Hey Howdy Hey Tappers!
Lately it seems, that with event on top of event, TSTO has become predictable. Often times we can figure out what’s going to happen in the game before an event even hits. Let’s face it it’s all become a bit monotonous.
An Event hits, there’s going to be some element of excitement during Act 1…Act 2 hits that excitement level dwindles a bit, since really Act 2 is a replay of act 1…and by the time Act 3 hits everyone is so bored and over the event that we just want it to be over already. But it wasn’t always like this…
EA used to do some super cool things with events (and in some cases they still do). These cool elements made TSTO stand out from other freemium games…and honestly I’m not sure why they stopped with some of them.
While I’m sure many of us have different opinions about what’s cool and what’s not…I think having played this game for nearly four years and blogging about it for just about three years gives me a unique perspective. Heck I’ve been moderating your comments about what y’all like and dislike about this game for three years. 😉
So here’s my take on some of the coolest elements EA ever added to TSTO…
–Stonecutters, the original one in 2014, was by far the coolest, most engaging event to hit TSTO. It hit before events were broken up into Acts. There was one set list of prizes to earn, BUT there were twists and turns and different elements to unlock various other prizes.
The best element of the original Stonecutters Event? The Sacred Parchment puzzles. Each day a new riddle would unlock involving a character and a task for said character. Figuring out the riddle and completing the task would earn you even more prizes than what was listed on the original prize track. It got people talking and engaging with various gaming communities, it was different and most importantly it was fun.
EA hasn’t done this since…and it’s shame. They tried with Christmas 2014…but it missed the mark. It didn’t have that same element of mystery that the Stonecutters riddles did. Santa’s Daily Tasks for Christmas 2014 simply listed a task to complete and you had to do it to earn prizes. This was cool, but with Stonecutters only giving clues it made you think and engage.
The Stonecutters Sacred Parchment prizes are still far and away one of the coolest things EA ever did in TSTO. And they really should bring that back for future events.
–Feeding the Trolls from September 2013. This was probably one of the coolest, non-event, things EA ever did in TSTO. Not only did they outright say via the in-game dialogue when the Halloween Event would be hitting but they called out various bloggers, forum posters and hackers in the dialogue as well. It showed EA was aware of what was going on in the community of TSTO. It showed that they were engaged in what the players were thinking…and it was just down right awesome.
All you “newer” players, trust me on this one…everyone who played during the fall of 2013 thought it was awesome, in one way or another, and many still talk about it to this day. This was one of the coolest and engaging things EA ever did in TSTO.
-Community Prizes…the right way. Community Prizes (originally started in 2013) are/were what make TSTO a game like no other. The entire Community of TSTO working together to earn a special set of prizes. No other, popular, game brings that element of everyone play together to their events. And it’s really a shame that EA stopped doing this. It was incentive to visit your neighbors, engage with them…work together for a common goal. And some of the community prizes were just freakin’ awesome!
It’s a shame EA’s stopped adding the Community Prizes as an element of TSTO Events. Halloween and Christmas 2013 are some of my favorite events in TSTO because of those “extras”. (even Tap Ball last year) And they really gave a purpose for the social element in TSTO….
Community prizes were one of the coolest things EA ever did in TSTO…and I really wish they would bring them back.
-Neighbor interactions during Events. Having played various other mobile games they all have some element of social/neighbor interaction…but only TSTO does it, in my opinion, the right way. 
For many TSTO events of the past they’d have a social element where not only do you help yourself by visiting neighbors…but you help your neighbor too. Often you could collect something from your neighbor, but leave them something to collect on too. For example…Christmas 2013 you could earn event currency from visiting your neighbors BUT you could also leave them a gift. And when they opened that gift they’d find event currency for themselves. A perfect give and take…
This neighbor interaction, when it’s done as a give and take (and it’s not always done that way, as we saw with Superheroes 2), is one of the coolest elements of TSTO and what makes it stand out from other games.
-“Easter Eggs”…no not the kind the Easter Bunny leaves behind. No I’m talking about hidden elements in the game that, once discovered, often lead to free hidden donuts! I can’t really remember other games doing this..and it’s really a neat aspect of TSTO.
During Stonecutters you’d earn free donuts by tapping on the table while the characters were signing the Stonecutters song, Halloween 2013 (and more recently Deep Space Homer) you could earn donuts by completing a hidden task and various other events have had these hidden easter eggs in them. It’s super cool and makes the game fun and exciting when you uncover these hidden bonuses!
“Easter Eggs” continue to be one of the coolest things about TSTO.
Of course with nearly 4 years of content EA has done a variety of cool things to TSTO…Discounted Gil Donut Deals, regular free donuts, the Monorail and loads of other things. The list above is simply my take on some of the coolest things about TSTO..and what makes it stand apart from other games. Now if only EA would bring some of these super cool elements back…
Do you remember these things? What would you say is the coolest thing EA ever did in TSTO? Which from the above list is your favorite? What would you like to see them bring back/add? Sound off in the comments below, you know we love hearing from you!
Stonecutters was what totally hooked me on the game! I missed Christmas 2013, but started playing the week after when I found out there was a Simpsons game. I didn’t become a daily player though until Stonecutters. I loved the riddle thing, though I finally figured out I didn’t have enough characters to finish it. Still, I had great fun guessing them & I figured all of them out by looking at the characters I didn’t have, but knew from the show. So far, Stonecutters was my fave event and both Superheroes & Tapball were my least fave. RachelS
Ah the good old days 😉
Yeah I too really enjoyed the stonecutter riddles!!
Now that we have the monorail back and a tunnel through the mountain are they going to give us a “Y” section so we can join back onto our original track.
I’d rather say there will be Act3 with another one tunnel to let us come back on tracks
The stonecutters event is what brought me to TSTO in the first place and I was so sad that I missed so much of it because I wasn’t at a high enough level so whenever there’s elements brought in for sale I buy them. I wish they’d bring it back! I loved figuring out the clues and doing what I could.
I hate the super hero events, actually stopped playing for awhile because of it, but that’s just me and my general unlike of super hero things
Hi everyone! I agree it has seemed a little “lackluster” lately. Superheroes 2 was obviously supposed to be a kind of “suicide squad” Simpsons Style, but really fell flat in my opinion. The character bonuses were all either costumes or so obscure as to seem irrelevant (king coal anyone?) most of the other bonuses seemed better suited as first tier Halloween prizes (snake tree, x-ray machine, etc…) The battles got tiring and pointless in my opinion, and at the end I was doing it for the sake of doing it. Nearly everything from that event is now languishing in my inventory.
Also…COME ON EA! WHERE IS THE LUCY LAWLESS IN A MYLAR BAGGIE CHARACTER! I was soooooo hoping that it would be there this time! I mean we have literally EVERYTHING else from that episode!
My favorite event was the Stonecutters also. And I enjoy helping my neighbors. This last event I wasn’t really able to help them in any way. As for the prize wheel, it was a pain, but when you landed on what you wanted, it was exciting. No, the riddles of the Stonecutters was the best. And I don’t want the events to be harder or longer, just more similar to the ones that were very successful.
I wish they brought Stonecutters back in some form. I missed that event (started playing shortly after Clash of Clones), and it definitely seems like the coolest one they ever made from what I read about it.
My opinion, coming up with the game in the first place was the best thing they ever did.
lol yes
EA sometimes hits relevant themes, like Clash of Clones, so how about Pokémon crossover, and you have to catch them in your neighbors towns. That would add a social aspect that had been lacking, and give us a reason to explore other towns.
I have a mountain with Homers head in it, how do I get the rest of the family?
Details in this post.
http://tstoaddicts.com/2016/05/20/the-end-of-level-updates-and-what-it-all-means/
I loved all the stuff you mentioned but I would add the snake eggs for neighbors from the original whacking day. I loved being able to write things or draw things in my neighbors town!
I was left a bit burnt out by this last event. I picked up the monorail tunnel last Wednesday and haven’t looked back since. I think EA was thinking that breaking the event up into acts would help change the pace, but really it’s just added to the monotony. I started feeling apathetic about throwing yet another pie or slamming the ground and seeing, YET ANOTHER DROWZEE?!?! How about throwing me a CUBONE?
The friend battles brought back a bit more need for interaction with neighbours, but it was lackluster and didn’t give any real incentive to the other players. In fact I only visited the same 3 or 4 neighbours which would guarantee a victory though out the event. After getting the Movie Lot, I barely left my own Springfield. In past events there was the ability to help others in their quest for stuff (hehe). This case I could have played the game with only one other active player. Which brings me to Community prizes? C’mon EA! Why get rid of an activity that better assures more people playing? Then asking for a stoopid number of donuts when re-introduced. You (EA, not TA) already know many players will shell out for the overpriced decorations.
I think I’ll lay low until the frenzy hits me again.
It may be the next event…
it may be the next season.
My train of thought derailed there a bit as you might have noticed. Ooops!
I started to play at the very beginning of the game in March 2012!! And still addict !
One cool thing at the beginning was that we had to steal the lemon tree from the neighbours town 🙂
The wacking day fun as well …
More outdoor animations for characters and building animations.
Shorter events (30 days) with holiday events ending the morning after the holiday, not 2 weeks after.
Bring back Stonecutters and give events more twists and turns, surprises, and interest.
I disagree with people that say they want the events to be “harder”. Harder just means you have to log in more often and do mindless boring tapping. I’m level 106 and play a lot throughout the day and lately I get the last prize on the last day just before the end. If you are ahead of the calendar then spend some time redecorating or something. There is already waaaay too much mindless time required to get all the prizes and I love this game. That’s my opinion.
Sounds like these people want more items that newbies don’t get to feel like they are better rewarded for playing longer/having higher levels and playing more. To satisfy those people maybe bringing back a bit of level prizes would help to reward them for their time on the game. I think making the events harder would be a mistake personally.
The prizes should be slightly easier to reach if they cut back on the event lengths. It’s hard for EA to please everyone though. There are so many differing opinions with different people “make events harder” “events are too long” more events” “events are too often” “make each event have original content” “bring back stonecutters” lol
I guess all we can do is keep asking for things and hope EA gives us all a little more of what we’re looking for with a good mix to satisfy everyone in one way or another.
You forgot to mention the PRIZE WHEEL.
But seriously though, someone needs to tell EA about this post. I feel like the structure of the events is on autopilot lately. It’s the little details that keep things fresh.
Ah the infamous prizewheel or “prize wHell”. Followed by the Easter basket roulette fail.
Hmmm… at the very least these got people excited or agitated about the game, rather than bored. Plus, how many of us can say we didn’t go the extra step of “overindulging” with in-game purchases just to get that one character, only to get another item for the inventory. There were no easy free doughnuts back then, either.
Something FRESH would be nice!