REMINDER: Just a quick little reminder…Lady Duff will be leaving our stores tomorrow morning (6/30). So if you’re planning on picking up this Skin for Duffman make sure you do so before time runs down! You can check our our Should I Buy post on Lady Duff here, and the rundown (including walkthrough) here.
Hey Howdy Hey Tappers!
Tap Ball is sweeping the streets of Springfield and the players are bringing in the bucks! Amateur Bucks that is! So what can you do with all those Amateur Bucks you’re earning? Spend them at, what else, the Amateur Shop of course!
The Amateur Shop is basically the crafting option for this event. Except instead of having to collect multiple items to craft 1 thing, you only need to collect Amateur Bucks (
). So it’s like crafting and shopping in one. If you have enough Amateur Bucks to buy something, you can.
So now let’s go over all of the options in the Amateur Shop for Act 1 and break down all of the “goodies” you can pick up with your Bucks…
As always, let’s start with a few basics…
How do I access my Amateur Shop?
You can access the Amateur Shop via the game menu (bottom right corner, looks like this: 
). Once on that menu you’ll want to scroll the icons on the left side until you find the one with the Soccer Ball behind the glove and Amateur Bucks inside the Glove:
That will bring up your Amateur Shop…
How Do I Earn Amateur Bucks?
Well…at this point in the game we should all know how to earn them, but for those that need a reminder you can send characters on tasks and play Tap Ball to earn Amateur Bucks
How Do I Know How Many Amateur Bucks I Have?
In the same way you bring up the store, tap the Menu Icon (), you’ll see your Amateur Buck total at the top of that menu…
What Can I Use Amateur Bucks For?
Amateur Bucks can be used for two things…at least right now: Purchasing items in the Amateur Shop and upgrading your players. (details on that are on the how to play post)
Ok so now that we’ve covered the basics…let’s get into what’s actually IN the shop and if it should be worth it to you. Here’s a list of what you can pick up in the shop During Act 1….
Initially there are only FIVE items in the Amateur Shop. As you unlock more daily training prizes, more items will be added to the Shop. Here’s the initial list:
Obesotade 4Pack- 400 (Buy now price with No Bucks 27 Donuts)
Obesotade 6Pack- 600 (Buy now price with No Bucks 40 donuts)
Obesotade 12Pack- 1,200 (Buy now price with No Bucks 80 Donuts)
What Does it Do: All Obesotade revives your players, basically makes it so you don’t have to wait the 4hrs to play another game. We’ve got more details on it on our How to Play post, here.
Should I Buy?: In my opinion, no. You’ll earn some for free via daily tasks and I just don’t think it’s worth the Amateur Bucks (or donuts) to purchase Obesotade. So in my mind, pass on ALL Obesotade packages.
Stadium Fence- 325 (Buy now price with No Bucks 22 Donuts)
Size: 1×2
What Does it Do: Fencing for around your Stadium, just like every other fence in Springfield, just a different design. Can rotate all 4 ways and connects with other fences, just like every other fence in town.
Conform-O-Meter: Vanity +10
Should I Buy?: Not a bad item if you want to decorate around your Stadium. I do like the different style of fence, but be warned you’ll need multiples. So this might be something you want to wait on to get, this way you can see how many you want/need and how many bucks you’ll need to get what you want.
Football Uprights- 750 (Buy now price with No Bucks 50 Donuts)
Size: 1×3
What Does it Do?: Decoration for Springfield, looks great on some of those football fields many of you deigned in the past. These can also rotate all 4 ways, allowing you some design freedom with how you build your field.
Conform-O-Meter: Vanity +500
Should I Buy?: Another one I would pickup. Really adds a nice element to some existing designs. But again, you’ll most likely need 2 so plan your bucks accordingly.
And now let’s breakdown the items that will unlock as you complete Daily Training…
Single Bleachers- 900 (Buy now price with No Bucks 60 Donuts)
Size: 2×4
What Does It Do: Unlocks in Shop AFTER you’ve won the Bleachers as part of daily training. Bleachers for your sports fields in town. Can rotate all 4 ways, so you’re not limited in design. Also, unlocks The Longest Grind Questline (this is a side quest so you can ignore it):
The Longest Grind Pt 1
Homer starts
Purchase stadium improvements- x3 (can be purchase or earned via Daily Tasks. Improvements include: Fences, Lights, Bleachers etc)
The Longest Grind Pt. 2
Auto starts
Purchase stadium improvements- x8 (first 3 count towards this, so you’ll just need 5 more)
The Longest Grind Pt. 3
Auto starts
Purchase stadium improvements- x15 (first 8 count towards this, so you’ll just need 7 more)
The Longest Grind Pt. 4
Auto starts
Purchase stadium improvements- x20 (first 15 count towards this, so you’ll just need 5 more)
Conform-O-Meter: Vanity +100
Should I Buy?: You will earn a couple of these just as part of Daily Training, so personally I’d hold off until the end of the event to see if you need/want more of them for your town.
Stadium Lights- 1650 (Buy now price with No Bucks 110 Donuts)
Size: 3×3
What Does It Do: Unlocks in the shop AFTER you’ve won the lights from the Daily Training tasks. Lights for your Stadium. These can also rotate all 4 ways, so you won’t be limited in design plans.
Conform-O-Meter: Vanity +500
Should I Buy?: In my opinion these are pricey and again you’ll get some for free just for completing the daily tasks. Personally, I’d pass on adding more to my town.
Bowling Setup Machine- 4100 (Buy now price with No Bucks 273 Donuts)
Size: 3×2.
What Does It Do: Unlocks in the shop AFTER you’ve won it from the Daily Training Tasks. This is an animated decoration for Springfield. When you tap on it the pins fall and reset, as if it were at a bowling alley.
Conform-O-Meter: Vanity +500
Should I Buy?: In my opinion, no. Pricey and just not worth it. Plus you’ll still get one for free by completing the Daily Training.
The following item won’t unlock until 7/2, when you unlock it in the Daily Training Tasks…
Soccer Net- 1,800
What Does It Do: Unlocks in the shop AFTER you’ve won the net from the Daily Training tasks. Can also rotate all 4 ways, so you won’t be limited in design plans.
Conform-O-Meter: Vanity +500
Should I Buy?: You may want to add one net to your town so you can have an even 2 for a soccer field.
So now that we’ve covered the basics and what’s inside the shop, let’s talk about some more specific questions you may have…
Will the Shop Items Be Leaving When Act 1 Ends?
No, it doesn’t appear so. Just looks like MORE items will continue to be added to the shop as you unlock more daily training prizes, but the old ones shouldn’t disappear.
A good clue about this? Look at the bottom of the Shop….
It just says Season ends when the event ends. Usually if the items are disappearing they’ll have more of an indicator that you only have ____ amount of time left to get them.
Should I Buy Items, or Upgrade my Players?
Personally, knowing that the items will be in the store for a while, I think it’s much better to upgrade your players every chance you get until they’re 5-Stars. At least until you have 4 players that are 5 stars. This way you can play other 5-Star players and earn even more bucks/fingers as you have a greater chance of winning those matches.
So, my opinion? Upgrade, upgrade, upgrade. (at least 4 players fully)
And that my friends concludes the details for the Amateur Shop!
What are your thoughts on the shop? Any items you’ll be picking up? Any designs you can’t wait to try in your Springfield? How’s your buck earning going? Sound off in the comments below, you know we love hearing from you!
My soccer net does not rotate. :/
I know the longest grind is a side quest but I am confused. I am on part 2 that says I need 8 items. Have the first three 1 stadium light and 2 bleachers. Just won the soccer net in the daily challenge. So that would be number 4? ( or does that not count towards this task?)
It is not a Stadium Decoration. The net is for designing elsewhere. Stadium Decorations are only those tagged “Stadium” type items. Like… Stadium lights, Stadium fence, Single Bleachers (for the Stadium), etc. I do not see the Net nor the Uprights fitting in as they would go ON the field of the Stadium, and not around it to improve it’s looks.
Why would you ever upgrade the players? Say you already upgraded them to 3 stars, and wanted to get them to 5. Each player would need 912 bucks to do it (140+188+242+302). A team of 4 would be 3648 bucks. Now instead of just going to a 5 star player’s towns and settling for the loss of 2 bucks (but still getting the 20 buck bonus), you would get, at best, 8 more bucks for the win. For the team of 4, it would take 456 games to break even. 4 hours per game means 76 days of playing before you get more bucks back than you put in. Doesn’t make sense. Only way it would is if there was some really cool bonus decoration for getting a team to 5 stars, but there’s not.
It’s a 8 buck difference between a loss and a win and it’s a 30 point difference in prize currency…
Loss = 2, Tie = 5, Win = 10, so the difference is 8 between a loss and a win. Yes, there is a difference of 30 foam fingers, but do you care? It was not too difficult to reach the total needed for Burns. Now the overtime bonus of 4000 foam fingers will give you 2 donuts on average, so the 30 extra foam fingers are like getting 0.015 donuts.
And that’s what happens when you read a comment too fast. Looked like you said it was a 2 buck difference.
Everyone can play how they way to play. I recommend upgrading at least 4 players, because it goes quick and there’s till a ton of time left.
Once you’ve been playing the game for a while, cash stops being much of an issue (unless you’re buying aspirational items or buying up land before you need it), so I think of it more as a guaranteed three donuts than an average of two. (I only wish I could convert cash to donuts more often!)
Obesotade makes no sense, either. Why pay 400 bucks to rush into another game that will pay you back 30, at most? Even the 27 donuts to buy a 4-pack is way out of line with the only 4 donuts required to refresh 4 players individually, if desired. Strange.
Well I never tell people to get that. Honestly it says…don’t buy this. Just EA’s way of trying to entice you to spend more $$$
I find it impossible to earn anywhere near enough bucks to upgrade the players, AND buy any of the items in the shop, despite being a regular player. I had the same problem with the Sideshow Bob game, it wasn’t possible to keep upgrading the Monsarno building, and buy the items I wanted. Am I doing something wrong without realising it?
It’s still really early.
I think I learned with each Event to hold off on “crafting” anything unless you absolutely need it ( or want it). It seems there is no time limit with regards to what you can “craft” ( we’ll see what I decide upon during the last day). I did enjoy reading this article (thanks) 🙂
So, just to be clear, we think that “Amateur Bucks” will remain the event currency for the whole event? We’ll continue to be able to earn them after Act 1? I’m pretty sure that’s the case, but I’d love some confirmation from the wizards who can see “behind the curtain”!
As far as I can tell yes.
I really dont understand why ea has these daily prizes when it costs almost 200 donuts to get some of these premium characters. I love love love this update but that’s the only complaint I have about it. I’m stuck in deciding if I should buy lugashi or Tatum or football nelson or what can you help me out alissa pls? I love what you guys do on this site I’m on it every day but this has to be bothering you guys too right?
So it offers something for those Premium Players that pay into the game to keep the “free” stuff coming and keep the game alive. 😉
Personally, I never really liked Tatum or Lugash that much. I only have Tatum from winning him in Whacking Day. Nelson, he is a costume. All are helpful in Tap Ball play and it is a good thing to have an extra hand or two when your Players have to recharge. I would say take a look at all the should I buys on them and see which one makes YOU the happiest to want in your town.
Thank you bunny
Never mind! I skimmed over the bit above that addressed my question. Thanks!
i’m spending all my bucks on upgrading players. Any thoughts on how far to go with that? I’ve got 7 players so far and waiting for one more.
Do you know if we can get lugashi when we earn him on daily tasks or is it a skin?
The Lugash you get with the daily tasks…if you don’t currently own lugash, nothing happens. If you have Lugash it unlocks his ability to play Tap Ball, but it’s not a skin or anything for him. Just unlocks the ability to play, kind of like Ned.
not sure if anyone has mentioned this, so if they have, I apologize in advance, gorgeous grandpa prance and preen task earns amateur bucks!
http://tstoaddicts.com/2015/06/25/tap-ball-101-amateur-buck-earning-tasks-act-1/
At first I was really uninterested as I’m not into any sport but I’ve been won over. I kind of like the way that this seems like event light. Still enough going on to keep it interesting but not to the point where I feel like if I work or sleep I’m missing out. The paseing is great, especially on the daily tasks. And the tap ball matches are a lot of fun. Glad I finally got 8 players so I can play twice every four hours.
I do see a lot of complaints for the need for a lot of premium characters. Even without them the game is designed that with moderate effort you can get all the good stuff. As a premium player however I feel we deserve some bonus so those who want to play for free can and with no ads.
OK, today’s task is “Make Soccer Lisa Work on Balance”. Except it isn’t an option available for Soccer Lisa.
It is an option for normal Lisa. So, inconsistency plus we lose earning amateur bucks on this.
As it states at top of main list “EA can change them at anytime”. They may have switched it to regular Lisa to ensure it flowed properly. Skin or not, still her. There were concerns it would require premium gymnast Lisa. So basic is good. 😉
I don’t understand your reply. I’m not talking about a list.
I am talking about the in game instructions that were there this morning when I started this task. In game, it tells me “Make Soccer Lisa” and when I click on “do it” it goes to normal Lisa. It is an in game inconsistency and a tap ball specific daily task for which we get no amateur bucks.
Bunny’s reply makes sense. She’s basically saying EA can change it, so EA probably changed it from Soccer Lisa to regular Lisa and forgot to change the wording. It happens from time to time. It does stick that you don’t get Amateur Bucks for it, but several of the challenges you don’t get Amateur bucks for.
Alissa, yes, I understand that EA can change things as we go along. I just didn’t understand the relevance of that to an in game inconsistency within a task. I wonder if those who already have gymnast Lisa will see the same or not ?
I have gymnastics Lisa and, yes, it was the same…used regular Lisa as her house. (Got to admit, I was a little surprised that she wouldn’t use her balance beam to practice her balance!)
I don’t think we got amateur bucks yesterday for Apu’s daily task with the bowling pin setting machine either, so nothing new there.
I was just about to say the same lol 😀
One strategic 0-donuts rush upgrade will more than make up for the 10 amateur bucks we miss from Lisa. No big deal. The soccer Lisa thing doesn’t bother me much either-it’s an indoor task so there’s really no difference.
Plus you get the chance at a bunch of foam fingers for the 24-hour completion, which just gets you that much closer to bonuts!
I like this event very much! Tapball may well be my favorite sport! Great googly wooh! What to do with all these flags!?!? A tappers town is only so big… Thanx a ton for the event rundown tsto Addicts!! Always helpful n heartful! Got to go, my pizza is burning…
Upgrades seems to be the way to go with the amateur bucks, but I’m struggling to earn them. The computer keeps matching my 3 1/2 star team against ones and twos which are easy wins and low bonus bucks.
With only four or five players you also need to spend on recharges to get more games in a day or it is even slower to earn.
Have you tried playing neighbors? That shows your their ranking before you select them…
No neighbours. What I am now doing is rematch or revenge matches on higher star random picks who have beat me where I was the defensive team. You can find these in your career stats for anyone who doesn’t know.
Then yes, it’s going to be hard to accumulate.
I can’t get into my game. The game starts brand new from level 1. Is anyone else having this problem?
It happens from time to time, your game is not lost. Hard close and restart TSTO, if that doesn’t work uninstall and reinstall. If that still doesn’t work log into your town from another device, that’ll kick it back to normal. If you don’t have another device, or you’re still having problems, contact EA and let them know.
There’s literally no where to put that bowling contraption that makes any sense besides next to the Bowlerama, which I don’t have 😒
By the way does it annoy anyone else when trying to move an item that you just tapped on that it’ll literally click on EVERY SINGLE item around it, even things that are pretty far away, before finally clicking on that item??? And I have very small hands so it’s not like I have big sausage fingers clickin all over the place lol.
Yes it drives me up a wall!
I play with a stylus, which is a very small area and works fine for all other apps but in this game the accuracy is terrible. You can end up selecting things up to ten squares away. Try aiming for the base of the item rather than the middle seems to help a bit.
and turning off the other categories eg buildings people and roads when you are moving fences
It is maddening and such a time suck!
Is there any way to free up Lisa I need her for today’s daily task?!
If possible… store the building she’s in.
Here’s a tip to avoid similar problems in the future… Keep this page open or bookmarked and don’t send any of your event characters on tasks before consulting the chart to see the next day’s daily task, first: http://tstoaddicts.com/2015/06/26/tap-ball-101-daily-training-challenges/comment-page-1/
To me, it is the single most important article here for this event (at this stage)!
You saying my posts aren’t important? I’m crushed! 😉
Well, think of it this way, Alissa…. You need air to live…won’t make it more than a few minutes without it. But you also need water or you won’t last too long, either. That post was air. Your posts have been water. Still very, very essential (and extremely enjoyable when your mouth/throat is feeling a little dry, even if you’re not actually dying of thirst)!
There – does that help? 😉
lol absolutely 😉
I made a note to attach to my device on who to keep free
Tomorrow Tap Ball, Thursday Lisa, Friday Braniacs, Saturday Milhouse, Sunday Homer. Grrrr, losing all those Event $ keeping Lisa and Homer free on those days.
Sandra, you do yoga? Yoga has an important emphasis on breathing as without air, you will die in seconds. But you can go without food or water for a while. Good comment you have there !
No, no yoga, but I do know that I, personally, can’t hold my breath for more than about a minute, lol!
But seriously though…there’s an old survival rule of thumb that says you can go only 3 minutes without air, 3 hours without shelter (in a harsh climate), 3 days without water, and 3 weeks without food. Of course, that’s only from a purely life-and-death perspective, not a “feeling good” perspective!
Anyone else keep getting a push notification where Homer goes “Hey, hey stop what you’re doing and come play with me!” or something like that… it’s cute but the notification says “it’s been awhile.” but I’m constantly playing. I just got one not even 5 minutes after I opened the app, why is it popping up so much? Maybe a glitch?
Yea a lot of the notifications are glitching out over the last couple of weeks. Just randomly popping up even if they don’t apply.
I have a strange suspicion that some of these items will have a price drop similar to the ca
I have a strange suspicion that some of these items will have a price drop similar to the cactus patches in a previous event :p
(My finger slipped the first time I tried posting this) 😮
I think the main act of prizes is going to continue to be able to be earned after it changes over to act two on Friday. The clock says “new prizes added” not “hurry, prizes change”. Plus you can click between the three acts which you weren’t able to do in the past. Good option for players that are behind. We will only know for sure on Friday though.
i rather like the tap ball mini-game in this event. however, most of the prizes are disappointing, especially if you’re a freemium player.
i got two skins for premium characters i do not have, and most of the rest of the prizes are decos that have no bonus and don’t earn anything. they might look good in a playground next to the monkey bars and seesaw, but otherwise have little long term effect on the game.
Came back searching, what about a must buy fur the Oscar truck? Or am I missing it?
Do you mean a Should I Buy? I’m not doing one for it, with decorations it’s really about what YOU want in your town. Honestly, it’s not worth the donuts. It was once free…don’t buy it.
Oh No I have bought the truck as I think the multiplier is OK. I didn’t know it was free last time.
It’s a personal decision honestly, all decorations are. If I wrote a SIB post my recommendation would be to pass on it…but I say to pass on a lot of things and if you like it you’re still going to get it 🙂
It does offer a decent bonus, so you’re good 🙂
Oh OK. Thanks.
Anyone else still crashing like mad? Happens every time I try to play against a neighbour.
Not sure if this has been pointed out, but if you get enough amateur bucks to be within 10 or 11 bucks of a character upgrade you can rush the upgrade for 0 donuts. This saves some bucks in the long run and allows for quicker upgrades.
Atleast it works this way in my game.
Yup, a few times in the comments and again in the how to play post 😉
A few times? Ever the diplomat, Alissa!
😉
Also gorgeous grampa and fit milhouse earn bucks
Hey everyone, I was wondering, right now I’m at 3 stars and it seems that I get more tickets if I lose to a five star player than if I win against a two star player. Is this true? Sometimes it seems like I win different amounts of tickets even tho outcomes are the same. I like this event, I’m just still a little confused about how it works. Thanx and have fun.
This post explains it all…
http://tstoaddicts.com/2015/06/24/tap-ball-101-how-to-play/
Look towards the bottom, under What’ the Payout…