So I haven’t really been around in a while as I have been unwell. The thing about being ill is that you have reams of time on your hands. Like, more time than you ever have enough family guy to fill. So me being bored and usually playing premium, lead me down a dark, dark path.
The path of the freemium game…..
Now I haven’t played freemium in months. So my freemium game was a tad behind. Even my daughter hadn’t bothered to pick it up and continue it for me. Which is unlike her to not even attempt it!
I am digressing here…..
Phineas and Barnaby! That’s what I was talking about! Got it.
How does anyone have the time to play freemium?! I see a task for 6 hours and end up thinking about how looooooong that really is! That’s my daughters whole school day. That gives me nothing to do during the day! It’s frustrating if you are bored. I imagine its also frustrating if you are at work and you know your task finishes a few hours before work does. Meaning you are missing out on vital time to get those performance enhancers!
I eventually completed it and got both Phineas and Barnaby. Phineas was easy. Barnaby was much harder as Bonnie and Lois seemed to go on a performance enhancer strike on Sunday. Anyone else have that issue?! It was frustrating. I found myself calculating how many more six hour periods I had left until the timer ran out. I can’t be the only one who does that?!
I have read around the internet and on here that some people had both of them really quickly, without spending clams. HOW?! What’s your secret?!
I don’t really enjoy weekend events when I play them premium. I find them expensive and very quickly finished. Freemium really is a whole different ball game and I can see why people start spending clams. There is a kind of fear that kicks in around not getting the characters after all the effort it takes.
Freemium players – I salute you! The effort you put in is crazy, but sometimes I think frustration is the key to the addictive nature of this type of game.
FamilyGuyTips 
I found Phineas harder to get than Barnaby and I didn’t find the drop rate to be very good for the rare items. The old timey bike shop was supposed to give one of the items but it didn’t drop for me even once.
I think it would have been better if they’d done the same as they have for King Butt and let you continue trying to get the character throughout the event rather than have a 5 day timer. I ran out of time on Phineas and then I got Barnaby just after that and there there was two days left on the event and I had all the joggers going round my town but they were left with nothing to do as there were no more items to get, you didn’t even get coins from them.
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I’m a freemium player but really disappointed in the phineas & barnaby update. i managed to get phineas but the joggers disappeared yesterday and I havent had a performance enhancers from bonnie or lois since saturday. With 8 to collect for barnaby and 2 eggs still to find from joggers I splurged all 80 clams ive collected up to now to buy some enhancers but it wasnt enough. With only 8 hours left to unlock barnaby its not looking likely with eggs and enhancers still to find I feel ivw just wasted 80 clams.
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I played freemium up until Xmas event and Kiss was released. I couldn’t pass up on getting the whole band. It’s one of my favorite things about family guy. Only things I ever missed playing freemium was King Butt, this was when I had just started and was to new to really get him and I missed out on Bitch Stewie by one item. That’s one I’m still pissed about. I’m back to playing freemium again and it’s really how I prefer to play the game, makes it a challenge. I easily got Barnaby and Phineas though I went a day without Lois and Bonnie dropping performance enhancers. I’ve earned enough clams for free to get Jake and luckily Consuela plus a few other buildings and little clam items like the spotlights. It’s a fun game and a great time waster.
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Its great that you enjoy the game even without the spending aspect. I found it to be so much better without the clams, its a challenge and thats really what the game is about! I missed king butt too as i was playing freemium then….. There is hope for him though…..
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I play freemium, but have bought some clams when they have had a good deal on them. Bought some during Comic-con and Christmas when I was able to get snowflakes (I think) with the purchase. With those clams, and any I have earned while playing, I have only bought the premium characters that start with the game (Jake, Consuela, Buzz, etc.) I have resisted any other premium purchases. The ONLY other premium purchase for me was John McClane, as the Yeti was just too difficult, and I probably wouldn’t have been able to unlock Jesus or Santa without him. I have NOT bought any other premium item. I have a few Clams to spare and keep them in reserve in case any of these limited time events run short on me. I have not had to use any Clams to finish any event, but the Clams are there in case I need them. So my stress level is non-existent. I think about it this way. In 10 years will I even care if I unlocked or bought everything in this game? And more importantly, will anybody else? My wife already wonders why I play “that silly family game”, so who am I trying to impress. Most likely I will ultimately move on to other games, or TinyCo will no longer support the game, or version 2.0 of the game will have come out, or we won’t be using phones/tablets anymore to play games, etc. Bottom line for me, Just Have Fun, and don’t stress about it, after all it is just a game.
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Good view on gaming! I spent an arm and a leg on tapped out when it was first released. It was addictive. This game i play premium for the sake of the blog. But since i have so much time on my hands playing freemium seemed like a fun little experiment of sorts! Its time limits that get me! I feel oddly panicked by any time frame events! I did for wacking day in tapped out and they extended that by weeks! I should’ve learnt my lesson by now 😉
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I have played freemium since the first week of the game and, while I am truly appreciative for the premium players because they keep the game afloat (I sometimes don’t feel as if I am doing my part!), I wouldn’t want to play it any other way. Yes, it is hard passing on items like steroids Stewie (I love anything Stewie!!), but it is the way I have decided to play the game. I am laboring today about purchasing Rupert before the deadline (I bought Consuela during Halloween sale and then bought Jake because it was only 50 clams). I play freemium because I enjoy the strategy of setting up tasks and the sense of accomplishment when you get that last piece to drop. Other than King Butt and Peter’s clown outfit which both seemed a challenge to EVERYONE, I have managed to get everything that has been available without clams. Even Jesus which was a huge strategy session to get him before the deadline. I do however see a growing trend toward more premium participation. I am not sure if this is a reaction to the counterfeit clams that permeated the game, but it seemed to start right after that debacle. District 10 was welcome after what has seemed like non-stop events since Comic Con. I still play with the same passion but there is not that hourly urgency. That will change soon after TinyCo leaked out its plan for the next couple of months. Get ready for non-stop events for awhile!! And BTW — thanks for an awesome website and all you do for we the players!!!
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I freemium. Every time I finish putting everyone on tasks when I exit the game I set the timer on my phone with the lowest time. I need coins, so I’ve been putting everyone not working on quests on 2 hour tasks. I also have an office farm. Stewie is taking forever! I got Phineas and Barnaby really easy. Got them a couple days ago without clams. Honestly after the Christmas event everything else is easy. That was torture! Having to wake up every 4 hours for the dumb yeti…lol
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I really felt for everyone at christmas. Those yeti quests were brutal!
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I’m fully freemium and my secret is simply to play regularly, like every 2 hours. But you had so much time an struggles so I think it’s just down to luck. And I salute premium players for making the game what it is.
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Thanks Saad! Its a completely different game when you have all the extra premium buildings and / or you just buy the characters outright. It changes the whole playing dynamic. I guess freemium is a degree of luck with a whole heap of perseverance!
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Freemium player here, and thank you! 😀
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Honestly – it is stressful! Have you played freemium the whole time?
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Yes, it is my challenge. I only spent 200 clams for one Kiss character (and got 25 clams back, so 175 total clams) to be able to defeat the Yeti and get Jesus without spending another clam. I did it as an investment, as Jesus can gain clams and will pay 175 of them eventually.
I’ve never spent one clam other than those, not even 50 clams for one extra worker or for Jake Tucker.
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