Let’s start off with the fact that there has been plenty of “crazy” to go around here lately. And as the movie “A Beautiful Mind” taught us, there are many levels of “crazy” that border on genius. I think that one of things that attracts me most to crazy cat lady, is that she in fact borders on that line, and dares to step across it from time to time (stepping back to “normal” from crazy).
Aren’t we all just a little nuts about something in our lives? Say…oh…a digital game or something? But, I digress…
Eleanore (bet you didn’t remember she has a name) started out in life like many of us, with ambitions and dreams that are far above those of an average 8-year-old girl. According to the WIKI, “Eleanor Abernathy was a smart and ambitious young girl who wanted to be both a lawyer and a doctor “because a woman can do anything”. She was studying for law school at 16, and by 24, she had earned an MD from Harvard Medical School and a JD from Yale Law School. However, by 32, suffering from burnout, she had turned to alcohol, became obsessed with her pet cat, and would randomly take to cutting pieces of her own hair. By the time she was 40, she had assumed her present state as a drunken, raving lunatic. She once shared a cat with Moe.” (See her full life story HERE)
So, right away, there is something deeper and more substantive than the average Springfieldean. There is something endearing about someone who has found a way to deal the general insanity of the world (throwing cats), and has found an outlet for her unrequited love for humanity, by absorbing herself into another obsession. No. Not a mobile app game…CATS! Makes as much sense to me as loads of other things people do to cope.
But enough amateure psychology. What you guys really want to know is, “Should I BUY the Crazy Cat Lady Bundle or Not!!! Get to it already!!!!”
OK. Let’s take a look.
CCL first showed up in our game during the Easter 2014 update. Yes. The very event that drove a good number of players CRAZY! (Remember the wHell? Remember Shary Bobbins? Remember? Remember?) She was Premium at the time, and came with the Crazy Cat House. And later, during the Clash of Clones event, we were able to earn a “Cat-apult” that uses cats as ammo. Not being a cat person, I love being able to fling cats over the wall into the High School. But, call me crazy.
The original price of CCL.House bundle was 180 donuts. You can find Alissa’s original SIB HERE.
But right here…you can see why some of us long-time players may get a little “crazy” over the new bundle pricing. We spent 180 for CCL and the house.
If you DON’T Have CCL, you can get the bundle, including the house, AND the skin, for a NET price of 110 donuts (150 spent, with a 40 donut Rebate). CCL, House, and Crazy Iguana Lady Skin…for 11o donuts. That is a GREAT Bargain, compared to the old price. But, you don’t get the swamp.
If you DO have CCL, you are only offered the Swamp/CIL (Crazy Iguana Lady) skin for 110 donuts.
Yes. This is unfair to all longtime players who already own CCL. But, let’s not start another thread on “fairness.” Life isn’t fair. Ask Eleanor.
So…What are the Details? Well…they are a bit complicated, and the rewards are not evident, UNTIL you buy the bundle…which I did.
I’m gonna break this one down by option, because I do think there is a difference.
Bundle One- If You Have Crazy Cat Lady
Decoration: Foggy Swamp
Skin: Crazy Iguana Lady
Donut Price: 110
Size: 9×6
Conform-O-Meter: Tree-Hugging +200
Earns: Earns—regular task currency (for skin tasks as Crazy Iguana Lady) Earns Update Currency for Monster Battles
Pros
– Earns Update Currency for Battles
– Ads a new skin to Crazy Cat Lady with full list of quests
– Ads another “Spooky Decoration” with funny animation
Cons
-Swamp is a relatively small decoration with no earning power
– Cost is high for what amounts to a skin
– You likely don’t need her to meet daily/weekly THOH update goals
– Not Voiced…REALLY want to hear her babbling!!
She DOES Earn Battle Currency
Final Thoughts If you Already Have CCL: I bought the bundle, mostly because it was one of the few things in the update that peaked my interest. But, when I step back and look at this from a pragmatic view…unless you have donuts to burn…I’d pass. Premium players- Sure, why not. She does help you reach your Daily Monster Quota more quickly.
Freemium Players- PASS. You don’t need the skin to win.
Bundle TWO (If you don’t have CCL)
Well…this is where it gets interesting (and a little unfair for all of us long-time players). This bundle, with the rebate is a GREAT DEAL on CCL… let alone the bonus of the CIL (Crazy Iguana Lady) skin.
You don’t get the swamp. But, really…as I already said above, it’s small, and just a decoration. NOT of any real value to the bundle…so you didn’t miss much!
Building: Crazy Cat Lady’s House
Character: Eleanor Abernathy aka Crazy Cat Lady WITH Crazy Iguana Lady Skin
Donut Price: 150 donuts- LESS 40 donut REBATE (Net cost 110 donuts)
House Dimensions: 7×4
Payout: $500,45xp Every 24hrs
Conform-O-Meter: Indolence +10
You are getting a DOUBLE WHAMMY for a ton less than the old-time players paid for just the character/house combo.
Pros
– Earns Update Currency for Battles
– Ads a new skin to Crazy Cat Lady with full list of quests
– Has a couple of hilarious outdoor tasks
– You can gloat that you got a GREAT DEAL that was far less expensive than the original!
Cons
– You likely don’t need her to meet daily/weekly THOH update goals
– Not Voiced…REALLY want to hear her babbling!!
Final Thoughts on Bundle #2-
Premium Players? BUY HER. She will make you laugh for months to come…and every time you do, you can know that you got a better deal than longtime players. She will help in doing battles against the monsters, helping you to “get everything” in this update.
Freemium Players?- If you have the bonuts (because we know you only play with bonus donuts) I would STILL recommend this as a buy. She is absolutely worth it for a house/character/skin trifecta character.
FINAL FINAL HEADS UP... when I bought Bundle #1 …It also automatically elevated my MAG points to the next level, opening up Martin as another trick-or-treat kid! Pretty cool. So at least for this update, it was a win-win-win again!
In the end...it’s your call. What do YOU think about this bundle? Are you Crazy to pass it up?
She is a must have. I have 13 cats. I may be biased.
Reminds me of the Big Bang Theory episode when Sheldon reacts to temporarily losing Amy by becoming the building’s crazy cat lady. He ended up with some huge number of cats in a small apartment. The last scene showed him in the park, offering the cats to good homes for $5. Except he was paying people the $5…
I was once surrounded by five cats in a small office home through absolutely no fault of my own. Two were deliberately hired as staff, the next one arrived on the doorstep, and the last two were inherited from a neighbor who died (I had been helping him take care of them for years so they knew me well). I felt like I had no time for anything but an endless round of cleaning litter boxes, feeding cats, de-fleaing cats (this was before Frontline saved us), and refereeing fights between cats. They all seemed happy, though. Only two of them seriously fought. Pity the poor mousie who wandered into the office area and found himself under intent observation by five adult cats… I told him to hang tight under the printer table and wait for them to lose interest. They left one on guard but she must have fallen asleep, and he successfully made a run for the hole in the kitchen accessing the crawl space.
Great Story!
Cats as staff? Ha! Don’t you know the old saying, “Dogs have owners; cats have staff”? After all, they’re not spending *their* time cleaning your bathroom and feeding and grooming *you*… 😉
(To be fair, though, it does seem like they want to help keep the office mouse-free…I think it’s funny that you sided with the mouse in that one, lol! But I loved that little story.)
CCL and Brandine were the two on my list. And then there was one. . .I’m wondering if I should send her on her tasks because I never have more than two battles available at a time, so I really don’t need her to battle if she doesn’t earn any more than the other characters. I do enjoy finally having her in my town.
I’ve waited years to buy her but as soon as I saw this deal I hit the buy button without hesitation!
There are some monsters that allow more than one fighter for extra film. She will come in handy eventually!
Really love this SIB Patric. Ilike the bit of background, etc. A fun read. After reading it though, I’m still on the fence. I do already have CCL, and truthfully, my decision was more based on whether the swamp would be a really cool addition to my SF spooky area. As for being bitter, I got over that some time ago, but the joke is (somewhat) on EA. I got burned in the Barney deal during the space event. I had heard rumours he would be useful, and after holding off for nearly three years where he never once went on any kind of sale, I pulled the trigger less than 24 hrs before he was offered at the rebate price. I’m pleased to say the story has a happy ending. I took a shot and complained to EA. I wasn’t crazy ticked off, more I just wanted to log the point that this was ‘not cool’. They did do a little something for me at the time, but I like to think the real effect (and what I wanted) was the long term improvements for all players. As a result, you tend to see characters pulled from the store for a period of time before the offer, so people don’t buy close to the event and get mad. They’ve also started offering the special deals to people who already have the character so they get more for their money (like the Gold Diggers sign with Miss Springfield) – although in this case with CCL, it would make me feel better if our package cost, say 80 donuts after rebate. Just a little acknowledgement that we did already fork out at full pop for the character. Back to my original point, EA made it right, and that was all good, but I made a decision then that I have stuck to. I will never buy any of the outstanding premium characters I’m still missing, unless they’re on sale/rebate. Simple as that. Now, I’m never bitter anymore. 🙂 As for this bundle, hoping to see the swamp in a neighbour’s town, and then I’ll decide. Cheers!
What’s really weird this time around, is CCL is still available in the store at full price! Open up the Characters section & you see her rebate bundle…scroll through the list, and there she is again, full price, no iguanas.
So strange!
But yeah, these days it seems to make more sense to wait for some kind of sale/rebate on premium characters! 😊
Yeah, that’s weird. Probably a mistake (like so many others in the last week or so). They were really good at this last event – in fact, it was good way to know what would be on sale – watch for what disappeared.
I think I said that in the post…….. It’s about the character, not the update.
As a semi-freemium player I bought her immediately after I found her in the store, didn’t even wait for the SIB post here (which I normally do before buying premium stuff) 🙂
Well I bought the skin for CCL and the swamp combo whether I liked it or not – my “confirm donut spend” was turned off after the update (forgot to check it!). Ah well, I was debating about getting it as a nice Halloween Treat, so I guess it was fate. Happy Halloween all you TSTO’s FANatics!
I didn’t have CCL before and was always interested in getting her, but as a freemium player, was hesitant to spend the 180 donuts on her, and I jumped at the opportunity when she went on sale. Happy I waited and not disappointed now that I spent 110 and she came with a skin as well. HAPPY HALLOWEEN from Canada!!!
Happy (real) Thanksgiving too, eh? 😉
the swamp is a premium decoration and does NOT have any bonus on XP and cash….
I really dont understand EA….
may change down the road…
Any chance we may receive the chance to buy the swamp if it wasn’t initially offered? 😀
I did not have her & bought her. Did NOT get her skin or any MAG points? WTH?
Check your inventory. MAG points are associated with the skin, so you’ll get them when you pull her from inventory
Did anyone else have problems this morning with the little monsters not all of them were paying out film only about half or a little less payed out film when I cleared them
Thanks for an extremely helpful and informative post. Like others that have responded, I have stopped paying full price for premium characters (I’m a freemium player) because they seem to have one on sale/rebate during every event now. Might as well wait and conserve the bonuts! I just picked up Crazy Cat Lady, but, I was waiting for the Should I Spend Donuts post before I did because I knew you would give me all the ins and outs of the deal. Great work, as usual! Thanks!
Thanks. Loves me some CCL!
I hope I can earn the remaining 50 donuts by the end of the event!
She’s been on my wishlist forever so I got her immediately. 🙂
I LOVE your witty post and as usual I agree. No brainer for me. I’m freemium and immediately bought CCL AND spent 240 bonuts on mystery prizes (including a skin I can’t use…yet 🙂 More bonuts than I’ve ever spent at one time. No regrets! As on tapper wrote, feels like Christmas, not Halloween.
Thanks! Hope you enjoy her!
Got this one right away. great deal.
This is why I am reluctant to buy characters. I can’t help but wonder if the character I just bought will go on sale the next event. I already bought Barney when he went on sale for the space event, but I love Astronaut Barney because his animated tasks are great. I bought Hank Scorpio full price, but no regrets there because FLAME THROWER. From now on though, I will wait to buy characters unless they are on sale.
That’s what I do. Bought Barney at full price less than 24 hrs before he went on sale for space event. Learned my lesson.
Well…there is another way to look at it. We who bought early, got to enjoy the characters for a longer time! So…I guess we consider it an “entertainment tax?”
That does not sound Cranky at all – what have you done with Patric!
LOL…I am only cranky these days with trying to figure out if there is really much in this entire update I want! Ergh…
Instant Buy for me!! Loved it 😃. Shame they couldn’t just carry over her CCL voice
I remember watching ‘A beautiful mind’ in English – a beautiful movie about an interesting mam!
I already have CCL she was a must buy when she was offered the 1st time.
I am a cheapium player, and her skin/swamp has been tempting for the mag points boost.
Don’t really need her for monster fights right now because I’ve never had more then 4 in my town at one time & I already have 4 people who can fight them
Then I’d hold off… Unless you want the iguana animation.
I would have bought her skin, but I went for the van Houten skins, the Sepulcher and Nightmare Pile. That was a bargain too. 240 donuts for the foursome.
Being out of donuts, I have to create some bonuts.
(And yes CCL is lot of fun. We had a CCL living in our neighborhood, quite disturbed, but nice cat loving lady)
A great deal. A Hilarious premium character, premium skin, house and helps with the event in 2 different ways all for 110 donuts(after rebate). This is close to the great deal that robo burns/smithers was during the sci-fi event.
I have been wanting her for awhile but could not justify spending 180 donuts on her. There are some limited time good things coming so just be sure you really want her. I believe her deal is available all event(correct me if I am wrong) so if you don’t need her help for the event I would wait until all of the goodies have dropped so you can make a more informed decision.
I was waiting a long time for you guys to do a Should I Buy on this one. Because I was afraid (being myself a freemium player) that the bundle was the skin alone and not the character herself.
But I am a longtime player (since the very beginning) but I never bought the house because I was thought it was too expensive. So don’t go thinking that only new players get this sweet deal. I have earned my chance of getting it, too! 😛
Boom! I can hear the glee as you pull the donut trigger.
Really pissed that bought her already and am out a number of donuts just for a swamp that isn’t great really. But then I saved big on the sepulcher which was 225 before I think and I got it for 60? Swings and roundabouts I guess.
Lol…I think I made it clear that the swamp was a “meh”….
First time i bought a character without waiting for the “should i buy..” post, this is a great offer for people like me who did not own this character
I had been saving my donuts up for Duff Man(I had 165 at the time) but as soon as I saw CCL, I pounced. don’t regret it at all. if you have the donuts buy her, without a doubt.
I seem to recall that the description in the shop stated that the skin/swamp bundle earns event currency. Not really sure, maybe I just assumed. I was disappointed when it turned out that the swamp was just a decoration — unlike for instance hell school which earns (a rather stingy) 200 currency every 20 hours… Add to that that her quests only earn regular cash and no event currency and I felt duped. I have benefited from her just once so far, when I was fighting 4 monsters at the same time, and one of them had two slots for extra currency, so I was able to use all five characters at the same time. However, CCL is one of my favorite characters and the skin is fun so it’s not a total bummer. As for us long-time players getting the long end of the stick: I got her about a month ago but I’m not too bummed out. After all I did get to use her and her hilarious quests for several weeks now. And, as with all things in life, sometimes you win and sometimes you loose.
I do wish that EA in general would be clEArer and more detailed in their descriptions of what’s included in premium purchases. Sometimes the listed benefits are incomplete or mislEAding, and sometimes there are benefits that aren’t mentioned at all (eg. the beach hideaway).
It likely said “Earns event currency” due to the skin being able to battle monsters for currency. So they didn’t really lie, but I can see where it may have been unclear to you.
I have no problem with with the “fairness” of it all. There are plenty of items that were originally free that newer players have to pay for now.
I already had CCL and I stil bought the swamp skin bundle. I was a little disappointed in the size of the swamp.
I know…more gas than territory!
I owned CCL but bought the skin/swamp.
My view was that the benefit to the event, MAG bonus, swamp and skin made it worthwhile. However, my logic is flawed because I’d already decided I was ‘all-in’ for this Halloweeen event; therefore, any donut purchase are very much made with rose tinted glasses.
Really great deal, if you don’t have CCL. I am a cat person with three cats myself, CCL is one of my favorite characters in my town. Her 12hrs task throwing cats is on endless rotation.
I love, that EA is giving us these great deals for “older” premium characters once in a while. I already got CCL during one of the past Gil deals, during which the individual deals where only available for a few hours. I was in Sweden at the time and returned to the hotel at the time for a stable internet connection, just to get her. So, personally I am not bummed about her being even “cheaper” now, since I already got her for a good price.