ForestVille Walkthrough

ForestVille developed by Zynga for the iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch lets you guide all the critters of the forest as they build a new home with shops, farms, landmarks, and all kinds of fun quests to complete. Help them find a great place to live, work and hang out! Gamezebo’s quick start strategy guide will provide you with detailed images, tips, information, and hints on how to play your best game.

Game Introduction – ForestVille

Quick Start Guide

Getting Started

ForestVille is a free application and can be found by clicking on the “Play Now” button at the top of this page.
You will be asked to set push notifications the first time you install the game. It is recommended you do so as it will notify you when you energy meter refills or if crops are ready for harvesting. You can change this feature anytime in the settings area.
You will be introduced to “Daisy Fleetfoot” one of many characters that will guide you on a brief tutorial and get you started.

Once you have completed the first goal the game will prompt you to name your Forest or Village. This cannot be changed and is what others will see when they visit you.
You can access the game settings by tapping on the tiny gear button at the top right of the game bar along the bottom of the screen.
Once in the settings area you have the option to log into Facebook. This is a great idea as it connects your friends to the game and anyone that also has it can send you an invitation to become neighbors. You can also post accomplishments such as leveling up and completing specific goals. You must have a current Facebook account first and if you would like to sign up for a free account you can do so here – http://www.facebook.com

Currency

There are two types of currency in ForestVille which are:
Coins – This is the basic game currency which you earn each time you collect from houses and shops when rent is due and what you earn when you complete quests.
Cash – This is the game’s secondary currency that will purchase many things to make your game easier such as eliminating wait times on crops, refilling energy meter, refilling goods, and purchasing high end decorations that increase the payout of any shop adjacent to it by at least ten percent.
Currency indicators are shown at the bottom of the screen and you will start out the game with 1,000 coins and 15 cash.

Purchase additional currency – If you run out you can purchase additional currency by tapping on the “+” symbol at the right side of either currency indicator at the bottom of the game screen.
This will count as an “in app” purchase and will be charged to your iTunes account.

Game Elements

A. Level Indicator – The star will tell you your current level. If you tap on the star it will tell you how many XP you need before you can reach the next level as well as how many you already have. The star will fill up with a blue color as you earn blue XP stars and when it is completely full you will level up where you will earn a cash reward.

B. Population – Here you can see your current population level. This is important as nearly every shop has a population requirement before you can place it. Increase population by placing different animal houses. (There is another population indicator in the market at the top of the screen.)

C. Settings – Tap on the gear to bring up the settings menu. Here you can log in or out of Facebook, adjust push notification settings, adjust audio settings, and get general information about the game developer.

D. Goals – Tap here to expand the goals menu. (See “Goals” below for more details)

E. Currency Indicators – Here are your current amounts of currency. Tap on the “+” symbols to the right of either indicator to order more currency or go into the market and set the dial on “currency” (See “Currency” above for more information.)

F. Energy – You need energy to perform most tasks in the game including building, collecting rent and stocking goods. The meter fills up over time and if you run out you can purchase more, get free energy from your friends as gifts or during visits, or wait for it to fill up over time and have a push notification sent to you.

G. Goods Meter – This shows your current level of goods which you acquire by either chopping down trees or growing them in your berry farm or grain farm. You will need to restock goods every time you collect funds from a business which is very frequent in the higher levels. If you run out you can purchase a refill of 100 goods using cash.

H. Menu – Tap on this button to expand the game menu which is discussed in more detail below.

Menu – Tap on the menu button on the bottom right of the game screen and you will expand the game menu.
If you see a number on the menu button this means you have gifts or friend requests waiting for you to accept.
Zynga Notifications – This will take you to a screen that shows you news from Zynga along with other games you can download from them.
Z – This screen is where you accept neighbor requests sent to you as well as accept gifts and send gifts to friends also playing the game.
Neighbors – Tap here to access a screen showing all of your neighbors where you can tap on their image to visit them. (See Visiting Neighbors below for more details.)
Market – Tap here to access the game market. Here you can purchase all kinds of items needed to build your village. (See “Market” below for more details)
Edit – Tap here to move an item, sell it, or rotate it on your land. If a cash register appears over an item you can tap on it to sell it back for less than what you paid. You can only get coins for items purchased with cash.

Goals

Goals are very important to the success of ForestVille as they guide you in the successful building of your village.

Look for the goals button at the bottom left of the game screen and tap on it to get the menu to expand.
If you see a number on the goals button this indicates the current number of goals you have to complete.
Here you will see the character’s faces. Tap on a face and read the associated goal.

The goal then opens for you and sometimes there is just a single goal and sometimes there are multiple parts to a goal.

Once a goal is completed you will earn a coin or cash bonus and will sometimes unlock another house, shop or decorative item you can purchase in the market.

Animals with “!” – You will frequently notice animals walking around the village with a “!” symbol over their heads. This means there is a new goal waiting for you. Tap on the animal and read the background story then the goal will be added to the list. Tap on the list to read the goal any time you need to. The “!” should disappear once the goal is added to the list. It is not uncommon to see two animals at a time walking around with new goals.

Market

The market can be found by tapping on the menu button and then the second button from the bottom that looks like a little shop icon.
Here you will see all the categories offered at the far left. Use your fingertip to scroll up and down through the categories. Whatever you place in between the two leaves is that will show up in the window to the right.
In the window you will see items offered you can purchase. If the price has a green background you have enough funds and if it is grey you do not.
Some items can be purchased with coins and some with cash.
Tap on an item to purchase it and you will be taken back to the village to place it.
Note that there are several population requirements in order to purchase certain shops.
There are also landmark requirements and requirements of population for expansions.
There is a population indicator at the top of the market screen as well as currency indicators so you don’t have to toggle in and out of the market screen to check.
You can also access your inventory from the market which is where any gifts sent to you will be placed until you claim and use them.

Building Houses and Shops

Houses – Building houses is very important as it adds population to your village. You need to increase your population in order to unlock various shops, landmarks, and decorative items for purchase.
You will also notice that each type of house contains a specific kind of animal which also unlocks new items and goals.

To purchase a house tap on the market button and adjust the left side wheel to “Housing” Scroll through the list until you find the house you want to purchase and tap on it.

You will then be taken to your village and the house will have a green or red outline around it.
Green means you can place the house and red means you cannot place it.
Tap on the green check mark when you are ready to place your house.

You will now see a construction site and the number of required times you need to tap on it in order to build the house. You have to spend one energy point each time you tap on the construction site.
Once the house is built you will see an animal move into it.

Businesses – Shops are required to complete goals and to give your villagers jobs.
Each shop has a required number of workers which is why you must have the correct population before the game allows you to build.
When you go to the market adjust the left side wheel to “Businesses” and scroll through the choices until you have the shop you want.
Once it is place you again will see a construction site and will need to spend one energy for each tap it requires to complete.
You will need to stock your shop with goods as soon as it is built and it will now start to collect for you.
You may also have to wait until certain goals are complete before certain houses or shops will unlock for purchase.

Collecting Rent from Shops

Each shop has a different amount of coins and time associated with it before you can collect it.

When it is time to collect you will see a coin icon over the shop as shown in image above.
Tap on the coin icon or shop to collect.
You will be able to use these funds to purchase other items.
You will now notice a goods basket over your shop. (See restocking goods below)

Goods

Goods are needed primarily to restock your shops so they can earn income for you.
There are a few ways for you to earn goods and fill up the goods meter at the bottom of the screen.
Chop down trees – Chopping down trees will earn free goods for you. Trees do not grow back once they are chopped down and removed. Tap on a tree and you will see a red “X” and a saw icon. Tap on the saw to chop the tree down. This will cost you one energy point.
Farming – Farming is the best way to earn goods as it gets you the most over time.
Purchase them – You can purchase in increments of 100 goods using cash if you run out.
Goods are seen as a picnic basket icon in the game.

Restocking goods in your Businesses

Each time you collect funds from a business you will see a picnic basket icon appear over it immediately.
You will not be able to collect funds again until you restock the shop with goods.
Each shop will have a different requirement of goods
Tap on the picnic basket icon and the goods will automatically restock as long as you have them in inventory.
Note – It does NOT require the use of energy to restock goods.
If you run out you can purchase more, harvest a crop from your farm, or chop down trees if any are available.
As soon as a shop is restocked it immediately starts collecting coins and counting down until you can collect again and start the process over.
Some shops take as little as five minutes before they are ready for restocking and some can take up to a day or more.

Road and Water Requirements

As you start to place houses you will learn that each house will only function if it is placed next to a road. You can purchase road in the market under the “Decorations” category.
Some houses such as the Beaver’s house can only be placed in water.
If a house has a requirement it will flash an over head icon of what is needed to make it work.
You should see the house is darker when it does not function properly and once road or water is placed under or next to it you will see it light up and will be able to visit when the time is right.

Visiting animals

After awhile you will notice “Zzz’s” coming from the different types of houses. You will need to visit the animals to wake them up.
When you tap on the house it will cost one energy point but you will earn two XP points each time you do this.
This will help you level up in the game much faster and will also cause the animals to come out of their houses and walk around the village which is really cute to see.

Landmarks

After awhile you will try to place a house or shop and the game will tell you that you must place a landmark first.
Landmarks are fairly large decorative structures such as trees, pavilions, fountains and more.
You are allowed a certain number of structures per landmark which the game will keep track of for you.
There is a category in the market just for landmarks. Some can be purchased with coins and others with cash.
The landmarks purchased with cash allow a greater number of buildings before the next landmark is needed.
You can have multiple landmarks of the same type in your village.

Decorative items

Decorative items are for you to place when you want to in order to make your village more attractive.
Decorations also can have the added benefit of increasing the payout of any shop they are adjacent to by 10 percent or more.
The more expensive decorations purchased with cash yields much higher payouts than those purchased with coins.
If you have a shop that pays out a large amount try to surround it with decorative items and it will have a maximum payout for you.

Farming

Farming can start once you place your first available farm in your village which is the berry farm.
Farming earns you goods which you will use to restock your shops with.
To farm simply place the farm then tap on it and a menu will appear with your choices.

When you see the image of seeds over the farm it is ready for a crop to be planted.

Each type of crop has a cost and a certain amount of time until it is ready for harvest.
If you have notifications set it will let you know when it is time for harvest.

You will see a green check mark icon over the farm when the crops are ready for harvest.
You can only plant one type of crop at a time and you cannot increase the size of your farm only the number of farms you have of a certain type.
If you do not harvest within a reasonable amount of time the crop will wither and you will have to spend energy and coins to clean it up before you can plant again.
Note – Strawberries are free to grow take about 30 seconds from start to harvest time and will yield 15 goods. Since 15 goods is the minimum any shop would need you can use strawberries if you are out of money or goods to restock your shops.
As you level up different farms will be available such as the grain farm and the Fishing Spot which is under the farming category since you have to stock up on these too.
Storage – You will also have to buy more storage as you level up. You can purchase a storage shed, storage cellars, or a granary.
Many of the farm items require you to complete goals before they unlock for purchase.

Expansion

Expansion is another area where you have a population requirement if you want to spend only coins to do so. You can spend cash at any time to expand.
You can only expand a small block of land at a time.
You can choose where to expand except when a goal asks you to expand in a specific area.

Tap on the area placing the square where you want to expand then tap again to purchase the expansion.
Tip – Try to expand in areas with lots of trees on them so you can chop them down for extra goods.
The expanded area will light up after purchase and you can place items on it right away.

Adding Neighbors

Neighbors can be added by tapping on the menu button and then on the button with the two faces.
You will be taken to a menu that shows current neighbors and allows you to visit them and see information about them. Tap on the first button that says “Add Friends”
Here you will be taken to a screen with four options along the top.

Bonus – There is a daily coin bonus to collect at each of these steps once every 24 hours so be sure to check in daily for free money.
Facebook is the main connection point of the game and you will be taken to a message that allows you to enter the names of friends or choose them from a list of recommended facebook friends. These may be people that already have the app installed and are playing it.
Each time you add a neighbor you add the ability to have someone send you energy, decorative items and nest houses to increase your population and complete a goal.
The more neighbors you have the better you will do in the game.

Visiting Neighbors

Once you have neighbors you will be able to visit them. When you visit a neighbor you will be able to look around their town but the most important feature is that once every 24 hours you can collect a bonus for visiting your neighbor.

Once at your neighbor’s forest, tap on the “Collect” button at the bottom of the screen and it will immediately begin to countdown from 24 hours. If you visit too early the next day you will be able to see how much time is left until you can visit for another bonus again.
Another really great feature is that once you tap on the “Collect” button it changes to a “Next” button. If you tap this it will automatically take you to the next neighbor you have not visited yet. This will save a lot of time from moving back and forth between screens.
Visit all neighbors until all funds are collected.
Bonus – The bonus you collect is one energy point and one reputation heart.

Reputation Hearts

Reputation hearts are earned one at a time each time you visit a neighbor once in a 24 hour period.
Once you earn enough of them you will level up.

Leveling up serves two purposes. First, it causes you to earn large good bonuses and second the higher your level the more likely you are to be featured as a neighbor to someone that doesn’t know you if you are willing to pay the extra cash to unlock friends among other players you don’t know.
Be sure to visit all your neighbors once every 24 hours so you will level up fast in reputation and in game level.

Sending and Receiving Daily gifts

Each day you can send and receive one gift for every neighbor you have.
Sending Gifts – Tap on the neighbor icon in the main menu bar and then on the “Send Gifts” button.

This will take you to the gift screen where you can choose among several gifts you can send to your friends. Tap on “Send” under the name of anyone you wish to send to. You can also send to everyone at once by using the button provided to do so.
Some are decorative items that increase the rent payout around shops and some are actual houses you can place that increase your neighbors population by one.
There is a limit to how many you can use in a day but not how many you can send or receive.

Receiving Gifts – When you log into the game you may see a number by the menu button at the lower right corner. If you do, you may have gifts waiting to be accepted.
Tap on the “Z” key near the top and you will be taken to the acceptance screen in the message center.
Here you will see if anyone has sent you a gift. Tap on “Accept” and the item will be added to your inventory.
You will have to go to your inventory to use the gift in your game.

Inventory

You can access your inventory by going into the market area and looking for the inventory category on the wheel to the left of the screen.
Your inventory can hold a maximum of 200 items for you.
Once in inventory you will be able to see what items are there. These are gifts that you have accepted from other players.
At the bottom of each description is a count that shows how many of each item you have in inventory.
Each item has a “Use” button at the bottom. Tap on this once to place an item in your village.

Using Free Energy Points – When you have energy points in inventory you can tap on the “use” button several times in a row to add them to your total and fill up your meter. Just tap once to add one energy point as many times as you would like.
There is a limit of twenty energy points you can redeem per day.

Game Tips

Visit the add neighbors section daily for a coin bonus times four in each of the top sections once every 24 hours you can collect this bonus money.
You can tap on any structure in the village except decor items to see how much time is left before you can collect from it or harvest from it. A message will appear from the top of the screen for a few seconds.
If you run out of energy you can go to the market and set the category on “Energy” from here you can purchase more or ask friends to send it to you.
If you run out of energy you can also visit a neighbor for one energy point once every 24 hours.
Goods are not only from farming you can get them from chopping down trees too.

Congratulations!

You have completed the basic game play guide for ForestVille for iPhone, iPad and the iPod touch by Zynga. Be sure to check back often for game updates, Staff and user reviews, user tips, forum comments and much more here at Gamezebo!