500 Prize ticket Email Reward

If you go into your email today you are sure of a big surprise - well, that's if you have been hired by people who have restarted the trail in the last couple of days - because you will find 500 prize tickets patiently waiting for you for each boss who is repeating the trail!

The message will come directly from Zynga and it will look like this -

Click on claim tickets to add them to your totals on the trail.

 Do you need help on the Pioneer Trail? Don't forget we have a 24/7open help page at Facebook - pop by and say hello, have a rant, find some tips and join in with the games HERE

How to Bookmark Posts

One of the things we're asked after posting out List of Zynga Newsfeeds is "how do I bookmark this page?"

Well, we're going to explain here the simple steps you need to take to favourite any facebook feed or Frontierville Express page you might find handy. (You can use this on any page on the internet but frankly, after your Frontierville newsfeed and us... what more do you need?!)

Google Chrome

Look for the star at the end of the address bar and click it...

This will bring up this window where you can decide where you want the bookmark saved.

Firefox

Look for the star at the end of the address bar and click it...

This will bring up this window where you can decide where you want the bookmark saved.

Safari

Look for the plus sign at the beginning of the address bar and click it...

This will bring up this window where you can decide where you want the bookmark saved.

Internet Explorer

Download Chrome.

OK, download Firefox.

Right, fine, OK... download Safari.

OK, OK... fine, it's your own browsing, you want to surf the internet highway in a Lada Riva it's your choice.

Look for the star in the menu bar and click it, then click "Add Bookmark"...

This will bring up this window where you can decide where you want the bookmark saved.

News Feed Workaround

Over the past 12 hours Facebook ran an update to the way we see our News Feed. There has been some strong opposition to this so far. Our lovely Frontierville Express Admin, KT, has found a workaround which will put the news feed section back to "normal" - although we think it will be temporary.

First go to Account > Account Settings > Edit Language > Set to "English UK" > Save changes

Hopefully this will put it back for you, but as we say, we have no idea how long this will last for.

For more information about the new changes you can read this FACEBOOK ARTICLE

How do you feel about the changes? Are you having trouble? Come and ask about this and other Pioneer Trail/Frontierville questions at our FANPAGE

Read reviews of this working for others here

Adobe Flash Issues

[Please note that changing other settings that those explained in this article MIGHT cause issues, please follow the instructions carefully. If you use Firefox, simply try to update Flash HERE]

 Recently a LOT of people have been having issues with laggy gameplay, the Flash script stopping working and other Flash based issues.

There is one possible reason for this if you use Google Chrome, and that is that there are two versions of Flash "competing" on your system. This happened to me recently and caused the above issues.

Chrome updates Flash automatically BUT, if the Flash on your PC isn't up to date it can sometimes leave in a ghost second version that causes issues. Removing this means going into the bowels of Chrome but trust me, it's nowhere near as hard as you think.

First, click on the address bar above the window and type in - chrome://plugins/ (note the colon in the middle).

Scroll down the list until you find Flash, on mine it's the first item. Check and see if there are two versions with different numbers, most likely 11,1,102,63 and 11,1,102,62.

Now disable the one with the SMALLER number, most likely 11,1,102,62.

Reload Chrome.

Hopefully, if fingers were crossed and deities prayed to this may have helped your game along!

Fixing the "Unattended Mailbox" problem in Zynga Customer Support

Folks, a lot of people have recently had problems with replying to a Customer Support email.

Due to the amount of emails they've had lately Customer Support were pushed into sending out a stock reply that covered the majority of the problems. Unfortunately due to an issue with how these were sent out if further help was needed any reply BACK came up with the following message:

Thank you for contacting Zynga Customer Support.

Your email has reached an unattended mailbox. Email that is sent to this address does not reach our Customer Support team and will not receive a personal response.

So, how do we fix this? Well, it's pretty simple, but first make sure you want to... The reason Customer Support and Live Chat are having problems is the volume of requests, some of which probably didn't need to be sent.

Read the form email they sent, most problems were covered in that and, to be honest, all things CS can't help with. If it needs the developers to run updates to the game itself, those poor folks on CS can do nothing but sympathise. So if your problem is one of the ones in the email be patient, some are already getting fixed.

If, however it IS something you still need help with, missing horseshoes for example, it is possible to send a reply that DOESN'T pop back the "Unattended Mailbox" message.

Go back to when you FIRST received a reply from Zynga. Straight after sending in the support ticket you'll have got an email titled something like this:

Thanks for contacting Zynga Customer Support [ ref:random.numbers&letters:ref ]

Reply to THAT email. Say you received the form email and politely point out that you couldn't reply, so please could they do this, that and the other for you.

Remember, be nice. That person on the other end isn't to blame for any game issues, they aren't to blame for CS having a problem. They're likely to want to help you as best they can, and going in all tongues blazing is akin to ringing 999 (or 911 for the ones over the pond)  and abusing the call handler for the fact you've broken your leg.

I can't promise you this will get a response, but the theory is sound and when I tried it this morning I didn't receive the "Unattended Mailbox" reply.

Need a reminder of the best way to write a support request? CLICK HERE

Where is my playful Pony?

One of the biggest questions we have had at our FACEBOOK HELP PAGE at the moment  is "How do I find my Playful Pony?"



Last Days of the Season mission II of II asks us to "With your child mount your Playful Pony" however there is no pony to be found.....Fear not!

You should also have the First Day of School Missions (White schoolhouse icon) - These are known as the 3 Confidence Missions.

When you have completed all three missions once you will be rewarded you with the Giant Hamster; Complete them twice and you will get a Dalmatian dog and when you have completed them all three times you will get your Pony!

You can access this screen by clicking on the School house and selecting 'Prepare For School'.

 Once you have completed the series of missions once you will need to select Replay Missions at the bottom of that window to start them again.

If you have any other questions please stop by our FACEBOOK PAGE!

Mastery Points - Where to get them...

A full list of what gives Mastery Points and how much you can expect to get from each action...

Sheep

Sheep Mastery Mission - 100 Points

Sheep (Basic, Black, Grey), Badrap Sheep, Kissing Sheep, Big Horn Sheep

Tend Adult - 1 Point
Tend Adult on Neighbour's Homestead - 3 Points
Sell Adult - 3 Points
Neighbour Visit Tend - 1 Point

Mouflon Sheep

Tend Adult - 2 Point
Tend Adult on Neighbour's Homestead - 6 Points
Sell Adult - 6 Points
Neighbour Visit Tend - 2 Point

Golden Sheep

Tend Adult - 5 Point
Tend Adult on Neighbour's Homestead - 10 Points
Sell Adult - 10 Points
Neighbour Visit Tend - 5 Point

Cow

Cow Mastery Mission - 300 Points

Cow, Highland Cows (all colours), Badrap Cow, Black Cow, Jersey Cow, Swiss Cow, Kobe Cow, Bridal Cow

Tend Adult - 1 Point
Tend Adult on Neighbour's Homestead - 3 Points
Sell Adult - 3 Points
Neighbour Visit Tend - 1 Point

Belted Cow

Tend Adult - 2 Point
Tend Adult on Neighbour's Homestead - 6 Points
Sell Adult - 6 Points
Neighbour Visit Tend - 2 Point

Holstein Cow

Tend Adult - 5 Point
Tend Adult on Neighbour's Homestead - 10 Points
Sell Adult - 10 Points
Neighbour Visit Tend - 5 Point

Pig

Pig Mastery Mission - 175 Points

Pig, Black Pig, Party Pig, Tracking Pig, White Pig, Tuxedo Pig

Tend Adult - 1 Point
Tend Adult on Neighbour's Homestead - 3 Points
Sell Adult - 3 Points
Neighbour Visit Tend - 1 Point

Spotted Pig

Tend Adult - 2 Point
Tend Adult on Neighbour's Homestead - 6 Points
Sell Adult - 6 Points
Neighbour Visit Tend - 2 Point


Giant Hog

Tend Adult - 5 Point
Tend Adult on Neighbour's Homestead - 10 Points
Sell Adult - 10 Points
Neighbour Visit Tend - 5 Point

Chicken

Chicken Mastery Mission - 50 Points

Chicken, Queasy Chicken, Spiffy Chicken, Dr Cluck

Tend Adult - 1 Point
Tend Adult on Neighbour's Homestead - 3 Points
Sell Adult - 3 Points
Neighbour Visit Tend - 1 Point

Rhode Island Red

Tend Adult - 2 Point
Tend Adult on Neighbour's Homestead - 6 Points
Sell Adult - 6 Points
Neighbour Visit Tend - 2 Point


Spotted Chicken

Tend Adult - 5 Point
Tend Adult on Neighbour's Homestead - 10 Points
Sell Adult - 10 Points
Neighbour Visit Tend - 5 Point

Moose

Moose Mastery Mission - 425 Points

Moose

Tend Adult - 1 Point
Tend Adult on Neighbour's Homestead - 3 Points
Sell Adult - 3 Points
Neighbour Visit Tend - 1 Point

Black Moose

Tend Adult - 2 Point
Tend Adult on Neighbour's Homestead - 6 Points
Sell Adult - 6 Points
Neighbour Visit Tend - 2 Point


Red Moose

Tend Adult - 5 Point
Tend Adult on Neighbour's Homestead - 10 Points
Sell Adult - 10 Points
Neighbour Visit Tend - 5 Point

Badger

Badger Mastery Mission - 425 Points

Badger

Tend Adult - 1 Point
Tend Adult on Neighbour's Homestead - 3 Points
Sell Adult - 3 Points
Neighbour Visit Tend - 1 Point

Badger Gold

Tend Adult - 2 Point
Tend Adult on Neighbour's Homestead - 6 Points
Sell Adult - 6 Points
Neighbour Visit Tend - 2 Point


Honey Badger

Tend Adult - 5 Point
Tend Adult on Neighbour's Homestead - 10 Points
Sell Adult - 10 Points
Neighbour Visit Tend - 5 Point

Requesting Issue Fix

*PLEASE SHARE THIS BECAUSE A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE AFFECTED*

A lot of people recently have had trouble requesting items in the game. Although there was a wider issue, that now appears to have been fixed leaving some folks still having trouble.

HOWEVER, there is a possible fix to be had.

Option A - If you use IE, Firefox or any browser other than Google Chrome:

Install Google Chrome, seriously, it's a lifesaver, especially if you're using the insecure and hellish excuse for a browser known as IE...

It is available to download HERE and is far and away the best gaming browser.

Once loaded you can import all your other browser information such as bookmarks etc automatically by going to Options...

Personal stuff and import data from another browser.

Option B - Reinstall Chrome

If you already use Chrome reinstall it. Go to the start menu and select Uninstall Chrome.

MAKE SURE to DEselect the "Also delete browser data" checkbox to keep all your options.

Go HERE to reinstall the software.

Both these options have been proven to solve the Requesting Issues.

Why Do Geese Suddenly Appear...

...Every time, you are near...?

Well, not just geese but 'doobers' of all kinds, collection items, resource items on the trail, even higher amounts of the basic stuff like XP, food and coins sometimes.

Well, the answer is simple, and it's dice. Very large dice, but dice nonetheless, albeit the kind an avid Dungeons and Dragons fan might recognise instead of your average Snakes and Ladders player (unless they suggest you roll a dice, times it by three, add your Luck plus your Stamina and measure it against the Snake's Strength to see if you slide down...).

Picture this... a one hundred sided dice in digital form inside the game. Every time you harvest, tend or collect a bonus the game rolls that dice to see if you've "won" by matching that with the chances of you winning.

Take for example those pesky Geese and Pack Mules in the Pass. Every time you do something with your hunter there's a 10 in 100 chance of a Goose and a 40 in 100 chance of a Goat.

So what does that really mean? Well, the one hundred sided dice is rolled, on 10 of its sides is the word "Goose", on 40 of its sides is the word "Goat" and the remaining 50 are blank.

If the roll goes your way, then the item will pop out. If it doesn't, a blank side is uppermost and you get nada.

This also explains why, although we can give you chances, they sometimes don't seem right. A regular exchange on the page goes something like this:

"The Geese are only a 1 in 10 chance."
"But I've done 10 and didn't get one..."

The fact is every single action we do is a whole new roll of the dice. If you have one nearby lets try an experiment, pick up a dice and roll it six times.

 Despite the fact the chances each roll are 1 in 6 of getting a certain number I'm going to bet that for the majority of you you didn't roll the numbers one-six in any order during those six rolls, that's where chaos theory, entropy and pure goshdarned LUCK comes into it. (If you rolled one to six IN ORDER... I'd try the lottery this weekend if I were you...)

So there it is, folks can come up with personal beliefs as to what pops the resource items, or theories they're only offered at certain times or certain missions... but to be honest it's mostly our mind playing tricks on us.

To put it bluntly, everything that pops out randomly in the game is just a product of gambling...