Hey Howdy Hey Tappers!
So it’s the week BEFORE Black Friday, and Black Friday “deals” have been live in our game for a couple of days now. Late with Halloween, early with Black Friday, huge gaps with no updates….someone really needs to buy EA a calendar for Christmas.
Anyway, similar to last year, EA has not only added Mystery Boxes to our games but they’ve also added cash only (as in, actual cash…not in-game cash) prizes/options. Loads of questions/comments/complaints/general panic coming in over this. So let’s break it all down…
So right off the bat, it’s important to note there are TWO aspects to this mini-event.
- Traditional mini-event, Thanksgiving-ish themed. This mini-event is FREE to play. You don’t need donuts, and you don’t need cash. You can unlock several really good prizes just playing for free. This follows the “All American Auction” questline.
- Black Friday, which has two elements to it.
– The main element of the Black Friday portion of this update consists of the Mystery Boxes (outlined here and here). You do NOT need to buy donuts to participate. You can simply spend farmed donuts to open other Mystery Boxes.
-The second element of Black Friday is the cash purchase. Where you buy donuts, instore, with actual cash (farmers need not apply) and in exchange you’re given donuts, tokens for the Gold Mystery Box, and special prizes. This post is dedicated to that second element of Black Friday.
It’s also really important to note: Just because you have a questline titled Black Friday 2019, does not mean that you have to follow it. Just ignored this questline (which is the cash one) until the event is over, and it will be removed from your task book.
Now that all of that is out of the way…on with the breakdown:
After you’ve triggered the All American Auction questline, you’ll see the Black Friday 2019 questline popup. This requires you to do a couple of this 1) use the Gold Token you were given for free at the start to open the Gold Mystery Box and 2) buy donuts in order to unlock Black Friday prizes:
I’m not going to breakdown the option purchase options again in this post, I feel like I’ve done this a bunch already. If you need to refresh check out the rundown post here.
There are 6 total prizes, and you’ll need a total of 900 donuts in order to unlock all 6 of them. 3 prizes are special buildings and 3 prizes are more tokens. (which, again, can be used for the Gold Mystery Box or can be converted to donuts)
Here are the 2019 Black Friday Prizes:
12 Donuts Purchase – Prize is 2 Tokens
60 Donuts Purchase- Prize is VHS Village
132 Donuts Purchase- Prize is 10 Tokens
300 Donuts Purchase- Prize is Babies B this
600 Donuts Purchase- Prize is 25 Tokens
900 Donuts Purchase- Prize is CostMo Foods (this building Generates Donuts for income…like the Donut Factory)
You’ll need 900 total donuts in order to unlock all five prizes.
A couple of things to note:
-To unlock these prizes you MUST purchase donuts from the store. You cannot convert tokens to donuts. Donuts much be purchased from the game store…whether via cash or a gift card.
-You do NOT need to purchase several donut packages to unlock each prize. Just because it says “Purchase 12 Donuts” does not mean you need to buy a dozen donuts, and sequentially increase from there. IF you buy a larger package of donuts, you’ll unlock all of the prizes below that as well.
For example: if you buy a Store Full of donuts (900 donuts), you’ll fill the meter at the top of the prize track and unlock ALL of the prizes below that as well. (this applies only to this special Black Friday prize track. To unlock the All American Auction prize track you’ll need to follow that questline)
Again…for those in the back not fully listening…
You DO NOT need to purchase individual packages to unlock everything. If you have the money, your best bet is to spend the $49.99 (US) and get the 900 donuts, that will unlock the whole questline and give you all 3 prizes.
And….
No, you cannot buy Golden Scratch-Rs to complete the token questline. YOU MUST BUY DONUTS FROM THE STORE TO COMPLETE THIS. So don’t waste your money on Scratch-Rs they won’t help.
Now, for what I assume most of you are here for, the prize breakdown:
First up, Blockbuster’s ugly twin brother…
How You Unlock it:
Other Details:
Item: VHS Village
Size: 5×8
Build Time: Instant
Earns: $135,15xp/4hrs
Conform-O-Meter: Consumerism+20
Can Be Placed: grass|pavement|boardwalk|pier|dirt
Task: Bart and Homer both have a 4hr premium task there. Bart “Break VHS Tapes”, Homer “Be Nostalgic”
What Does it Do?: Animated when in use. Otherwise, it’s pretty standard building, nothing truly special about it.
WDTCF: “Saturdays of Thunder” S3, E9
Questline: Yes, this comes with a short questline. Here’s the dialogue:
Be Kind, Rewind Time
Homer starts
Homer: Ooh, Cosmic Wars… the pre-special edition re-release… with un-photoshopped non-special effects!
Bart: That rectangle brick has Cosmic Wars on it?
Homer: Quiet, boy! This block encapsulates my entire teenage years. If only I could rewind back to them
Make Homer Be Nostalgic- 4hrs, Earns $260, 70xp
Make Bart Break VHS Tapes- 4hrs, Earns $260, 70xp
Next up, the bankrupt baby store…
How You Unlock it:
Other Details:
Item: Babies B This
Size: 5×8
Build Time: Instant
Earns: $135,15xp/4hrs
Conform-O-Meter: Consumerism+20
Can Be Placed: grass|pavement|boardwalk|pier|dirt
Task: Lisa and Maggie both have a 4hr premium task there. Lisa “Protest Baby Stores”, Maggie “Want Everything in the Store”
What Does it Do?: Animated when in use. Otherwise, it’s pretty standard building, nothing truly special about it.
WDTCF: “Covercraft” S26, E8
Questline: Yes, this comes with a short questline. Here’s the dialogue:
Babies R Expensive
Lisa starts
Lisa: Another baby store? Baby stuff should only be bought online. It’s not like a baby knows how to shop for things.
Maggie: *pouting* *suck* *suck*
Lisa: I think it’s time middle children got their own stores.
Bart: You already have one. It’s called the library.
Make Lisa Protest Baby Stores- 4hrs, Earns $260, 70xp
Make Maggie Go Shopping- 4hrs, Earns $260, 70xp
And finally, the Simpsified version of my favorite store…Costco
How You Unlock it:
Other Details:
Item: CostMo Foods
Size: 6×13
Build Time: Instant
Earns: 6
/24hrs. (just like the Donut Factory, this building pays DONUTS instead of cash/xp)
Conform-O-Meter: Consumerism+20
Can Be Placed: grass|pavement|boardwalk|pier|dirt
Task: Marge and Homer both have a 4hr premium task there. Marge “Marvel at Bulk Savings”, Homer “Play Ping-Pong with Himself”
What Does it Do?: Animated when in use. Otherwise, it’s pretty standard building, nothing truly special about it.
WDTCF: “Simpson Safari” S12, E17
Questline: Yes, this comes with a short questline. Here’s the dialogue:
Bigger Store, Bigger Prices
Marge starts
Marge: Everything in this store always seems to be slightly more expensive than it should be.
Ned: It’s in the name. And I like CostMo. The high prices keep out the riff-raff.
Homer: Marge, I found another ping-pong table here! It’s the kind that flips up so you can practice against yourself!
Ned: Never mind. I’m going to go shopping at one of the discount places.
Make Ned Flee- 4hrs, Earns $260, 70xp
Make Homer Play Ping-Pong with Himself- 4hrs, Earns $260, 70xp
And that’s it my friends, the full breakdown of the 2019 Black Friday cash prizes!
Thoughts? Questions? Comments? Feelings? Anyone else feel like they need a nap? Sound off below.
I noticed CostMo is in my gold box. Is that the same as the one on the prize track?
It appears today, you can spend 1 gold coin to get a dozen donuts. Will that help to get the 2 coin? Or do we still need to pay really money for it? Does anyone know?
You could do that for the duration of the event, not just today.
However, as they post you’re commenting on explains in detail, exchanging a token for donuts DOES NOT unlock the Black Friday prize track. These are cash only prizes. To get them you must spend actual cash to get donuts.
Do you think these buildings might come back in a mystery box or come back in the game and cost donuts?
You never know, but I wouldn’t bet on it myself.
I had been looking forward to the return of Baby B This for an open space in my Kiddie area, but in my mind’s eye I remembered it being bright blue colored, not drab brown [which is probably why I didn’t get it the first time around]. But wouldn’t you know, there’s farmable donut, brightly colored Escape Zone to soothe my disappointment…you almost had me EA.
That’s Toys B This which is bright blue not Babies B This. Toys B This was available last Christmas as another building while Babies B This is a completely new building. I think both buildings would work well next to each other because of their similar design but I have nether buildings and I haven’t seen anyone put both these buildings together but someone might in the showoff post.
I’m all for having Donut generating buildings/decorations in the game (especially in my Springfield), but I wish that we didn’t have spend real money in order to unlock these Donut generating buildings/decorations. That said, I hope that if EA decides to do another Black Friday Questline for Black Friday 2020, that they give us Gil as a playable character with Donut generating tasks (preferably, at least, one or more Donuts every 4 hours). I also wish that EA gives “God” a Donut generating task in the near future in order to make his ridiculously outrageous high Donut price from the THOH 2019 event more worth it.
Anyone having problems with the costmo foods builiding? Everytime i restart the game my collected 6 donuts are gone. Not sure if my donut factory has the same problem now.
Just checked. They both have the same problem now 🙁
Yup having the same issue and emailed EA with photos! Hopefully this will get more attention and will be fixed soon, we paid for our Donut Buildings and I don’t want to be glitched out of them 🙏🏻
I found out you can use this in your benefit. After you collect the 6 donuts from your costmo spend them before closing the game. Make sure youre donut counter is below 6 after spending. Restart/resync the game and youre donut counter is back to youre old donut count minus 6. For example when you have 31 donuts after collecting the 6 from costmo foods spend them on the yearbook so you have 1 donut left. Leave the game and when you restart you will have 25 donuts. (31-6). Works fine with me:)
If you don’t care about the donuts, but just wanted to support the game, which is the better addition to your town for $50: these buildings or the Shelbyville item normally offered?
I definitely need a nap 😴
While I am choosing not to partake in the Gold Tokens for Prizes in the Black Friday Mystery Box? It may be beneficial for other Tappers to do so …. so I say go for it (especially if these Buildings are of interest). 👍🏻
I do lament not making the purchase of 🍩’s during THOH 2019, but that’s EA’s fault (you can’t spend real 💰 for a Game App if the glitch won’t allow me to) 🙄
If this is EA gauging to see if Tappers will pay $49.99? I think maybe $24.99 would’ve appealed to more spending real 💰.
Does any one know if you also get the premium item that accompanies the large donut purchases. For example normally if you were to pay 100$ you would receive the Shellbyville Manhattan statue. I would actually be willing to pay the 50$ for the impound lot and the cool stuff from the event. At this point my pre Springfield heights exp bonus is 4000% so I am basically god mode with donut farming like 2000 donuts in 4 days (thank you wailing walls). I have no use for donuts anymore but I would love to still contribute to the game. Getting tokens does nothing for me unfortunately. Side note, quit complaining about a corporation wanting money for the product you ingest. Imagine if you every time you went to work your customers shouted “Why don’t you work for free you greedy pig”
I don’t believe so
Can confirm – I bought the $100 package and didn’t get the original bonus. Just the zillion donuts thanks to the Coin bonus!
TBH: I see the Costmo store as a way of EA gauging interest level in the game still… with so many farmers out there they’re making less money on the game I imagine, so they aren’t going to keep it going forever… they have to see how many people are willing to shell out the $50…. I’m debating it, but I don’t get paid until the 29th
I bought my $49.99 worth of donuts. I’ve done it before but not in a while. I have no Gold Box option so I assume that means I have everything that would be in it already. So with all my extra donuts I will buy a bunch of the returning premium items. And I have CostMo so I will continue to earn. Between that and the Donut Factory, I should be rolling in the donuts for the foreseeable future. (Homer drools face)!
The one thing I would spend cash on, Golden Goose Realty, is no where to be found ☹️. No land, no place to put purchased items.
I’ve been hoping it would pop up again soon, too. I’ve run out of land, and they’ve stopped giving land tokens as prizes during the events.
Yawn. Definitely not worth the money unless you’re an obsessive completionist.
I don’t have anything left in my gold box, so will cash in all tokens for more donuts. So for $50, I get the three buildings, the 900 donuts I paid for, plus 25 +37 tokens worth 12 donuts each. So it’s $50 for three buildings, 900 donuts + 744 converted donuts.
$100 gets the 2400 donuts plus 87 tokens for another 1,044 donuts. That’s one heck of a bonus if I’ve calculated correctly.
I usually just toss in $20 here and there, but debating the $100 for a six month supply. (Comes out of my hobby budget…I’m too lazy to farm.)
I got the $100 package, and will convert all tokens to donuts. A pretty nice deal for those who pay cash.
I’d like to put a little into the game when I can just as a thanks for fixing that awful Bart screen problem. I would for sure not have $49.99, however.
Hi, been playing nearly 3 years now, grinding not farming. On level 192, have about the same # of characters, 32+mil in the bank, 42 land tokens saved, all land under 2 mil bought, working on the rest slowly. Right now I earn about 200k every 4hr sweep.
I’ve only spent less than 30$ on the game so far, but am considering the $49.99 investment to get the Costmo. I only earn about 3 donuts or so a day, so saving for the yearbook’s 30 donut pricetag is also a grind. Got Lugash, Himeji castle, and Uter with my first gold tokens (spent $1.99!), and finally got Scorpio and his volcano lair on 3rd yearbook try!
Is spending real cash for Costmo worth it to me? Probably, cuz I kinda regret passing on the donut factory last year. If the wife okays the expenditure, I’ll go for it. Still a lot of buildings and characters left I want! Thanks for all the good advice over the years!
I jumped and got everything. But do you think CostMo will keep paying out donuts after the event ends?
Yes, it will pay out donuts as long as the game is in existence.
hi alissa, could you explain how we convert extra tokens to donuts? thanks
Go into the store, click black Friday, and you’ll see the option.
https://tstoaddicts.files.wordpress.com/2019/11/tapped-out_2019-11-22-14-29-34.mp4
Why should we have to pay to buy donuts if we already have the required amount? Seems kinda unfair to make us spend money on something we don’t need to.
It doesn’t have to be fair, it’s a game. One most people play for free. The point is to get you to spend actual money on something. Again, donut farmers need not apply.
This is for those willing to spend actual money in the game if you’re not willing to it’s not for you.
You have become a corporate mouthpiece.
No. Just someone who uses logic, common sense, and understands TSTO isn’t a charity.
I understand everyone’s annoyance but ea doesn’t fill our screens with pop up adds. And in game is truly the only real income they get. Buy or don’t but stop blubbering. I can’t afford it but understand the reasons.
And you have become a…no wait. You were always one of those.
LOL
You are the Queen of Savage, Alissa. I love it! I revel in your glory.
🙂
Dvanderford
Options, EA gives Tappers options. 🙂
We can enjoy the Mini-Event (obtain Prize 1,2,3,4,5).
We can try for Prizes from any of the New Mystery Boxes (available for a limited time).
We can continue to obtain Prizes from the regular Mystery Box.
We can obtain Gold Tokens and use them on the Black Friday Mystery Box.
We can Farm 🍩’s, we can buy 🍩’s and obtain more Gold Tokens (use them on the Mystery Box, or trade them in for more 🍩’s).
I’m glad EA gives Tappers options (I typically buy a 🍩’s deal once in a while)🙂
I feel $49.99 is kinda pricey and at this time am unsure if I will splurge. I enjoy the game immensely and try to buy donuts of some denomination every few months to support EA in not abandoning it, but believe the 300 donut pack would be more reasonable for what you get here. I probably won’t decide until the last minute to buy or not to buy. If there were a character included also, I would probably spend the &49.99 🙂
I’m not sure either!
I bought the 900 donuts last year and I don’t regret it but I’m not sure if I should do it again…. especially since it is $69.99 CAD 😭 and I just bought a 4000$ computer 💸 but I’m afraid I’ll regret it if I don’t…
I’ll probably make a decision at the last minute but I’m really hesitant 😟 because 12 donuts per day would be an easy way to accumulate donuts, especially when I get busy with school assignments….
TallSpiderCandy
I agree … I think say $24.99 would attract more Tappers to spend for Gold Tokens.
$50 for 3 standard buildings just doesn’t seem worth it.
I agree
I think $24.99 – $29.99 for say 500 🍩’s + the Building that generates 🍩’s would’ve had Tappers spending real 💰 (I’d have bought that)
Fifty bucks is just way too much to ask for what you get. If it was 10, I might consider it. The prices are just ridiculous.