1st Anniversary Quests

1 Year Kickoff

Kickoff the 1 Year Anniversary Fair with a Red Anniversary Flag!
Buy 1 Red Anniversary Flag! Cost: 1000 Mana

Reward: 500 Mana, 1 Anniversary Flag Blue

Contratulations! You've helped bring magic to the 1 Year Fair! Complete more Quests to Craft the Harmony Doll Spell!

Build a Garden I

Build a Garden for your Creatures to relax!

Buy 1 Medium Blue Flowerbox
Buy 1 Medium Red Flowerbox
Buy 1 Medium Yellow Flowerbox

1,800 Mana each
Reward: 1000 Mana, 50 XP
Great work! Let's add to your Garden with some Gifts from Friends!

Hot Air Balloon!

Create a launching pad for your Hot Air Balloon!
Buy 1 Small Fairgrounds 3500 Mana
Place 1 Hot Air Balloon (Free Gift)

Reward: 1 Lotus Flower, 1 Entertainment Sign
That balloon will surely come in handy for creatures from faraway lands!

When you have completed the first Quest, the next three Quests should appear as follows:

Build a Garden II

Your friends can Gift you beautiful small Flowerboxes to ad to your Garden!

Place 1 Small Blue Flowerbox (free Gift_
Place 1 Small Red Flowerbox
Place 1 Small Yellow Flowerbox

Reward: 1 Lotus Flower, 50 XP
That looks beautiful! here is a Lotus Flower Reagent for your Harmony Doll Spell!

Create a Picnic!
Buy 1 Festival Table
Buy 2 Festival Benches
Buy 4 Festival Hay Bales

Quest completed!
Harmony is pleased with the preparations you have made! Here is an Umbrella to add to your Picnic Area!

Reward:
1200 Mana
1 Festival Umbrella

Trumpet Flowers I
Trumpets sound to ring in the 1 Year Fair!

Plant 10 Trumpet Flower Crops
Gather 10 Trumpet Flower Crops

New Quests in March

With the advent of the gorgeous multi-hued Mardi Gras Masque Crops, new Quests appear as well. Please note that, like the Valentine Quests that appeared in February, ALL Quests are connected to some extent. You will not be able to access the new Quests for March if you have not completed the earlier Quest sequences.

Magical Helper
Buy a Unicorn creature from the Market to gain a magical helper!
Buy 1 Unicorn creature
Quest completed!
Reward: 1 Unicorn Topiary, 50 XP
He's so cute! And good luck too! Check your Gift inventory for a special Unicorn-style reward!

Helpful Gifts
Place the Unicorn Topiary from your Gift Inventory onto your Kingdom.
Place the Unicorn Topiary
Reward: 1 Magic Coin, 25 XP
Perfect- it looks great! Here is a Magic Coin Reagent to aid in your learning to Spell-craft!

Phoenix Rising
Powerful magic can be gathered from Isdyle's beautiful Phoenix Trees.
Buy 5 Phoenix Trees
Rward: 2500 Mana, 20 XP
Harmpny is extremely pleased to see you including Phoenix Trees on our kingdom!

The Big Gather
Quick! Gather Mana from Trees and Crops to unlock another great reward!
Gather any 25 Crops
Gather any 10 Trees
Reward: 3 Dargon Scales, 3 Copper Ore
Dragon Scales and Copper Ore can be used to Spell-craft more space in your Storage inventory!


Gifting Trees
Get the following three Trees from your Neighbours and place them on your Kingdom
Pleace 1 Crabapple Tree
Place 1 Frankincense Tree
Place 1 Swamp Wood Tree
Reward: 2 Locust Trees, 2 Blood Willow Trees
Great - be sure to ask your Neighbours and Friends for more Gifts! They are often very helpful!

Visit your Neighbours!
Repay your Neighbours' generosity by Visiting their Kingdoms!
Visit 3 Neighbour Kingdoms
Reward: 2 Magic Cauldrons, 1 Enchanted Tree

Genie Time
Summon a Genie from the Mystery Gift lamps given you your Neighbours!
Place 3 Mystery Gifts
Reward: 1 Ice Phoenix Tree, 2 Candy Cane Tree
Those Mystery Gifts sure are powerful! Those Genies left you with a few extra prizes it seems!

You Need More Mana!
There are many magical things in the Market! Gather Crops for more Mana!
Gather any 50 Crops
Gather any 10 Trees
Reward: 1 Wildflowers, 2 Blue Moonflowers
Perhaps with so much magic on your hands, you could use some beautiful flowers!


Elephants Never Forget
The Elephant Ears Crop is perhaps the least forgotten Crop in all of Isdyle.
Plant 25 Elephant Ears Crops
Gather 15 Elephant Ears Crops
Reward: 1 Medieval Coin, 4 Phoenix fire
How thoughtful of your. The fates have awarded you some Reagents for Spell-crafting.

Toad Abode
Build a restful area suitable for some magical toad friends!
Buy 3 Toadstool Chairs Blue
Buy 3 Toadstool Chairs Green
Place 3 Toadstool Chairs Purple (Gift)
Reward: 1 Red Toadstool Chair, 1 Red Toadstool Table
Perfect! Harmony has given you a few more things to add to your growing Toadstool collection!

Capturing Toads!
Toads have been found on your Neighbours' Kingdoms! Go Get them!
Find 8 Magic Toads
Reward: 3 Purple Mushrooms, 3 Red Mushrooms
Mushroom-themed Reagents can be used while spell-crafting more Mushroom Items!

A New Path
Your Kingdom is growing and you need a path for your many visitors!
Place 3 Large Stepping Stones (Gift)
Reward: 1 White Light String, 1 Golden Lights String
Here are some light strings to light up your new stepping stone pathway!

Botany Specialist
Learn to plant Crops which have good ratios of Mana Yeild and Experience
Plant 10 Fish Tail Fern Crops
Plant 10 Earth Star Crops
Plant 10 Elephant Ear Crops
Reward: 1 Jolly Lady Gnome, 1 Jolly Male Gnome
Your magic gardens are growing! It looks like you could use a bit company in there - how about some Gnomes!

Helping your Neighbours
Visit your Neighbours' Kingdoms to remove their mischievous magic!
Clean 4 Ogre Footprints
Clean 4 Wind-Scarred Ruins
Clean 4 Serpent Vines
Reward: 3 Orange Lilies, 1 Spider Tree
Wow that was a lot of work! Your Neighbours have thanked you with some rare magic flowers and Trees!

Pleasing Toadies
Now that you found magic Toads, how about you give them a home!
Plant 15 Toadstool Crops
Gather 15 Toadstool Crops

Botany Specialist
Learn to plant Crops which have good ratios of Mana Yield and Experience
Plant 10 Fish Tail Fern Crops
Plant 10 Earth Star Crops
Plant 10 Elephant Ear Crops*
Reward: 1 Jolly Lady Gnome, 1 Jolly Male Gnome
Your magic gardens are growing! It looks like you could use a bit company in there - how about some Gnomes!

Harmony Needs You!
She wants you to visit her kingdom.
Reward: 1 Fall Crystal, 1 Spring Crystal
*Quest appears after your plant the 3 different Crops above

Snappy Dragons
Snapdragon Crops are known to have Wings in their blooms when you Gather them!
Plant 10 Snapdragon Crops
Gather 10 Snapdragon Crops
Reward: 1 Mushroom Tree I, I Mushroom House I
Your Snapdragons were just beautiful! Here are a few more helpful things to beautify your Kingdom!

Helping your Neighbours
Visit your Neighbours' Kingdoms to remove their mischievous magic!
Clean 4 Ogre Footprints
Clean 4 Wind-Scarred Ruins
Clean 4 Serpent Vines
Reward: 3 Orange Lilies, 1 Spider Web Tree
Wow that was a lot of work! Your Neighbours have thanked you with some rare magic flowers and Trees!

Pleasing Toadies
Now that you found magic Toads, how about you give them a home!
Plant 15 Toadstool Crops
Gather 15 Toadstool Crops
Reward: 1 Mushroom Ring, 1 Blue Mushroom Table
Harmony is amazed with your progress! She has ganted you two additional Mushroom decorations!

Toad Frenzy
The Toads are demanding more magic. Gather Toadstools for them!
Gather 30 Toadstool Crops!
Reward: 2 Mushroom Trees II, 1 999 Mushroom Coin Reagent
Your dedication to the Mushroom magic variety has paid off! Look at what you've found!

Snappy Dragons
Snapdragon Crops are known to have Wings in their blooms when you Gather them!
Plant 10 Snapdragon Crops
Gather 10 Snapdragon Crops
Reward: 1 Mushroom Tree I, I Mushroom House I
Your Snapdragons were just beautiful! Here are a few more helpful things to beautify your Kingdom!

Become a Mystic
Your magical power is growing and you need a place to learn even more.
Place 1 Mystic's Tent (Cost: 4000 Mana)
Reward: 1 KC, 1 My Beloved's Gravestone
You are becoming quite mystical. Perhaps a bit more magic could push you to the next level!

Give Me a Sign!
Organise the magic on your Kingdom with a Set of Signs!
Buy 1 Metal Sign
Buy 1 Wood Sign
Buy 1 Stone Sign
Reward: 1 Gravestone Large, 1 Gravestone Small
Those were placed perfectly. Your efforts have been rewarded by the fates at hand.


Lock it Up!
The safest Crop of all has to be the stunning Hemlock Crops!
Plant 11 Hemlock Crops
Gather 11 Hemlock Crops
(Note that 'safest' is a pun on the name of the Crop and does not denote safety to humans or animals. Hemlock is the herb that Socrates drank to commit suicide as it is extremely poisonous.)
Reward: 1 Yellow Oak Tree, 50 XP
Your Hemlock crops were just beautiful! Harmony has awarded you a few more helpful and rare Trees.

Stop that Mandrake!
The Mandrake Crops may look menacing, but are actually very magical!
Plant 15 Mandrake Crops
Gather 15 Mandrake Crops
Reward: 3 Ghost Trees, 2 Spooky Hill - small
Here are a few Trees infused with darkness to add a bit more intrigue to your Kingdom

Snakes on a Plain
Plant 12 Snake Grass Crops
Gather 12 Snake Grass Crops
Reward: 3 Wild Herbs, 3 Blue Spellbooks
Fantastic! here are some more Reagents to be used while Spell-Crafting new magic!

Spider Milkweed
Place the Spider Milkweed Bushes given to you by your Neighbours
Place 3 Spider Milkweed Bushes
Reward: 1 Starburst Fireworks, 1 Spooky Lights
It's time to celebrate your success! Here are some fireworks and spooky lights to add flair to your Kingdom!

Harmony's Request
Harmony's requesting that you Gather Mana from Trees for a Reward!
Gather any 20 Trees
Reward: 3 Candy Apple Trees, 3 Yin-Yang Stones
Great Work! Here are a couple friendly rewards to help you continue creating your Kingdom!

Harmony's Second
Harmony's requesting that you Gather Mana from Crops for a Reward!
Gather any 100 Crops
Reward: 4 Sunset Trees, 1 Spider Hole
Here are some ancient items, steeped in Isdyle lore!

Harmony's Thrid (should be Third)
Harmony needs you to Plant enough Crops to create a magical garden!
Plant any 50 Crops
Reward: 2 KC (Kingdoms Cash), 5 Pink Phoenix Trees

Mermaid Fountain in Fantasy Kingdoms

When one logs into Fantasy Kingdoms now, a forum for players is included on the lower half of the page. I noticed that some of the new players were asking about the Mermaid Fountain and when it was likely to appear in the Marketplace.

Although I do not know the answer to THAT question specifically, I do know that the Mermaid Fountain never was offered in the Marketplace except as the contents of a Treasure Chest. It was early last autumn that I was able to obtain mine by purchasing a number of Treasure Chests.

A Treasure Chest cost 10 KC in those days. I see the price now is 11 KC. For a time, the Portal Winds Artifact, the Mermaid Fountain and the Tree of the Fallen could be obtained in Treasure Chests. Now there are Faerie Dragon Treasure Chests that contain Faerie Dragons specific to Valentine's Day.

If any player has been able to find a Mermaid Fountain within the last fortnight or so by opening a Treasure Chest, please let me know! It is one of my all-time favourite items in Fantasy Kingdoms...

Gifts for St. Valentine's Day

As many of my favourite Winter Gifts disappear from the Free Gifts Menu, some gorgeous St. Valentine's Day Gifts take their place. There are two new Trees that can be sent as Gifts to other players:

Romantic Willow Tree
Always & Forever Tree

There are two special mystery Gifts in heart-shaped Boxes:

Valentine Gift
Cupid's Gift

In particular, the Cupid's Gift is so exquisite that many players, including myself, hate to 'activate' it to discover the Item that it contains!

Here is a partial list of the Items that can be found in the two new Gift boxes:

Valentine's Gift:
Gremlin Doll - Female (green)
Love Bug Tree
You're Magic (Orange) Heart

Cupid's Gift:
Gremlin Doll - Male (red)
Heart Stone
Chocolate Box (Reagent)

Ordinary Mystery Gifts sometimes contain Valentine Items as well as some of the now-retired Winter Items, including:

White Roses (topiary)
White Petal Path
Ever After Heart (green)

Small Stalagmite
Winter Pine

Spellcrafting Reagents:

It may be useful to list the methods by which the Valentine Collection Reagents for Spellcasting can be obtained:

Chocolate Box:
By harvesting Valentine Chocolates Crop
By activating a Cupid's Gift

Red Rose
By harvesting Red Roses Crop

Charm Me (Pink) Heart
By playing FK 1 day in a row
By tending Harmony's Kingdom

Cloud Nine (Yellow) Heart
By activating regular Mystery Gift
By playing FK two days in a row

3 Wishes (Purple) Heart
By tending Neighbours' Kingdoms
By harvesting Artifacts
By playing FK three days in a row

Ever After (Green) Heart
By activating Mystery Gift
By harvesting Candy Hearts Crop
By playing FK four days in a row


You're Magic (Orange) Heart
By harvesting Trees or Artifacts
By playing FK 5 Days in a row

Rosey Heart
By completing the Love Hearts Quest

Note that many of the Reagents in FK can be obtained as a Daily Fortune as well. I have not logged those results specifically.

You can purchase Reagents from the Marketplace. They are found in the Upgrades section.

This is what we DESIRE!

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Even before the developers of Fantasy Kingdoms told us that the new Quests were created as tutorials for beginners, veteran players surmised this to be the case. If the Quests had appeared during the 'dog days of Summer' when no festivals were being celebrated or anticipated, perhaps we wouldn't have minded them so much.

The fact of the matter is that the Quests were issued at a point in time when the Winter Collection was being retired, the Lunar New Year items had just been released for a very brief period and the St. Valentine's Day Festival Items were being advertised as future offerings.

First via a splash screen and now on Harmony's Kingdom, we are treated to a breathtakingly gorgeous view of the Valentine's Day Collection. Many of us who have five Kingdoms have discovered that we have no space for the new Quests unless we destroy the integrity of a Kingdom's design. Furthermore, even with Artifacts that generate Mana, many of us have beggered ourselves on the Quest items at a point when we would have preferred to have purchased Winter Items, Lunar Festival Items or saved our Mana for the upcoming Valentine's Day Items.

When one gazes at the Castle of Love, the Romantic Gazebo and the incredibly exquisite Trees that have not been released yet, is it any wonder that we rebel from the prospect of spending Mana and KC on the Country Theme, Desert Theme and whatever else the New Quests demand?

Fortunately, the developers have released a new set of Quests that concentrate on the Valentine Day's Theme! Although this is NOT a separate cycle from the Tutorial Quests, players should be advised that the Valentine Quests will not appear on the screen if you have not completed the 'Ring the Bells' Tutorial Quest to plant and gather 10 Belladonna.

YOU THEREFORE NEED TO COMPLETE THE 'RING THE BELLS' QUEST IF YOU WISH TO EMBARK ON THE VALENTINE DAY QUESTS.


Fantasy Kingdoms, as I wrote in an earlier post, is in a peculiar situation because of its incredible creativity and beauty. It is NOT Farmville. The landscapes, Crops and Items are of a superior nature and the concept moreover, is one that lends itself to intricate landscaping. The New Quests are written cleverly but, at the end of the day, amount to a 'walkthrough' of all of the regular Crops and Items available in the Marketplace.

Holiday Quests are different, because they concentrate on Limited Edition Items that no longer would be available in a few weeks. Players therefore are disposed to invest in these Items. When the new Tutorial Quests placed us in a position where we had to choose between Crops and Items that we own in quantity and do not wish to duplicate and Crops and Items that soon will disappear from the Marketplace, many of us were distressed.

Space is a problem for us as well. I know that it only has been recently that we have been able to own five kingdoms, but after exhorting us to be creative in conceiving our Kingdoms with different Themes, Seasons or whatever we desired, we now have to scramble to find a space for the Quest Crops and Items. Perhaps we should be allowed to purchase a SIXTH KINGDOM specifically for the Quests at a very nominal sum! I know that if I had a sixth kingdom, I wouldn't mind completing the Quests as much...

If the Quests had appeared at the same time that the additional three Kingdoms were made available, we still would have had some space that was not used to implement a specific vision or theme. Now, however, most veteran players who have the maximum number of kingdoms have utilised each and every one of them!

I applaud the creativity of the developers in the clever writing that introduces the Crops and Items as well as empathising with their desire to help beginners (of which there are many at this point in time) to become acquainted with the game. There is a very hardcore group of veteran players, however, who have come to perceive Fantasy Kingdoms as our own ideal 'home'. One does forget sometimes that we have no rights of ownership over an online game. It was only when Lovely Farms lost its server for example, that one realised that one might lose that Farm forever... Like any other online game, Fantasy Kingdoms can do whatever it wishes with our Kingdoms, even to the point of consigning them to the dustbin.

Developers at Sneaky Games, the makers of Fantasy Kingdoms, always have shown themselves to be very conscious of our feelings and very quick to try to accommodate our needs and desires. We trust them far more than we probably trust any other online game creator.

I therefore was delighted by the appearance of the Valentine's Day Quests and no doubt, other players who were not terribly thrilled with the Tutorial Quests have been equally pleased by these new Festival Quests. Thank you, Sneaky Games, for THAT. Now, if only we could have a sixth kingdom for those Tutorial Quest items and crops or if we could 'hide' those icons until the end of February... If only the Valentine Day Quests truly were independent of the Tutorial Quests. I am in a sorry position now where, having spent Kingdoms Cash on Minor Growth Elixir to accelerate the process of some of the Tutorial Quests and having spent Mana as well to complete them, I still have Tutorial Quests pending. On the other hand, Fantasy Kingdoms, even if, lost in its beauty, we sometimes forget the fact, is a GAME, which means that we have to try to meet challenges such as these when they arise.

Where is the Rabbit?

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Emboldened by the knowledge that one or more developers from Sneaky Games actually may READ these posts once in awhile, after wishing all and sundry a very Happy and Most Auspicious New Year, I would like to ask: Where is the RABBIT???

Fantasy Kingdoms offered us a number of gorgeous Limited Edition Lunar New Year items but, although there is a Spirit Fox (who preys traditionally on little rabbits and other cousins of the adorable and helpless creature), there is no Rabbit to be found anywhere in the Marketplace. It is a curious omission, particularly in view of the fact that Fantasy kingdoms does appear to be very well-versed in comparative mythology and traditional Western magical lore.

The Rabbit, apart from being the zodiacal symbol of this upcoming Lunar Year for those who follow the Lunar Calendar, is the sacred fertility symbol of the Great Goddess. That is why Rabbits are associated with Easter, a time of resurrection and new growth.

In Northern Western mythology, the Rabbit was so important that she was given a vital role to play in Bouddica's final battle against the Roman Empire. Boudicca, it is said, released a rabbit before the attack.

It is not only in Northern Europe and China that the Rabbit has powerful associations. Ix Chel, the Moon Goddess of the Mayans, in her youthful aspect is depicted as a young woman holding a Rabbit. Ix Chel was goddess of Water, the Moon, Weaving and Childbirth. In other words, an aspect of the Great Goddess herself.

Delving into comparative mythology is a pursuit more suited to my primary site, 'Notes from Freyashawk', so I shall refrain now from adding more allusions to Rabbits in myth and religion.

I daresay FK will produce a proverbial 'Rabbit from the hat' to celebrate Easter, and perhaps that is why the Rabbit was not included in the Lunar New Year offerings. Nonetheless, one wishes that one could have a little rabbit to bring good fortune to all of us as we begin Year 4709 according to the ancient Chinese Calendar in use since 2600 B.C. (according to the Western calendar).

9 February: When I returned from a very long and protracted ordeal at the eye doctor today with slightly blurred vision, one of the first new Items I found in the Marketplace in Fantasy Kingdoms was a very dignified Rabbit Warrior! The quality of my screenshot leaves much to be desired, but you will be able to see one of my two new Rabbit Warriors holding guard over my Kingdom.

Our Faith is not Misplaced... FK Response

If you read my post about the frustration that many veteran players are feeling with respect to the new Quests, you may have noticed that a response was made immediately by one of the developers of Fantasy Kingdoms. This sort of sensitivity to players' concerns and needs is one of the hallmarks of the people who are involved in the creation of this game.

Some months ago, many of us experienced a dark day in FK when the delightful little dancing lights that indicated an Enchantment were replaced by a blue outline on the square where the Crop had been planted. Those of us who invested in the Elixir to be able to Freeze our Crops in order to create a ballet of tiny dancing lights throughout our Kingdom were very unhappy with the change. For others, who had complained that the little lights were a distraction, the glow was a perfect solution.

What did the developers do when they became aware that there was a significant number of players who were not happy with the change? They gave us the option to CHOOSE between the glow and the tiny lights.

I have suggested that, in the case of the Quests for Beginners, we should be given the option to 'hide' the icons that denote these many Quests. It would be wonderful if we could receive some sort of official dispensation from the Quests entirely but if that is not possible, the option to hide them, much as one has the ability to hide the Neighbour bar, would be an excellent solution.

I hate to say it, but the makers of Fantasy Kingdoms have created a bit of a quandary for themselves by creating a game that is rich in artistic merit and therefore cannot be considered simply another farming simulation game. Many players like myself play this game primarily to create magical landscapes where we can enjoy visions of an ideal that may not be available to us in our real lives. When one is directed to plant 10 X Crop or to purchase a specific Castle, it may feel as though our marvelous freedom to exist in our ideal landscape has been taken from us. There are people who live in communities or condominiums in the 'real world' where they are told what colours to use in painting the exterior or what plants and trees they can have. Fantasy Kingdoms never was like that. It offered us total liberty to do as we pleased, to plant and gather the mature Crops or to plant and freeze our Crops, to build Castles and citadels or to create a wild, rambling wilderness instead. We await new Crops and items with excited anticipation but we never have been forced to USE them if we prefer something entirely different.

It is only recently that Fantasy Kingdoms has given us the option to have up to five separate Kingdoms. Perhaps the developers felt that every player surely would have one Kingdom that was undeveloped at this point, free to be used to complete these new Quests. I have to say that I was very amused to discover that I am not the only player who, having obtained five Kingdoms, immediately landscaped ALL of them! There is no free space waiting to be filled by the Quest Crops...

List of new FK Quests and their Rewards

It is the 2nd day of February and in Fantasy Kingdoms, many players are striving mightily to complete all of the Quests that rather suddenly appeared in the upper left corner of their screens two days ago. Those players who have completed Quests in the past may have expected a short finite list with Rewards that would more than compensate them financially for any Mana they invested. Such, however, is not the case where many of these new Quests are concerned. When the Quest involves Crops, compensation will be sufficient, but where the Quest requires the purchase of Items, you should prepare to invest rather significantly if you intend to complete all of the new Quests.

Incidentally, I have been assured by the developers that there is no time-limit on these Quests. Those of us who felt that we had to move quickly on them were mistaken.

One problem with the new Quests potentially involves landscaping and space. Veteran players usually have a plan in mind with respect to their Kingdoms, whether they own one Kingdom or five. With a Theme for each Kingdom, many of the Quest Items, especially Crops, may not fit into any scheme that the player has visualised.

For players at lower levels, the problem may be space. If a player cannot afford to purchase new Kingdoms or even to expand existing Kingdoms, where on earth will he/she plant all of the Quest Crops and place all of the Items unless he/she is resigned to a cookie-cutter Kingdom that will resemble the kingdom of every other player performing the Quests? One of the great joys of Fantasy Kingdoms is the ability to create unique landscapes, even though players are using the same objects to do so.

Those players who still are interested in items from the Winter Collection, incidentally, only have seven more hours to purchase them before they disappear from the Marketplace. In these circumstances, some players may choose to purchase the lovely Blooming Snowflake Tree for 1400 Mana instead of completing the Golden Opportunity Quest that requires a purchase of 5 Golden Leaf Trees for 425 Mana each. Granted that the Golden Leaf Trees are a third of the price, but five of them will cost 2125 Mana, almost sufficient to purchase two of the Snowflake Blossom Trees. Other Trees that will vanish seven hours from now are the Glowing Pine for 5 KC and the Winter Pine for 1000 Mana.

Later: The Winter Collection now has been retired.

Incidentally, there are many players who, with 5 Kingdoms, do not have the space to accommodate these Quests and who have destroyed the concepts they had for their Kingdoms:

Here is one quote from a player:

B.W: I have run out of space, have 5 kingdoms and they all are trashed, looks like Hoarders from tv....lol

In my own Kingdoms, I tried to conceal the Chickens and Hens and the Eyes of Newt in particular from view by planting gorgeous Roses in front of them. The row of inappropriate plants felt like a dirty little secret planted in the very centre of my own private Eden. I did not want them there and I couldn't wait to harvest them.

Some players have purchased Minor Growth Elixir to speed the process of growth with respect to Crops they wished to remove from their doorsteps as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, when one lives in the real world on a very limited budget, investments in Kingdoms Cash are to be used judiciously and I would rather have some of the items I really adore than spend the money on an Elixir for Crops that do not appeal to me.

On the positive side, one of the developers has posted a comment on this site. I do have great faith in the creators of Fantasy Kingdoms and I believe that they will find a way to make these Quests less intrusive to the veteran players who would like to focus on the NEW items that titillate our senses and souls rather than being forced to plant Crops that do not fit into our personal themes or to purchase items that we own in triplicate perhaps...

For those who wish to know the cost of the Quests as well as their Rewards, I now have created a separate Page as there are quite a few of them! You will find the link on one of the tabs above this post.

Preview of Valentine Items in Fantasy Kingdoms

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The new splash screen from Fantasy Kingdoms, a preview of things to come. Perhaps there is no better time to start the new Quests, in view of the magnificence of the Items that will be released shortly. When is there a time when there are no new Items to explore???

New Quests in Fantasy Kingdoms

At the end of January 2011, Fantasy Kingdoms added a new Quest sequence primarily for beginners, although the Quests will appear in the upper left corner of every player's screen. For players who are not familiar with the game, the Quests will familiarise you with the system of infusing land, planting Magical Crops and harvesting them as well as purchasing Trees, Castles and Decorative Items from the Marketplace. The Quests include landscaping in the form of paths, water and water plants. Rewards do include a few Items that no longer are available in the Market, such as the Dryad Tree and the Silver Leaf Tree. Mana Rewards, however are very small and will not reimburse you for the amount of Mana spent in completing the Quests. Nonetheless, you will gain Experience Points and this will allow beginners to 'level up' faster and unlock new Crops.

For a veteran player, the Quests may be inconvenient, especially as they arrive at a time when many new Crops for St. Valentine's Day as well as a number of decorative Items have been released. Furthermore, the Winter Collection is about to be retired and I, for one, would prefer to use my Mana, space and energy on the Winter Items, Lunar New Year and St. Valentine's Day Items. From my own perspective, it is too bad that Sneaky Games did not delay the new Quests until the middle of February. There is no space to grow the mandated Crops for the Quests and they wreak havoc with my landscaping themes. The Quests, as they are completed, tend to multiply, taking up the left margin of the screen, ruining the view of my Kingdom. Anyway, I suppose they will be welcomed by new players if not by all of the players who have more than sufficient Country Castles, Wells and Stone Benches.

Being a Good Neighbour

This post may be more useful to beginners than veteran players, but even an individual like myself who has been playing Fantasy Kingdoms for many months sometimes discovers that she has misinterpreted gameplay options.

In your initial tutorial from Harmony, you will be instructed in the manner in which you can visit each Neighbour on a daily basis to enchant a total of five of his/her Crops as well as ridding the Kingdom of a randomly specified number of pests. This provides your Neighbour with the benefit of Enchantment and provides you with some income and often a Reagent for Spellcrafting. Visiting Harmony offers an additional reward in the form of the Wishing Well which has a five-day cycle, giving more valuable Gifts each day until a new cycle begins.

As in Farmville, you can enchant any infused plot even if a Crop has not been planted yet. What beginners may not realise initially is that you can provide an even more valuable service sometimes to a Neighbour if he/she has allowed any Crops to become bewitched. You can choose to unbewitch five Crops rather than enchanting five others, or can divide your allotted actions between enchantments and unbewitchments.

The developers of Fantasy Kingdoms never allow the grass to grow beneath their feet in creative terms and add new options to the game constantly. Fairly recently, the option to publish an announcement of a new purchase from the Marketplace was added to the game. It was here that I made an error in comprehending the purpose of these announcement. To me, it smacked too much of bragging, especially when the Item purchased required Kingdoms Cash rather than Mana. I am not the only player who cannot afford to buy Kingdoms Cash very often and I felt that it was not very kind to brag of any new Items I had purchased with my supply of Kingdoms Cash.

Of course, the primary reason for offering this option is to advertise the game and the Items that are available in the Marketplace. Even regular players may not be aware of every Item that currently is for sale. Where other players are concerned, however, such an Announcement offers a potential monetary benefit. You will be awarded 150 Mana if you are the first player to click on an Announcement of this sort.
A player who purchases a new Item therefore will be a good Neighbour if he/she posts the Announcement on Facebook.

Ramblings on Landscaping

If you are looking for game tips, this post will not be of any interest to you, but you will find the link to my Guide to Fantasy Kingdoms above this post.

A wonderful freedom and the potential to find new horizons has been granted to me by the new option to have up to five different kingdoms in Fantasy Kingdoms. Hitherto, having expanded my one Kingdom to the largest possible size, I felt constrained at a certain point by the amount of items I had collected and the Crops I had frozen, making them a permanent part of my landscape.

With the ability to have five different Kingdoms, I now am able to focus on colours and themes in a manner that was difficult when one had to coordinate one quarter of a single kingdom with the rest. What has emerged is a new consciousness of my own taste and personality and if hesitant sometimes, an ability to 'grow' in my appreciation of colours and tones that are not my own personal favourites.

For example, I have been working on a Kingdom that is dominated by golds and browns. It is not an 'Autumn' Kingdom, but one that is centred on the Medieval Buildings that still can be crafted or purchased. Sadly, a period of inaction in Fantasy Kingdoms occurred during the time when the Medieval buildings were released, so I am restricted to the items from that Theme that remain now in the Marketplace or still can be crafted. Probably just as well, as real financial restrictions must be recalled each time I am tempted to purchase Kingdoms Cash. To do so would amount to real ruin at this point!

Unlike some players, however, I would be more than happy to purchase Kingdoms Cash when my budget permits in an effort to support this fabulous game. In terms of 'gaming', it may not be as deep or detailed as Harvest Moon but it does allow me to explore my artistic sense. It reminds me of a period in my life when I designed one-of-a-kind items of clothing using the finest silks, velvet, cotton, linen and embroidery I could find. I love textiles but ultimately the project was doomed mainly because I had to rely on other people to sew the garments and those who asked for work were rather inferior and careless seamstresses who moreover took advantage of my friendship with them as well as my compassionate nature. Nevertheless, the experience fulfilled a deep artistic need within me and Fantasy Kingdoms allows me to satisfy some of the same urges, although I am not as good at virtual landscaping as I was with textiles and dress design.

Fantasyt Kingdoms has released an Ice Theme at a time in real life when we are in the throes of a rather severe winter. Although my personal taste runs towards the 'cool' colours and tones rather than oranges and gold, I find myself drawn to the 'warm' tones as cold penetrates my bones. Creating kingdoms that are dominated by golds and browns warms the soul and lends an illusion of warmth to the body as well!

Many of the Winter Wonderland items, including the Snowflake Crop, are exquisite in their delicacy. Having seen the Ice Queen statue in an advertisement for future attractions, I could not wait for her to be released. The Ice Phoenix and Ice Phoenix Tree are amazingly beautiful and magical. The new Ice Castle, on the other hand, is very 'blocky', reminding me more of solid cubes of ice than the delicate tracery of snowflakes. Initially, I doubted that it ever would be a personal favourite of mine, even though I was crafting the two buildings in the Ice Theme. I should imagine that I am not the only player to recognise the overtly phallic nature of the turrets and towers. It is not the phallic nature of these buildings that makes them less appealing to me but their stockiness. They remind me of the Shadow Theme more than any of the others.

After working with the Ice Theme for a few days, however, I realised that the concept worked aesthetically. It was 'Ice' rather than 'Water', albeit ruled by the same Elemental Spirit and Ice is rather solid. Furthermore, it was evident that the buildings were intended to portray the castles of an underwater kingdom to some extent. Many of the decorative Items in the Ice Theme as well as the 'Creatures' caught my fancy even before they were released. The Ice Phoenix is a particularly fey and enchanting creature, as mentioned previously.

Frozen streams and waterfalls are marvelous additions to the landscape with ice shards and stalagmites. Purples and blues are favourite tones of mine and the entire Ice Theme is centred on these colours, although blues dominate.

In creating landscapes in Fantasy Kingdoms and Farmville, I have become self-aware in a way that I never was in the past. Where other players cheerfully demolish existing landscapes to create new ones, I find myself unable to act with the same freedom. I realise now that this is due to a fundamental lack of security in my own life. I never had a permanent room of my own as a child. In fact, I came home once at an impressionable age to discover that 'home' had become a different house. My family never asked my opinion and I had no part in choosing the new home. Each time I left home, I had no idea whether or not I'd have a room of my own when I returned. As a very young child, I lived mainly in hotels. They were first-class hotels, but temporary residences nonetheless. I moved from place to place with my parents as a very young child and the fact that my mother left my father rather frequently made the situation even less secure. It was a very interesting and exciting childhood, but it wasn't one that had much security attached to it.

Even now, I do not have a place that I truly can consider my own. This no doubt is why I become so attached to my 'virtual' homes and do not wish to demolish them entirely even when they are imperfect. Sometimes this trait of mine exasperates me. In real life, I am exasperated by my excessively sentimental attachment to things that other people would toss in the rubbish without a second though. Ah well, there could be worse flaws, I imagine... Still, it occurs to me that modifying character traits in virtual realities could result in some modification in real life.

Of all the Themes, the two that are my favourites are the Halo and Fantasy Themes. Having the ability to create five different Kingdoms now does allow a player to explore ALL the seasons or all of the Themes with greater freedom than before.

Quick Answers to the Most Common Questions

First of all, there is a tab at the top of this page that leads to my actual Walkthrough/Guide for Fantasy Kingdoms. Posts such as these should not be confused with the actual Guide. Here, however, are some quick answers to the most common questions:

1. How do I change Snow Terrain back to Grass Terrain?

Answer: Go to Upgrades. You will see the option to purchase Grass Terrain for 500 Mana. If your Terrain is Grass and you wish to change it to Snow, you will find an option to purchase Snow Terrain for 1000 Mana in the Upgrades Menu.

Note: Transforming your terrain to Snow originally was one of the Quests in the Holiday Quest sequence. Those Quests no longer exist, but Ice/Water is one of the Fantasy Kingdoms Elementals and thus, it is possible to transform your entire landscape to Snow in honour of the Ice Elemental Guardian.

2. How do I rid my land of Crops or Infused Land that I no longer want?

Answer: There is a Whirlwind Icon in the pull-down Tools Menu that will allow you to 'sell' infused Land, uninfused squares and any other Item on your Kingdom. Note that you can simply click on Items to find a Sell option but land that has been infused (whether still infused or left after a crop has been gathered) can be 'sold' only by using the Whirlwind Icon.

3. How do I move Infused Land?

Answer: In the past, you could not move Infused Land but had to delete it or 'sell' it by using the Whirlwind Icon. Now, you actually can Move it by using the Directional Arrows Cross Tool in the pull-down Tool Menu. This Tool has arrows pointing in all four directions. When equipped, you can Move anything, including Items, Buildings, Infused Land and Land where Crops are growing.

4. Where do I find Spellcasting Ingredients?

Spellcasting is a fairly new option in Fantasy Kingdoms. Most Spells require three separate Ingredients. One of these usually is a special Coin. Methods for obtaining these Ingredients are as follows:
Free Gifts;
Daily Fortune;
Mystery Gifts;
Tending your own Kingdom by gathering Crops or harvesting from Trees and Artifacts;
Tending a Neighbour's Land (including Harmony's Kingdom) by ridding it of Pests and/or enchanting Crops;
Obtaining an Ingredient that is 'shared' in a Facebook Feed. Your Neighbours and Friends usually will post Fantasy Kingdoms Rewards, which will allow you to obtain Mana as well as special reward Items that include Ingredients for Spellcasting.

New Spellcrafting Item in Fantasy Kingdoms

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New to Fantasy Kingdoms is the very enchanting Ice Queen Statue who can be purchased in the Marketplace for 9 KC or created in a new Spell that requires 5 Amber Shards, 15 Aurora Crystals and 1 Winter Coin.

Aurora Crystals are a new Free Gift that can be sent to other players. Amber Shards appear to be found solely in Mystery Gifts which, incidentally now often hold Limited Edition Holiday Items that no longer are available in the Marketplace. Among these are the Small Snowflake and the White Lights.

Winter Coins can be obtained via the Daily Fortune from Harmony.

The advertisement for the new Winter Magic Statues declares that the 'Ice Queen can also be crafted with Reagents gifted from your friends or found on your Kingdom' and I finally was able to obtain an Amber Shard by gathering Mana from Artifacts and Trees on my Kingdom.

The creators of Fantasy Kingdoms have been extremely busy during the past couple of months. Christmas Items and Landscapes were followed by special New Year creations. As soon as the New Year Items were 'retired', new WInter Magic Items appeared.

Despite the fact that the climate in which I live has been rather brutally cold recently, I still delight in the Winter Wonderland landscapes of Fantasy Kingdoms. Frozen waterfalls and streams and a frozen lake are among the natural landscape items that can be used to create a snowbound Kingdom using the Snow Terrain. The fact that five Kingdoms now can be owned by a single player means that players can have Kingdoms that are ruled by every season.

Later: A new Limited Edition Crop was released this evening in the form of Snowflakes. It costs 45 Mana, takes one day to mature, yields 160 Mana and 2 XP AND, according to a new announcement, drops 'Winter Reagents'. I suspect this is the other source of the Amber Shards that are needed for the Ice Queen Statue.