FarmVille Beehives: Everything you need to know

Do you hear that buzzing sound? It might just be in your head OR maybe it's the new beehives that just launched in FarmVille (Let's hope for the latter). The goal is the build out your beehive, grow a swarm of bees and, in turn, the busy bugs will pollinate your crops so you have a better chance of finding bushels that can be sold in the Farmer's Market.

First thing's first, however. Beehives, like Horse Stables, etc, requires enlisting generous neighbors to send you building materials to build your hive. You'll need a total of 50 items to complete your house of bees, which breaks down into 10 of each of the the following:


farmville beehive

    Smokers
    Beeswax
    Wooden Boards
    Nails
    Bricks

I had a few nails, boards and bricks leftover from previous building construction, and was glad to learn that I could use these on the beehive as well. Then it was down to getting my awesome neighbors to send smokers and beeswax (which, of course, they did). ALSO SEE OUR FARMVILLE BEEHIVE MATERIALS QUICK LINKS.

farmville beehive materials
beeswax

If you don't want to rely on friends to get the job done, there's an option to buy all of these materials in the Market (go to the in-game Market and look under Buildings > For Animals). Each items costs 1 Farm Cash, so if you buy everything you'll spend a total of 50 Farm Cash or roughly $10.

farmvilel queen bee, 5 honeybees

Once Beehive construction is complete, you'll need to find a Queen Bee by scouting the flower crops on you or a neighbor's farm. Or, if you want to take the easier route, you can buy one for 10 Farm Cash.

farmville beehives now available

Once the Queen Bee is seated on her honeycomb throne, you can start to add Honeybees, which are available as a Free Gift or available in the FarmVille market for Farm Cash. Like other special events -- the most recent being the Tuscan Wedding -- there is a progress meter, so you will be able to see how your bee collection stacks up against your fellow farmers.

Your hive will start to grow and take on different appearances once you have 10, 25, 50, 100 and 200 Honeybees. Also note, after collection 50, 100 and 150 Honeybees, the beehive multiplies, with means you'll eventually have four working Beehives to add to your virtual farm, and they can each be harvested once a day, and bees mean that your crops will be pollinated, yielding extra bushels to sell in your Farmer's Market for cash (or more importantly, extra gas). So what are you waiting for? Make like a busy bee and start building your own hive post haste.

FarmVille Cheats & Tips: Beehive materials, Honeybee quick links

Hello, Facefolks! It's Mr. Cheats here with the down-low on the things you shouldn't know.

This morning, FarmVille's all abuzz with bees! Swarms of 'em! The folks over at The Facegamer have found gifting links for all the Beehive parts. That's right, farmer, your task of the moment is the build your very own beehive, and like all buildings on your farm, it's gonna take some sweat, tears and help from your farm neighbors to get all of the supplies you need.

There's a catch, you'll only be able to send two items at a time, and those two items will change periodically. Don't worry though, Mr. Cheats is going to make it easy on you by giving you ALL of the FarmVille Beehive Materials Quick Links at once. (As an added bonus, Mr. Cheats has also included a quick link for Honeybees as well).

To send any of the items below, just click on the corresponding image and start passing out hive parts like you're some kind of Queen Bee.

       
       


Mr. Cheats has another tip -- if you want friends to send you any of these materials (or a specific item), send them this link.

http://apps.facebook.com/onthefarm/gifts.php?giftRecipient=XXXXXXXXXXXX

Your Facebook ID will replace the X's in the URL. Where can you find your ID? Go to your Facebook page and look at the URL. You'll see 'id=XXXXXXXXX." That's your Facebook ID number. Copy and paste it in the URL above, and then start asking fellow players to send materials for your honey bee hive.

For cheats & more, check out The Facegamer.

Looking for items or new FarmVille neighbors? Leave a note in the comments below!

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

Zynga's 7-Eleven Promotion Ends July 15th

Zynga's FarmVille, Mafia Wars, and YoVille cross-promotion event with 7-Eleven ends July 15th!

Be sure to purchase your 7-Eleven codes while you still have a chance. Codes can be redeemed on BuyEarnPlay.com

Redeeming up to 9 codes will qualify you to earn the Uber prize which is 200 FV$ farm cash.

From FarmVille via FaceBook newsfeed:

    "Don't miss your chance to get exclusive virtual items from Game Cards bought at 7-Eleven®! The promotion ends on July 15th, so head to your local 7-Eleven® and get yours today!http://www.buyearnplay.com/"

This article originally appeared on FarmVille Freak.

FarmVille Fan Sheep Will Be For Sale Soon

The FarmVille Fan Sheep page now has well over 2 million fans as we previously reported. In exciting news the Fan Sheep will be in the FarmVille Market soon, as announced on its fan page today:

    "Honorable friends of the Illustrious Flock, we are happy to announce that your persistence has paid off and we can now introduce you to our newest friend, the Fan Sheep. Quite soon, the Fan Sheep will be available to all in the FarmVille Marketplace play FarmVille now and get your farm ready!"

FarmVille Fan Sheep on Farm
The Sheep will most likely cost $FV as it was announced by Zynga that 3 million fans would be needed for the Fan Animals to become available for coins. The Fan Cow was initially 12 $FV but changed to 50,000 coins after hitting 3 million fans.

This article originally appeared on FarmVille Freak.

FarmVille's new theme song: Here comes the money!

FarmVille has a new theme song -- "Here comes the money!" The fine folks over at FarmVille Freak posted this satirical video that was made in protest of how much FarmVille charges for premium items in the game.

Even though I agree that Zynga charges more than some other games for the cash items, at least 90% of people who play still play for free. FarmVille, in particular, has done a decent job of not forcing people to pay real-life cash to get the most out of their virtual farming experience.

The video, which pairs game images with the Naughty by Nature tune 'Here Comes the Money!' (also known as former WWE wrestler's Shane McMahon's entrance song), is still a riot. Even if I don't totally agree with the sentiment, it's hard to resist someone sticking it to The Man.

FarmVille upgrades Crafting Building user interface

farmville crafting building user interface upgrade
Although it is currently "Disabled" status for the moment, tonight FarmVille improved the Crafting Building feature by upgrading its user interface (UI).

Lots of farmers will be excited to know that this will make their crafting profession run much smoother with easier to navigate functionality.

As mentioned, this new upgraded feature is currently disabled and will probably be rolled out in phases.

Here are some screenshots we grabbed from the new UI.

This article originally appeared on FarmVille Freak.

FarmVille Neighbor Stats button improves neighbor Competition!

farmville stat button
For those of you farmers that like to compete with your neighbors, you will like this new upgraded feature, what we like to call the FarmVille Neighbor "Spy Button".

You can now view your FarmVille neighbors' stats by simply hovering over their icon on your Neighbors' list. To help you keep track or for comparison purposes you will be able to see their number of Ribbon Achievements, Masteries, Level among other stats.

This article originally appeared on FarmVille Freak.

What do you think of the new FarmVille neighbor stats button?

'HTML5 is the future of social game development,' Moblyng CEO claims

In a recent guest post on Inside Social, Stewart Putney, CEO of HTML5 social game developer Moblyng, said, "HTML5 is the future of social game development," especially on smartphones. Because just about every phone and browser out there supports--or will soon hop on--the web development platform, Putney believes that HTML5 will beat out Flash as the primary way to create social games in both your browser and on your phone. Putney goes on to speculate that Zynga's recent expansion into Germany may have more to do with creating games that are truly cross platform than making them look prettier.

And he raises a good point. HTML5, or the newest way to program websites and web programs, will be available on nearly every device you use to access the internet. Not to mention that if a game is developed with HTML5 on one platform, developers can take that game almost anywhere that supports the language.

"The advantage for developers in using HTML5 is the ability to leverage their code across multiple platforms. All major smartphone platforms support a different type of native code, but the one commonality is HTML5," Putney said. "The iPhone, Android, WebOS, Backberry 6.0, Bada and Nokia's Symbian and Meego all support HTML5 apps. Even Windows Phone 7 will roll out support in the next year."

In other words, HTML5 will allow us to find our favorite social games in more places that are all connected while actually looking and feeling similar. I'm looking at you, FarmVille for iPhone. (Though, Mafia Wars: Atlantic City could be a step forward.) HTML5 becoming the primary social game creation tool will also mean no more annoying Flash updates and scary security issues. If Putney is right in saying that HTML5 will take over in the social gaming space, then social games can only improve from here for all of us.

Japanese FarmVille shall now be known as FarmVillage

Known around the world for their hit social game FarmVille, Zynga's flagship property has made the journey across the Pacific to Japan. The second Zynga game to be localized for a foreign audience and a first for FarmVille, FarmVillage was developed specifically for mobile devices backed by Mixi, Japan's most popular social network. Players will be able to do all the things we can in the states, but in a hopefully improved version of the mobile FarmVille experience.

"We are excited to bring FarmVillage to Japan to create a better playing experience for all the players who have already become avid fans of FarmVille,”" says Zynga Japan CEO Robert Goldberg.

FarmVillage is the fruit of a recent partnership between Zynga and Japanese mobile phone provider Softbank, but Zynga is already experienced in launching games internationally. Earlier this year, Zynga released Zynga Poker in China and just recently announced that its newest game, CityVille, will release in English, French, Italian, German and Spanish.

According to Zynga, FarmVillage features opportunities for players to expand their farm, enjoy more artwork and improved Flash performance. The beta version of the game will launch early this month and more details can be found at Zynga Japan's website for those who are fluent (lucky bastards).

Gamasutra names Zynga's FrontierVille Best Facebook Game of 2010

Are any of you surprised? We didn't think so. Among games like Millionaire City by Digital Chocolate, CrowdStar's It Girl, Zuma Blitz by PopCap and LOLapps' Ravenwood Fair, Gamasutra named FrontierVille the number one Facebook game of 2010. The article was written by Worlds in Motion editor Eric Caoili, who chose each game based on "compelling gameplay and metrics-based design" instead of viral strategies. As a result, some of the more robust Facebook games obviously made the cut.

Some of the more interesting picks, or lack thereof, include Ravenwood Fair, which, in the number 3 spot, suffered a roller coaster of issues as a result of a certain Wall Street Journal investigation only to bounce back as one of the top Facebook games out there. Another intriguing choice is It Girl, second only to FrontierVille on this list and one of the most successful Facebook games to date geared specifically toward women (social games' largest demographic) with 6.6 million monthly players. While it hasn't even been around for a month, CityVille still managed to snag an honorable mention, which is most likely due to its insanely rapid growth.

And, of course, who could forget FrontierVille, now Zynga's third most successful game and arguably the most advanced in many ways. The game launched at a time when it was uncertain whether another game could emulate the success of FarmVille given the since debilitated modes of discovery on Facebook, but once again Zynga proved the naysayers wrong. Caoili claims that through veteran game designer Brian Reynolds, Zynga released a game that evolved the traditional farming sim with a largely different, quest-heavy focus, neighbors to visit and more features including several playable and non-playable characters, badges to earn and enemies to defeat. Don't forget the hilarious if lecherous News Feed messages, guys.

Earn 2 free FarmVille Farm Cash from Alpha & Omega promotion

A new free Farm Cash promotion has launched in FarmVille, with Zynga partnering with Lionsgate to promote Alpha & Omega, a new animated film about wolves on an adventure.

The new promotion is worth 2 free Farm Cash, and can be activated by clicking on the Sponsored Link window as seen at right. The window will be found at the bottom right corner of the screen, below the actual FarmVille gameplay area. Note: This promotion is likely only available for those in the US, and may not appear on your account right away. Typically, this is due to the fact that you have other free Farm Cash promotions that you have yet to complete that are "covering this up" on your account.

Once you click on the window, you'll be asked to "go on an adventure" via a short trailer that advertises the movie's release on Blu-Ray and DVD. This activity should take less than five minutes, and afterward, you'll see your Farm Cash total rise by 2 back in FarmVille. If your total doesn't automatically update, you may need to refresh the page to force the Farm Cash total to update.

What will you do with your free Farm Cash? How many promotions have you been able to complete recently in FarmVille?

FarmVille Art Collection now available for a limited time

As the Snow collection has now expired in FarmVille, Zynga has added a new limited time collection to the game, which celebrates all things pertaining to art. Obviously then, the collection is called the Art Collection, and it will only be available to complete for a limited time.

This collection asks you to find multiple units of six different items:

Paper - 10 (Common)
Pipe Cleaners - 10 (Common)
Crayons - 10 (Common)
Glue Bottles - 7 (Uncommon)
Scissors - 7 (Uncommon)
Paint Brushes - 3 (Rare)

As usual, you'll be able to find these items as you plant seeds on your farm, and you may find stashes of some of these items as you play the game, with these stashes being allowed to be shared on your wall for your friends to collect. Likewise, be on the lookout for posts from your friends so that you can more quickly complete this collection.

::Spoilers::
Just like other limited time collections, this one allows you to purchase the items you need for Farm Cash (ranging from 1 to 3 Farm Cash per individual item), and once you trade it in, you'll earn a special prize: the Moo-na Lisa. This Artist Cow is animated and paints a picture of the Mona Lisa, but with a cow. Unfortunately, the Artistic Cow cannot be harvested or placed in a Dairy Barn.

What do you think of the limited time only Art Collection? Have you been able to find all of the items in the other limited time collections, or do you think they are too hard to complete in the time allotted?

FarmVille Anti-Valentine Tree: Black Cherry Tree

To round out their brief Anti-Valentine's Day theme in FarmVille, Zynga has released a new limited edition tree to the game in the form of the Black Cherry Tree. Visually, this tree looks like a more sculpted version of the regular Cherry Tree, as it has more rounded leaves, while the original Cherry Tree has an oval-shaped top.

What makes this worth noting is the fact that the Black Cherry Tree, along with the regular Cherry Tree, both spawn the same tree when placed inside an Orchard, that being the Rainier Cherry Tree. Keep this in mind when choosing whether or not to purchase the Black Cherry Tree, which is available for 5 Farm Cash. Fortunately, this is a fairly cheap price, so even if you just purchase the tree once for its eventual mastery sign, you won't really be out a great deal of premium currency.

If you do go through with the purchase, you'll then be the (hopefully) proud owner of a tree that can be harvested once every two days, offering you 150 coins in the process. This is the same set of stats as most other trees released semi-recently, so you're not missing out on anything there either.

The Black Cherry Tree will be available for the next two weeks, giving you plenty of time to decide whether or not to make a purchase.

FarmVille Mystery Game (02/13/2011): Chinese New Year Round 2

If you hadn't had enough of the Chinese New Year theme in FarmVille, you're in luck, as Zynga has updated this Mystery Game this evening to include six new items from the theme, some of which you may recognize from FarmVille Sneak Peeks we've offered you in the past.

This week's item release is four part animal to two part decoration, and it costs 16 Farm Cash to play (the "normal" Mystery Game cost). Here's a look at what's at stake this week:

Asian Pavilion
Lantern Sheep
Red Lantern Bridge
Kung Fu Duck
Mongolian Horse
New Year Cow

As you might expect, the Mongolian Horse and New Year Cow can both be bred in their respective animal buildings, for a chance to receive either a Mongolian Foal or a New Years Calf. The calf has to be one of the cutest foals we've seen in the game, as this little fella is completely overwhelmed by his New Year mask.

No matter which prize you'd like to receive, you'll need to play the game quickly, as these items will only be available for the next week, after which point a new set of six items will be added to the game. We'll be sure to let you know what those items are when the time comes, so keep checking back.

Which of these items do you hope to win from the Mystery Game?

Picture of the Day: Tazzyjack's Valentine's Day Farm

Happy Valentine's Day folks! As you can see, today's featured farm is quite appropriate for the occasion. This FarmVille masterpiece, created by Donna (also known as Tazzyjack on the FarmVille Forums), features what is quite possibly the largest heart we've ever seen in FarmVille. From the leafy orchards that line the field, to the mountain scenery to the north, this gorgeous farm is full of love. Of course, the massive heart itself has "love" spelled out across it, but it's the package as a whole that makes this farm so wonderful.

Don't forget to enter our Free Farm Cash Valentine's Day Giveaway!

Continue reading to see what Tazzyjack had to say about her masterpiece farm.

    "I can't seem to ever leave my farm just one way for some odd reason. When I started to build the orchards and place them, the heart just took shape. The hard part was the rounded corners, it requited a lot of placing and then placing again.

    My decorating tip: the dead flowers are great to decorate with.

    Overall, it took me about two hours to complete the heart and a couple of days for the flowers to grow. Thanks for your interest in my farm." -Donna


It seems many FarmVille artists employ the trial and error technique to craft their creations.

What do you think of Tazzyjack's farm?

Check out the rest of our Valentine's Day 2011 coverage right here.

If you have an AWESOME FarmVille farm that you want to be considered for Pic of the Day, please email it to editors@games.com, Include the inspiration for your design and maybe a few tips for people who need an assist!

FarmVille English Countryside Sneak Peek: Decorations galore revealed

While heavy, fairly supported rumors have been circling for the past 48 hours concerning the imminent launch of the English Countryside in FarmVille, we've been told by FarmVille Community Manager Grimwell that the update will not be happening tonight. However, that doesn't mean that we can get even more excited for the upcoming expansion by looking at a slew of new content that will be available in the game.

We have an absolute treasure trove of decorative items to share with you, all of which will apparently be available (and only available) in the English Countryside expansion. Via the large picture at the top of this post, you can see there are all sorts of vehicles, statues, and various other goodies to purchase/receive through other means. From left to right in the image above, we have: Double Decker Bus, an unnamed classic vehicle, the Motorbike, Sportscar, English Balloon, English Airplane, Police Box, Wooden Bench, Venus Duck, Caesar Goat, Discus Cow, Gold Sheep Statue, Wooden Fence, Pub Sign, Potted Flowers and a Butler Gnome.

With so many vehicles / modes of transportation being in this set, it seems likely that this will be one of the collections in the upcoming English Countryside Wishing Well. Additionally, keep in mind that the names of some of these items may chance as they are officially released.

We'll make sure to give you all of the details about these decorative / English Countryside items as they become available in the game.

Check out the rest of our English Countryside coverage right here.

FarmVille feedback survey asks, 'Would you recommend me?'

We know you hate the Pause feature, but put the pitchforks down for a second--this news could help your farm down the line. According to FarmVille Freak, several FarmVille farmers have reported a link to a feedback survey located beneath the game screen. This is no sponsored link, folks. Clicking on the link will bring players to a separate web page containing a survey of seven questions. Among feedback on the English Countryside expansion, the most notable query is simple: "How likely are you to recommend FarmVille?"

The next, large question features several considerations that many players complain are what drove them away like "efficiency" and "technical issues." It looks like Zynga is trying to restore their former glory through--wait for it--changing the game itself. Check out the survey in full right here; this could change the game for the better later down the line.

Have you seen or taken the survey already? What change or upgrade to FarmVille would make you most likely recommend the game to someone?

Earn 2 free FarmVille Farm Cash in Dr. Drew promotion

With everything you left behind on your way to the English Countryside, it might be a good idea to take advantage of every free Farm Cash opportunity you can. Zynga has released yet another FarmVille Sponsored Link, and this time Dr. Drew is here to dole out the dough. Once the link becomes available, find it beneath the game screen--it has a Dr. Drew logo on it. The star of Celebrity Rehab and Sober House has some questions about your own potential addiction.

Clicking on the link will take players to a pop-up survey, surrounded by the wooden-looking border (to remind you that it's official). Just answer Dr. Drew's nagging questions and one you're through the familiar "You've earned your Farm Cash" message should appear in the upper right. Click on the blue X to close the window correctly and your Farm Cash should post to your account within an hour. Now, you're 2 Farm Cash richer and one step closer to getting over your FarmVille addiction. One tiny step.

[Source and Image Credit: FarmVille Freak]

How much Farm Cash have you amassed through free offers? What would spend your cash on in the game?

Poll: Would you ever remove a FarmVille, Facebook game friend?

FrontierVille forum contributor Purselamplady (how do folks come up with these names?) suffers a dilemma. One of her high-level friends, for all intents and purposes, is a load. For all of her request she responds to and Lunches she sends, this gal sends nothing, nor does she help at any point. She just reaps the benefits, as if she needs them more than anyone else. In other words, she's not the type of friend that ... works in FrontierVille. So, to leave or not to leave, that is the question:

Would you ever remove a neighbor?
If they can't contribute like I do, away with 'em!No, because some features require numbers of friends.Yes, but I would try to communicate first.I barely contribute myself--who am I to judge?
VoteView ResultsShare ThisPolldaddy.com

Have a unique answer?

FarmVille: Spin the Wheel of Fuel and win free fuel... just like every other day

Taking a page from the Wheel of Fortune, Zynga has started sending out emails to FarmVille players containing the "Wheel of Fuel." Like the Daily Bonus email, this Wheel of Fuel email offers you free fuel - anything from a single Small can, to three Large cans of fuel.

Unfortunately, this Wheel of Fuel isn't interactive, and overall seems like a rather pointless change. Clicking on the button in your email opens Facebook in a new window where you're simply shown the amount of fuel that you won. There's no flash animation of the Wheel of Fuel actually spinning, you don't get to press a big red button to make it stop. It's all quite a let down, really. Either way, I'm never going to complain about receiving free fuel, so if this is the direction future fuel emails are going to look then bring it on, I say. I just hope no one around me minds when I make up my own spinning sound effects to replace the stationary wheel I see before me.

Have your daily bonus emails started containing the Wheel of Fuel? What do you think of this change?