For the last couple of weeks, I’ve been reading a lot of updates about Zynga requiring a monthly subscription fee of $5.99  to be able to play Farmville.  We immediately checked out whether this rumour is true.  We were relieved to learn that there is simply no truth behind it.  Zynga does not intend to ask money for Farmville access anytime soon.

However, if you come to think of it, such a change could be expected if not soon, but sometime in the future.  One of the most successful online games, World of Warcraft, has been consistently on top of the charts although players pay for the software and a monthly subscription.  For a game as popular as Farmville, we would not be surprised if the majority of the players would still stick around even if it would mean sacrificing one cafe latte in a month.

We’ll see how it will turn out.  But what would you do if Zynga indeed decides to ask for a monthly payment?

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Just recently, I heard on the radio that many Farmville users on Facebook have been victims of identity thieves and hackers. How they do it will remain a mystery to non-IT experts like me. Don’t worry, there is one simple way to protect your Farmville account from these hackers.

A lot of people get too excited when starting with their Facebook account. Many forget to check the privacy setting and end up sharing their entire profile, friends’ list and updates to the entire world. Unless you are someone who is promoting a business and does not share any personal information on Facebook, I would not recommend making your account available to everyone.

If you are thinking of adding neighbors who you do not really know (those that you’ve met in forums or other social networking sites), there is a way to add them to your friends’ list without giving them access to your profile, updates and other account information.

Here’s how:

Step 1: Click on “Friends” on the Top Bar

Step 2:  Create a New List

If you are adding strangers to your friends’ list as your Farmville neighbors, you should create a “Farmville” list. Click on every person you want to include in that list.

Step 3: Change Your Privacy Settings

After creating a “Farmville” list, check your privacy settings and change them as you like. Click on “Settings” on the upper right side of the bar on top. Then choose “Privacy Settings”.

Click on “Profile Information”.

Step 4: Customize

Click on “Custom” then choose “Only Friends” at the top then enter “Farmville” at the bottom. Remember that this will only work if you’ve created a separate list for your Farmville “friends”.

By customizing your account this way, you are making your personal information visible only to your friends except your Farmville friends.

If you follow these steps, you will have full control on who will have access to your Facebook account information. Again, this is an important reminder to those who have added strangers as their friends to make them Farmville neighbors.

Now, you’ve just made life a lot harder for identity thieves and hackers.

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To be honest, I did not know that there is a fertilizing feature that has been introduced in Farmville. I tried it a couple of times but found it time consuming. Then I found out that this is another way to level up fast. Here’s how:

1. Earn 1 XP for Helping Out

You can fertilize your friends’ crops by clicking on a planted seed. By doing this, you’ll earn 1 experience point for each crop that you’ve fertilized. This is on top of what you earn for clearing out your friends’ farms!

A recent feature that has been added by Zynga is the option to fertilize plowed land. A square of land does not have to be planted with seeds to be able to fertilize them. This way, you’ll earn your experience points even though your friend has not planted anything yet.

2. Earn 1 Extra XP for a Super Crop

Yes, that’s right – you earn one extra experience point if you’re harvesting a crop (also called a “super” crop) that has been fertilized by any of your friends. Fertilizing all of your friends’ farms might take a few minutes of your time when you visit them but chances are, they’ll do the same with your crops. In the end, you’ll see that the few minutes you invest in your friends’ farms will eventually pay off.

Fertilizing will definitely help you level up fast. It does not cost you anything and you will earn lots of extra experience points if you make this habit whenever you visit your friends.

Have fun!

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Many people kept wondering why Farmville still holds the number one spot with the (by far) most number of players among all Facebook game applications.

Simple answer: It is a great escape from our stressful routine but at the same time, it gives us the liberty to decide on how to run everything (what kind of seeds to plant, how much land we want, what kind of decorations we want and need at the moment).

Many people think that Farmville is not a game where thinking is not required. That is not true. To be able to succeed in Farmville, you need to know how to budget both your Farmville cash and your time. Timing is very critical in order to level up fast. If you don’t harvest much, you won’t earn much. If you plant seeds which take a long time to be ready for harvest, you’ll level up slow. If you plant seeds that are ready for harvest in just a few hours but you don’t have the time to play every four hours, you’ll lose a lot of money. Balancing and time management are the keys.

When I first played, I did not have a clue on how to start and go about the planting and harvesting. I planted seeds which were most appealing to me, not considering my daily routine. I ended up with lots of withered crops and wasted time. After weeks of trial and error, I bought a guide. and followed the suggestions on setting up an individual schedule for Farmville. Here’s what I came up with:

1. Strawberries in the Morning

When I know I’ll be home the entire day, I will only plant strawberries. A strawberry would give you a profit of 6.3 per hour. But remember that this strategy will only be profitable if you will harvest them as soon as they are ready. Never let them wither.

2. Pumpkins at Night

Pumpkins take 8 hours to ripen and make a profit of 4.8 coins an hour. After making my last harvest of strawberries for the day, I will plant pumpkins in the entire plot before I get ready for bed. I don’t usually get 8 hours of sleep but by the time I log in to Farmville the next day, my pumpkins are usually ready for harvest. Of course, you have the option to plant another set of strawberries before going to bed but be sure to harvest them after eight hours. (A seed that takes 4 hours to ripen will wither 8 hours after planting them).

3. Use Seasonal Seeds

The poinsetta for example, is a good source of experience points. If you want to level up fast and you don’t have the time to harvest at least 4 times a day and plant another set before going to bed, I would suggest planting poinsetta instead. You only need to harvest once a day but you’ll earn 3 experience points for each poinsetta that you plant. Remember though that this is a seasonal flower which is available for a limited time only. However, there are good chances that a new seasonal fruit or flower will be offered for each season so you might want to take advantage of those if you badly need experience points.

Like I said, I only followed the strategies recommended in the guide that I bought. If you want to learn more, click here.

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Just a few days ago, we received a lot of reports from players who were promised to receive hundreds of free Farmville cash but never really did. Recently, a lot of fan pages, programs and applications have been luring players to get user profiles. We found out that these schemes are being used for other marketing campaigns.

Below are two of the applications which have affected the most number of people in just a couple of weeks:

1. Get a Mystery Box Completely Free

As you can see below, the creator of the fan page asks you to add as many neighbors as you want. They even set a minimum number of invitations! (70% of your friends). However, to the disappointment of many, the promised mystery box was never sent. Why? Because a fan page creator or moderator does not have access to the number of invitations a fan has actually sent out!

2. Join-This-Group-And-Get-100-Free-FarmVille-Cash

This fan page requires you to join the group, invite all your friends and have 15% of your friends accept your invitation. As a reward, they promise to add Farmville cash to your balance. However, like we noted above, there is no way for them to check how many of your friends accepted or declined. They are not affiliated with Zynga. Thus, there is no way for them to access each player’s account and add 100 Farmville cash to your balance.

During the holiday season, the number of players usually increases. So do fan pages and scam sites that target people who have limited time to play but want to move forward with their game fast. Don’t fall for these tricks! And besides, it is much more fun and fulfilling to level up in a game without using any shortcuts.

We’ll keep you posted on this topic so try to check this site regularly. If you know of a similar site as the above, please share your experience in the comments section below.

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When you first start with FarmVille, you might be easily overwhelmed with all the options that you have – seeds, trees, animals, decorations. However, given the limited cash you have at first, you should try to maximize the use of your land and spend your money wisely. Otherwise, you might end up spending too much on something without much gains.

Two Things You Should Keep in Mind

1. Take it slow

I made the mistake of clearing too much land on my first day and ended up not having enough money to plant seeds in them.  Keep in mind that plowing one square of land would cost you 15 coins plus the cost of the seeds you want to plant in them.  So expand slowly.

2. Plan Ahead

Also, before splurging on expanding your farm, plow your land first then buy your seeds.  That way, you will now if you still have enough money left to expand your farm. If you do it the other way around (expanding first then plowing and planting), you might not be able to afford the seeds that you want to plant.

3. Consider Your Daily Schedule

I think one of the reasons many people are playing FarmVille is its flexibility in time. When you buy the seeds, you will know in advance when to come back and harvest them.  But waiting too long to harvest will cause the crops to wither.  So, plan accordingly.  Think about your daily routine and think about the time when you usually have your downtime.  By doing this, you will be able to enjoy the game a lot more because it will not be in the way of your other chores.

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I’d say it depends on what you expect from a guide. If you are looking for hacking codes and other cheats – I’ll be honest with you – this is the wrong guide for you. But if you are someone like me who has been struggling for weeks to level up her farm, then, you should give this guide a try.

Personally, I thought that buying a guide for a free online game is insane and unreasonable considering the difficult times we are facing. But after weeks of being frustrated with my tiny farm while my neighbors are enjoying their villas, I decided to give Farmville Secrets a shot. I thought, if this doesn’t work out, I can always return the book risk-free. To my surprise, this guide has proven its worth in just a few days time. In just one week, I was able to level up to 20 and expand my farm three times without buying cash or coins and actually spending less time than before.

If you are contemplating to buy this guide, the list of pros and cons below might be able to help you decide:

You need to try this guide if you want:

* To earn lots of Farmville cash without investing a penny.
* To level up your farm fast but spend less time playing.
* To have an easy-to-read guide that will provide you with straightforward instructions.
* To have a guide that will help you set up an individual schedule based on your daily routine.
* To try out a guide risk-free.

You should not buy this guide if you:

* Are looking for hacking codes
* Are looking for cheats

Again, depending on what you want, Farmville Secrets may or may not be useful to you. But if you are an average player like me who is very competitive but doesn’t want to put in much time in the game, you should try out this guide.

Click Here For More Information About Farmville Secrets And How It Works

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