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...