Hey Howdy Hey Tappers!
Happy October 1st! Can you believe it’s already October? Feels like it was just March, but here we are! Summer is dead and gone (at least for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere) and the cooler temperatures of Autumn have arrived! Riley (my 5-year-old daughter, for those that don’t know) noted that she could see her breath this morning as I dropped her off for school! Man those temperatures sure dropped fast! (now we start the time of year where I wished I lived in Florida…)
Yes, Autumn is here….and while cooler temperatures kind of depress me, Autumn does mean it’s almost time for the Addicts Community’s favorite time of year in TSTO…Halloween and the annual Treehouse of Horror Event! (although, long time players know, I’m still partial to Christmas)
So what will this year’s event entail? Well, no one knows yet…although I have a feeling we’ll know soon (remember my prediction over the summer, based on update patterns, was Halloween will start October 6th). In the meantime, since the 2021 THOH update will officially be the 10th Halloween update to hit TSTO…yes, I said 10, isn’t that insane?!…I thought it would be fun to take a look back at a brief history of the past 9 events, before looking ahead to #10.
So here’s a brief rundown of the Halloween history in TSTO…
2012- THOH XXIII, The Very First Halloween Update, Launched October 3rd, 2012
Halloween, 2012.
Addicts wasn’t around in the fall of 2012, we didn’t launch until August of 2013, so I don’t have any posts I can link you back to. However, the very first Halloween update in TSTO very heavily joked about the Myans (as that was the year the world was supposed to end) with characters like Mayan Homer and the Mayan God (Mayan Marge arrived with a later update).
This event also brought the cemetery to Springfield (including the Pet Cemetery), the black hole, Devil Flanders, the House of Evil, the Bad Dream House, and more! With this event interactions included squishing zombies, sending kids to trick or treat, and vandalizing your neighbor’s houses with eggs and toilet paper!
2013- THOH XXIV- Launched October 1st, 2013
This was the very first Major Event that Addicts covered. You can see our complete coverage of it here.
The 2013 Halloween Event featured lots and lots of Goo! Easily one of the best THOH events in TSTO history, at least in terms of things to do. You had to collect Goo to unlock prizes, not only on your personal prize track but community prizes as well! There was also an episode tie-in component to this update!
Prizes included: Strongman Homer, King Snorky, Count Burns, Suzanne the Witch and more! This event also saw the arrival of Kodos, and Kang if you didn’t unlock it the previous year.
Event interactions included: popping ghosts, leaving gremlins for your neighbors, finding a hidden 6 donut easter egg within the questline, and more!
2014- THOH XXV- Launched October 7th, 2014
Halloween, 2014.
Addicts coverage of the 2014 THOH event can be found here.
Halloween 2014 saw the Aliens trying to take over Springfield! This was also the first instance of the prize track being split into multiple phases (which would eventually turn into Acts). This is also the first instance of crafting in TSTO!
The prize/crafting track included: Hugo, U.B.O, Mutant Peacock, Donut Torture Device, the Rigellian Queen, and more! There was also an episode tie-in component with this event featuring Clockwork Moe!
Game interactions included: sending kids to trick-or-treat, squishing little Rigellian Aliens, shooting down UFOs, and neighbor interactions!
2015- THOH XXVI- Launched October 6th, 2015
For the Addicts Coverage on the 2015 THOH Event check out this page.
S’mores, Candy Apples, and Gummies…Oh my! The 2015 THOH event saw the split of the event into 3 different acts (although not the first instance of the act shift). Crafting was also split into 3 Acts.
This event focused on a m’nthster that attacked Springfield! We saw this via a campfire that spawned nightmares (how fun!) that we were then tasked with squishing.
Prizes/Crafting included: Pirate Kang, Clockwork Bart, Holiday Homer, the Re-Neducation Center, spooky trees, the spooky house, and more!
Interactions included: Squishing nightmares, sending formless terrors to your neighbors (and squishing your own), and shopkeeper challenges.
2016- THOH XVII- Launched October 4th, 2016
Halloween, 2016.
Addicts coverage of the 2016 THOH Event can be found here.
Once again split into 3 Acts, this event featured Monster Movie Magic! This event also had crafting, and Giant monsters you had to battle!
Prize track included: Space Marshmallow, Death, Count Burns’ Castle, Werewolf Flanders, Frinkenstein, and more! Crafting mostly comprised of returning Halloween decorations (spooky trees, etc.).
Interactions included: Battling Giant Monsters (this one was fun!), tapping ferral monsters, Trick-Or-Treating, and the MAG (Moster Actor’s Guild).
2017- THOH XXVIII- Launched October 3rd, 2017
Halloween 2017
Addicts coverage of the 2017 THOH Event can be found here.
This was the event that didn’t feel “Halloweenie” enough…also the event where the Addicts coined the term Hallo-Richard. The 2017 THOH Event was more about spoofing Harry Potter than about actual Halloween. Once again this event was split into 3 Acts.
Prizes included: Lewd’s Bar, the Wizard Unicorn, Greystach, Slithers, Lord Montymort’s Lair, and more! Wizard Bart and Lisa were given at the start of the event for free.
Interactions included: Beast Battles, crafting, squishing goblins and trolls, and tapping goblins and trolls in your neighbor’s towns.
2018- Treehouse of Horror XXIX- Launched October 3rd, 2018
Halloween 2018
You can find the Addicts Coverage of the 2018 THOH Event here.
This event featured ghosts, goblins, werewolves, mummies, vampires and more, as the female versions took over! Also split into 3 Acts, this event had a number of interactions…but no beast battles!
Prize track included: Countess Dracula, She-Wolf, Womenhet, Dracula-land, Haunted Crossroads, Grand Pyramid. and more!
Interactions included: a curse bonus area (where you dug for relics), an Old Ruins prize track, tappables (that changed for each act), and neighbor actions (where you basically just tapped items in your neighbor’s town).
2019- Treehouse of Horror- Launched October 23, 2019 (yes you read that date right)
Halloween 2019
You can find the Addicts Coverage of the 2019 THOH Event Here.
2019 was a rough year for TSTO, many folks thought it was ending because the updates were so few and far between. We’d often go months without an update…rare in the world of TSTO…and Halloween not starting until October 23rd was really rough.
This was the first Halloween Event where we saw the 4-act split, multi-event style. This event featured a plethora of creatures from the alternate universe…all trying to invade Springfield. No tappables with this event, no neighbor interactions, no crafting. Just the format we currently see today…a prize track and premium items to purchase. (although most of the traditional Halloween crafting items appeared in the store purchasable for cash)
Prize track included: Zia Simpson, Malicious Krubb, Gelatinous Homer, Martin of the Opera, Lucy Fer’Satan, and more!
Interactions included: well nothing. All you had to do was complete the quests on the prize track, by sending the characters on tasks, and that was it.
2020- Treehouse of Horror XXXI- Launched October 14th, 2020.
Halloween 2020
Addicts Coverage of the 2020 THOH Event can be found here
The 2020 Halloween Event featured a lot of Hell-Rasing! Much like the 2019 THOH Event, the 2020 Event followed the exact same format. 4 Acts, nothing really to do but complete the tasks and collect the prizes.
Prize track included: Beelzebart, Lisafer, the Hell Teacher, Hell Principals, the cursed desk, murder house, demon car, and more!
This event also brought us Donut Homer as a cash for character item.
2021- Treehouse of Horror XXXII- We think it’ll Launch October 6th..
???
Favorite event of Halloween’s past? What do you think the 2021 event will bring? Share your thoughts below!