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| Notification for Birthday Party update |
This is a box update, so the only addition is the Birthday Box for 24 gems. Opening it will result in one of nine floor decorations being awarded, with the biggest and best ones being the rarest. Over on the TeamLava Blog there's an image with most of the box's contents previewed:
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| Items from Birthday Box as shown on TeamLava Blog |
I've attached a number to each item so that it matches up with their respective titles in the following distribution list:
First Prize (1% chance)
- Birthday Bounce (1)
- Birthday Swim (2)
- Birthday Animals
- Pile of Gifts (3)
- Birthday Treats (4)
- Birthday Girl (5)
- Birthday Boy (6)
- Birthday Puppy (7)
- Birthday Clown (8)
Update: Stormie's Store has been redecorated with all of the box's content included. Take a trip to your most loyal neighbour to check out the items!
So what of the box? I have to admit that it's taken me by surprise - there was a Birthday Party update last June (complete with goals), so it's strange to now get more things for the theme over a year later. The bright colours are fine for a birthday party, but they're also more suited to a Summer style, and with Autumn fast approaching I have no plans to take the plunge in this box.
As ever, it's the first and second prizes which pull me in, with the Birthday Bounce and Birthday Swim both looking the part. My only niggle with the latter is that it looks like there's a child's head floating on a plate! In reality the kid is using an out-of-proportion inflatable ring! The Birthday Bounce has no such flaws, and each of these decorations would look the part in any garden scene.
The third prizes can be hit or miss. In this case I quite like the offerings, with the Birthday Treats in particular quite enticing. The reason for this is the ambiguity - it could be used in circumstances other than a birthday outlook; I'm thinking especially of Christmas.
Even the fourth prizes are decent here, although clearly none are worth 24 gems. The Birthday Puppy is another addition to the pets collection that some players will see as must-have. The other three pieces all feature a figure, and again the Birthday Boy is one which you could probably get away with for Christmas by placing him next to the tree.
It's a reasonable box, if a little out of place. It's not even as if you can really match up anything from it with stuff from the previous Birthday Party update since it only had five items, one of which was an appliance! I suppose I rate this as a middling sort of update - not as enthralling as last week's Summer offering but well ahead of the Glass theme from a fortnight ago!
Sometimes it's a relief to see a Box update that I'm not interested in. Takes the temptation away from spending gems that I've been trying to save for the more exciting seasonal updates coming our way.
ReplyDeleteThe Gifts Table item would be perfect for Christmas time! But as you mentioned, not for 24 gems.. That first prize however - what a winner!
I have to agree with you, as far as Boxes go this isn't a bad one, especially if parties are your theme of choice. Reminds me of the excellent Ice Cream Box update recently; great items, just the wrong time for me.
You think the next update will be Autumn related?
That word temptation! Once we head into Autumn and Halloween updates, you're going to find yourself in the mega dilemma of whether or not to spend hefty sums of gems on really nice items. Why a dilemma? Because of the knowledge that there could be something even better for Thanksgiving, Black Friday or Christmas. And with these seasonal themes not needed again until next year, there's no going back afterwards to top up on content. Take it from me - you''ll be doing some long hard thinking in the coming weeks!
DeleteNext week we're due goals, and considering that these have been one week wonders of late I sort of hope it isn't Autumn stuff. TeamLava have a track record of designing some great content for Autumn, so it would be nice if it lasts for several weeks! :)
You think it's possible that next week could be another update before Goals week? I took a look at the update history and there hasn't been a Box followed directly by Goals for almost a year, but there has been a few instances that the Goals don't come in till the 2nd Wednesday of the month...
ReplyDeleteIt's possible, but the norm is to have goals on the first Wednesday of the month which would be next week. Occasionally there have been five weeks between goal updates, so it's perfectly possible that we'll have to wait until the week after. Doesn't the uncertainty make it all the more exciting though?! :)
DeleteYes! It most certainly does. I much prefer having to guess :)
DeleteIt seems to me that a lot of times, both in RS and BS, the design team likes to under-represent themes for the exact purpose of coming back to them at a random time later. I think this has to do with the turn over in players. If they only did one mega birthday theme update, and didn't make it available to all players (which they won't do usually) then newer players would be unhappy about not getting it. And since I think TL games do have a high rate of turn-over, they must keep revisiting themes once in awhile.
ReplyDeleteI think that is why there seems to be such a disconnect in themes from week to week. They never do an all-inclusive theme to leave room for the next time it comes around.
Though I kind of dislike the randomness of it, I do see it as a positive. It gives me hope that the themes I really liked will come around again at one time or another (Egyptian! Jungle! Chocolate!).
I personally feel like back to school related goals might be neat. Though for players that are between school-age and having school-aged children, that would probably be disappointing and boring.
No one can please everyone all of the time, not even TL, so I just wait (im)patiently for the updates that will please me, and let others enjoy the ones they like.
The Birthday update really excited me (oldest turns 8 tomorrow) until I saw it was in a box. I thought the last birthday stuff was kind of ugly, and these colors were more appealing. Here's to hoping that when birthday theme comes around again, it will be more like the art in this box.
Good points. We've had similar experiences with the 'rolling back the decades' updates and the Old West themes. There are probably others too.
DeleteIdeally, I'd like to see themes lasting for 2-3 weeks as they have done previously. For each of the themes mentioned above this could have been done had the updates been grouped together. I guess I like the neatness of having each month associated with a certain theme!
But I do get your point - a birthday theme is something which is probably quite popular generally so it does make sense to return to it again, especially as the first birthday update was goals based (so the stuff is locked to newbies).
I must admit my thoughts on the game are often skewed in favour of old-timers who have seen it all before, if that makes sense. For example, if I see a new item costing 20,000 coins, I don't think 'oh that's expensive!' because I'm flush with coins. But back in the day it would have taken a certain amount of saving to get to that number of coins.
I've gone away off on a tangent, so will stop here! :)