Hey Howdy Hey Tappers!
In a VERY strange twist…Christmas has hit our devices..at night?! Very odd for EA….
Anyway…currently Christmas is live on iOS, so hit up your App store and download the newest version..
Android users…don’t worry yours should be hitting very soon..you can download the update now!
Kindle users…yours shouldn’t be too far behind Android (I hope). (Any of our Kindle readers…please let us know when the update hits for you) it should be live for you now too! (Thanks guys for the feedback!)
More details as we go through everything…Details below the fold..
For now know that, YES Springfield is covered in snow. And 2 Mayor Quimby gets it started with Auto-start dialogue (Even if you don’t have him). And you’ll be tasked with building the Toy Workshop, which takes 12hrs. Workshop costs $2,000. AFTER you build it…that’s what kicks off the event.
This is also going to run like the Halloween Event. Where you use the workshop to get your prizes. It will be broken into two parts…
Ok guys…there is A LOT to this update. And it’s unlike ANY Christmas event in the past. I’m going to do my best to cover as much as I can in this post. Basically the basics. However, most of the stuff will be broken out into individual posts with more detail over the course of the event.
First little detail…the event is in 2 parts. Part 1 starts now and ends on Christmas Eve (12/24). And Part 2 starts on 12/24 and runs until the end of the event. We’re going to focus ONLY on part 1 in this post, since that’s what hitting now.
(Note: Images are coming…I’m flying solo at the moment so I’m focusing on getting the content up and then will have images up a little later…Update: Bunny is currently working on the rest of the images. It’s now after 1am here…and I’ve got work in the AM. So more details will be up in the morning. For now this should get you through the intro)
Santa has arrived in Springfield! He’s decided to move his Workshop to Springfield…and as mentioned above…your first task is to build the Toy Workshop..
Toy Workshop- $2,000. 12hr Build. 8×12 in size.
The Toy Workshop is the main hub for Christmas.
Christmas WILL NOT start until the Workshop has been built. So you won’t see any new items in the store until AFTER the Workshop has been built.
From the Toy Workshop you can have characters make Toys to generate presents.
So the new currency for this event is…Presents!
Various characters will have the ability to make presents at the Workshop. For starters only Homer and Lisa will have tasks there.
Earn More Presents…
If you have items from Christmas 2012/2013 they can help you earn MORE Presents.
NOTE: These will NOT start right away. Progress through the questline and bit and then the’ll start to generate gifts. In my A game I’m on Jingle Bell Wreck and they’ve started earning presents. ALSO…if they have cash over them already they probably have to be cleared to reset the clock for presents.
If you don’t have these…don’t worry there will be chance to win AND buy these down the road. (Winning is free…buying will cost donuts)
Here’s what helps…
Holiday Tree- 10 Presents/24hrs
Elf House- 5 Presents/10hrs
Present Depot- 8 Presents/4hrs
Now let’s take a look at the new store items…
This WILL have limited-time items …within limited-time items. However…EA learned it’s lesson from Halloween and the items that are super limited have timers on them!
So here’s what you can get in the store right now…
Limited-Time ending in 19 days…
(note ALL of these are returning from 2012 and 2013)
Festive Lawn Bell– $425
Festive Fancy Lawn Bell- $385
Festive Trash Can- 3 Donuts
Limited-Time….
Santa’s Village- 80 Donuts. Comes with Santa Homer
Christmas Frink’s Lab- 10 Donuts. Decorations for Frink’s Lab
Christmas Krabappel Apartment- 10 Donuts. Decorations for Mrs. K’s Apt
Christmas Muntz House- 10 Donuts. Decorations for the Muntz House.
Christmas Volcano Lair- 10 Donuts. Decorations for Hank’s Lair.
Claus Co- 90 Donuts. Earns $300, 30xp/ 12hrs
Egg Nog Bar- 60 Donuts. Earns $105, 11xp/ 3hrs
Santa’s Workshop- 70 Donuts. Earns $135, 15xp/4hrs
NEW NEW NEW!
King Winter’s Cave- 175 Donuts. Earns 1.5% bonus on all XP & Jobs. Comes with King Winter.
..Does have tasks and a Questline.
After you complete the first task…having Lisa and Homer make toys. You’ll be awarded Ice Princess Martin. It’ll be found in your inventory.
ALSO…after you’ve completed the first toy task and Homer starts pt. 3 of Jingle Bell Wreck…you’ll unlock the ability to place the Elf Cave
Elf Cave- Costs $500. This will give you Elves that will help you make MORE presents. (7×7 in size)
Now…HERE is where it’s like Stonecutters…..
Santa has daily tasks that you MUST complete each day to earn more prizes!
Each day you’ll be tasked with a daily task for Santa (note today there are 2 tunnels to complete). To complete them click view to see more into the tunnel and what you’ll have to complete.
Here’s Tunnel 1:
With Tunnel 1 you can earn:
Homer Fever Snowman
1 Extra Elf (to help you earn more presents)
And 100 Presents!
Complete all tasks in 24hrs to clear Tunnel 1.
Here’s Tunnel 2..
In Tunnel 2 you can win…
/
Brown House Christmas/Christmas Burns Manor (if you already have Brown House Christmas)
-1 Extra Elf (to help you earn more presents)
And 100 Presents!
Again..you have 24hrs to complete!
Note…you have more than 24hrs to complete and earn the 1st 2 prizes in each one. You have 24hrs to earn the 100 present bonus.
Completing tasks in these tunnels will unlock Apu and Frink’s abilities to make toys..
This is REALLY important: The Clock for 24hrs does NOT start until you’ve started the 1st tunnel task (in that tunnel). So DO NOT STRESS! Your clock will start when you’re ready to start it.
Also..the first set of tasks are really short and you’ll complete them in less than 6hrs. So don’t stress & don’t spend donuts!
Remember…there’s NO TIME LIMIT on getting the prizes. If you don’t complete it in 24hrs the only thing you’ll miss is the 100 present bonus. But you’ll still be awarded the prizes. So don’t stress over it!
Visiting Neighbors…
AFTER Part 9 of Jingle Bell Wreck…THAT’S the optimum time to visit your neighbors. At that point you’ll unlock the ability to send Feds to your neighbors towns and earn more gifts!
Tap the Fed Button in the top right corner to send them in your friends towns..
You can either tap on the presents on their own….OR use the Fed Button. You can only do either or. If you use the Fed Button you’ll earn bonus currency.
Questline…
After part 11 of Jingle Bell Wreck you’ll basically finish the main questline for now and see this popup….
Then you’ll get this task…
After you complete this task you’re out of tasks until Part 2…
Part 1 Prizes:
Christmas Float- 580 Gifts
Frosty the Hitman- 1200 Gifts
Toy Workshop Bell- 2300 Gifts
Sponsored Church- 3500 Gifts
Festive Light Plunger- 5500 Gifts
First Ever Christmas Tree- 8,000 Gifts
Bonestorm Santa- 10,800 Gifts
Nativity Scene- 14,000 Gifts
What happens when you collect all the prizes?
Well….you can earn donuts!!!
I’m not quite there yet…but my guess is once you’ve collected 2,000 you’ll get a game similar to the Bonus Level Up game.. I will keep you posted
Well my friends that’s all the basic details on Christmas for now…I’m going to be updating this post with a few more details and images throughout the night, so keep checking back!
What do YOU think of the Christmas update? Anything your excited to see? Thoughts on the way this event is setup? (like a combo of Halloween and Stonecutters) Any decos you hope to see? Sound off in the comments below, you know we LOVE hearing from you!
Hey I have a question I completed the second tunnel and did not receive the burns home….. Why is that?
Did you go check Burns Manor? It is just lights for it.
First comment never got out of mediation. Yesterday all taps in a neighbor’s town seemed to give presents. Today for a while they gave presents but nothing in the last 5 towns (though still clicking present icons). Is there a limit on presents from neighbor town per day? Called EA and they were not aware of limits or a problem but the guy was not very knowledgeable so advice would be appreciated.
It is not public. This is our results.
http://tstoaddicts.com/2014/12/05/how-to-visit-neighbors-during-christmas-2014/
is anyone else having problems playing? The game keeps crashing on both my iPad and iPhone. I’ve completely missed the first timed event. I’ve already opened a ticket with EA…it’s so frustrating
Yes. Many
Hello,
I was wondering if you all knew when the doughnut “deals” will happen? I really want a few things that will help now and in the future (like Frink) and 300 is just not enough (btw one can get 600 in the other game same price). I’m limited on funds lol. Thank you Bunny, Allison, and Wookie 😄
Nope. The ones we just saw were VERY out of place. Deals are usually quite rare and NOT announced. They just show up.
Sorry Allisa I mean. Gotta love auto correct 😊
Thank you Bunny. I was hoping maybe 😌
Hope this question hasn’t been asked yet. Does anyone know at what time of day the next tunnel becomes available? If you know list the time with your time zone please. Thanks for the help.
Round same time each event 8GMT aka bout 3am EST
I just bought King Winter and wondered when his Questline starts, or do I need to free someone up?
We will post walkthroughs later.
I had a feeling why it hadn’t started yet, it needed Homer free.
Does King Winter’s Cave have a payout everyday? Or just a % bonus?
And, is he considered a premium character, ie. 50% more on tasks…?
Thank you!
Just a decoration. No payout outside bonus. He cost donuts…so of course he pays premium. 🙂
Anyone else notice one of the elves on the load screen looks like professor farnsworth? Lol. Also daily player add me Landshark11
A bunch of us agree with this.
Has anyone noticed that the Farnsworth Elf isn’t always there? I saw him too but now he’s gone. Maybe I’m just crazy.
So any thoughts on the Virtual Reality Helmets that Frink can make? I don’t have him in the game right now, but does this make him worth getting? It says it “makes twice the amount of presents.”
He’ll earn 4 gifts/4hrs instead of 2 like the others. But any premium characters that can make gifts will earn 4 instead of 2. We’ll have a break out soon 🙂
Anyone else having problems with tunnel tasks? I have completed parts 1&2 but the third option is grey. I paid the 2 donuts to speed up the first day but I don’t want to have to do that for the whole event. Should I contact EA or is this a glitch that others have experienced? Thanks addicts!
I saw this too. Close out and try to go back in again. Also, make sure you tap on the Santa task icon on the task menu to the side. Will be a Santa Head icon. Then try to go back in by the icon in the top right.
Thanks for the tip! I’ll try that tomorrow!! 🙂
I’d noticed a similar thing during Halloween. It wouldn’t count the kids as trick or treating unless I accessed it through the icon.
Really happy that EA choose for a stonecutters kinda price system since I wasn’t happy with the halloween event price system. Because eventhough I play multiple times a day I didn’t get 50% of the prices done. This seems much more doable and for me that means more fun. Love the snow just as much as last year. It seems even prettier but that could just be my happiness with it 😉 I hope everyone enjoys this TSTO event as much as I will!
Off-topic technical question: if I want to play on the same account on both my iPad and my Android phone, can that be done? I heard the cross device syncing in TSTO wasn’t great before. Don’t want to accidentally corrupt my game file.
Shouldn’t be a problem at all. I switch between devices often.
Does anyone know what you get if you already have the elf house
Another elf house which will earn you presents.
After updating for Christmas when I try and play I get the tap to continue screen then goes back to my home screen on both iPad and iPhone 5
As usual EA trying to cash in without checking game works first 🙁
All we can suggest is to try the usual troubleshooting for laggin/Crashing issues. Sorry.
For some reason my earlier post isn’t getting moderated – let’s hope this one will!
After some research with people who contacted EA by phone over this, it seems that our Origin Accounts don’t work because our last save-file is corrupted which happened to ALOT of people within the past 24 hours.
One person had his resetted to two days ago and it worked again, but of course all his process was gone and he didn’t get any reperations for that loss.
If they would reset mine i would lose all the christmas process + several donuts i bought and spent.
Still hoping EA can fix this problem with ORIGIN without resetting everyones save-data, if they can’t i expect reperations as i spent real money which would be gone then.
I suggest everybody to contact EA to put on more pressure!
If they do reset you (it’s happened to me), ask EA for things you missed. They’re usually quite good about hooking folks up.
Good advice. I sent an email to help but I will post to on forum too. I tried all the same things with the same re results. Can log in anonom butnot s myself
Your not alone. I play on Android I haven’t played since I woke up to check my tunnel quests which was 6am, its now 4pm and still no luck. I tried uninstall, clear data, clear cache, deleting apps for more memory and nothing works. I hope my cash and donuts are still there. I contacted EA thru chat, e-mail and “call me” option but no answer yet. All I can do is play the waiting game now *sigh*
Many are getting it. Hang in there. Supposedly some patches being worked on.
Same issues here on Android tablet and phone. I can get in when not logged in Origin, but as soon as I log in, go straight to tab/phone home page. I updated and played about 12 hours yesterday, closed app and have never gotten back in. Did hard close, uninstall/install 3 times, tried second device (Android phone). Opened ticket with EA, phone option, phone rang….silence….dial tone.
talked to EA….known issue….contact again if not fixed by Monday.
It’s been 24 hours and I’m in withdrawal….Monday?
Word is they are working on some patches.
I am in the same situation as you, Paul. I tried to contact EA thru chat, “call me” and e-mail but still no luck. I even tried that whole uninstall, clear cache, clear data and removed apps just in case it was memory and still in the dark. The waiting game is all I can do, very frustrating though. *sigh*
The same exact thing is happening to me but I am on Android. Happens with both my tablet and phone. So mad 🙁
Does this on my android – toshiba- too.
I mean it shuts down everytime. Cannot play for a day.
I can’t access my game at all!!!!! I sent you guys an email.
EA is working on some patches. Hoping they help.
Did anyone else notice that the opening screen features professor Farnsworth and possible scruffy elves?
Also, is there a limit on how many gifts we can get from neighbors like there was in the Halloween event? And will the freezes and minor game crashes while going through my neighbors smooth out?
It is the way the elf was drawn long ago in the Simpsons TV series. 🙂
http://tstoaddicts.com/2014/12/05/how-to-visit-neighbors-during-christmas-2014/
EA is working on patches
Yesterday all taps in a neighbor’s town seemed to give presents. Today for a while they gave presents but nothing in the last 5 towns (though still clicking present icons). Is there a limit on presents from neighbor town per day?
http://tstoaddicts.com/2014/12/05/how-to-visit-neighbors-during-christmas-2014/
First of all, love your site, visit it daily!
Now i know i’m not the only one with this huge problem coming from ORIGIN ORIGIN you ask? Because i can play anonymously (starting new).
But when i use my Origin Account it crashes while the Donut is spinning.
The EA forum is full of people with the same problem from all devices, this is so frustrating, especially since all of the people will miss alot of the christmas goodness!
How i’m 100% sure it’s a problem from ORIGIN:
I tried:
– Updating my iPad Air
– Deleting Tapped Out (twice!) and installing updating all new again
– I made 10GB space on my iPad
Nothing works. I hope EA fixes this problem very soon! I started the christmas quests yesterday and finished some, and then all of the sudden it stopped working!
Please everyone else who has this problem, post in the EA forums to get their attention and put on pressure (their customer service doesn’t help)
Thanks in advance!
I understand being patient and rush hour and all that but I just wonder if EA is gonna compensate those of us who are behind bc we can’t get it. It’s screwing up getting my tunnels done, getting thru to b able to use Feds, visiting neighbors….that’s a lot of $, gifts, FP, & cld even cause us to miss out on tunnel prizes. I am needing to go in and tap to complete task 3 on my tunnel and my time is steady ticking away. 🙁
Definitely ask EA… they are good about restoring missed stuff. I speak from personal experience unfortunately.
Mine keeps crashing and won’t let me log in. I’ve deleted the app and reinstalled it 5 times already. Its really starting to bum me out. I’m going through withdrawls. Is anyone else having this problem? Or is it just me? What should I do?
Many are. LOTS of issues causing it. All we can suggest is keep alerting EA
Wait a minute…….Since when did Santa have a task on him if you tap on him. It’s a 4hr task to “eat milk and cookies”?
http://tstoaddicts.com/2014/12/05/characters-in-the-christmas-spirit-gift-earning-tasks/
Yeah. I saw that a bit ago. My comment apparently came right after the update hit today, and before the post was made.
Cool, such a big update, and so much info to get through, missed that one 🙂
I still can not get into my C game. I know the link to contact EA is somewhere on here but I can’t find it. Would you please post it again? Thanks
http://tstoaddicts.com/2014/01/14/troubleshooting-101-contacting-ea/
Just noticed in my game, but had not seen it mentioned in posts, Santa also has a 4 hour task to eat cookies and drink milk, thought I’d mention as it means more daily presents…
http://tstoaddicts.com/2014/12/05/characters-in-the-christmas-spirit-gift-earning-tasks/
I asked this in the tunnel thread but I’ll asked here in case that thread is too old now. Here goes: What if I don’t start say, tunnel 4 until day 5? Can I do both 4 & 5 on the 5th day?
thanks
You sure can.
🙂
Is there a way to know how many elves you have once the ‘get 20 elves’ task has been completed and is no longer on the task list?
When you tap on the Toy Workshop, it tells you how many elves you have working.
I guess it was naive of me to think that this year, for once, EA would realize there are people other than Christians and give us a hanukkah update. They could use Krusty. Sigh.
You’re not alone in wishing EA would bring the Festival of Lights. Total missed opportunity.
a Festivus for the rest of us
Lol… I just screenshot Comic Book Guy in his Festivus garb. Keep an eye out for it in the future.
Just updated & have 12 hrs til Xmas really begins. Question, should I hit my neighbors towns now or wait 12 hrs? Not sure if I can do anything to earn til part 9 of the quest(if I read your post correctly)
I’d wait. You can earn presents right away. It’s the Feds option that unlocks during Part 9.
I like the way EA has divided the tasks into daily chunks.
Santa has a 4 hour eat milk and cookies task with a 2 gift reward now, BTW.
In game update right now!!!
Santa now has a 4hrs task “Eat milk and cookies” that pays out 2 presents !
Quick question, I completed tunnel 2 and tunnel 3 and unlocked Christmas burns manor and Christmas compound, respectively, but they are nowhere in my inventory and I can’t change the current buildings to the Christmas version, am I missing something?
Did you look ON the building? Mine automatically went right on. You can hit the +/- to open the info for the house then swipe left n right to get it to go on n off them. If not there…let EA know.
I found them, I wasn’t paying attention and wasn’t even noticing the buildings automatically put them on there. I just thought I would have to change it. I had a Doh! moment!
Lol. It’s OK 🙂
I am disappointed
Santa Homer doesn’t earn a higher $/XP rate; I was assuming he would.
Am considering contacting EA for a refund. Might just keep it though