1 Flowers as well.  You have a total of four screens filled with different random items.  Once you have exhausted these, you need to wait for time to pass in order to be able to find new screens with new items.  For those of us who do not love the fishing option, the Coin Shop is a wonderful way to keep our seafood in stock!

19 June 2015

Time-Restricted Treasure Hunt Quest and Yuhua Stones Collections Mission






Screenshot of Treasure Island Decoration on Island Farm


A new time-restricted Mission has been released.  As usual, it involves two separate components in the form of a Collections Mission and a traditional Quest sequence.  The Collections Mission is as follows:

Collect Yuhua Stones

70 Pink Yuhua Stones from Onions
50 White Yuhua Stones from Sugar
30 Green Yuhua Stones from Champagne
10 Red Yuhua Stones from Cashew

Reward: Baking Soda Bag

Note that the Baking Soda Bag is what is known as a Collectable.  It cannot be purchased in the Market at this point in time and probably will not appear there until this time-restricted Quest has ended.  You therefore either must complete the Collections Mission or pay a substantial amount of RC to skip tasks in the traditional Quest sequence that require placement of the Baking Soda Bag on your Farm as well as the Baking Soda itself which is produced by the Bag and is featured in a new Recipe.

The Baking Soda Bag produces Baking Soda every four hours.

The traditional Quest sequence is the Treasure Hunt Quest.  It gives three separate special Rewards as has been the case in all recent time-resricted Quests.  At the end of Treasure Hunt IV, you will receive a special Mission Gift Box.  At the end of Treasure Hunt VIII, you will receive a Mushroom Cluster Decoration for your Seaside Farm.  At the end of Treasure Hunt XII, you will receive a Treasure Island Decoration for your Island Farm.

The Treasure Hunt sequence is as follows:

Treasure Hunt Quest
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Treasure Hunt I
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Darryl:  With a hot summer almost in full swing, less customers are coming to the farm and life here is simply just peaceful and quiet.  This is the first time I've felt farm life is dull!  Perhaps I should ifnd something to do...

Harvest 40 Corn
  Skip for 20 RC

Harvest 40 Red Roses
  Skip for 20 RC

Harvest Lemon Tree 8 Times
  Skip for 8 RC

Reward: 1000 Coins, 160 XP

Good boy!  Farm life is just like that!

Treasure Hunt II
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DarryL; Today Grandma needs to go visit her friend and we have already finished today's tasks!  A little birdie told me that there's some buried treasure somewhere.  How about we go outside and begin a treasure hunt?

Harvest 40 Rye
  Skip for 20 RC

Produce 40 sacks of Rye Flour
  Skip for 20 RC

Produce 40 loaves of Black Bread
  Skip for 20 RC

Reward: 1000 Coins, 100 XP

Darryl:  You know, I always like to try new things.

Treasure Hunt III
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Darryl:  That was a great idea!  But before we go, we have to perpare enough food and take good care of the animals on the farm.  Otherwise Grandma will get cross with us.

Harvest 40 Grapes
  Skip for 20 RC

Produce 40 glasses of Grape Juice
  Skip for 20 RC

Prepare 15 bowls of Udon
  Skip for 15 RC
  Each Udon is made with 1 Wheat Flour and 1 Oat Flour

Reward: 1000 Coins, 170 XP

Darryl:  That should be enough for now.

Treasure Hunt IV
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Darryl:  Great!  We have finished all our tasks!  Now we can search the forest to see where the treasure's been buried!  But let's make sure we arrive back on the farm before Grandma gets back to the house.

Harvest 40 Oat
  Skip for 20 RC

Collect 40 Eggs
  Skip for 20 RC

Prepare 8 Christmas Stollen
  Skip for 8 RC

  Each Christmas Stollen is made with 1 Soft Dough and 2 Grapes

Reward: 1000 Coins, 170 XP

Darryl:  I feel so excited now!

Special Reward:  Special Mission Box containing 6 Super Fertiliser, 4 Super Watering Can, 6 Power

Treasure Hunt V
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Darryl:  After walking for awhile, we have finally arrived at our destination!  Or, at least, I hope so.  Thankfully, I brought my map with me.  So let's start from here and dig out our treasure!

Produce 50 Turkey
  Skip for 25 RC

Produce 50 Beef
  Skip for 25 RC

Produce 50 Blue Teddy Bears
  Skip for 25 RC

Reward: 1000 Coins, 180 XP

Darryl:  I can't wait to discover whether we can find something really special!

Treasure Hunt VI
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Darryl:  We kept digging but found nothing.  Maybe this isn't the right place.  Let me check the  map again.  It's so tiny that I could have easily been digging in the wrong place.  Maybe we can ask neighbour for magnifying glasses to help us?

Collect 20 Magnifying Glasses from Neighbours
  Skip for 20 RC

Harvest 50 Rice
  Skip for 25 RC

Prepare 15 Coconut Milk
  Skip for 15 RC
  Each Coconut Milk is made with 1 Coconut and 2 Sugar

Reward: 1000 Coins, 180 XP

Darryl:  As always, our neighbours have been so helpful!

Treasure Hunt VII
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Darryl:  Great!  Now we can continue our work!  My friend told me that there is a treasure buried here!  I'm sure we will find something special!  Just trust me and be patient, Felicia!

Process 6 Scallops in the Seafood House
  Skip for 6 RC

Craft 3 Pairs of Peacock Feather Earrings
  Skip for 6 RC
  Each Peacock Feather Earring pair is made with 1 Pearl, 2 Peacock Feathers and 1 pair of Earring Hooks

Craft 3 White Cord Necklaces
  Skip for 6 RC
  Each White Cord Necklace is made with 1 Angora Hair, 1 Wool and 2 Daisies

Reward: 1000 Coins, 190 XP

Darryl:  I'm sure we'll find something here, or am I just dreaming?

Treasure Hunt VIII
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Darryl:  Felicia is complaining that we only find stone after stone.  Maybe we should dig much deeper!  But I'm so tired now, I think I need to replenish my energy!

Place a Baking Soda Bag on your Farm
  Reward from Collections Mission

Prepare 8 Cashew Milk Cookies
  Skip for 8 RC
   Each Cashew Milk Cookie is made with 1 Milk Cookie and 2 Cashew Nuts
   Each Milk Cookie is made with 1 Condensed Milk and 1 Wheat Flour

Prepare 8 plates of Brazil Nut Milk Cookies
  Skip for 8 RC

  Each Brazil Nut Milk Cookie is made with 2 Milk Cookies and 1 Brazil Nut

Reward: 1000 Coins, 190 XP

Darryl:  I'm feeling full of energy now.  Let's continue digging!

Special Reward:  Mushroom Cluster Decoration

Treasure Hunt IX
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Darryl:  I always wanted to give Grandma a special gift.  But in case i can't find the treasure, I can always cook her favourite dish for her.  It's been a while since I last cooked it, so why don't we practice for a bit?

Prepare 20 Cornmeal
  Skip for 20 RC

Harvest 60 Eggplants
  Skip for 30 RC

Prepare 6 Plates of Fried Eggplant
  Skip for 6 RC
  Each plate requires 4 Eggplant and 2 Wheat Flour

Reward: 1000 Coins, 200 XP

Darryl:  It's just as yummy as I remember!
 
Treasure Hunt X
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Darryl:  This hole's getting bigger and bigger!  Wait, what's this hard thing?  Felicia, quickly, come here!  I think we found it!

Craft 6 Blue Hearts
  Each Blue Heart is made with 5 Blue Roses, 3 Fern Flowers and 1 Glass
  Skip for 6 RC

Produce 60 Camel Hair
  This is an Island Task
  Skip for 30 RC

Craft 6 Wooden Aroma Bottles
  This is an Island Task
  Skip for 6 RC

  Each Wooden Aroma Bottle is made in the Workshop using 2 Wool Yarn and 1 Cedar Wood and requires 1 Power to create 

Reward: 1000 Coins, 200 XP

Darryl:  I wonder if it's the treasure we're looking for.

Treasure Hunt XI
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Darryl:  Look at this beautiful piece of treasure!  I think Grandma will love it.  Why don't we head back and give it to her?  On the way back, we can pick some flowers to compliment this treasure.

Harvest 60 Blue Roses
  Skip for 30 RC

Harvest 60 Honeysuckles
  This is an Island Crop
  Skip for 30 RC

 Produce 60 Blue Rose Essential Oil
  This is an Island Task
  Skip for 30 RC
  N.B.  Transport 60 Blue Roses to the Island in advance.

Reward: 1000 Coins, 210 XP

Darryl:  I'm really tired but I'm happy that we found the treasure!

Treasure Hunt XII
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Darryl:  Grandma really loved the gift!  She was so happy we went to all the effort for her.  She even cooked us our favourite dish to show how happy she was.  After the long walk, this is the best way to get my energy back!

Harvest 8 Apricots
  Skip for 8 RC

Produce 8 Apricot Pies
  This is an Island Task
  N.B.  You need to transport 8 Apricots to the Island in advance
  Skip for 8 RC

Produce 4 plates of Fried Eggplant Rolls
  Skip for 4 RC
  N.B.  In two harvests from the Baking Soda Bag, I did not receive sufficient Baking Soda to make the ingredient required to complete this dish.   You will need 2 Baking Powder and 1 Fried Eggplant for each Fried Eggplant Roll.  In 8 hours, I had enough Baking Soda only to make 2 Baking Powder.  Baking Powder is made with 1 Baking Soda and 2 Cornmeal.

Darryl:  What a wonderful treasure hunt!  I hope we can do this again in the future!

Reward: 1000 Coins, 210 XP

Special Reward:  Treasure Island Decoration for the Island

Incidentally, the Treasure Island Decoration, in my opinion, is one of the nicest we have received as a Reward for the Island to date.  It is a little larger than most of the other Island Decorations and consists of a little beach containing a palm tree, open Treasure Chest, sabre, cannon and antique pot.  The chest overflows with treasures, including a Crown and a string of pearls.






New Recipes:
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Baking Powder: 723 Coins, 1 XP
  Ingredients:  Baking Soda, Cornmeal x 2

Fried Eggplant: 3199 Coins, 1 XP
  Ingredients:  Eggplant x 4, Wheat Flour x 2

Fried Eggplant Rolls: 4671 Coins, 1 Xp
  Ingredients:  Baking Powder x 2, Fried Eggplant

Gallery Registration
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Baking Soda Bag
  3 Medals, 5000 Coins

Mushroom Cluster
  2 Medals, 10 Green Mystrons

Treasure Island
  5 Medals, 30 Green Mystrons

Treasure Hunt Collection
  Includes Baking Soda Bag, Mushroom Cluster, Treasure Island
  Reward: 5 Medals, 88 Green Mystrons, 1 RC

Strategies for Mission
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This is one of those Collection Missions that offers a Reward that CANNOT be purchased in the Market.  Ultimately, once the time limit has expired, it no doubt will appear there, so players need not despair for the future in terms of obtaining the Baking Soda Bag.  For the purpose of the traditional Quest sequence here, however, it is necessary either to complete the Collections Mission by the time you reach Treasure Hunt VII or else pay to skip the task of placing it on your Farm.  The Baking Soda Bag produces every four hours.  You will need the Baking Soda for one of the new Recipes that is featured in the Quest sequence near the end.  You can purchase each portion of Baking Soda needed for 1 RC, however, if you prefer.

These time-restricted Quests now include Island tasks, so a player will need to have access to the Island if he/she wishes to complete the entire sequence and obtain the final Island Decoration as a Reward or opt instead to pay substantial amounts of RC to skip every Island task.  The Island tasks appear only in the last third of the sequence.  Here they are tasks that require sufficient Dev Points to have purchased the Essential Oil Machine and have mastered it to the point where you can make Blue Rose Essential Oil.  You will need to have a Camel as well and sufficient Dev Points to have unlocked the Wooden Aroma Bottle.  My Island Guide gives all the requirements for every Island Machine, Crop, Animal and Tree as well as all items that can be produced.

A couple of the Island tasks require Items that can be found only on the original Seaside Farm.  In order to complete the task, you need to TRANSPORT these items to the Island in advance.  In particular, you will need 60 Blue Roses and 8 Apricots.  You need to have transported sufficient Wool in order to make 12 Woolen Yarn to produce the Wooden Aroma Bottles.    You can opt to skip these tasks, but the cost will be high.

As usual, there are a number of Recipe requirements in the traditional Quest sequence.  You will need some basic Dishes in order to make them, including Condensed Milk and Soft Dough.  Sugar, one of the items that yields the Yuhua Stones in the Collections Mission, is needed to produce one of the Recipes.  Milk Cookies are another ingredient in two of the Recipes that are included in the Quest sequence.  You will need a total of 24 Milk Cookies and these can be made in advance!

Remember that Gift Boxes often yield the OP and Power that are so very useful in these Quests.  Visit your Neighbours to eat at their Cooking Stands and clean their Decorations and then place as many Decorations that yield the valued Blue Gift Boxes as possible on your own Farm for Neighbours to clean.

Gallery Registration is another component in these time-restricted Missions.  The individual Reward items can be registered at any point in time but in order to register the entire Collection for a special Reward that includes 1 RC, you need to do so before the Quest expires or at least within a day or two of its expiration.

NOTE ABOUT FRIENDSHIP FLOWERS
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I suppose I could make a separate post about this but thought farmers might like to know that I have two free plots now on my Farm for Friendship Flowers from Neighbours.  I tend them repeatedly throughout the day when they are placed on my farm.

Note that when a Neighbour's Friendship Flower matures on your Farm, you can crossbreed it only with one of YOUR Flowers of the same level that has matured and NOT another Friendship Flower!

09 June 2015

Tips on Being a Good Neighbour

I have written posts about this before, but as I visited some of my Neighbours today, I realised a new post might be helpful to some of my fellow farmers.

First of all, there is a proliferation of cleanable Decorations that makes a visit a bit different from Neighbour visits in the past.   Cleanable Decoration are not all equal by any means.  The ones that deliver the best rewards on the original Seaside Farm,  generally speaking, are the ones that give Blue Gift Boxes.    Most of these come from items offered in special sales events as well as some of the Rewards for completing a Cooking Stand Event but there are a few that can be purchased in the Market.  These include the Market Stall and the Clothes Drying Rack.  Decorations purchased with Coins usually do not deliver the best Rewards when cleaned.  Most of the time-restricted Quest Rewards give Purple Cleaning Boxes.

I did write a post once that listed all of the Cleanable Decorations with the colours of Gift Boxes or other Rewards that they yielded, but it needs to be updated.  Meanwhile, though, from memory, I do know that the following yield Blue Gift Boxes:  Market Stall, Clothes Drying Rack, Mini Beach, Red Panda Habitat, Small Squirrel, Toucan, Sheep Table Set, Christmas Train, Mommy Duck, Thai Elephant, Japanese Garden, Flamingo, Boy Cupid, Girl Cupid, Teddy Bear Balloon, Panda Table Set.  There are a few more, but I have to make certain before I add them to the list.  I would imagine that, once earned, the Cow Table Set will as well as this is a Cooking Stand Contest Reward and so far, all Rewards from these Contests have yielded the coveted Blue Gift Box.

There are some that surprisingly do NOT give Blue Gift Boxes, including the Willow, yielding only a Silver,  Duck Swimming Pool and the Hammock. Nor does the large Swimming Pool.

There is a distinction to be made between Cleanable Decoraitons on the Island and those on the original Seaside Farm.  Island Decorations when cleaned tend to yield Gift Boxes that include items useful only to Farmers on the Island.  They do include items that can be used on either Farm but the tools used to fell Island Trees and so on can be found in these boxes as well.

There are two situations that can be frustrating to visitors.  One is when Farmers have an enormous number of Decorations jumbled together in such a way as to give a visitor no way of knowing how to tap on the ones that give the best Gift Boxes because they are placed so close together.  This is counterproductive not only for the visitor but for the Farmer who owns the Decorations because often they include the Decorations that yield only coins.  It is better to store Decorations now that give only coins, keeping out only the ones that yield decent Gift Boxes.

Second, very often one visits a Farm only to find that all the plots are empty, awaiting a new planting.  I do understand that Farmers who are involved in a quest sequence may wish to wait for the next task, but meanwhile, one always can plant Clover, taking only half an hour to mature or Pasture or Pineapple, both of which take only an hour to mature.  A visitor cannot earn any Coins or  XP from empty plots or from Trees that need to be harvested.  That is the third issue... too often, all Trees on a Farm are laden with ripe fruit and need to be harvested before a visitor can interact with them.

Again, these are not issues that affect only the visitor.  The Farmer who owns the Farm will achieve more if he/she makes certain to perform the tasks that will give both visitors and himself or herself the best results.

A final point is the speed with which any Farmer obtains his/her Gift Boxes from Decorations that have been cleaned by Neighbours in the course of any given day.  In my game, all Gift Boxes from Neighbour Visits appear on my Decorations at 8.00 p.m. each night.  I do not know if the time is constant irrespective of the Farmer's time zone or varies from zone to zone, but it is a good idea to find out when this occurs so that you can obtain benefits from Neighbour visits to your Farm again where your most valuable Decorations are concerned.

I know that I am not perfect in terms of my own Farm and my actions.  I keep far too many Irises on my field.  I hope that one day the developers will make this a permanent Crop but meanwhile, these are plots that can receive a Neighbour's interaction only once.

As far as Decorations are concerned, apart from those that appeal to me personally, I do try to load my Farm with those that yield the Blue Gift Boxes.  I have stored many of those that yielded only Coins.    (Many of the Christmas Decorations give Coins and it is the wrong time of year for those in any case!  The only Christmas Decoration on my farm now is the beautiful candle surrounded with angels and that is simply because I think it is enchanting.  Actually, the Train is a Christmas Decoration but it gives the Blue Gift Box, so I have two on the Farm for visitors to clean.

Note, however, that there are Achievements that require you to obtain specific totals of other colours of Gift Boxes, including the Golden Cleaning Gift Box. Silver Cleaning Gift Box and Purple Cleaning Gift Box.   Do not scorn the lesser colours, therefore, as every Achievement gives its own Rewards.

If you visit your Neighbours on a daily basis, it is more likely that they will visit you as one of the default list orders of Neighbours is your Most Recent Helpers.  Thus, if you visit a Neighbour, your place in the list will be higher than a Farmer who did not do so.

In this context, it perhaps would be helpful to discuss the Neighbour option.  At the top of the Neighbour screen (accessed either through your Menu or the icon of hands clasping) you will see on the left a pull-down box that gives different visiting orders.  There are:  Recent Helpers, Fertilisable, Facebook, Call Back, Level, Island Farm and New.  Each has its own advantages.  The 'Call Back' option usually is used only when you wish to delete Neighbours who no longer play the game.  This is important only if you have reached the maximum number of Neighbours allowed by the game.

On the top right of the Neighbour screen is an option to mark 'Island Farm First'.  This will take you directly to the Island of any Neighbour who has unlocked it.  Cleaning Decorations on the Island delivers different Gift Boxes than the Decorations on the original Seaside Farm.  There is only one problem with this option:  you will not have access to the Cooking Stand.  If there is no active Cooking Stand Contest, this will not matter, but if there is an ongoing Contest, you will miss the opportunity to obtain the Cooking Gift Bags that are available in addition to the 1 Cleaning Gift Box you can obtain from any Neighbour's farm per day.

You can toggle back and forth from one option to another.  Visiting 'New' Neighbours is a kindness, even if they are low level players who have not unlocked the Cooking Stand or obtained any Cleanable Decorations yet!  Furthermore, remember that doing so will alert them to your Farm and possibly a reciprocal visit.

In any case, I would urge my Neighbours to store Decorations that do not yield good Rewards unless they love those Decorations and to plant even Clover on their fields rather than leaving plots bare for hours.  I understand this is a game and real life must take precedence, but it makes sense to improve your own yields as well as those of your visitors if you can.

Daily Requests and Free Gifts
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A player who has over 300 Neighbours will be hard-pressed to distinguish between them in terms of gift-giving and usually will 'Select All' when sending a daily Free Gift item but it still may be worth mentioning the Trees that are in the Free Gifts Menu.  Today, when I visited a Neighbour, he/she had changed the name of the farm to 'Do Not Send Trees!'.  Trees make a great free gift for low-level players but a medium or high level player will have no use for them, where Wheat Flour, Milk, Honey, Cheddar Cheese and to a lesser extent, Wine, Blueberry, Red Rose, Glass Bottle, Glass and Earring Hooks always can be used.  White Rose Bouquets can be sold for a fair price, where selling an Apple Tree or Orange Tree yields next to nothing.  To access the FreeGifts option, you need to go to the Menu.  It is the first box on the top left of the screen.  Do not confuse this with Free Gifts on the lower right of your screen that gives you access to your own Gift Box.  Every player both can send a FreeGift and respond to one Request from every Neighbour daily. 

Magic Bunny
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I did not think this topic worth a post of its own but it should be mentioned.  The old 'Activities' pop-up no longer will appear when you access your farm.  Instead, go to Activity in the Menu and tap on it to be taken to the Market where you can purchase a Magic Bunny for 2000 Coins.  This Magic Bunny can be placed anywhere on your Farm, including the Building Plots area.  Tap on it to see the current Weekly Activity.  There is another tab now as well that will take you to the Daily Orders, which have changed to include an increased number of Orders.  Island Items now have been featured randomly as well, requiring that you transport them from the Island before you can sell them.  The Weekly Activity still earns the Farmer 10 Yellow Mystrons.  Somehow, the Daily Orders are connected with Blue Mystrons, but I have not encountered those yet.

05 June 2015

Time-Rsstricted School Sports Day Quest and Canvas Shoes Collection Mission

There are a number of new features in Family Farm Seaside, including the introduction of a new colour of Mystron in the form of Blue Mystrons, received from the Order Board which has changed to resemble the Orders in other mobile games such as FarmVille's Country Escape.  The old Rewards in the form of the various Sheep such as OP Sheep still exist, I believe, but the Blue Mystrons have been added which give players ultimately the option to purchase final reward Items from past timed Quests.

The beautiful Iris, my favourite Crop in Seaside, will vanish from the Market today.  I do wish they would make it a permanent Crop in the Market!

Meanwhile, a new time-restricted Quest and Collections Mission has been released.  As usual, they exist in tandem and the Reward from the Collections Mission is required in the traditional Quest sequence.  The Collections Mission is as follows:

 Collections Mission
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Collect Canvas Shoes

70 Red Shoes from Red Bell Pepper
50 Pink Shoes from Oat Flour
30 Yellow Shoes from Veggie Burger
10 Purple Shoes from Black Pepper Tree

Reward:  Starfruit Tree

N.B.  You can purchase the Starfruit Tree in the Market for 7 RC if you prefer.

School Sports Day Quest
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As has been the case in all timed Quests of late, apart from the regular Rewards in the form of Coins and XP that are received when completing a single task group, the actual Quest is divided into three sections consisting of four Task Groups each.  At the end of School Sports Day IV, you will receive a special Mission Gift Box containing Farm Aids.  At the end of School Sports Day VIII, you will receive a special Decoration for your original Farm.  The last Task Group requires access to the Island and when you complete School Sports Day XII, you will receive a special Decoration for your Island Farm.

School Sports Day I
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Felicia:  Recently I have been coming home late and I know we have so many tasks to do on the farm these days.  I feel so bad to let Darryl work alone and the sun is about to go down soon... Would you mind helping him for me?

Harvest 40 Clovers
  Skip for 20 RC

Harvest 6 Oranges
  Skip for 6 RC

Collect 20 Jars of Honey
  Skip for 9 RC

Reward: 1000 Coins, 160 XP

Felicia:  Thank you so much for your help!

School Sports Day II
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Felicia:  I have to go to school today but I don't want Darryl to know why I'm going during the weekend.  Besides, we still have a lot of work to do.  You know what I'm going to ask you next, right?

Harvest 40 Cucumbers
  Skip for 20 RC

Harvest 6 Gisela Cherries
  Skip for 6 RC

Collect 40 Eggs
  Skip for 20 RC

Reward: 1000 Coins, 160 XP

Felicia:  You're my hero!  I hope Darryl won't find out what I'm hiding from him!

School Sports Day III
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Felicia:  I'm gonna tell you something.  This year i will be the captain of the cheerleading squad!  So my friends and I have to rehears for this event.  But I think I should go back home to do some work before my brother gets grumpy at me.

Harvest 40 Grapes
  Skip for 20 RC

Produce 40 Sacks of Oat Flour
  Skip for 20 RC

  N.B.  This is one of the items that yields Canvas Shoes for the Collextions Mission

Sell products worth 10,000 coins from your Seaside Barn
  Skip for 10 RC

Reward: 1000 Coins, 170 XP

Felicia:  Wow, that was a lot of work.  I think I need some rest...

School Sports Day IV
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Felicia:  My friends and I have been rehearsing all morning.  We've been dancing and singing so I think they must be thirsty now.  Shall we make some drinks for them?

Prepare 12 jars of Apple Milkshake
  Skip for 12 RC

Produce 40 glasses of Grape Juice
  Skip for 20 RC

Prepare 6 glasses of Orange Smoothie
  Skip for 6 RC

  N.B.  Each Orange Smoothie requires 1 Condensed Milk and 1 Orange Jam

Reward: 1000 Coins, 170 XP

Felicia;  I hope we made enough drinks for all of them!

Special Reward:  Special Mission  Box.  Mine contained 6 Super Fertiliser, 3 Super Wateirng Cans, 6 Power

School Sports Day V
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Felicia:  It's afternoon already?!  My friends must be hungry and the canteen at school is usually closed during the weekends.  Let's make some snacks for them!

Prepare 8 Polish Donuts
  Skip for 8 RC

  N.B.  Each Polish Donut requires 1 Batter and 1 Cake Flour

Produce 25 Black Forest Cakes
  Skip for 12 RC

Prepare 8 Rice Krispies
  Skip for 8 RC

  N.B.  Each of the Rice Krispies requires 2 Rice and 2 Mayonnaise

Reward: 1000 Coins, 180 XP

Felicia:  I can see how hungry they were.  It's good that we decided to make some snacks for them.

School Sports Day VI
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Felicia:  Some of my friends are making flyers for this event.  They look awesome already!  But I think it will look even better if we paint some colours on it.

Place a Starfruit Tree on your farm
  (Reward from Collections Mission)

Collect 20 Coloured Pencil Sets from your Neighbours
   Skip for 20 RC

Produce 50 bundles of Wool
  Skip for 25 RC

Reward: 1000 Coins, 180 XP

Felicia:  Now our flyers for this event look just perfecto!

School Sports Day VII
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Felicia: Gosh!  I forgot we had an order form another farm last week and I still have to finish today's orders.  I'll have to run back to the farm again.  Could you lend me a hand?

Produce 50 bottles of White Wine
  Skip for 25 RC

Harvest 50 Lavender
  Skip for 25 RC

Felicia:  Uffff... We just managed to finish all the orders in time.  Well done, farmer!

Reward: 1000 Coins, 190 XP

School Sports Day VIII
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Felicia:  Darryl is angry at me because i haven't been much help with the chores these days.  But I want to keep my secret to surprise him.  And besides, he might make fun of me if he finds out!  So what should i do?

Harvest 50 Canes
  Skip for 25 RC

Prepare 8 Starfruit Smoothies
  Skip for 8 RC

  N.B.  This is a new recipe and each requires 1 Condensed Milk and 1 Starfruit

Produce 50 bags of Sugar Popcorn
  Skip for 25 RC

 Note that you will need both a Sugar Machine and a Popcorn Machine.  Sugar is produced from Cane in the Sugar Machine and then fed into the Popcorn Machine with Corn to produce Sugar Popcorn.

Reward: 1000 Coins, 190 XP

Felicia:  It's so easy to make a kid smile!  Haha.

Special Reward:  Painting Stand for original Seaside Farm

School Sports Day IX
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Felicia:  Oh yes!  We need to make pom poms for cheerleading!  Oops, I'm getting hungry again and I think my friends are too.  Shall we make food for them?  And about the pom poms... Do you think we can get help from our neighbours?

Produce 8 Roasted Black Pepper Chicken
  Skip for 8 RC
  N.B.  You will need 1 Black Pepper and 1 Fried Seasoned Chicken for each.

Collect 20 Pom Poms from Neighbours
  Skip for 20 RC

Prepare 8 Lunch Box Sets
  Skip for 8 RC
  N.B.  You will need 1 Starfruit Smoothie and 1 Roasted Black Pepper Chicken for each.

Reward: 1000 Coins, 200 XP

Felicia: How come I'm still hungry?

School Sports Day X
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Felicia:  Maybe we should make some desserts for them too.  Girls always look so happy after they get sweets!

Harvest 8 Rainbow Fruit
  Skip for 8 RC

Prepare 8 Rainbow Cakes
  Skip for 8 RC

  N.B.  Each Rainbow Cake requires 1 Cake Flour and 1 Rainbow Fruit

Prepare 20 Candied Apples
  Skip for 20 RC

  N.B.  Each Candied Apple requires 2 Apples and 1 Maple Syrup

Felicia:  Okie dokie.  it's time to go back to school.

Reward: 1000 Coins, 200 XP

School Sports Day XI
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Felicia:  Oh no!  Darryl followed me to the rehearsals and tooks some pictures to show Dad!  But maybe his arrival wasn't so bad.  He told us girls that we'll look more beautiful with flowers on stage during our performance.

Harvest 60 Daffodils
  This is an Island Crop
   Skip for 30 RC

Harvest 60 Camomile
  This is an Island Crop
  Skip for 30 RC

Produce 60 Goose Hats
  Skip for 30 RC

  N.B.  This is an Island Task. You will need 60 Camel Hair produced on the Island by feeding the Camel Cactus and 60 Goose Feathers transported in advance from the original Seaside Farm.

Reward: 1000 Coins, 210 XP

Felicia:  Wow!  The show looks more colourful after we decorated it with flowers!  Thanks for the great idea, brother!

School Sports Day XII
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Felicia:  The show is over and luckily it all went well!  We got compliments from the whole audience!  Thanks every one for your amazing team work.  It wouldn't have gone so well without Darryl's advice.  Shall we get him a small gift?

Produce 30 Camomile Baskets
  Skip for 15 RC
  This is an Island Task.  You will need 30 Bamboo Baskets produced by the Panda when Bamboo Shoots are eaten and 30 Camomile, an Island Crop

Craft 6 Scarecrow Toys
  Skip for 6 RC
  This is an Island Task.  You will need 2 Mohair Yarn and 1 Cedar Wood for each Toy

Produce 60 Wool Yarn
  Skip for 30 RC
  This is an Island Task.  You will need to transport 60 Wool from the Seaside Farm in advance.

Reward: 1000 Coins, 210 XP

Felicia:  Darryl likes what we made for him!  But he would rather have me help him to do his homework!  You're such a sneaky boy, Darryl!

Special Reward:  Lollipop Vase Decoration for the Island Farm



Strategies for Quest
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You will need the Starfruit Tree for School Sports Day VI, so you should attempt to complete the Collections Mission before you reach that point unless you prefer to purchase the Tree in the Market for 7 RC.  It is at the same point in the traditional Quest sequence that you will need to make your first set of Requests for an item from your Neighbours.  As the timed Quests usually begin on Friday, I always avoid making any Neighbour Requests for Free Gifts after Thursday in order to make certain that I have sufficient for any Quest items that I will need.  I usually ask 100 Neighbours for 20 items... being an impatient sort of player!

If you do not like to spend RC on Farm Aids, the Gift Boxes that you receive when players clean your Decorations or that you can receive when you visit your Neighbours to eat at their Cooking Stand or clean their Decorations offer random Farm Aids when opened.  You always need extra Power in the course of these Missions and even if you have unlocked the Volcano on your Island, you will need to be able to obtain extra Power from Gift Boxes if you wish to complete tasks early.

It appears that only two sets of Tasks, School Sports Day XI and XII involve the Island but each set of Tasks is an Island Task, so if you do not have access to the Island, skipping those tasks will prove very expensive.  Note that there are items that must be transported from the original Seaside Farm in advance.  These are 60 Goose Feathers and 60 Wool.  The Hat Machines is unlocked at 1680 Dev Points.

You will need some of the Basic Dishes to use in more complicated Recipes in the course of the Quest sequence.  One of the items needed is Condensed Milk.  Others are Batter and Cake Flour.  As these items are used constantly in the Kitchen, you always should try to have some stored in your Barn.

New Gallery Registration
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Each of the three Rewards has its own Registration and there is no time limit for these, but there is a time limit for the Collection that is linked to this Quest.  Rewards are:

School Sports Day items:

Starfruit Tree:
  5 Medals, 2 Super Watering Cans

Painting Stand
  2 Medals, 10 Green Mystrons

Lollipop Vase
  5 Medals, 30 Green Mystrons

School Sports Day Collection:
  Includes Starfruit Tree, Painting Stand Decoration and Lollipop Vase Decoration
  Reward: 5 Medals, 88 Green Mystrons, 1 RC


New Kitchen Recipes:
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The new Recipes, all of which are needed during the Quest sequence, and can be found on Page 39 of the Cookbook, are as follows:

Starfruit Smoothie: 208 Coins, 1 XP
  Ingredients:  Condensed Milk, Starfruit

Roasted Black Pepper Chicken: 448 Coins, 1 XP
  Ingredients:  Black Pepper, Fried Seasoned Chicken

Lunch Box Set: 690 Coins, 1 XP
  Ingredients:  1 Starfruit Smoothie, 1 Roasted Black Pepper Chicken Wrap  (This is the same dish as the Roasted Black Pepper Chicken)