Hello citizens! It's the first of the month and that means it's time to reveal our September Loyalty Challenge item.

This month we're launching the fantastic Egyptian Relics series.  We'll be bringing you number two in the set in October; and in November you'll get to see the final item as well as the exciting Loyalty Challenge reward item!

If you're new to the Loyalty Challenge - once you earn your set of three Egyptian Relics, you can then take them to the Combobulator Laboratory and transform them into something stupendous. Yes, the Loyalty Challenge reward item is always something special. Now, let's take a look at September's Egyptian Relic...

Ancient Egyptian Anubis Relic

Looking like something directly from out of the tomb of Tutankhamen, this magnificent statue of the Egyptian God Anubis is your Loyalty item for September. This is just the kind of piece that tomb-robbers of old would have greatly prized.

Anubis was one of the very old Gods of the ancient Egyptians and was worshiped throughout the entire period of Egyptian history. A number of roles were attributed to Anubis, but he was mostly known as the God of the Underworld, and he was said to guide the dead to their new life in the underworld.

There is disagreement about exactly what Anubis' head really is - whether it's a dog, a jackal of even a wolf. No-one has ever been sure, and it's still a point of debate. One thing that we can be very sure about is this: this priceless Egyptian relic is well worth collecting, and I do hope that you make sure you complete your Loyalty tasks in September so that you don't miss out!

Earning Your Loyalty Challenge

The weekly challenge is to earn 6 Loyalty Points each day, for three days in a row.  Here are all the ways you can earn your points:

• Complete a Featured Mission - You get +6 Loyalty Points

• Complete an offer with one of our great offer providers (head to The Factory or try one of the Offer Machines in any SmallWorlds store) - You get +6 Loyalty Points

• Look after your pets - You get +1 Loyalty for every new Pet Point you've earned

• Harvest or successfully cross-pollinate a plant - You get +1 Loyalty Point

• Play Spin-to-Win - You get +1 Loyalty Point

• Play a Tournament Game - Points are earned according to your score (only awarded if the minimum score is met).

Check Your Progress on your Front Page

You can check your progress using the Loyalty Challenge panel on your Front Page.

This panel shows you how many Loyalty Points you've earned for the current week, and which gem you're on. One progress marker fills up for each Loyalty Point you earn. When all six are full, the current day's challenge is complete and one third of the current gem will fill.

Have fun earning your gems in September!

As you can see from the list above, it's really easy to earn enough points to ensure that you earn your very own Statue of Anubis. This new series is really quite exciting and of course I'll be revealing the next item on the 1st of October.

Remember that collecting sets has the potential to make you really very healthy profits. if you've yet to read it, do take a look.

Farewell for now, and I'll look forward to seeing you here next month with news of the second item in the set.

~Honesty Blaize

Greetings Citizens. Giving away Gold and prizes to our valued citizens is getting to be rather habit forming here at SWHQ. We do so enjoy helping you get the Gold you love!

I'm excited to tell you about our newest Win Gold opportunity. For the next seven days, we're giving away 5,000 Gold every day.  All you have to do to go in the draw is to complete an offer with any offer provider.  Each time you earn Gold you'll be in with another chance to win. 

It's such an easy way to be in to win, and the best news is that you can enter every day this week. Each day we'll randomly select one citizen who has completed an offer during the previous 24 hours.

Do at least one offer each day this week, and you'll be in to win each daily prize!

This promotion starts at midnight SWT on Sunday August 29th.  A new winner will be drawn at midnight each night, starting Monday August 30th, with the last winner drawn at midnight (SWT) on Sunday 5th September.

Winners will be in the SmallWorlds Chronicle

Each day this week the winning citizen will be shown in the 'About Town' section on the front page of the SmallWorlds Chronicle.

Complete Offers: Earn Gold!

Have you ever completed an offer? It's the best way to earn Gold!  The Offer machines provide you with a way to earn the Gold you need in SmallWorlds - and the best thing is that you don't have to spend any of your own money unless you want to. You'll find Offer Machines in all SmallWorlds stores, or you can visit The Factory and complete your offers there.

Before completing an offer, make sure that your correct location is selected.  If it isn't correct, click Change Location to select the country you live in.

Make sure the Offer status is "complete"

In order for your Offer to be counted as a valid competition entry, you will need to make sure that the offer status is "Complete". Offers are run by other companies (not SmallWorlds), and it's only when the process is complete that it will show up in our system. Here's an example of someone who has successfully completed three SuperRewards offers (and earned Gold for each one).

Earn Gold and you might Win More Gold!

Completing offers is a great way to earn Gold at no cost to you. And this week is the very best week ever to complete offers, as any Gold you earn puts you in the draw to win even more Gold.

Good luck, everyone!

~ Kent Kronkite

Greetings citizens. I do like being the bearer of good news, and with all the Gold I've been giving away lately to the lucky winners of our Like us on Facebook promotion (still one week to go!), I've been enjoying myself immensely.

Today I have some especially exciting news.  For three days only, we're offering you a hefty discount off the 12,000 Gold package.  It's available at a 50% discount off the full retail price (30% off the discounted package price).

In addition, we've got two competitions you can enter, one on Facebook and one on Twitter.  You could win a 12,000 Gold package for free!  Read on to find out more.

Sale Time on 12,000 Gold - 3 Days Only!

If you've been considering buying Gold, there's no doubt about it citizens, this sale means that there is no better time to do so!

This opportunity to get the 12,000 Gold package at a very generous discount is only available for a strictly limited time.  The offer runs from midnight Thursday SWT until midnight Sunday SWT.  Make sure you get in quick to take advantage of this fantastic offer - I'd hate for you to miss out.

Win with Twitter and Facebook!

We've got two 12,000 Gold packages to give away. You're most welcome to enter into both the Facebook and the Twitter competition - and of course doing so gives you an extra chance to win! 

How To Enter The Facebook Competition

There's four easy steps - complete them all and you'll be in the draw to win 12,000 Gold.

1. - Save this "Think Rich" poster to your computer (right-click and select Save Image As) .

2. - Upload this poster onto your Facebook Profile Page.

3. - Tag me - Kent Kronkite - in the poster so I can see that you've put it on your page.

4. - Ask your friends to comment.  I'd just love to know what they'd buy in RL if they could have anything they wanted!

I'll be looking at all the comments over the weekend, and I can't wait to see what you and your friends come up with.

We'll choose a winner from those who have met the entry conditions after the Sale has ended.  The winner will be someone who has a creative/funny/interesting comment posted by themselves or one of their friends.  They'll receive 12,000 Gold!

How To Enter The Twitter Competition

If you're a follower of SmallWorlds Twitter, follow these three simple steps to be in the draw to win a 12,000 Gold package:

1. - Check the SmallWorlds Twitter for our message which says ""#SmallWorlds SALE: 50% off 12,000 Gold - 3 days only! www.smallworlds.com"

2. - Retweet this message by copying and pasting the following: RT @SmallworldsTwt #SmallWorlds SALE: 50% off 12,000 Gold - 3 days only! www.smallworlds.com

3. - AND reply to our message, and tell us what SmallWorlds items you'd buy.  Example: "#SmallWorlds with 12,000 Gold I'd buy a Crystal Light Staff and a Gangsta Emote!".  (Make sure to include #SmallWorlds in your tweet).

We'll be checking all the replies on Sunday at midnight SWT, and we'll randomly choose a winner from those who correctly followed our Twitter instructions within the promotion period. And yes, you can enter both the Twitter and the Facebook competition!

Get out your Wish-list!

With this great Gold discount, you'll be able to go on that SmallWorlds shopping spree you've been dreaming about. Yes, it's definitely time to pull out your in-world wish-list. Perhaps you're creating a mission to enter into the Fantasy-themed mission competition? Maybe you'd like to add some more zing to your wardrobe? Then again, you might have been saving up for some High-Level wearables? This promotion means the items on your wish-list may now be within reach!

[here's me with Drake Furnesto outside one of the Buy Gold machines: you'll find one in all SmallWorlds stores!]

Happy Shopping!

I'm sure that there will be lots of very happy SmallWorlds shoppers this weekend. Remember that the sale is for 3 days only, so do make sure you get it while you can!

~ Kent Kronkite

Greetings citizens. For a while, I was not sleeping at all well. I'd been waking and then finding it difficult to get back to sleep again. I was unsure what to do about my sleeping dilemmas, until I saw the new Rare item we're releasing today as part of the Sweet Dreams package!

Turn your Sweet Dream Fantasies into Reality

As soon as I saw this Rare Sleepy Willow bed, I knew I'd be sleeping extra soundly again! 

What's more citizens, those really lovely bud tips on the bed glimmer once the lights have gone down, shining a gentle and restful glow. Last night as tucked myself into my new bed, I had the most wonderful restful sleep.

Just imagine drifting off to sleep beneath the luxury gold-embroidered coverlet.  The gently twisting branches at head and foot give you the feeling of being in a tree-top cradle. It looks like something straight out of an Elven citadel, and I am sure will inspire some rather wonderful fantasy-inspired bedroom decor. I've decided to relegate my other bed to the spare room for visitors!

The Sweet Dreams package also comes with 9000 SmallWorlds Gold - it's simply not to be missed!  As a Rare, the Sleepy Willow bed will never, ever be sold in stores and like all Rare items it's bound to become a truly sought-after item.  Remember, it's "limited time only".

Follow us on Twitter and Win!

Twitter followers had the chance to win one of these fantastic Sweet Dreams packages - all who re-tweeted about the package were put into a draw and a winner was selected a few hours ago.  I'd like to offer my congratulations to Sookie Stackhouse -  I am quite she'll be enjoying a wonderful night's sleep on her new bed.

I'd like to encourage you to become a SmallWorlds Twitter follower as you'll get fast updates about in-world events, as well as the opportunity to enter Twitter-only competitions!  Become a follower today! You can send a message anytime to us @SmallWorldsTwt. 

Win by commenting on Facebook

We also gave away one of the packages on Facebook.  By being the first to correctly guess that the new rare item was a bed, Layla Naaaaa also won a Sweet Dreams package for free. We'll be running more of these types of giveaways in the future, so keep an eye out on Facebook for your next chance to win.

Friend Kent on Facebook

Did you know that I myself have recently taken the leap into the world of social media and have my own Facebook profile? I'd be delighted if you'd 'friend' me!

If you've Liked the SmallWorlds Fan Page on Facebook, you're also in the draw to win 10,000 Gold. If you haven't done it yet, it's really very easy: just click the advertisement on the front page of the Chronicle, or go directly to the SmallWorlds Facebook Application page and click Like - there's one week to go and two more prizes of 10,000 Gold to be won!

Sweet Dreams to you all!

I must say that I'm looking forward to the end of the day already!  I don't think I have ever quite looked forward quite so much to tucking myself in for a good nights sleep. This wonderful Fantasy-themed bed is really something special, I think it's my very favorite furniture item we've released to date.

Remember citizens, the Sweet Dreams package is available for a limited time only, and as well as the Sleepy Willow bed, it gives you 9000 SmallWorlds Gold to help you create the fantasy bedroom of your dreams. What could be better?

~ Kent Kronkite

Hello citizens. Gosh it's been a long time since we've run a Mission Competition, hasn't it?  The Mission Commissioner sent me a message sking for a new Mission Competition and we had to agree that it was well overdue. The release of the new fantasy avatar options made it rather really easy for us to choose a theme... it's Fantasy! 

I know you'll love the prizes we're offering for the category winners.  There are three top prizes of 6000 Gold, and 3 runner up prizes of 3000 Gold. The mission which is voted Best Overall Mission will also get their mission Featured - now that's the best prize of all!

If you're not a mission creator, we've also got another Fantasy-themed competition you can enter: Best Fantasy Avatar!  Create a Fantasy look in the Avatar builder and you'll be in to win one of three prizes of 2500 Gold.  You're welcome to enter both competitions, but you can only enter each competition once.

Best Fantasy-Themed Mission!

I've got three questions for you: 1 - Do you love making Missions? 2 - Are your favorite movies ones like Lord of the Rings, Avatar, Harry Potter, and the Neverending Story? 3 - would you like to get your Mission featured? If you've answered yes to all three, I can imagine you'll be feel rather excited about this competition! 

The competition will be judged by the Mission Commission - which as you can see from the picture below, are feeling rather excited to begin! If you are wondering who they are, you may remember the story we ran a few months back in which they spoke about their role in identifying featured missions, and (the bit you'll want to read) what they look for when evaluating missions for Featured. 

If you'd like to be in with a real chance of winning, you'd do well to absolutely scrutinize their story! It contains some really great tips, and if you follow them to the letter your mission could be in with a chance to get featured!

Categories & Prizes

Lets look at the 3 categories and the fantastic prizes you can win:

1 - Best Storyline: Wins 6000 Gold

In this category the Mission Commission will be looking at just how you tell the story of your mission. How well it flows, how creative it is. Does the story have a well executed beginning, middle and ending? Do you tell a great fantasy-themed story within your mission?

There will be one runner-up prize awarded of 3000 Gold

2 - Best Use of Interactions: Wins 6000 Gold

Do you really love using interactions? If so, this is the category for you. You can really go wild with your interaction ideas and see what surprises you can create for the Mission Commission team. Just don't forget to fantasy-theme your interactions.

There will be one runner-up prize awarded of 3000 Gold

3 - Most Unusual: Wins 6000 Gold

There will be one runner-up prize awarded of 3000 Gold

Time to Complete & Number of Plays

Minimum of 20 plays needed. You need to make sure that your mission has had a minimum of 20 plays to be eligible for entry. It's not hard to do - just get your friends to test your mission out for you.

Between 10 and 30 mins to complete. The Mission Commission team also requested some boundaries on length of time your mission takes to complete. They are looking for missions that take an average minimum of 10 mins and maximum of 30 mins to complete. Thanks for making sure your mission fits generally within these guidelines.

Which Category?

When you enter your fantasy-themed mission on the official forum thread, please also specify which category you are entering your mission into. If the Mission Commission feels that your entry would be better suited for another category, they'll judge it in there instead - they want to give all mission makers the best chance to win! 

Old Missions, new missions... all fantasy-themed missions are eligible. If you made a fantasy-themed mission a year ago, great! Or perhaps you'd like to create something totally new.

How To Enter your Mission / Competition Guidelines

1 - Make sure that the mission you intend to submit has a "Fantasy" Theme. This is the overarching theme of the competition, and missions which are clearly outside of this theme will not be considered. Your mission needs a minimum of 20 plays, and needs to take between 10 and 30 minutes to complete, on average.

2- Go to the Official Best Fantasy-Themed Mission competition  forum thread. Enter these details:
a) Space name (and Space URL)
b) Mission name
c) Location of 'start mission' button.

3 - State the category you're entering

4 - Only one entry per SmallWorlds account. You can only enter missions that you yourself have created. If you've come across a great space-themed mission, why not contact the mission creator and suggest they enter?

Competition Closes 20th September

Make sure you submit your entries before midnight (SWT) September 20th, when the competition entry thread will be closed. We'll need to give the Mission Commission a couple of weeks to play them all and then they'll submit their well-considered decision. I'll then do a follow-up report on all the lucky winners!

Best Fantasy-Themed Avatar Competition - Closes 31st August!

I've been spending some time playing around with the avatar builder. I made myself look really very different indeed, as you can see below. I then made a visit to Kent in the Chronicle Head Office. He was very hard at work, but do you know citizens, I completely fooled him? He got quite a start when I told him it was me...what a great laugh we had together! 

Here's some of the looks I came up with.... I'm sure you can do better!

It's so easy to enter!

• Create the look you want, take a screenshot of your face from within the avatar builder.  You don't need to be a VIP or to use the VIP fantasy options in the avatar builder to enter.  You can enter using a fantasy look you've created using the non-VIP options.
•  Post your image to the Best Fantasy Avatar competition forum thread. 
• Get your entry in before midnight (SWT) 31st August 2010

• Only one entry per SmallWorlds Account
  

Prizes - Best Fantasy Avatar

We'll be choosing three winners, each of whom will win 2500 Gold! I'll do a follow-up report on the winners within a few days of the competition closing.

Want to really indulge yourself in Fantasy?

Two great competitions to enter, and lots of great prizes to win! For those who really want to indulge in a real Fantasy look, I'd like to remind you about our fantastic Vampire Cape and Crystal Light packages. As we're only wanting a picture of your face, these are not required for the competition but I thought they were worth reminding you about - they really look fantastic!

A Short Message from the Mission Commissioner

I am sure this competition is going to be extremely popular with mission makers, and I know that the Mission Commission is feeling very excited indeed!

"It's always wonderful to see what the wonderfully creative mission community comes up with. The grat thing about competitions is that they bring out mission creators that we may never have seen before. My team are ready and waiting to see what you create - and may I wish you all the best of luck!" ~ Mission Commissioner

It's going to be another very exciting competition. Good luck to you all!

~ Honesty Blaize

The Legal Stuff

• The Competitions are open to SmallWorlds standard and VIP Club members 13 years of age or older. Employees of Outsmart 2005 Limited and its helpers, moderators, officers, directors, parent companies, subsidiaries, and affiliated companies, advertising agencies, promotional suppliers, or production agencies, and their respective dependents, immediate family members (parent, child, sibling and spouse of each) and individuals residing in the same household, are not eligible to participate. Void where prohibited by law.
• All winners in both competitions will be selected based upon the sole and exclusive discretion of the SmallWorlds Competition Judges. The 3 category winners in the Best Fantasy-Themed Mission competition will be awarded 6000 Gold, each runner up will be awarded 3000 Gold. One mission chosen from the three category winners as Best Fantasy-Themed Mission will be made into a Featured Mission.  Three prizes of 2500 Gold each will be awarded in the Best Fantasy Avatar competition.  All submissions are carefully reviewed before determining the prize winners. The judge's decisions are final and no correspondence will be entered into.

Hello citizens. Three fantastic new lights are now available in Modern Living and they are sure to bring a new sense of style and ambiance to your space. Lighting is one of those interior design features which can really change the feel of a room - use it creatively and you can totally transform it! 

I couldn't think of a better way to celebrate the launch of these three gorgeous new additions to our lighting collection than to hold a Creative Lighting Competition!  First, I'll introduce you to our three new lights, and I'll then give you the competition details. The competition will be open for one week - closing on the 24th August - and the winner receives 3500 Gold!

Enclosed Floor Light

Many citizens have been asking for floor lights.  They can be used to produce some truly creative lighting effects.

In this picture a friend has placed a circle of them on the floor.

Other possibilities I thought of: long rows of lights along walls, an in-ground pathway of lights leading to who knows where...perhaps one shining underneath a table? Now that would give you a very interesting effect!  What else can you think of?

Wall Sconce

This extremely elegant light-fitting gives out the most gorgeous gentle lavender glow - very calming and beautiful. I just fell in love with their stunning color.

Here's a lovely example with the sconce   casting a restful glow in a bathroom, almost as good as bathing by candlelight!

I can see these lights in all kinds of spaces - what might they look like in yours? As always their use is limited only by your interior design creativity. I know these are going to be showing up a lot in the competition!

Blue Table Lamp

Citizens isn't this a truly stylish little number!  I love the combination of the black base with that ice-blue rectangular shade.  What do you think?  They give off a really gentle blue glow, just what you need to create some great 'mood lighting'!

Creative Lighting Competition

Show us your interior design creativity! As the title says, the emphasis will be on your use of lighting to create stunning interior effects.

You can use any and all lighting available here on SmallWorlds - including of course the fabulous three lights we've released today.

How to Enter the "Creative Lighting" Competition

• It's easy! Once you've got your space just the way you want it, take two screen-shots and submit them to the official forum thread.
  
• I'll leave the competition open for a week - so you can submit your entries up until midnight (SWT) 24th August. I'll report on the winner next week - they'll receive 3500 Gold.
  

I have to confess that I am looking forward to getting a few ideas for my space from what I know will be the many fantastic entries you all submit - so thank you in advance!

Light up your life in 3 exciting new ways

I'm sure you'll find all kinds of ways to use these three marvelous new lights in your space and I'm sure they'll be very useful for those of you entering the Creative Lighting Competition.

All the new lights are available right now in Modern Living.

~ Honesty Blaize

Hey citizens. It's been a while since our last official Epic Magic Fight and I thought it's time we had another one. They are always so much fun and really popular so if you'd like a chance to take off your wearables, get your magic out and blast someone - no holds barred - your chance is coming this weekend.

But remember, the 'no mercy' rule applies to absolutely everyone! When you enter the Epic Magic Fight arena, be prepared to get as good as you give.

The Epic Magic Fight Arena will open at 8pm sharp this Friday (SWT) and will close at midnight (SWT) Sunday. That gives you plenty of time to get down to Mysterio's and stock up on spells!  As I'm sure you can guess, more spells = way more fun! Here's a picture of some citizens getting into the swing of things at the last event!

Need Gold to Buy Magic?

If you're feeling a little short on Gold to buy the spells you need, have you tried completing some offers at The Factory or on the Earn Gold machines you see in all the SmallWorlds stores? Some citizens have earned a bucket-load of Gold this way.  Why not join them?

Whats more, it's a fantastic time to do offers: - if you complete a SuperRewards offer in August, you'll go in the draw to win an iPad!

Robot Guardians: Providing protection for Everyone!

Robot Guardians were brought in with the 2.4 Release. We've been listening to feedback on the Robot Guardians since they were introduced and it seems that you all want to be able to to choose protection at times, so we've made a change to the way the Robots work - their protection is now available to everyone!

The spaces most frequented by new users (the Landing pad and the Information Hub) are now magic-free zones. In four other public spaces - Rachels Tea Room, Cue Club, Modern Living, and Smallwear - the Robot Guardians provide opt-in protection for all citizens.

If you'd like to be protected, it's easy.  Just click the Robot and choose "Protect Me". The other change we've made is this: when you choose to be protected, as we'll being fully protected from other's magic and weapons, you will not be able to shoot yours at anyone else either. Now I think that's pretty fair, don't you?

Still Want More? Try Skywalker Championship Fighting!

I found an awesome thread on the forums by Lucky Skywalker... if you're like me and love Arena Games and Epic Magic Fights, then this is going to be right up your alley! Lucky is starting up what he calls Skywalker Championship Fighting. I've summarized a few details here, but for all the info go check out his forum thread. It sounds really cool and I'm definitely going to be taking a look at it for myself!

Lucky's thread says that:

• He has mixed Professional Wrestling, Mixed Martial Arts, and Professional Boxing together for something new and fun!

• There are Championship Belts, Weight classes, and a lot more of exciting things you can participate in and have fun and win.
  

• For fighting, a player uses weapons although lower CL fighters may use magic. The decision of victory is decided by a set negative health amount which differs for all weight classes, meaning the items which are used will be switched out.
  

• He has an arena equipped with a top of the line ring, an office building, and a training facility is in the works, as well as a fan area and a future SCF Shop. 

The SCF Project is made to be fun, exciting, and for everyone! If this sounds like you, visit Lucky's space and sign up!

Woohoo! - Who's on for the Epic Magic Fight!

Remember it starts at 8pm (SWT) this Friday and ends midnight (SWT) Sunday - loads of time for a heap of magic fun!

~ Johnny Wilde

Citizens, I have exciting news.  We all know that completing offers is a great way to earn SmallWorlds Gold, but doing a Super Rewards offer during August could be... well... super rewarding!  If you complete any Super Rewards offer from now until the end of the month, you'll be entered in the draw to win an iPad!

That's right, just complete any Super Rewards offer during the promotion period and you will be automatically entered into the competition. 

Just click the Competition Advertisement on the right to see which Super Rewards offers are available right now.  Complete an offer today, and you may find yourself receiving your very own 16GB wifi iPad in September!

If you're already used to earning SmallWorlds Gold by completing Super Rewards offers, then all you need to do is make sure you complete an offer during the promotion period. 

If you haven't yet tried earning Gold through offers, now is the perfect time to give it a try.  Kent's recent article on SmallWorlds millionaires highlighted the fact that some SmallWorlds millionaires got their start by completing free offers.  Could you join them?  Why not complete a Super Rewards offer and find out?

To be in with a chance to win an iPad, simply click on the Competition advertisement, head to the Factory, or use one of the inworld offer machines, located in any SmallWorlds store.  You only need to complete a single Super Rewards offer to have your account entered into the draw.

Of course, when you complete a Super Rewards offer you will also be earning SmallWorlds Gold to go shopping with.  And with the fabulous new VIP packages now available to buy with Gold (I just love the new gorgeous rare items - the Vampirism cape and the Crystal Light staff), I know exactly what I'll be doing with any Gold I earn!

The competition will close on midnight August 31st, and the lucky winner will be randomly selected and notified during the week following.  The official contest rules are detailed below.

Good luck! 

- Honesty.

Official Contest Rules

• The contest is open to all SmallWorlds players who comply with the SmallWorlds terms of service (players must be 13 years of age or older). 
  
• The Super Rewards offer must be completed within SmallWorlds to qualify for the contest.
• There are no country restrictions on this contest.
  
• To enter, simply complete any Super Rewards offer (in SmallWorlds) during the promotion period (12:01am August 9th 2010 to midnight August 31st 2010 SmallWorlds Time).
• A Super Rewards Offer must be completed in full (SmallWorlds Gold must be awarded) to qualify for the contest.
• Completing Super Rewards offers outside of the promotion period will not qualify you for entry into the contest.
• You only need to complete one Super Rewards offer to have your account entered into the competition.
• Super Rewards are solely responsible for picking the contest winner (SmallWorlds has no input into choosing the winner and will bear no responsibility for the decision).  Super Rewards' decision is final.
  
• The winner will be contacted at the end of the promotion period, and will have seventy-two (72) hours to reply.  If the user does not reply within that window a new winner will be randomly selected and the process will repeat.

Terms and Conditions of Entry

To be an eligible entrant for the Super Rewards "Win an iPad" Sweepstakes (the "Sweepstakes"), you must review and agree to abide by and be bound by these Super Rewards "Win an iPad" Sweepstakes Terms and Conditions of Entry (the "Terms and Conditions"). By submitting a completed advertisement offer on the Super Rewards offer wall relating to a publisher's game, and having an ongoing active game account with the game publisher at all times without interruption during the Entry Period (defined below), you will automatically receive one entry into the Sweepstakes. Your participation in the Sweepstakes is governed by and subject to these Terms and Conditions.

1. No Purchase Necessary. NO PURCHASE OR PAYMENT IS NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN THE SWEEPSTAKES. THE SWEEPSTAKES IS VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW AND IS SUBJECT TO APPLICABLE FEDERAL, STATE, AND LOCAL LAW. The Sweepstakes is sponsored by KITN Media ULC, a British Columbia, Canadian unlimited liability company, with an address at 52A Powell Street, Suite 200, Vancouver, British Columbia V6A 1E7 (the "Sponsor"). The Sweepstakes begins on 8/9/2010 and ends on 8/31/2010 (the "Entry Period").

2. Eligibility. Persons who are employees, officers, directors, agents or representatives of Sponsor, participating publishers, their respective parent corporations, affiliates, subsidiaries, advertising and promotion agencies, suppliers, distributors, and members of the immediate family (defined as mother, father, sister, brother, daughter, son or spouse, regardless of where they live), and those living in the same household of each (whether related or not), are not eligible. Limit of one entry per advertisement offer per person, per household, per email address.

3. How to Enter. Complete an advertisement offer on the Super Rewards offer wall relating to a participating publisher's game, including providing your email address. To be valid, entries must be submitted through a bona fide offer completion and you must have an ongoing active game account with the game publisher at all times, without interruption, during the Entry Period. You may also send a 3x5 card addressed to Super Rewards "Win an iPad" Sweepstakes, 111 Anza Boulevard, Suite 122, Burlingame, CA 94010; the 3x5 card must state "Sweepstakes Entry" on it along with your email address, and it must bear a post-mark issued by the United States Post Office. Any other attempted entries are void. Any entry form containing incomplete, incorrect, or unintelligible information is void. Sponsor is not responsible for late, lost, damaged, or misdirected entries. BY ENTERING THIS SWEEPSTAKES, ENTRANTS MUST AGREE (1) TO BE BOUND BY THESE SWEEPSTAKES TERMS AND CONDITIONS, (2) THAT THEY HAVE READ AND UNDERSTAND THE TERMS OF THE SUPER REWARDS PRIVACY POLICY, POSTED AT HTTP://WWW.SRPOINTS.COM/SRSITE/PRIVACY, WHICH APPLY TO THIS SWEEPSTAKES, (3) TO HOLD SPONSOR HARMLESS FROM AND AGAINST ANY CLAIMS OR LIABILITIES ARISING DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY FROM THIS SWEEPSTAKES. Any data submitted to Sponsor pursuant to entering this Sweepstakes becomes the property of Sponsor and may be used for any legal purpose including conducting email marketing..

4. Drawing. All eligible entries received during the Entry Period will be entered into a random drawing to be held during the first thirty (30) days after the end of the Entry Period or as soon thereafter as practicable. The potential prize winner may be notified by email at the email address provided, or by other means, depending upon the contact information provided by the entrant. Odds of winning are determined by the total number of valid, timely, and eligible entries received during the Entry Period.

5. Prize. One (1) prize will be awarded. The Sweepstakes prize is one (1) 16GB Apple iPad with Wi-Fi, with an approximate retail value of $499. All values are stated in U.S. dollars. The prize cannot be substituted, assigned or transferred by a winner prior to award. Sponsor reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to substitute a prize of equal or greater value should the featured prize become unavailable for any reason.

6. Prize Claim. The Sweepstakes winner will be notified by email or other means within ten (10) business days of the Sweepstakes drawing in which the winning entry was selected. The prize is non-transferable. If the prize is not claimed by the winner within seven (7) days after notification from Sponsor, the prize may be forfeited and the selection of another entrant from among all eligible entries received. Sponsor reserves the right to require the winner to prove identification, to prove eligibility, and to return a signed and notarized Affidavit of Eligibility, and Liability and Publicity Release Form (the "Eligibility Form") in order to claim the prize. The Eligibility Form certifies eligibility and compliance with these Terms and Conditions and serves to release and to hold harmless Sponsor, and its affiliates, parents, subsidiaries, publishers, advertisers, and agencies from an against any liability arising out of the Sweepstakes. Failure to timely return the Eligibility Form will result in forfeiture of the prize. A prize notification returned as undeliverable will result in forfeiture of the prize. The prize winner is responsible for all applicable taxes. The prize winner and prize will be reported to governmental tax authorities as required by law.

7. General Rules. Sponsor is not responsible or liable for lost, late, incomplete or misdirected entries; or for any computer, telephone, Internet, cable, network, electronic or other hardware of software malfunctions, failures, connections, availability or garbled transmissions, or Internet accessibility or availability, traffic congestion, or unauthorized human intervention. Sponsor reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to disqualify any individual it finds to be tampering with the entry process, the operation of the Sweepstakes or web site; who is entering the Sweepstakes for any reason other than a bona fide intent to enter and try to win; or to be acting in violation of these Terms and Conditions. Any use of robotic, automatic, macro, programmed or similar entry methods will void all entries by such methods. By submitting an entry for this Sweepstakes, you agree to abide by these rules and any decision Sponsor makes regarding these Sweepstakes, which are final and binding in all respects; generally, in the event of dispute about the identity of a prize winner, the winning entry will be deemed made by the Account Holder of the email address submitted at the time of entry. "Account Holder" means the natural person who is listed as the owner of an email address by an Internet service provider or other organization that is responsible for assigning email addresses. Whether an entrant is eligible is solely within the discretion of Sponsor. A potential winner may be required to provide Sponsor with proof that he or she is the account holder of the email address associated with the potential winning entry. Sponsor is not responsible for any incorrect or inaccurate information, whether caused by web site users, tampering or unauthorized access, or by any of the equipment or programming associated with or utilized in the Sweepstakes and assumes no responsibility for any error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operation or transmission, communications line failure, theft, destruction or unauthorized access to the web site. Sponsor is not responsible for injury or damage to entrants or to any other person's computer related to or resulting from participating in this Sweepstakes. IF, FOR ANY REASON, THE SWEEPSTAKES IS NOT CAPABLE OF RUNNING AS PLANNED (FOR EXAMPLE BUT NOT BY WAY OF LIMITATION, BY REASON OF THE TERMINATION OF A PUBLISHER'S RELATIONSHIP WITH SPONSOR, INFECTION BY COMPUTER VIRUS, WORMS, BUGS, TAMPERING, UNAUTHORIZED INTERVENTION, FRAUD, TECHNICAL FAILURES, OR ANY OTHER CAUSES WHICH COULD CORRUPT OR AFFECT THE ADMINISTRATION, SECURITY, FAIRNESS, INTEGRITY OR PROPER CONDUCT OF THIS SWEEPSTAKES), SPONSOR RESERVES THE RIGHT AT ITS SOLE DISCRETION TO CANCEL, TERMINATE, MODIFY OR SUSPEND THIS SWEEPSTAKES AT ANY TIME. All federal, state and local taxes are the sole responsibility of the winner. Sponsor reserves the right to disqualify entrants who fail to follow these Terms and Conditions, applicable laws and regulations or who make any misrepresentations relative to the Sweepstakes, their entries, and claiming of a prize. Entry constitutes permission to use winners' names, addresses, photographs, video footage and/or voice recordings for publicity purposes (including posting on-line) without additional compensation or permission except where prohibited by law. Sponsor and its affiliates, parents, subsidiaries, agencies and each of their respective officers, directors, employees, agents, successors and assigns are not responsible for any negligence, claims, liability, injury, property loss or other damages of or to participants and/or the winner arising from, or in connection with this Sweepstakes. This Sweepstakes is subject to applicable federal, state and local laws and regulations.

8. Conditions. Upon delivery of a prize to a winner, Sponsor will be deemed to have awarded the prize to the winner with winner assuming full ownership and responsibility for the prize. CAUTION: Any attempt made by an entrant to deliberately damage Sponsor's or a Sponsor publisher website or undermine the legitimate operation of the Sweepstakes is a violation of criminal and civil laws. Should such an attempt be made, or if the Sponsor suspects that there has been any electronic tampering or if technical difficulties compromise the integrity of the Sweepstakes, Sponsor reserves the right to seek damages from any such entrant as permitted by law and to void such participant's entries from the Sweepstakes. THIS SWEEPSTAKES IS SOLELY AND EXCLUSIVELY GOVERNED BY THE LAWS OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA AS APPLICABLE TO CONTRACTS MADE AND PERFORMED WHOLLY THEREIN. ANY ACTION, PROCEEDING OR LITIGATION RELATING TO THIS SWEEPSTAKES MUST BE INSTITUTED AND PROSECUTED SOLELY AND EXCLUSIVELY WITHIN A STATE OR FEDERAL COURT LOCATED IN THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA, LOS ANGELES COUNTY, LOS ANGELES.

9. Winner List. For the name of the Sweepstakes winner or for questions about this Sweepstakes, send a self addressed stamped envelope to Super Rewards "Win an iPad" Sweepstakes, 111 Anza Boulevard, Suite 122, Burlingame, CA 94010.

*"iPad" is a trademark of Apple Inc. Apple Inc. is not a sponsor of the Sweepstakes and is not otherwise affiliated with the Sweepstakes.

Hello citizens. We've got something new to make our 3 and 6 month VIP packages even more rewarding for you. We've included a new rare item in each of those two packages that I think you are going to love!  It's our way of saying thank you for your support, and we really hope you'll continue to help us to make SmallWorlds the best place to hang out on the web.

6 Month VIP Package - Vampirism

I hope you've been enjoying the fantasy avatar options that went into the new release. I think they're fantastic, although I haven't been quite brave enough to show my vampire teeth outside of the Chronicle office as yet!

If you love nothing more than to show off your Vamp look, then I think you're going to find the new rare item we've included in our 6 month VIP package impossible to resist.

Here it is - our rare Vampire Cloak. Could you imagine a more perfect item to complete your Vamp look?  As you can see, it's longer than most other capes, it moves as you walk, and just look at the detailing on the back and hemline. The rich red inner lining, the fabulous high collar. It's so gloriously dark and gothic!

Remember, there's two easy ways to make this vampire cloak yours. The package costs just $44.95, and you'll get 12,000 Gold with it - that's a great discount!  And of course you can use your SmallWorlds Gold instead if you prefer.  For the 6 month VIP membership and the Vampire Cloak it's just 14,000 Gold.

If that alone isn't enough to tempt you into the 6 month VIP package, I'd also like to remind you of all the great benefits you get with VIP Club membership (I've detailed these below).

3 month VIP Package - Crystal Light Staff

Are you looking for the perfect accessory for your avatar's new fantasy look? Perhaps you've rather fancied yourself as a wizard, witch, warlock or high priestess?

Look no further, citizens!  This fantastic Crystal Light staff is straight out of a science fantasy novel, or a Lord of the Rings style movie set.

Holding this fantastic luminous blue crystal-tipped wooden staff, with its light casting a magical glow before you as you walk... well I can tell you it's quite a ethereal experience!

Remember, as a rare, the Crystal Light staff will never be sold in stores and just like the 6 month VIP package this one also brings with it all the great benefits that come with VIP Club membership.

There are two ways to get this fantastic Crystal Light staff.  If you purchase the 3-month VIP membership package for $23.95, you'll not only get the staff, but you'll also receive 6,000 SmallWorlds Gold - that's a discounted price, and a great deal!

You can also use SmallWorlds Gold to get your 3-month VIP package - 3 months of VIP membership and the Crystal Light staff is just 6,500 Gold. 

Benefits of VIP Membership

• You'll get Citizen Points for becoming VIP, giving you access to cool skates, skateboards, emotes and weapons!
• Access to special avatar clothing and make-up options, like glasses, belts, cool tops, hats, shoes - including the new fantasy and vampire options!
• Take your pet with you wherever you go in-world.
• Access to VIP-only items and spaces. Some amazing wearables are VIP-only!
• Access to the Dance Studio, so your avatar's funky dance moves can stand out from the pack. VIPs can save three different dances, so they can really rock the dance-floor.

Becoming VIP is Easy!

Click here for details on our range of payment methods for becoming VIP. Or you can head to the Factory and earn the Gold you need.  Alternatively, you could always try your hand at trading in rares and collectibles; many citizens earn more than enough to pay for VIP membership through trading.

I'm tempted to buy both!

We all know that SmallWorlds is a great free-to-play game, but there's no doubt that VIP membership is the absolute best way to enjoy it.

These two new rare items, in combination with all the fantastic VIP-only options you receive with your VIP membership will take your SmallWorlds playing experience from fun to fantastic.

Gosh, perhaps you could really treat yourself and get both packages...what a terribly tempting idea!

~ Honesty Blaize

Greetings citizens. We have a tremendously exciting promotion starting today. You could win a 10,000 piece of a prize pool that's worth no less than 80,000 Gold!

Each week in August we'll randomly select two citizens who have Liked the SmallWorlds Fan Page on Facebook - a total of eight winners in all. All winners will receive 10,000 Gold.

It's so easy so enter.  All you need to do is to Like the SmallWorlds Fan Page on Facebook and you'll be in the draw to win. It could be your most lucrative click ever. Just imagine what you could do with 10,000 in SmallWorlds Gold!

How to Like the SmallWorlds Fan Page on Facebook

Simply click on the Like button which is located on your Home page below your avatar selector (as shown below) and you'll be in to win!  You'll be able to see when you've Liked it, because you'll get a Thumbs Up.  You only need to click once.

Why Like SmallWorlds on Facebook?

As well as entering you into the competition (the easiest way of winning 10,000 Gold I've ever heard of!) there's some other extremely good reasons to Like the SmallWorlds Fan Page on Facebook. You'll get:

• Advance notice of Events and Competitions
• Notifications in your Facebook newsfeed about new articles published in the Chronicle (absolutely vital in my humble opinion!)
• The chance to join with other SmallWorlds fans on Facebook - leave comments and have your say

Choosing the Lucky Winners

We'll be randomly choosing 2 winners each week from those who have Liked the SmallWorlds Fan Page on the Facebook application. It's not necessary to have Liked within the promotion period, as anyone who Likes us is eligible.

At the end of each week during the promotional period, I will send a personal message to the two randomly chosen winners, asking them to advise which SmallWorlds avatar we should credit the 10,000 Gold to. I'll also be doing some follow-up stories on the winners. Who knows, perhaps one of them might be you!

There's only one way to be in to win - Like the SmallWorlds Fan Page on Facebook and your SmallWorlds account could be looking a lot healthier in the very near future.

Kent Kronkite on Facebook!

I've been doing my best to keep abreast of Social Networking trends and  decided that it would be rather fun to set up my own Facebook profile.  I'd be ever so pleased if you'd "Friend" me!

I'm a little bashful about the time it is taking me to understand all there is to know about being a "Facebooker", but I am trying hard. Any encouragement is very welcome and I do hope you'll connect with me soon. You can find my personal Facebook page by clicking here.

I've loaded a few photos on my profile I'd like to share with you, and I'm starting to remember to update my status more regularly. At this stage I'm the only SmallWorlds staff member to have an Facebook profile.

Like SmallWorlds on Facebook: Be In to Win!

What could be easier! Click the Like button on the advertisement right below your avatar selector on your Home Page, or visit the SmallWorlds Facebook page and press the Like button. I'm so looking forward to talking with our first two lucky winners!

Good luck.

~Kent Kronkite

Hello citizens. It's time to unveil the latest Loyalty Challenge item. Even more exciting, once again we are at the end of our latest series of three and you all know what that means! If you complete your set of three and visit the Combobulator Laboratory you will receive the most incredible monthly reward. 

But firstly, when you fill up all your Loyalty Challenge gems in August you'll be rewarded with the last bottle in the series. Let's take a look...

The Potion of Dreams

What a perfect way to complete such a lovely set. First we had the Potion of Strength, then the Potion of Enlightenment, and now the Potion of Dreams. Speaking of dreams, when I'm feeling a little overwhelmed at work sometimes I just like to close my eyes and dream of faraway places. 

I must say that when I first gazed upon this last potion bottle, it's so beautiful that it really did put me into quite a dreamy state of mind!

Yes citizens, it's well worth putting in the effort to filling your gems this month to ensure you don't miss out on this simply gorgeous bottle.

I dreamed of a Genie

Citizens, my dreams came true! This time the Loyalty Challenge Reward item is just about as magical as you can possibly imagine. Combobulate your three Potion Bottles and you'll receive this fantastic Genie.

The Genie of the Lamp is here to to your bidding. As well as those strong blue arms, he's got another hidden surprise. When you walk past the lamp in which he makes his home, he'll pop up and shoot 3 fireballs at you!

Maybe he will even grant your wishes, who knows?  Either way, he will make a great addition to your space, giving it a real "1001 Nights" ambiance. And of course he'll be perfect for using in your missions. 

Earning Your Loyalty Challenge

The weekly challenge is to earn 6 Loyalty Points each day, for three days in a row.  Here are the all ways you can earn your points:

• Complete a Featured Mission - You get +6 Loyalty Points

• Complete an offer with one of our great offer providers (head to The Factory or try one of the Offer Machines in any SmallWorlds store) - You get +6 Loyalty Points

• Look after your pets - You get +1 Loyalty for every new Pet Point you've earned

• Harvest or successfully cross-pollinate a plant - You get +1 Loyalty Point

• Play Spin-to-Win - You get +1 Loyalty Point

• Play a Tournament Game - Points are earned according to your score (only awarded if the minimum score is met).

Check Your Progress on your Front Page

You can check your progress using the Loyalty Challenge panel on your Front Page.

This panel shows you how many Loyalty Points you've earned for the current week, and which gem you're on. One progress marker fills up for each Loyalty Point you earn. When all six are full, the current day's challenge is complete and one third of the current gem will fill.

Have fun earning your gems in August!

It's just so easy to earn points toward your Loyalty Challenge, so you should have no trouble at all getting the points you need. August marks the end of one series, and September will see the beginning of the next; I just can't wait to find out what it's going to be! Set collecting is just so much fun... and remember, it can also be very profitable! I'll see you next month with all the details.

~Honesty Blaize

Greetings citizens. We've had a very busy few weeks here at SWHQ. The development and artist teams have been working extra hard, and I'm delighted to say that today we're unveiling the fruits of their labors. I'm here to tell you all the exciting details, and by golly citizens there's certainly a lot to tell!

New Emotes

Imagine being able to Blush or blow someone a Kiss.  Would you like to express your Devil nature, be an Angel, or just say D'oh?  How about strutting around like a Glam Rocker or a Gangsta?

If you like the sound of these, you'll be absolutely delighted to know that we're bringing you no less than sixteen new ways to express yourself in SmallWorlds! New Emotes are here and they're all available for sale in Sovereign Plaza. They are CL items so the more friends you invite into SmallWorlds, the more emotions you're going to be able to express. 

When you use your new emotes, make sure you have your speakers turned on.  The sound effects for some of the new emotes are really rather funny.

Here are a few examples of the new emotes.

As you can see, even I have got into the swing of it.

I was feeling rather Glam Rock when this picture was taken!

Emotes are Now Inventory Items

All emotes are now inventory items, even the basic ones that you've always had.  That means you'll be able to access them from a new Emotes section in your Inventory Panel.

You can place your emotes in-world by dragging them out of your inventory, and you can even sell or gift your new emotes to other players!  (Your original emotes can be put inworld but not sold).

Keyboard Shortcuts

As well as being able to use them from your Inventory Panel, or your Actions Panel, all emotes have keyboard shortcuts that you can type in to use them.

I've included a handy list of the emote shortcuts at the very end of this article.

Fantastic Fantasy Looks!

We've added in some exciting new options into the avatar builder, so you can create new looks for your avatars!  These new looks are VIP-only, but don't forget that you can purchase VIP with Gold (one month VIP is only 1500 Gold), and with our new Link Sharing options and Item Marketplace, it's easier than ever to earn Gold - so why not give VIP a try?

Guys have got four new eye options: Vampire, Elf, Dashing and Slit Pupils. Three new hairstyles: Styled, Elf and Windswept. Two fantastic Vampire themed mouth options (fangs with or without blood) and a cool Elven Tattoo.

Girls will also find three new hairstyles:  Behind ears, Elf and Fairy. Four new eye options: Vampire, Elf, Fairy and Slit Pupils. The same two new Vampire-themed mouth options and Elven Tattoo.

There are also two new skin tone options to totally complete your fantasy looks!

I know you'll really enjoy putting your new looks together. I had some fun with the new options myself, and you can see my picture at the bottom of the story.

Item Marketplace

The new Item Marketplace gives you a new and easy way to buy and sell your plants and other consumable items for Tokens or Gold. You can buy and sell seeds, magic, food, fireworks, - in fact anything that is consumable. This excludes anything that is reusable such as the Hot Chocolate.

To access the Item Marketplace, either:

1.  click the Item Marketplace button in your inventory panel, or

2.  Select a consumable item (such as a bag of seeds) in your inventory panel and then click the Sell This Item At Market link on the right of the window.

Selling Your Goods

There are two ways to sell your consumable goods using the Item Marketplace. You can Quick Sell the item (you'll immediately receive a set amount from the system). Or you can place a sell order to offer the goods to the SmallWorlds community at a price you set.

Quick Sell

Choose Quick Sell to instantly sell your item - you'll immediately get 80% of the purchase price. (The amount you will receive is shown in the Quick Sell panel).

Place a Sell Order

To (hopefully!) get a better price for your items than the Quick Sell option, you can place a Sell Order. You get to choose the quantity you want to sell and the price you are hoping to get. Another SmallWorlds citizen can take up your offer if they choose.

• You'll be charged a 5% transaction fee - this is non-refundable.

• The items you have for sale will be instantly removed from your account. (If they aren't sold after 7 days, they'll be automatically returned to your inventory).  You can also choose to manually cancel your sell order at any time and get your items back (as long as they haven't already been sold).  You won't get the transaction fee back if an order doesn't sell or you cancel it.

• You can only sell a maximum of 100 of an item per sell order.

• There's a minimum sell order value of 1000 tokens.

Using the Item Marketplace to Buy Items

It's easy to use the Item Marketplace to buy consumable items.  In the Marketplace window, just click on the Buy option to see a list of all consumable items.  Choose the item you're looking for, and when you click on it you'll see all the Sell Orders that other citizens are offering.

Note that buying items works on a 'first in, first served' basis.  If you try to buy an item but someone else has beaten you to it, you'll get a message letting you know your purchase was unsuccessful.

Mix a New Alien Strain into your Plants!

Great news, farmers! You'll find a new basic plant - the Alien Coralite - available for purchase in your plant panel.

From that one plant will come some amazing new varieties - try cross-pollinating it with your existing varieties to see what you can grow.

The Alien Coralite has been created from a new DNA strand retrieved from a meteorite which hit earth. By starting with that one Alien Coralite, you can cross-pollinate the alien DNA into some of our existing seed stock - with some stunningly beautiful results!

If you're new to farming, it's something that can be both a lot of fun and very profitable as well, so why not give it a try?

Mission Card Changes

New Card Placement

You'll notice a big change to the placement of the mission cards. Our dedicated mission players were complaining about always having to move the cards to one side in order to see more of the world, so we've tucked them into the top left corner of your screen instead.  (Your automatic alert notices, such as 'Space Settings Saved' or 'Avatar Saved' will come up on the right). 

Remember that if you don't like their new position, just click and drag a mission card to the perfect location for you.  They'll keep coming up in your preferred location for the rest of the mission.

New Theme for Tutorial Missions

If you re-do any of the tutorial missions at the Landing Pad, you'll notice the cards have a new, bright look to them.  Unfortunately this new theme isn't available for user-created missions yet, but we are hoping to make it available in a future release.

New Mission Helper

We've tidied up the look of your Mission Helper by integrating it in with your Mini-Map and Alerts icons.  We think it looks much cleaner that way, and will help make your screen less cluttered. 

The number of active mission tasks in your Mission Helper will be shown in red, so you'll know when there's a mission you haven't finished yet.  To continue the mission, just click on the hat to open your Mission Helper, then click on the mission task to open that mission card.

Where Has My In-World Chronicle Button Gone?

Unfortunately, the button that used to let you open the SmallWorlds Chronicle while in-world has now gone, but you can still get to your favorite online newspaper through the Community Tab on your Home page. 

We certainly hope you'll keep reading all the latest SmallWorlds news in your Chronicle... we do enjoy bringing it to you!

Link Share and Earn Lots More CP and Gold!

There's a new option on the Share Panel which will enable you to easily build your CP levels and increase your Gold balance. Use our new Link Share option and you'll have that Glam Rock emote in no time at all! 

Simply use our Link Share option on the Share Panel to embed a link to SmallWorlds. You can embed it anywhere:

• Any Social Network page - Facebook, MySpace, Bebo, etc.
• Any forums you post on
  
• Twitter
• Your web page or blog
  

When anyone joins SmallWorlds through your link and verifies their email, you'll receive 1 Citizen Point and 100 Gold.

In addition, when that person earns a cumulative total of 1000XP across all XP paths, you get a further 20 Citizen Points and a whopping 500 Gold!  So why not share your personalized link with the world?

It's easy!  Just click the Link Share button and copy and paste the code you want to use.  

Now it's Easy to See What Special Promotions are Available

At the bottom of your Home Package, you'll see two of the special promotional packages we offer. We've now added arrows - you'll only see them if you hover your mouse over the packages - so you can scroll through them and see what's available.

On the left, you'll find all the VIP packages. On the right are all the Gold ones.  Now it's easy to see all the packages, and much simpler to choose the one that's right for you.

As you can see citizens, there are some really exciting new features in this release to make SmallWorlds even more fun!

Do you know that I even took a little risk and had a play around in the new avatar builder with some of the new fantasy options... what do you think? I did not dare to show my face in the Chronicle office for fear of giving Honesty a terrible fright! 

Have fun!

~ Kent Kronkite

Keyboard Shortcuts

As promised, here's a full list of the keyboard shortcuts for the emotes. You can type in these shortcuts to use the emotes, as well as being able to use them from your Inventory Panel, or your Actions Panel. (Remember that you can only use the emotes if you own them!)

To use the Smile emote, type in :) or /smile

To use the Laugh emote, type in :D or /laugh

To use the Whistle emote, type in /whistle

To use the Angry emote, type in /angry

To use the Sad emote, type in :( or /sad

To use the Cheer emote, type in :V or /cheer

To use the Clap emote, type in /clap

To use the Cool emote, type in 8) or /cool

To use the Cry emote, type in ;( or /cry

To use the Kiss emote, type in :* or /kiss

To use the Love emote, type in <3 or /love

To use the Sleep emote, type in |-) or /sleep

To use the D'oh emote, type in /doh

To use the Devil emote, type in /devil

To use the Angel emote, type in /angel

To use the Nerd emote, type in /nerd

To use the Whew emote, type in /whew

To use the Rock emote, type in /rock

To use the Gangsta emote, type in /gangsta

To use the ROFL emote, type in /rofl

To use the Glam Rock emote, type in /glam

Greetings citizens. Have you entered our Best SmallWorlds Advertisement film competition yet? We launched it just two weeks ago and it's  been ever so much fun checking in each day to see the new entries that have been submitted. I'm enjoying them tremendously.

Catching up together one morning over a cup of coffee, Dan, Honesty and I were talking about the competition and had some ideas about making a few 'tweaks' to it to make it more fun.

One of our ideas was to offer a People's Choice award to give you the chance to win one more Golden Dan... gosh someone could even end up winning two!  Anyway, I am sure you're going to like our ideas - read on and find out!

We've Relaxed the Rules a Little

It was a rule of the competition that entries had to be shot completely 'on location' in SmallWorlds.  However, many citizens have been asking whether that means their entry cannot use titles, Photoshopped images, or other external content.  Citizens, we don't wish to restrict your creativity!  Therefore we have decided to relax this rule.  As long as most of your film is shot within SmallWorlds, please feel free to go wild with the rest.  You could even include a real person in your film if you would like to!

Another Golden Dan to win! The People's Choice Award

We're adding in one more prize category - the People's Choice Award, giving you one more chance to win a coveted Golden Dan statue!

To win the Peoples Choice Award, your entry needs to be the one with the most "Likes" on YouTube.  (Note that your entry must have been posted up onto YouTube after the competition start date of July 12th).

How to do this? One of the easiest ways is to post your YouTube URL onto Facebook and encourage all  your friends to vote for your entry.

Important: You'll need to ask them to "Like" it on Youtube (not on Facebook) in order for them to help you win as it is the YouTube "likes" that we will be counting. They'll need to click the Like button at the bottom of the YouTube display screen once they have followed your link to YouTube (as pictured above). 

And don't forget to add a link to your entry in the Competition Forum Thread.

Deadline Extended & Prize Reminder!

We've decided to extend the deadline to the 31st of August to give you a little more time.

The top three placegetters will all receive a coveted Golden Dan statue (currently the most rare item available on SmallWorlds), and an amount of SmallWorlds Gold:

1st  - 10,000 Gold + 1 Golden Dan Award

2nd - 7,000 Gold + 1 Golden Dan Award

3rd - 4,000 Gold + 1 Golden Dan Award

Peoples Choice - 1 Golden Dan Award

The judging team will be looking for entries that have that magic combination of:

• Creativity and originality

• Great technical execution

• Wonderful entertainment value

• An excellent showcasing of SmallWorlds

• The People's Choice award will be given to the entry with the most YouTube "Likes" at the close of the competition.
  

Competition Guidelines

I'll summarize the main changes we've made, as well as reiterating the original guidelines:

• We've relaxed the rules so you can include some external content (shot outside of SmallWorlds) if you choose. If you use a real person in your film you must ensure that no personal identifying information is given; anonymity of all participants must be a paramount consideration.
• One entry per Smallworlds account.
• You must load your SmallWorlds Advertisement onto YouTube. If you're not sure how to do this, watch this video.
  
• Supply the YouTube URL with your competition entry on to the official competition forum thread.
• If you'd like to be in with a chance to win the People's Choice award, post your YouTube URL onto your Facebook page and ask your friends to "Like" it on YouTube. Don't forget to also include it in the Competition Forum Thread.
  
• The express function or theme of your entry is to promote SmallWorlds so please keep this in mind when creating it.
  
• Your entry must be a minimum of 1 minute and a maximum of 3 minutes long
• You are free to use all features of your movie editing software to full creative effect. Use music, sound effects, whatever you like to make your SmallWorlds Advertisement the most creative you can!
• Competition closes midnight SWT, 31st August 2010.

One more chance to win A Golden Dan award!

Well citizens, I'm awfully glad we'll be able to give away one more Golden Dan statue... especially one where I don't need to make the decision as it's always so very difficult!

You've all got more time, and you've got more you can work with and  once again, I'd like to wish you all very good luck!

~ Kent Kronkite

The Legal Stuff

• The Best SmallWorlds Advertisement Competition is open to SmallWorlds standard and VIP Club members 13 years of age or older. Employees of Outsmart 2005 Limited and its helpers, moderators, officers, directors, parent companies, subsidiaries, and affiliated companies, advertising agencies, promotional suppliers, or production agencies, and their respective dependents, immediate family members (parent, child, sibling and spouse of each) and individuals residing in the same household, are not eligible to participate. Void where prohibited by law.

• The shortlisted entries and the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners will be selected based upon the sole and exclusive discretion of the SmallWorlds Competition Judges. 1st place-getter will receive a Golden Dan statue and 10,000 Gold. 2nd place-getter will receive a Golden Dan statue and 7,000 Gold and 3rd place-getter will receive a Golden Dan statue and 4,000 Gold. A People's Choice award of One Golden Dan statue will also be awarded to the entry with the most "Likes" on YouTube as at midnight (SWT) 31st August 2010. All submissions are carefully reviewed before determining the prize winners. The judge's decisions are final and no correspondence will be entered into. 

• By entering into the competition you hereby assign to SmallWorlds all rights in such entries such that SmallWorlds (and third parties authorized by SmallWorlds) may use, display, publish, transmit, copy, make derivative works or podcasts from, edit, alter, store, re-format, sell and sub-license and otherwise exploit your submissions for any purposes (for the full period of any rights).
  

• Competition closes midnight (SWT), August 31st, 2010. The winners will be chosen and notified on or about September 7th, 2010

Hello citizens. The release of the Frameless Flickr Frames has seen some wonderful image displays popping up in-world. These frames allow you to unleash your creativity when decorating your space.

A week or so ago we launched a competition to find some of the best-looking Flickr Frames.

Vincent and Ricky, the talented pair who created the frames, are judging the competition.  They're excited to see how you use the frames, and to see your creative ideas.  They've been considering making a rug widget, but they want to ensure there's enthusiasm for the frames before they go ahead.  

As you can see from the competition entry thread, there's been some great entries so far.  Submit your creative effort today and you could win Gold!  And remember, you can enter more than once, so you've got lots of chances to win.

Getting the Dimensions Right

In order to make the Frameless Flickr Frames display your images at their absolute best, you need to use a 3-to-4, or a 4-to-3 aspect ratio. For those who want exact dimensions: try 640 x 480. I know there are a few of you who will really appreciate this information, just as I did. Before I was made aware off the correct dimensions, the pictures I was displaying were stretched beyond all recognition and looked rather hilarious! So before you upload your desired image into the frame, check the dimensions are correct.

Take a look at these great entries!

Here's a few of the great entries people have submitted so far. Please note that these are not necessarily the winners - the competition is not over yet! I've included them to show you what people are creating, and to provide you with a bit of inspiration. As you can see, you can really have a lot of fun with these. They really open up so many more possibilities for decorating your space.

Ivana Zoloft - I Love Marilyn!

Ivana has created a really cool look in her urban loft space with the addition of this "I Love Marilyn" Frameless Flickr Frame. Doesn't it look great with her Zebra sofa! The shape she's chosen is just one of the 28 great options available!

Belle Morissa - Traps a Scammer!

Belle's had a fantasy about how to deal with scammers in SmallWorlds - gosh it's quite a scary image don't you think? It certainly gave me a start when I saw it for the first time!

It's a really effective use of this shape!

Tara Avatar - King Kong comes for a visit!

Tara's got someone very interesting - and very large -  coming for a visit.

I'm not sure he's going to fit easily in her space however! I think perhaps she's asking for help finding a chair big enough!

Georgia Peaches - A Bath with a View!

Georgia's given herself the most gorgeous view out her bathroom window!

Anyone having a bath with that view is bound to feel oh-so-relaxed. I think her pet looks like he wants to jump in too!

Tiwa Jasminum - All the better to see you with!

Lionfashion Lollypop - Beautiful Fish!

Lionfashion had the idea of adding an aquarium to her space - or perhaps she lives underground and this is in fact a window looking directly into the ocean!

Whichever it is, it looks really effective!

Liam Llyd - Agent Liam

Agent Liam's looking the part here; he might be more a 003.5 than a 007 but I think he's looking really rather dashing in this image!

Perhaps you can come up with a picture of your avatar playing out a fantasy role of your choosing? The options are endless!

Enter your Frameless Flickr Frame creation today!

What you see here is but a small selection of the great entries you can browse through on the official competition entry thread - take a look for yourself.

I'm sure you're brimming with great ideas about how to display all kinds of images in a range of creative ways. The frames give you so many options, and combined with your imagination I have no doubt we'll be seeing all kinds of fascinating images!.

First things first - pay a visit to Modern Living and pick up a Frameless Flickr Frame - you'll find them right at the back of the store. Once you've got it, take a look at all the shape options, and let your imagination run wild. I know that Ricky and Vincent are checking the thread with great interest everyday!

Have lots of fun, everyone.

~Honesty Blaize

Greetings citizens. Did you know that some in the SmallWorlds community have made a fortune in Gold?

A few weeks after the end of our first SmallWorlds Film competition, I noticed on the forum that one of our three lucky Golden Dan award winners was putting his award up for sale - for 1 million Gold! 

Even with this rather large price tag, there was interest, and I realized there are more than a few citizens who could afford to buy it.  I interviewed a few of those people to find out how they have earned all their Gold.

If you've always dreamed of SmallWorlds riches then you'll find this article useful.  Armed with some information and some good old-fashioned motivation you could soon be counting yourself amongst their number.

Chloe Levie - "...buy cheap, sell higher, buy another..hold on to it, and sell!"

Chloe has a message for all SmallWorlds citizens: "It's true! You don't need to spend real money on a game to enjoy it. I've been playing this game for about 2 years now and never have spent any money, yet I still manage to own all the Monthly Collectibles, Loyalty Rewards, Wearables and Rares!" 

She acknowledges that its all down to how dedicated you are and she firmly believes that anything is possible if you set your mind to it.

She first started doing the monthly Loyalty Challenge and tries not to miss any reward as she's noticed that it increases in price daily.

"It's usually better to hold on to the item for some time longer so that the price can increase - for instance I knew that those three eggs would make me some money - and sure enough a few months later, the price of the eggs jumped! I ended up selling the whole set for about 100k gold - it felt great to own that much!!

Then a few days later, I found another cheap set for about 50k gold (half of what I sold my set for) and then I sat on those. Once I got the hang of it, it was easy for me to buy and sell. It's like a cycle...I buy cheap, then sell higher, buy another..hold on to it..and sell. The results are really satisfying!"

Chloe also said to me that if you are not interested in buying and selling, there are other ways to make gold such as selling paintings you create on the Graffiti Boards - "...as long as you're doing something that you enjoy and getting something out of it...that's all it matters! There are so many other options out there, it's endless! Just take it easy and have fun while you seek!".

James McBride - "...Never, ever sell anything for a loss!"

James started out by doing a few free offers, available in the Factory and on any of the Earn Gold machines you see in any SmallWorlds stores, as well as making sure he did his Loyalty Challenge each month.

"I'd been playing for around 3 months

James assured me that its really easy to do, but that it does take patience. Two months ago he completed his wearable collection by purchasing a Snow Fox and Beta cake which he paid one million Gold for.

"I was happy to pay it and would have actually paid more to obtain those very rare items". He says he never has a lot of gold in his account as he is constantly trading... but with all the items I own I would estimate my net worth around 4-5 million gold.". 

So as far as James is concerned, smart trading is the way to go. His mantra is simple: "Patience is the key - and never, ever sell anything for a loss!"

Maxwell Patch - "Don't be afraid to spend a couple of dollars to get you started"

Maxwell began building his fortune by doing missions to earn tokens and trading his tokens for Gold. After he'd built up his first lot of Gold, he then spent around $30 to buy some gold which enabled him to open up a small shop selling Wearables and Rares. "The Smallworlds game is very similar to real life, if you want to have a fortune you need to build up and capitalize and that's just what I did. I capitalized on my $30 dollars of real money (which was 24,000 gold back then as i recall). My $30 got me to where I am now!"

Maxwell never, ever misses out on doing his Loyalty Challenge. "I try to be one of the earliest to acquire it because of the market demand - the earliest gets the higher price. Then, after selling it, I try to find the cheapest I can to replace the loyalty item i sold. I try to acquire 3 sets of loyalty by buying 2 and earning one. I then hold it, and then sell it once again if the demand is high. The same applies with the monthly collectibles too - I never, ever miss one! Sell high and then try and buy another one for a cheaper price and sit on it."

Maxwell has 5 tips he'd like to share with those just starting out on building their fortune.

1 - Don't be afraid to spend a couple of dollars for you to enjoy the game!

2 - Don't be lazy. Don't go and beg for people for Tokens or Gold. Work for it. Be smart. Don't let others rip you off. Always read the forum to learn more about the game.

3 - Invite more friends. The more friends you have in game the more fun you'll get and the more enjoyable to play, and the more enthusiastic you'll be!

4 - Offers. These help a lot if you are just starting in the game.

Fireshadow Dom - "Pay attention to what people like"

Fireshadow started in September '09 with a really small furniture place. He'd buy small items, reselling at a small profit. "I started making friends and talking to people and got to know what people liked and disliked. Then I started to get my hands on furniture that people wanted, at good prices."

He then moved onto Wearables and Rares.

"I work hard at finding deals. Even if I make 50 or 100 Gold I'm perfect with that ..like a friend told me  - If you make even 100 Gold that is 100 Gold that you didn't have before!".

Fireshadow has never bought Gold, he's earned all his Gold and Tokens from hard work and that's something he's very proud of.

His last tip to share with you is this: "Stay smart to in-world alerts and to the forums. There are always people selling things even down to cheap furniture that you can sell for more Gold than you paid for it, then you can get something upgraded. Don't get stuff that people won't buy. Pay attention to what people like - go to shops, clubs, and friends homes and look at what they have. If you find it cheap somewhere, buy it!"

Well citizens, there are so many gems in what these four have shared.  If you follow just one idea your Gold account is bound to be boosted! 

The theme running through all these stories is this: apply some smarts and mix with a good dollop of dedication and you'll be well on your way to earning your first Million.

~ Kent Kronkite