FarmVille Halloween Items: Dark Apple Tree, Batwing Horse, Bat Pumpkin and more

With tonight's FarmVille update, we not only see the launch of the Apple Bobbing / Barrel feature in the game, but there's also been an addition to the current Halloween limited edition item theme. It's interesting that the Apple Barrel feature comes out now, rather than a Halloween collection event, but either way, these new store items should be enough to tide you over until further developments (apparently) arise. Here's a look at the new items available in the store.

Trees

Dark Apple Tree - 8 Farm Cash
Giant Dark Apple Tree - 14 Farm Cash
Halloween Lantern Tree - 8 Farm Cash
Giant Halloween Lantern Tree - 14 Farm Cash

Yet again, we see two different pairs of Halloween trees released this evening, but neither really scream Halloween. The Dark Apple Trees are simply a dark purple color, while the Halloween Lantern Trees are more themed with hanging lanterns appearing when they're ready to harvest. However, I can definitely see these trees being used in a general Fall theme as well, and not specifically Halloween. Either way, remember that the two more expensive trees can be earned for free via Mystery Seedlings.

Animals

Dire Wolf - 10 Farm Cash
Batwing Horse - 26 Farm Cash
Bat Rabbit - 14 Farm Cash
Pink Patch Bull - 1.5 million coins

The Batwing Horse is a dark, black and green horse with large wings. It honestly does look like someone combined a bat and a horse. The same thing can be said for the Bat Rabbit, with its widespread wings, although the rabbit portion doesn't look like other rabbits traditionally released in the store. As for the Pink Patch Bull, this is a special item that's only available for a week.

Buildings

Werewolf Shack - 15 Farm Cash
Dilapidated House - 20 Farm Cash

Unfortunately, both of these buildings cost Farm Cash, although they do give players that want a spookier, gloomier Halloween theme something to get excited about (that is, as opposed to all of the happier, brighter items already released in the theme). The Dilapidated House is the larger of the two items, but the Werewolf Shack comes with some cool animations (eyeballs blinking in the windows) and extra details.

Decorations

Bat Pumpkin - 50,000 coins
Haunted Drive Inn - 18 Farm Cash
Giant Candelabra - 20,000 coins
Werewolf Gnome - 15 Farm Cash

Here, the two coin items are less elaborate than the Haunted Drive Inn, as you'd expect, but they're still rather cool and are nicely sized items for the price(s). As with the other items released this evening (including the Avatar Costumes below), these decorations will be available in the game for the next two weeks.

Avatar Costumes

Wolf - 8 Farm Cash
Vampire I - 10 Farm Cash
Vampire II - 10 Farm Cash

Here, the two types of Vampire costumes go with either gender. Vampire I is for male avatars, while Vampire II is a dress and wing combo for female avatars. Remember, it's not this often that we see so many items release for avatars, so if you want your avatar to have fun costumes the rest of the year through (and into next), this is a great time to stock up.

In addition to these items, there's a new purchase / collection event going on that will reward you with a free Halloween Forest item (a heavily animated forest with four trees, blinking eyes in the shadows and ghosts) for purchasing eight items released this evening. You'll have to purchase the Dark Apple and Halloween Lantern Trees (both large and small), along with the Batwing Horse, the Dire Wolf, Werewolf Gnome and Werewolf Shack. That's an expensive set of items, sure, but if you purchase them all within a week, the exclusive Halloween Forest is yours.

What do you think of these limited edition Halloween items? Will you purchase eight of them to receive the Halloween Forest? Let us know in the comments.

FarmVille Halloween Items: Nightmare Unicorn, Fire Peach Tree and more

With tonight's FarmVille update, we see a slew of new items launch in the current limited edition Halloween item theme. If you've yet to pull your Halloween items out of storage, now's the time, as you've got plenty of items to further flesh out your spooky graveyard or ghost town on your farm(s). As usual, we're here to give you a complete rundown of the items available this evening, so let's get started!

Trees

Fire Peach Tree - 8 Farm Cash
Giant Fire Peach Tree - 14 Farm Cash
Jack O Lantern Tree - 8 Farm Cash
Giant Jack O Lantern Tree - 14 Farm Cash

For tree collectors, tonight's update is a big one as it sees the release of four new trees, along with four corresponding mastery signs. As you'd expect, the two Peach Trees are a pair, with the giant version being available for free via Mystery Seedlings. Likewise, the Giant Jack O Lantern Tree is available as a Mystery Seedling as well, so feel free to skip purchasing it and only invest in the Jack O Lantern Tree. As for mastery, all of these trees come with the same stats, and will be mastered after 75, 150 and 225 harvests each.

Animals

Nightmare (Pony) - 26 Farm Cash
Nightmare Unicorn - 30 Farm Cash
Nightmare Sheep - 20 Farm Cash
Nightmare Cow - 24 Farm Cash

All of these animals have one thing in common, other than having "Nightmare" in their names: they are all a dark brown/black animal with some kind of flames for "hair." In the case of the Nightmare Unicorn, the flames are an awesome bright blue color, while the other three animals have orange flames. Keep in mind, farmers, that the Nightmare Pony (officially called just the "Nightmare") was originally released in last year's Halloween theme, and then again in the Birthday event last June. Make sure you don't already have one in your collection before spending anymore Farm Cash on the animal.

Buildings

Ghost Inn - 30 Farm Cash

Yet again, we're seeing a fairly awesome Halloween building being released for Farm Cash (unfortunately). This one is a few shades of purple and has glowing windows. Perhaps I'm just partial (my favorite color is purple, after all), but this one is definitely temping my wallet.

Decorations

Raven - 18 Farm Cash
Trick or Treat - 15 Farm Cash
Misty Waterfall - 18 Farm Cash
Skeleton Flamingo - 30,000 coins
Black Rose Planter - 8,000 coins
Dreadful Fence - 5,000 coins

If you already own a few of the Black Rose items from previous themes, know that this one is a different item that you can add to your collection. As for the Dreadful Fence, this is a re-released item that would make the perfect accompaniment to any Graveyard area you have setup on your farm with previously released tombstones.

Avatar Costumes

Ugly Duckling - 50 Farm Cash
Duck - 45 Farm Cash
Black Sheep - 40 Farm Cash
Sheep - 45 Farm Cash
Pink Cow - 35 Farm Cash

Unfortunately, if you want your avatar to be dressed up as any of the most basic animals from FarmVille, you're going to have to shell out a ton of Farm Cash to do so. Hopefully, we'll see additional costumes released in the future - even if they're re-released ones - that are a bit cheaper.

As usual, these new items come with a two week time limit, giving you plenty of time to purchase Farm Cash if you need to, and enough time to pull out your other Halloween items to see just which of these new items go best with those already in your collection. Just remember to go shopping sooner, rather than later, so you don't forget about these new items entirely (trust me, I've been guilty of that more than once).

What do you think of these new FarmVille Halloween items? Have you already decided which costume to dress your avatar up in this year? Sound off in the comments.

FarmVille Mystery Game (10/02/11): Horse theme leads to a free Halloween Tower

If you're a FarmVille Horse collector that still hasn't had your fill of adding Horses to your collection with the release of Mystery Boxes and return of plenty of past Horses to the store, why not take a look at this week's Mystery Game? That's right, this week's theme is primarily Horses, while this week's bonus prize is a bit... odd.

First things first, this week's game costs 20 Farm Cash to play per dart. While you don't have a guarantee of receiving a different animal with every dart you throw, if you do win, you'll walk away with one of the following:

    * Black Arabian
    * Brumby Horse
    * Peruvian Horse
    * Tennessee Horse
    * Trakehner Horse
    * Trotter Stallion


If you win all six (again, this might not happen on your first six darts, and can turn into a very expensive prospect depending on your luck), you'll walk away with a bonus prize, this time in the new Halloween limited edition item theme. The item specifically is the Halloween Tower, as seen at right in TritonHelper's picture from the FarmVille forums.

Interestingly, it looks like these Horses are scaled down a bit, as looking at the Foal in the background shows that they aren't as big as other Horses you may already have in your collection. Not that this is the first time animals have been oddly scaled in the game, but I digress.

Whether you're going for the full set, or just one or two of these Horses, make sure to throw those darts within the next week, while they're still available. Good luck!

Will you play this week's Mystery Game? Which Horses did you want to win? Which ones did you actually end up with? Sound off in the comments!

FarmVille Gamestop promotion offers rewards with Game Card purchase

Zynga has launched a new cross-promotional event in FarmVille this evening, teaming the game up with video game retailer GameStop to offer "exclusive mystery goods" to users that purchase and redeem Zynga Game Cards from GameStop. That is, in addition to simply earning the appropriate amount of Farm Cash based on the card value you redeemed (whether that be $10, $25 or $50), you'll also receive a free gift.

So far, it looks like you'll receive one of four items all wrapped up in a red and white box. All of these items are themed for Halloween, with three being re-releases. Specifically, there's a Wizard Gnome and Spooky Bush from last year's Halloween theme, while a Plant Monster from both Halloween 2009 and 2010 is also available. In terms of new goodies, you have a chance to earn the Candy Corn Chicken, although the loading screen above doesn't detail whether or not we'll be able to choose our prize, or if we'll just need to get lucky. For someone that already has the three previously released items, that's definitely something to keep in mind. On the other hand, there's also the slight possibility that a single card will guarantee you all four items, but again, that wasn't detailed either.

We'll be able to learn more about this promotion by visiting GameStop's website, but as of this writing, the promotion link doesn't work (it instead redirects to GameStop's downloads page). We'll make sure to keep checking on things and will let you know when the link goes live, along with exactly what you'll find there (hopefully answers to our questions). Either way, we do know one thing: this promotion will end November 6.

Update: We now know the specific details of this feature, as Gamestop's page is now live. Depending on the dollar amount you spend on a Zynga Game Card, you'll be eligible for different amounts of items. For $10, you'll receive one mystery item. For $25 you'll receive three and for $50 you'll receive six. However, as there are only four listed items, it looks like if you purchase a $50 card for FarmVille, you'll receive two mystery boxes (containing truly mystery items) along with the four listed above.

Will you purchase a Zynga Game Card for a chance at these Halloween-themed items in FarmVille? Sound off in the comments.