I’ve been playing it every chance I get over the weekend, and am loving the improvements, the most drastic change in game play is that you travel to different farms so that you’re not stuck playing on the same grassy playing field the entire time! Instead, you travel all over, using different animals that reflect the environment. I don’t want to ruin the surprise by saying too much, but you can expect to see Penguins, Turkeys, Llamas, Walruses, and other amusing surprises!

I’m still playing, so don’t have many tips for you yet that didn’t also apply to the first games in the series… like keeping the grass that you feed your animals with close to your storage area so that they’re far from the animals that drop in to toss them out of your game. Oh, and you can still click on the buildings to speed up production… but remember to be careful that you don’t do that too much or they will blow up.

So, until I’ve made it further in the game, I’ll just leave you with the information from the game maker, Alawar: [Download Free Trial here]

Featuring expanded gameplay and a delightful new central character, Farm Frenzy 3 has arrived! In the arcade business sim, Scarlett travels to Africa, South America and other exotic locations to manage five farms and try her hand at penguin breeding and jewelry making. Her goal is to become the president of the farmers union by earning the votes of the people she helps.

You’ll sling hay in 95 outrageously fun levels, tend to 30 wacky animals (including walruses and llamas) and purchase more upgrades than there are ears in a field of corn! What’s more, as you grow crops, feed animals, collect produce and manufacture goods, you’ll be treated to some of the zaniest animation to ever grace a casual game!

While challenging, Farm Frenzy 3 is more balanced than earlier installments of the series. You can breed birds instead of buying them, for example, and dress the bears you catch in silly outfits and sell them for more money.

After seeing reviews on this game, I simply couldn’t wait for my regular game supplier to offer this, so I downloaded the free trial version. Usually, I only pay $6.99 for games through the BigFish Game Club, but after playing this game for an hour, I’m actually going to pay full price ($19.95) through PlayFirst! Before I tell you why I’ve fallen in love with this game, here’s the description from the site:

Meet Miriel the Magical Merchant, an ordinary girl with extraordinary talents. Help Miriel manage her busy shop and fulfill her dreams in this unique tale. Prepare fresh breads, cakes, jams, and more for her customers in more than 60 levels of fast-paced fun. Use magical devices and special abilities to deliver your one-of-a-kind treats to waiting customers before they get impatient and leave. Even unlock recipes that you can make in your own home! Featuring an interactive storyline with multiple endings, a variety of shop locations, and hours of family-friendly fun, Miriel the Magical Merchant is a very special treat. Everyone has a dream; make Miriel’s come true today.

* Over 60 challenging levels
* 19 unique items to make
* Interactive storyline with multiple endings
* Unlock recipes you can make yourself

With the obligatory screen shots:

Miriel’s Shop

Game Map

Mini Game between shops is like Super Collapse

Mini Review after playing the one hour trial

It’s no secret that I love crisp, clean graphics. Miriel the Magical Merchant has some of the best graphics I’ve seen in a very long time. Rich, deep colors mixed with an anime art style really do give this game a “magical” atmosphere. I was pleasantly surprised to see how smoothly the game ran in full screen mode, even with these rich graphics. Very well done, indeed.

I turned the music down, but not off… Much like Mystic Inn, I found the music to be oddly relaxing. Very similar to the musical scores in movies such as the Princess Bride, or Dark Crystal. Unlike most time management games, the music is not used as a tool to stress you out while you rush to complete your tasks.

Now, remember… I’ve only played this game for an hour so far! I completed two “shops”, because I chose to help Miriel open, and operate a chain of stores throughout the magical lands where she’s from. Miriel the Magical Merchant is unique in the way the storyline is actually interactive. If you’ve played games like Fairy Godmother Tycoon, then you will understand this… the way you answer questions determines your path in the game, giving it 13 possible endings!

An interactive story line that determines your path is one thing, but the fact that you can’t “replay” levels is another thing that makes the replay value of this game so much more than the normal casual game has. For example, if I know that answering a question differently will show me a different ending, you can bet I’m going to want to play the game again. 13 endings means at least 13 play-throughs!

Due to the quality of the graphics in this game, my suspicion is that I’d really be missing out if I didn’t see every possible ending, and play every possible path! The combination of possible game play is staggering, really.

As you move from one location to the next, you have the opportunity to upgrade your shop’s equipment. You have to earn the upgrades though! If you can successfully play a game that resembles “Super Collapse”, where you simply click on groups of three or more similar items… before they reach the top of the screen… then you earn an upgrade. You get to choose which piece of equipment to upgrade also.

Super Collapse is one of my all time favorite games, so this was a really great surprise for me. Just like the shop screens, the mini game runs very smoothly.

Miriel the Magical Merchant combines aspects of all the popular time management games. You have to “order” up the food that your customers want… and in some cases, combine ingredients to bake what they want. Chaining your actions earns you bonus points, and you can carry three items at a time (this may increase as you progress, as I started out only able to carry two items).

Another unique aspect to this game, is that it offers you the recipes used in the game, for you to try in your real life kitchen! I’m not a fan of cooking, but the recipes actually look very tasty, and relatively easy to do. Who knows, if I’m actually motivated to bake because of a casual pc game, Hubby may not mind me playing so often! LOL!

There is a LOT to love about this game. I guess you could say that I’ve fallen under Miriel’s spell, because I rarely pay full price for a casual pc game. If you’re not willing to wait for your favorite discount game portal to offer this game (if they even do), then go on and download the free one hour trial… you won’t be sorry!

Cake Mania 3 has 6 different locations; Ancient China, Merry ol’ England, Ancient Egypt, Stone Age, Revolutionary France, and a surprise 6th world after you’ve completed all the rest. Each location, or “world” has 15 levels, for a total of 90 levels. Perhaps the most overlooked new feature of this game is the fact that you can now move your kitchen appliances around. This is really helpful in setting up your game to make a huge difference in your efficiency! The order in which you visit each world is completely up to you, but once you’ve started a world, there’s no turning back.

Although you do have the option to “restart” levels, you cannot “replay them” after you’ve chosen to continue… so if you’re going for all “Super” stars of achievement… restart before you continue, or face starting the game over!

There are over 30 new customer types in this game, with a few surprises thrown in to the mix. Each world has one really “bad guy” that will make it almost impossible for you to complete the level without paying him/her the respect they deserve! To offset the increased difficulty of this game, and the new “bad guys”, you are given a bonus item in each world that’s designed to give you the help you need to make it through. This adds a great balance to a difficult game, making the challenge fun, instead of uber frustrating.

Another addition to this game is the “Sugar Rush”. Unlike the Diner Dash games, “chaining” events doesn’t earn you extra bonus cash, instead, performing actions in groups of three will gain you an “automatic” bonus, where your cakes, and preparations happen instantly. (Compare this to the “Fiesta” mode in the new Turbo Fiesta game.) The first time you successfully perform three identical actions (decorate three cakes in a row, pick up three tips in a row, etc.), a progress bar appears at the top of the screen; when that bar is full, you’ve achieved “Sugar Rush”, and everything you do is completed instantly. This lasts for a limited time, and then you can start the progress bar all over again, to achieve an unlimited amount of Sugar Rush bonuses per level.

The graphics have been upgraded to include “high detail”, and 3D options that you can turn off if your computer’s graphics card can’t handle them. A visit to the “options” page is always a good idea. If you have any graphics issues at all, I suggest turning these features off, and restarting the game. Doing so won’t change the game play at all, it will just look a little different, and if you were having issues, it will look a LOT better! LOL I didn’t have any issues with this game at all, so have played it with all the graphics options on, in the “windowed” mode.

Each world has it’s own music, which for the most part is directly associated with the theme of that world. There was only one world where I found the music to be annoying to the point of frustration, so I simply went to the options page to turn it down, almost muted completely. Since the sound FX and music are adjustable separately, this had no impact on game play at all. I often turn off music in time management games because the frenzied tempo of the music is meant to stress you out!

Because there is so much that is new and different about this game, I’m going to start you off with some basic tips (most of which will work in any Cake Mania game), and then I’ll list some specifics for each of the five first worlds. I’ll be updating this post as I perfect my strategy, so this is one you may want to bookmark!

Basic Tips for all levels

Right click a cake while you have another in your hand, and they will trade places. Learning to master this shortcut will change the way you play this game, for the better!

Chain events three in a row to fill up the Sugar Rush bar. Sugar Rush is great when you have a lot of customers with complicated orders, as everything is made as soon as you order it. This power up can be activated numerous times per level… as often as you can fill that blue bar at the top of the screen, so try to do things in threes; hand out three menus in a row, hand out three cakes in a row, pick up three tips in a row, frost three cakes in a row, etc.

People with double orders gain hearts after you give them their first item. Use this to keep them happy while you serve others with only one order.

Customers that order a cake and a drink gain hearts after you give them one of their orders, use that to make them wait longer while you serve others.

Use your TV. Buy one if you haven’t yet. The TV will add hearts to your customers, keeping them happy longer. Each customer type has a favorite channel, and will only gain hearts if you hit the right one. Remember which channel works for each customer, and you’ve got it made! Beware: There are customers that stubbornly change the channel to their favorite anytime you click the TV, so you’ll need to use your cookie treats to keep others happy while this customer is in your shop. (Ancient China has one of these bad guys!)

Taking phone orders can give you extra money you may need. Remember that NOT answering the phone does not penalize you, so don’t be afraid not to answer it if you’re already too frazzled.

Play the mini games if you haven’t done so… you earn extra money for upgrades through them. Don’t rush through the mini games… the better you do, the more money you get… restart, or redo it before you finish because you only get one chance at this easy money.

If your store is about to close, pick up your tips fast to get as many people in the door as possible… more customers means more money.

Customers with menus can be given a cookie to increase their hearts. Give them a cookie without clicking them again so that you don’t give them a menu, and finish the other customer’s orders. this will help you chain three things more to get sugar rush.

The music and/or sound effects is designed to stress you out. If it effects you in this way, go to options and turn it off.

Upgrades:
You can use the arrow keys on every pop up in the upgrade store to “skip” an upgrade level if you have the money… you don’t have to buy the purple one before you buy the silver one, for example.

Cake toppers can add $15 – 40 per cake, so save up to buy one or two asap!

If you only have one oven, and one froster, this will limit your customer’s choices, making it easier to handle their requests. Combine this with a TV, and the faster shoes from the store, and you’ve got a winning combination that can easily get you through the first three worlds while you save money for the “Gold” upgrades.

I guess that’s enough for now… I’ll delve into the individual worlds more later. I didn’t realize how long this post was already! When all is said and done, this is a great time management game! Lots to do, and more challenging than others that have come out recently. So very worth the $6.99 that our Game Club members pay for the full version!

Feel free to comment, and let me know what to include in the next tips and tricks post! What worlds are giving you a hard time? What strategies do you use to make the game more fun? What’s your favorite mini game?

More Tips available here:

Customer types and tips for Cake Mania 3
Tips for Ancient China level in Cake Mania 3

Happy gaming!

Three game difficulty levels make this a fun game for all ages, and skill levels. In “Easy” mode, you’ll be required to master 20 recipes. In “Medium” mode, you’re required to master 28, and in “Difficult” mode, you’re required to master a whopping 38 recipes! The magical, fairytale setting is visually pleasing, as well as strangely comforting. Along with the three difficulty levels, you also get to choose between playing:

• Story Mode (play the game with the story)
• Freedom Mode Our Recipes (play the game without the story using their recipes)
• Freedom Mode Your Recipes (play the game without the story using your own recipes)
• Create and Share Recipes (Create custom recipes and share them with your friends)

After I completed the game in Easy mode, I realized that there were more recipes to learn if you change the difficulty, which of course made me replay it immediately. So, if you enjoy games with a high “replay” value, this one is for you! Half way through Medium difficulty, I remembered that there was an option to play with your own recipes, so I went in and created a few that I had wanted to make while playing the normal story mode. I’m a big coffee addict, so recipes just came to mind immediately, and I enjoy the option to create my own… but playing with them is just a bonus I never dreamed of! Download the free trial of Yummy Drink Factory here.

Note: The option to “share recipes with your friends” is not what you might think. When you create a recipe, you can then click on it in the recipe menu, and choose to export it. This means that other players of the game installed on your computer will be able to “import” your recipes into their own player profile. This way, when they play in the “Freedom mode Your recipes”, they will be challenged by the recipes you created, as well as their own. Originally, I thought there may be an Internet database of recipes out there that you could import, but that is not the case. When you play a game with your own recipes, they are presented to you in the recipe book, just like all the others, mixing instructions and all!

Download the free trial of Yummy Drink Factory here

One of the coolest things about this game is that you can pause it just to watch your fish. If you enjoy the relaxing qualities that an interesting aquarium has, you’ll enjoy this pause mode… but you’ll absolutely LOVE the screensaver! Yes, your fish, and the aquarium you build for them can be set as your screensaver, I think that’s so cool. As you upgrade and adapt your aquarium, your screensaver adjusts to show the changes. Little wonder this game is so popular… the aspect of building and developing an aquarium is one thing, but using it as your screensaver is another.

There are at least three aquariums you can build, develop, and maintain. I’ve seen the Pirate’s Cove, and the Coral Reef… and there’s at least one other that I haven’t seen yet. I say “at least” because there very well could be bonus aquariums available at the later stages of the game. Check out the preview video below for more fishy-sims-goodness with Fishdom!

Enjoy the preview video below!

Download the free trial of Fishdom by clicking here!

Members of the game club can buy this game for as little as $6.99.

Click here to start receiving your game club discounts today!

I’ve been looking for a new game to keep me occupied, since I’m hosting a big birthday sleepover this weekend, and this is on my list of games to buy. I know that the birthday girls (my twin daughters turned 13 years old today!) are really into working out and healthy habits, so this might even be one that they’ll enjoy playing. They’ll probably be better at it than I am, at least that’s how reality is playing out with the “healthy habits” thing. LOL

After playing the one hour free trial download (which is full version), the only thing that really irritated me about the game was the fact that you can’t cancel moves that you’ve planned ahead for. There is absolutely no room for wrong clicks in this game, but I guess they kind of make up for that by allowing you to replay the levels until you’re satisfied with your result. I will soon find out if achieving a “perfect” on every level unlocks anything down the road, like in other games of this sort. A “Perfect” round is signified on the map with a little trophy for that level… otherwise you receive a bronze, silver, or gold star instead.

Check out the preview video below!

Fitness Frenzy time management game

Download a full version trial of Fitness Frenzy for free! [Click here]

Remember, if you’re a member of the game club, you can buy the full version unlimited for as little as $6.99. Receive your game club discounts and used them on Fitness Frenzy, or any other game I write about!

View the video trailer below!

Use the official Strategy Guide to track occurrences and reports in the city of gondoliers. The Nancy Drew Strategy Guide is written in a special format to keep the ending a surprise. Complete the game and improve your puzzle skills with Nancy Drew: The Phantom of Venice Strategy Guide.

* Official Nancy Drew Guide
* Easy to understand
* Detailed tips and tricks

Beyond the bright piazzas and open markets of the Venice Carnevale lurks a masked thief. Despite months of investigations, the Italian police remain helpless as stolen treasures vanish in the night. The authorities have asked you, as detective Nancy Drew, to join the case and infiltrate a dangerous crime syndicate. Can you catch the phantom thief before he or she destroys the heart of Venezia? During your adventure, you’ll discover a list of “not so usual” suspects:

Colin Baxter
An art restorer, he loves mosaics. He is restoring Ca Nascosta for a small amount of money. He also has a crush on Nancy.

La Contessa Margherita Fauberg
A very wealthy woman, owner of Ca Nascosta, she inherited a large sum of money when her husband passed away.

Helena Berg
A journalist and a specialist on reporting high profile crimes, she is also an expert on the failures and successes of crime rings.

Enrico Tazza
Owner of the Casa dei Giochi or House of Cards, he is originally a member of the Machiano Crime Syndicate.

Antonio Fango
A prime suspect on the case. You never get to talk to him, as you have to spy on him.

Second Chances

Like all Nancy Drew games, there are fatal accidents you can make, causing you to press the second chance button.

* Inputting the incorrect combination at Zattere
* Being stung by too many bees when picking flowers
* Not hiding in time in Fango’s office
* Not dodging the urn
* Getting caught stealing the sapphire

Lazy? Eh… maybe, but I sometimes find the change from the normal match three game mechanics very welcome. My favorite game with this type of matching component remains Magic Shop, so if you enjoy the alternate matching, give that a shot… it’s still the best IMO.

This game tries to make up for a lack of story line, or interactivity other than the matching groups with really cool graphics. Special effects during game play are better than most, and the progress between levels is a pretty cool reward for completing each puzzle.

After playing the full version trial download, I can see that the bonus puzzles are probably the most challenging aspect of this game. I can also predict that they are the most frustrating.

I enjoyed the graphics effects of this game, and was really surprised when my one hour was up, it went really fast.

Overall, I still prefer Magic Shop with it’s time management aspect, and ability to upgrade items available to customers, but I’m sure that’s just a personal preference. Enchanted Cavern is sure to please the Match 3 enthusiast.

Screen shots:

Along with the activity modes available in this game, there are two modes of arcade type game play… a platformer game that operates like an Etch-A-Sketch, and a brick buster game. Both modes of game play require you to “draw” a line for Knobby to either walk on, or bounce off of. The quest mode (platformer game) brings you through an adventure where you need to rescue your friend (the other “Knob”) from the wicked witch. You draw lines for Knobby to walk on to proceed through the levels, and block him from dangerous critters.

The “Bounce” game is a brick buster where you draw lines for Knobby to bounce off of so that he can collect the gems at the top of the screen. I’ve never seen a game that operates this way, but can see how much kids are going to love it. It’s a little to “cute” and simple for my tastes, but I’m pretty sure that my 13 year old twins would have fun with this one, so I think I’ll surprise them with it tomorrow! I can tell I’ll be printing out lots of Knobby drawings!

Treat the young ones in your life to a summertime computer activity full of interactive fun… download a free trial here.

You start out as a peasant girl, with little armor and weaponry. At the beginning of the game you get to choose your hairstyle and skin tone in the Salon, while you get to choose your clothing (and later, your armor, weapons, and magic items) in the Shop. Everything has a cost, of course, so gold coins are available throughout the Match 3 game play. The game play is more strategic in this Match 3 game than you might be used to… match swords to attack, match magic hats to gain the mana that powers your magic spells, match leaves for experience points to gain levels… much like a typical role playing game.

Strategy isn’t left to the Match 3 portion of the game, though. As you gain experience, and gold, you’re able to purchase armor and weapon upgrades of which there are plenty to choose from. Each item has it’s own properties, such as adding to your defense or attack ability. Some items even have magical abilities such as fire, ice and poison! Before every battle, you have the ability to configure your armor and weapons to best match the foe you’re about to fight. For some, you may need more fire magic because the monster has extra defenses against fire, etc.

What a fun game this is! I’m totally addicted, and have already completed the quest to save my brother once, on the easiest level, “Normal”. My fighter reached level 29, I want to see if I can get a higher level than that with a new one on the “Heroic” mode… fighting in the Arena is another way to increase your levels! Once I finished that, an Arena became available (it very well may have become unlocked before that, and I just didn’t notice because I was so enthralled with the game) where you can battle the individual monsters outside the Quest mode.

There is no time limit per round, so you have time to plan your strategy. However, there is a penalty for making a “wrong” match, meaning the pieces you choose don’t actually match at least three pieces. You gain an extra turn for matching four or more, though… and when you match four or more swords, you attack with extra damage. I won’t say any more, because I don’t want to ruin some of the surprises this game holds in store for you, but I will say that this is a downright bargain for the $6.99 Game Club price! Download your free one hour trial here.

Screen Shots: