Pioneer Trail Capital One Goals: Everything you need to know

While we've already taken a look at the Capital One cross-promotions in FarmVille and CityVille, Pioneer Trail's version of the promotion is definitely the most complex, taking four goals to complete. The first of these goals introduces you to the Capital One Goat, who hopes that you can help him find his lost band mates, and bring their bandstand to life on your Homestead. That's right - there's a new building to create as part of this cross-promotion, along with the four goals. Here's a complete rundown of the event.

Sterling the Bloodhound

    Collect one Bandstand Upgrade Part
    Visit Capital One Facebook Page
    Craft Sterling's Guitar in the Bandstand


First things first, the Bandstand can be purchased inside the store for under 10 coins if you have the discount enabled in your game. You won't have to whack a frame or collect items to create a functioning Bandstand; however, you will have to collect these parts to upgrade the building. This is done by clicking on the Bandstand and then clicking "Upgrade" on the menu that appears. From here, it's the familiar process of asking your friends for items.

You'll need to collect 10 each of Stage Lights, pieces of Band Merchandise and Concert Wristbands, all of which are earned through general news posts, while 15 each of Sandbags and Scaffolding are earned by sending out individual requests to your friends for help. The final item - the five Band Groupies - are earned by completing these new goals, as they'll be earned automatically. That being the case, you don't have to be in too great of a rush to collect the rest of the ingredients, as you literally can't complete it anyway.

As for finishing this first goal, you'll need to head inside your Bandstand to craft items as you would in other buildings. From there, you'll need three Guitar Fretboards and five Guitar Strings to actually craft the guitar. These are both new items, requiring you to tend goats or simply ask your friends to help you earn them, among other tasks. Finishing the entirety of this first goal will give you 250 XP, Sterling the Bloodhound and 250 coins.

Toonie the Bear

    Chop 10 Trees on your Neighbors' Homesteads
    Feed 30 Goats on your Homestead
    Craft Toonie's Upright Bass in the Bandstand


Again, you'll need to head inside the Bandstand to craft Toonie's Upright Base, which requires three Tailpieces and five Bass Strings. Again, you can ask your friends to send you the Bass Strings, and can craft the Tailpieces, also inside the Bandstand.

Once you finish this second goal, you'll receive 500 XP, Toonie the Bear and 500 coins.

Penny the Bullfrog

    Feed 30 Geese on your Homestead
    Have or Collect 3 Termites
    Craft Penny's Banjo in the Bandstand


Again, just head inside the Bandstand to see the parts you need to craft Penny's Banjo (in this case the Banjo Pot and Banjo Pick), and then make sure you have three termites from the Oak Tree collection to finish this one off. For doing so, you'll receive 750 XP, Goat and Penny (the two remaining band members) and 5 Band Groupies. Remember those Groupies that you needed to complete the upgrade of the Bandstand? There you go.

Entertainment, Not Food

    Collect the Upgraded Bandstand Bonus Once
    Collect 10 Wildberries
    Harvest 50 Corn


Like a regular building, the Bandstand has a daily bonus that can be collected, so complete that and these other simple (albeit time-consuming) tasks and you'll be golden. You'll receive 1,000 XP, a Rockin Horse (a new mount for your avatar that wears sunglasses) and 1,000 coins for finishing this final goal.

All told, we're not given an expiration date for when this cross-promotion and these goals will leave the game, but your best bet would be to finish everything off as soon as possible just to make sure you don't miss out on anything. Have fun!

Check out the rest of our FrontierVille Cheats & Tips right here.

What do you think of this entire Capital One promotion in Pioneer Trail? Are you going to make your avatar ride this horse-with-shades?

Pioneer Trail Ghost Town: Purchase limited edition items for a free Ghostly Horse

If you'd like to get more out of the Pioneer Trail Halloween event, and don't mind spending some (ok, a lot of) Horseshoes to do just that, you can now purchase a series of five limited edition items in lovely shades of pink and purple in a special event. To be especially clear, this option hasn't rolled out to all users just yet, but once you receive it, you'll see a list of five items, along with their prices and a time limit for how long you have to purchase them.

The five items are those that you'd normally see around Ghost Town while playing:

    Cursed Chicken - 5 Horseshoes
    Ghostly Grave - 35 Horseshoes
    Cursed Sheep - 40 Horseshoes
    Cursed Cow - 45 Horseshoes
    Haunted Dog - 45 Horseshoes


For the full set, it will set you back 175 Horseshoes. That might sound like a lot (ok, it is a lot), but you'll have incentive to go for the whole lot. If you do end up purchasing one of everything, you'll receive a free, exclusive limited edition Ghostly Horse. This one is bright purple, and will apparently only be made available through this event. Of course, this horse is one of the many "rideable" ones released in the game, so if you want your avatar to be able to ride in style the whole year through, make sure to give this event a look.

Unfortunately, if you don't have enough Horseshoes on hand by default, you'll only have a matter of days to either earn some extras, or purchase them - six days, to be exact (or less, depending on when this finally rolls out to you). Again, these items will likely only be available via this particular event (or, at the very earliest, might be released next Halloween), so do any shopping sooner, rather than later to make sure you won't miss out entirely!

[Image Credit: Zynga]

Check out the rest of our Halloween 2011 coverage right here.

Will you purchase any of these items for your own Homestead in Pioneer Trail? Will you purchase them all to receive the free horse?

Pioneer Trail End of Summer Sale offers 50% off Horseshoes and more

If you thought that 40% off Horseshoes purchased when redeeming a Zynga Gift Card was a good deal, try this one on for size. As part of the Pioneer Trail "End of Summer Sale," you can now take 50% off all Horseshoe purchases for a limited time. Leave it to Zynga to tell us about these things at the last minute, but you only have a few hours to take advantage of this Horseshoe deal, and a few others (for your reference, this sale places 170 Horseshoes in a package for $10, as an example).

Other items are on sale as well, including Mystery Animal crates from a variety of themes (including winter and Halloween) that are priced at 30% off, bundles of Critter Milk, Chunky Chow and Fuzzy Blankets at 40% off, and even Wedding Gift and Poker Card packages being 40% off as well.

Of course, this deal applies only to those items that you'd purchase with Horseshoes, and not anything coin-related, but it also includes the ability to purchase Beef Jerky (permanent boosts to your maximum energy) or Badgers, which are a limited edition animal. All in all, if I had to personally judge which item was the most valuable, I'd say the Beef Jerky for 16 Horseshoes is definitely something that's more worthwhile than not. Think about it - you'll be able to raise your maximum energy, allowing you to do more tasks in a single sitting and make progress faster. Purchase more than one Beef Jerky and you'll really be in business.

Again, though, you won't have much time to splurge on these items, or the Horseshoe packages proper, before the sale ends at midnight tonight (Eastern time). I wouldn't be surprised if Zynga extended the sale beyond this point to make more money, but if not, you've been warned!

Will you purchase any of these End of Summer Sale items? Which ones? Sound off in the comments.

Pioneer Trail Greenhouse Goals: Everything you need to know

Zynga has just released a new Pioneer Trail goal -- the Greenhouse -- that's best described by a player as "a TARDIS for crops" in more ways than one. For those who don't get the Doctor Who reference, I'd also say it's like the previously released FrontierVille Orchard.

Looking at the screenshot on the right, I can vaguely see how the Greenhouse resembles a time-traveling police box. But that's not where the resemblance ends, because once completed, your new Greenhouse will allow you to plant more crops. Even though it looks like a 3x3 building on the outside, it's actually a 6x6 building on the inside.

So what's the catch? Well, you won't be able to do this goal unless you're Level 13 or above. Also, like most goals, you'll need to collect a lot of stuff in order to build it. For the following items, you'll need to make Facebook Wall posts to get 10 of each: Mulch, Plant Food, and Ladybugs. The next set of required items are ones you've got to ask your friends for by sending them requests, and you'll need 15 of each: Insulating Glass, Sturdy Frame, and Irrigation System.
Pioneer Trail Finish Your Greenhouse
The upside though, is that once you finish your Greenhouse, and complete the four quests that go along with it, you'll unlock three new crops: Carrots, Grapes, and Watermelons. Watermelons are prized because they've got a harvest period of five days. Your crops will also be safe from Groundhogs during that time, and your neighbors can come by to tend those crops.
Pioneer Trail Greenhouse crops
Time to Flex That Green Thumb!

    * Place the Greenhouse
    * Harvest 50 Clover
    * Clear 15 Debris on Neighbors' Homesteads
    * Reward: 250XP, 250 Coins, Hanging Plant


Record-Breaking Crops!

    * Collect the Daily Bonus from the Greenhouse
    * Have or collect 50 Poultry Puddin'
    * Collect ten bottles of Buttermilk
    * Reward: 500XP, 500 Coins, Carrots Unlocked!


It's Carrotastic!

    * Harvest 40 Carrots in your Greenhouse or on your Homestead
    * Harvest 15 Crops on Neighbors' Homestead or in their Greenhouse
    * Collect 15 Fish Heads
    * Reward: 1000XP, 1000 Coins, Grapes Unlocked


A Grape Escape!

    * Harvest 40 Grapes in your Greenhouse or on your Homestead
    * Tend 30 Adult Cows
    * Collect 10 rays of Country Sunshine
    * Reward: 1000XP, 1000 Coins, Watermelon Unlocked

Pioneer Trail Greenhouse Collection
Finally, completion of the Greenhouse unlocks a new Collection that delivers a Big Wither Protection Boost, which prevents all your crops from dying. The Collection items are Butterflies, Mister, Garden Bunny, Gardening Glove, and Gardening Tape.

But there are players who believe the Greenhouse is poorly planned, and they have a point. Three of the four Greenhouse Goals ask you to plant 40 crops within the Greenhouse or on your Homestead. But the Greenhouse only has room for 36, therefore, leaving four that must be planted outside to fulfill the quest. There are also complaints that the first item you're forced to plant is the Clover, which is one of the earliest crops for a beginner. It would have been better if the game allowed players to get started with planting and harvesting the new unlockable crops right away instead.

[Source and Image Credit: Zynga]

Check out the rest of our FrontierVille Cheats & Tips right here.

Would you rather have a land expansion than a building that lets you plant more crops? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment

Capital One gets in Zynga's wallet with FarmVille, CityVille, Pioneer Trail

Capital One asks Zynga once again, "What's in your wallet?" To which the developer replies, "Why, FarmVille, CityVille and Pioneer Trail, of course!" Mashable reports that the national financial services firm has teamed up with Zynga again for three brand new in-game branding promotions involving Capital One's infamous goat character. Well, two outta three, at least.

Granted, keep in mind that these promotions are slowly rolling out to players, as I've yet to see most of them in my games. Starting with none other than FarmVille, Capital One returns (remember the Visigoths?) with its beloved goat to the game as a breedable animal, which comes just in time for the slew of Breeding Pens in the game.

CityVille, on the other hand, simply features a Capital One-branded Bank for players to use, and opening it offers players a bonus decoration as well as additional Coins, Energy and other resources. Pioneer Trail has its very own set of Goals to help the goat-on-arrival find his lost band mates, which ultimately reward players with a Capital One goat of their own.

This is the second time Capital One has worked with Zynga this year in a branding promotion, and it comes hot off of the heels of a Best Buy promotion conducted through CityVille. And this will be far from the last branded promotion to be featured in a Zynga game. (If anything, the work of Ecko|Code speaks to its popularity.)

The San Francisco-based (but global) developer is joining forces with Lucasfilm to bring Indiana Jones into Adventure World, Zynga Boston's debut Facebook game. Considering the game has been retitled, "Adventure World: An Indiana Jones Game," it could be the first Zynga game built entirely around a brand. So yes, branded Facebook games are here to stay.

Are you psyched for these upcoming in-game promotions across the company's three most recognizable Facebook games? What do you think of the movement toward branding in Facebook games overall? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment.