The Official Game Artwork on loading Screens have been given a Christmas theme for the Christmas Update
The Christmas update (v. 1.3) was introduced on the 20th of November 2015 on iOS devices.
During December 2015, the game widened its release, and is now available on 3 new platforms - Kindles, Androids and Windows computers. The version of the game released on these platforms is the Christmas Update.
This means that the Christmas update was released on Kindles on the 4th of December 2015, on Androids on the 8th of December 2015, and on Windows on the 14th December 2015 (their respective game release dates).
The Christmas Update made a number of other changes, most noticeable of which was replacing the Halloween Monsters added by the Halloween Update with a new set of Christmas themed Monsters that are used to give players the new Fixers added by the update as well as being incorporated into the update's timed challenges; changes to the game such as changing what items can be won in some Locations (e.g. Gloomy House); and extra items being added to the Free Gift options in the Gifting System (e.g. Fixers introduced by the update and Candy Cauldron Access Passes).
The Update also introduced Main Events to the game for the third time. Players have a limited amount of time to complete 3 special challenges in the game in order to win unique rewards.
The Christmas Timed Challenges - Christmas Adventure[]
The Christmas timed challenges begin when a player reaches game level 7 in the game (or automatically after downloading the update if the player is already beyond level 7).
The Christmas Update's timed challenges
The Christmas timed event introduced 3 new challenges for players to complete within a set time frame:
Complete 30 special challenge quests and assemble the new Savior of Christmas artifact (increases your chances of receiving collection items and increases experience points earned when exploring Locations by 60% for 3 days) to win a once-off talisman, the Christmas Stocking talisman, which increases the rate that energy restores by 5 for 1 day.
Collect 150 snowflakes by banishing the new Monsters added by the update, in order to win the Chest of Wonders and have +5 energy added to your maximum energy.
Gingerbread Trees cannot be given as gifts between Friends or bought in the Store, however they are given as rewards for combining some of the new Collections in the game (namely the Collections needed to combine the Savior of Christmas Artifact that you naturally complete as you complete the 30 special challenge quests.
As usual, you will start out with 10 Gingerbread Trees given to you by the game when the challenge begins, and again there is an introduction by Anna Sherwood to make this obvious to players.
Important: The amount of time available for the Christmas Update's timed challenges is set and the countdown timer began as soon as the update was released in the Apple App Store. Players have been given just over 50 days beginning on the 20th of November 2015. This timer will expire for all players on the January 9th 2016 unless another extension is given. It does not matter when you download the update, this finish date is set. If you download the update on the 22nd of November you will have 48 days to complete the challenge, and if you wait until the 5th of January to download the update you will only have 4 days to complete the challenge. Delaying installing the update will not delay the timer.
The Special Avatar - Getting Winter Yard to Virtuoso Rank[]
The Special Avatar that is won when you reach Virtuoso Rank for Winter Yard
Players can win a Unique 'Christmas' Avatar by playing the new Hidden Object Location, Winter Yard, until they increase its Location Rank up to Virtuoso Level during the Christmas update's time sensitive challenge (during the first 50 days after the update is released).
'Gingerbread Tree' Access Passes are needed in addition to energy points for each play of the Winter Yard Hidden Object Location. The number of Gingerbread Tree needed for each play will increase by 5 each time you increase the Rank of the Location, from 5 Gingerbread Tree per play when you first open the Location at Novice Rank to 25 Gingerbread Tree per play when you are at the Detective Rank (the Rank before Virtuoso).
This means that players must collect Gingerbread Tree before they can play Winter Yard every time they wish to play the Hidden Object Location. This quest is about playing many different Hidden Object Locations many times, not just about playing games of Winter Yard, in order to win enough Gingerbread Tree to play Winter Yard enough times to reach Virtuoso Rank.
A certain number of Gingerbread Tree Access Passes are required, in addition to Energy points, for each play of the Winter Yard Location
Gingerbread Trees cannot be given as gifts between Friends or bought in the Store, however they are given as rewards for combining some of the new Collections in the game (namely the Collections needed to combine the Savior of Christmas Artifact that you naturally complete as you complete the 30 special challenge quests).
the goal is to reach Virtuoso Rank in Winter Yard
The more you play the Winter Yard Location, the higher the Location Rank you will achieve for the Location, and the more Gingerbread Trees will be required for each play.
As a guide, in order to reach Virtuoso Rank on Winter Yard, and win the new Avatar, you will need to play Winter Yard approximately 150 times, which will require approximately 3,285 Gingerbread Trees!
Assuming you complete the 30 Special Time Challenge Quests as you play Winter Yard, and so win the 100 Gingerbread Trees that the collections you combine working through these Quests give out, then you will need to find 3,185 Gingerbread Trees by playing other Hidden Object Locations. You will earn (as an overall average) around 1.8 Gingerbread Trees per play of other Hidden Object Locations, so you will need to play roughly 1,769 Hidden Object games to collect enough Gingerbread Trees to complete this challenge. This works out as playing 36 Hidden Object games every day over the course of the 50 day challenge. It is best to round this up to 40 games per day to ensure you have extra time for the challenge should any problems crop up. This is much more feasible a challenge than the last two Avatar challenges (Halloween Update and Foggy Ship Update), which had a much shorter time frame for the challenges and so required players to play at least 88 Hidden Object games a day.
Hints/Tips for Winning the Special Avatar[]
Although it will take many plays of Winter Yard to reach Virtuoso, there are things you can do to make the challenge easier:
Try to play a variety of Hidden Object Locations as much when possible when collecting Gingerbread Trees, instead of just playing one or two over and over again. The more you play a single Location repeatedly, the worse the rewards for each win gets. Additionally, the bigger variety of Locations you play, the bigger variety of other game items you can potentially win. This will greatly increase the number of regular collections you will be able to combine, which will potentially give you more Tools, energy items, Crafting Items, Monster Banishing items, Talismans and Artifacts that will all help with completing the quest.
Play Garden when you can. Garden can potentially rewards Truffles for Hidden Object game you win there. Truffles restore 30 energy points when used, and Garden can cost as little as 28 energy points (at Novice Rank, but up to over 50 energy points at higher Ranks). This means you can play for free or next to free if you have a good success rate of winning Truffles. Using Luck talismans and artifacts while playing Garden will increase your odds for winning Truffles. This also means that Garden is a great picture to play when collecting Gingerbread Trees, as by winning Truffles and restoring the energy you are using to play, you are basically collecting Gingerbread Trees for free in terms of energy costs. Note Garden requires Lantern Access Passes to play, so you will need to play other Locations to win these in order to play Garden.
Play Clock Tower and Dressing Room when you can, as these Locations potentially rewards the Flying Time tool as a reward for playing. This tool will come in handy when playing other Locations, particularly the new locations you may not be as familiar with. Note Dressing Room requires Gold Thread Access Passes to play, so you will need to play other Locations to win these in order to play Dressing Room. However, Clock Tower does not require Access Passes to play.
Play Clothing Store; Garden and Dressing Room when you can as these Locations potentially give Tools as rewards for playing. However, all of these Locations require Access Passes to play, so check to see if there are any Collections that will also reward the Tools you require, whose items can be won from playing regular energy Locations instead.
Although Puzzles do not reward Gingerbread Trees, and therefore will not directly help with the Avatar Challenge, they do reward items for very useful collections that can provide useful rewards for playing the game, such as Tools, Crafting items and Talismans. In particular, you need to play Puzzles if you want to collect the items needed for the Collections used to create the Valuable Pyramid Artifact (which increases the number of items you win for each play by 50% for 24 hours). Only remove Puzzles completely from your playing rotation if you do not need these items for the challenges.
When choosing which Locations to play to earn Gingerbread Trees, use the List of Collection Item Locations and Location Rewards pages here to see which Locations can potentially give you items for Collections you can combine for additional Energy, Tools, and Talismans.
As you play through the 30 challenge quests to win the Christmas Stocking talisman, you will be able to combine 5 new collections added as part of the update. These quests will reward Gingerbread Trees once combined.
Do not rely on Luck Talismans to earn more Gingerbread Trees per play. Luck Talismans and Artifacts will not increase the number of Gingerbread Trees you will win when playing Hidden Object Locations. These items increase the overall number of different items you win for each play, they do not effect the weighting of the items that could be won (rare items will still be rare, and common items will still be common, this will not change, you will just have more chances to gain rare items per play). Importantly, you are always guaranteed to win at least one Gingerbread Tree. It will always be one of the items in the rewards window. So increasing the overall number of different items in the rewards window will not help. Whether you win 1 Gingerbread Tree or 3 Gingerbread Trees for that play is weighted, but the Luck Talismans do not affect that weighting. So they will not increase your chances of getting 3 Gingerbread Trees. They can only increase the overall number of items won, and do not effect the weighting of items themselves. Work on the assumption that you will win, on average, 1.8 Gingerbread Trees per play when calculating how many Hidden Object Locations you need to play.
But still use Luck Talismans when you can (just don't stress out about not having them). Although they will not increase the number of Gingerbread Trees that you win as you play, they will increase the number of other items you win, such as Fixers, Crafting Items, Monster Banishing Items, and Collection Items. Everything you earn as you play trying to win Gingerbread Trees will be useful in the long run as they will help you combine the Collections needed for the Challenge Quests (which reward Gingerbread Trees) as well as other useful Collections in the game.
Find a system that works for you when you are collecting Gingerbread Trees. Some people like to work methodically through each Location in the game one time each and then play Winter Yard with however many Gingerbread Trees they have collected (even at Detective Level you should get one play). Others like to play until they have collected many hundreds of Gingerbread Trees so that they can play Winter Yard a large number of times in a row (to help get challenge quest items). Others still only play other Locations until they have just enough Gingerbread Trees for one play of Winter Yard. The second option might be the most efficient strategically speaking, as it allows the biggest run at the Location when you do play it. However the real difficulty in this challenge is keeping yourself motivated when playing other Locations many, many times over to collect Gingerbread Trees. The first option is good in that stops the need to count how many Gingerbread Trees you have in your Inventory at any one time, as you play the Winter Yard Location when you reach it on your map and not at a certain Gingerbread Tree goal. The third option works for people who need short term goals to keep motivated. In the end the best strategy for one player may not be the best strategy for other players, so find the one that suits your playing style. If it helps to count Gingerbread Trees, then count them. If it helps to ignore them and work on other goals, then ignore them. The more you play the more you will collect, regardless of how you approach collecting them.
Work on other goals in the game while collecting Gingerbread Trees to keep you motivated. Completing regular quests, finding items for regular collections, finding items for Crafting, Trading, and Banishing Monsters all involve playing Hidden Object Locations. As you work towards these goals you will collect Gingerbread Trees naturally and will be slowly working towards this goal in the process.
The Christmas Stocking Talisman and Savior of Christmas Artifact - 30 Special Challenge Quests[]
The Christmas Stocking Talisman, the reward for completing the 30 Challenge Quests and combining the Savior of Christmas Artifact
The Christmas Stocking talisman can be won once a player completes all 30 of the special Christmas Quests and then combines the new Savior of Christmas Artifact. The 30 special Quests ask the player to find all the items for and then combine the 5 Collections needed to combine the Savior of Christmas Artifact, so once the players completes the 30 special quests they will be immediately able to combine the Artifact and so complete this challenge and collect the Christmas Stocking Talisman. The quests must be completed and the new Artifact combined within the 50 day time limit of the Main Event in order to win the Christmas Stocking talisman.
The Decorative border that indicates a Challenge Quest as opposed to a regular Quest
A special decorative border, that looks like a Christmas wreath, in the quest list marks the 30 challenge quests needed to win the Christmas Stocking Talisman. Other quests added by the update, with regular plain borders, do not count towards the 30 when completed.
Note: the very first quest that displays the special decorative border is the quest to find the key needed to unlock and open the Winter Yard picture. However, this quest does not count towards the 30 quests needed to win the Christmas Stocking talisman. This means there are actually 31 quests that display the decorative border, but only the last 30 of them count towards the challenge. But importantly, you will need to complete this first quest in order to complete the challenge as the 30 quests that make up the challenge will not start until this quest is completed (there is only ever one quest with a special decorative border active at any one time) and the other quests require you to play Winter Yard (which this quest opens).
The special 30 quests that must be completed in order to win the Christmas Stocking talisman consist of 5 collection sequences of 6 quests each. The first 5 quests of each sequence are to find each of the 5 items belonging to one new collection added by the update. The 6th quest is to combine that collection.
The 5 collections players gather as they complete the 30 quests are:
Tree Decorations (combines to create "Decorated Tree" and rewards 10x Gingerbread Trees and 1x Coffee a la Vienne when combined)
Gifts for Friends (combines to create "Sack of Gifts" and rewards 15 Gingerbread Trees and 2x Coffee a la Vienne when combined)
Lady Byron's Holiday Feast (combines to create "Holiday Feast" and rewards 20 Gingerbread Trees and 1x Belgian Waffles when combined)
Holiday Show (combines to create "Sled with Gifts" and rewards 25 Gingerbread Trees and 2x Belgian Waffles when combined)
Mayor Smallcat's Christmas (combines to create "Snow Globe" and rewards 30 Gingerbread Trees and 1x Cake when combined)
All the items that make up these collections cannot be gifted between friends (they do not have green plus signs to add them to your Wish List and they will not appear in the 'Send a collection item' tab when sending gifts to your friends). They are all also 'Quest only' items, which means that they cannot be won normally by playing Hidden Object/Puzzle games. They are only available to win in the Locations while the quest for the particular item is activated and will stop being available to win in that picture once the quest is completed.
These collection items may also drop as random items when you are visiting your friends and charging their desktops; from the Collectors Trophy when collecting its rewards; and from opening some Chests, however whether or not you get any of these items in those ways is completely up to chance. This means that the only guaranteed way to complete these quests is to follow the quest instructions as you get the quests. This makes these 30 challenge quests slightly more difficult than normal quests, most of which could be gifted between friends or won in regular play of certain Locations.
The Challenge Quests[]
The 30 special quests that are needed to complete this challenge are:
Explore the Winter Yard in Text mode to find the item
Book of Christmas Carols
Mayor Smallcat's Christmas
28
Magic of Christmas Tales
Explore the Winter Yard to find the item
Christmas Fairy Tales
Mayor Smallcat's Christmas
29
Christmas Wonders
Explore the Winter Yard in Night mode to find the item
Christmas Candle
Mayor Smallcat's Christmas
30
Snowy Gift
Assemble and trade (combine) a collection to get the item
Snow Globe
Mayor Smallcat's Christmas
The Savior of Christmas Artifact[]
Once the quests are completed, you will have combined 1 each of all 5 Collections needed to create the Savior of Christmas Artifact. The Savior of Christmas Artifact increases your chances of receiving Collection items and Experience Points earned when exploring Locations by 60% for 3 days when it is activated.
Important: You must then combine this Artifact in order to complete this section of the Challenge and win the additional Christmas Socking Talisman.
The Savior of Christmas Artifact
To combine the Savior of Christmas Artifact, you must open the Artifacts Tab of the Collections Window, and scroll down to the bottom of the list. The Savior of Christmas Artifact is the last Artifact in the list of Artifacts.
To combine the Artifact you need one each of 5 collections (obtained while completing the 30 quests) and a number of Fixers. If you have all the requirements, the combine button next to theSavior of Christmas Artifact will be Green and you can combine the Artifact. If the Combine button is grey, you are missing at least one of the required collections to make the artifact. If the Combine button is brown, you have the right Collections but are missing at least one Fixer required to combine the Collection. You will need to obtain the missing items before you can create the Artifact and finish the 30 Special Quests Challenge (and win the Christmas Stocking Talisman).
The Fixers required to combine the Savior of Christmas Artifact are:
Fixer
Amount Needed
How to Obtain
Item(s) Required to Banish Monster
Can be Sent as Free Gift to Friends?
Carrot
10
Banishing the 'Sir Fatty' Monster
Red Mitten x3 (won by banishing the 'Goldie' Monster using Golden Bells won in Winter Yard)
Yes, unlocks level 30
Polka-dot Bow Tie
10
Banishing the 'Sir Fatty' Monster
Red Mitten x3 (won by banishing the 'Goldie' Monster using Golden Bells won in Winter Yard)
Yes, unlocks level 30
Icy Crown
10
Banishing the 'Ice Queen' Monster
Icy Flowers x2 (won by banishing the 'Sir Fatty' Monster using Red Mittens earned by banishing 'Goldie' Monsters using Golden Bells won in Winter Yard!)
Yes, unlocks level 40
Snowy Cake
10
Banishing the 'Ice Queen' Monster
Icy Flowers x2 (won by banishing the 'Sir Fatty' Monster using Red Mittens earned by banishing 'Goldie' Monsters using Golden Bells won in Winter Yard!)
Yes, unlocks level 40
Although obtaining these Fixers sounds complicated, they can all be obtained in exactly the same way. First you must play the new Hidden Object Location, Winter Yard, until you win some Golden Bells. You then used these Golden Bells to Banish the new 'Goldie' Monster, collecting Red Mittens as you do. You then use the Red Mittens to banish the 'Sir Fatty' Monster, collecting the Carrot and Polka-dot Bow Tie Fixers and also the Icy Flowers needed to banish the 'Ice Queen' Monster in order to get the Icy Crown and Snowy Cake Fixers. So as you play Winter Yard in order to complete the 30 Special Quests you will naturally collect all that you need to create the Fixers needed to combine the Savior of Christmas Artifact after you have finished the Quests.
Once the Savior of Christmas Artifact is combined, you will receive a notification that you have completed the 30 Quest Challenge and won the Christmas Stocking talisman.
Notification that you have successfully completed the Special Quest portion of the Challenge once the Savior of Christmas Artifact has been combined
Both the Artifact and the Talisman will automatically go into your Inventory. You must go to the Inventory in order to Activate either.
Both the Savior of Christmas Artifact and the Christmas Stocking Talisman can be found in the Talismans Tab of the Inventory Window (1st tab, symbol of an Owl). Tapping on the either in this Tab will bring up an information box for the Artifact/Talisman which will explain its function and allow you to activate it.
The Christmas Stocking Talisman, the reward for completing the 30 Challenge Quests and combining the Savior of Christmas Artifact in a player's inventory
Tapping on either the red 'Cancel' button at the bottom of the information window or the brown 'X' on the top right of the information window, will exit the window without activating the Artifact.
Tapping the green 'Use' button at the bottom of the information box will activate the Artifact/Talisman.
Savior of Christmas Artifact: An information bubble will appear on the right hand side of your Darkwood Town Map with a timer that will start counting down from 3 days. For as long as the Artifact is active, you will have a 60% greater chance of winning Collection items and recieve 60% more Experience Points for every Hidden Object or Puzzle game you win. Tapping on the bubble on the Darkwood Town Map will bring up an information box for the Artifact, which has a live running timer and explains the Artifact's function.
Christmas Stocking Talisman: An information bubble will appear on the right hand side of your Darkwood Town Map with a timer that will start counting down from 1 day. For as long as the Talisman is active, the rate at which you energy restores increases by 5. Tapping on the bubble on the Darkwood Town Map will bring up an information box for the Talisman, which has a live running timer and explains the Talisman's function.
Hints/Tips for Completing the Challenge Quests[]
Although it will take many plays of Winter Yard to complete the 30 quests, there are things you can do to make the challenge easier:
The Valuable Pyramid Artifact increases your chance of winning items by 50% for 24 hours
Use the strongest Luck Talismans/Artifacts you have available whenever you are playing a Location that rewards a Quest item. This will increase the number items you win for each play, which will increase you chances of winning the Quest item you are currently looking for. Seeker's Star Talismans (+90% chance of winning items for 120 minutes) and the Valuable Pyramid Artifact (+50% chance of winning items for 24 hours) are the most powerful Luck Talismans available in the game, so when playing other Locations choose Locations which award items needed for collections that reward these Talismans. You will need to play other pictures during the challenge anyway to collect Gingerbread Trees to play Winter Yard, so by making sure that Treasure Box; Ancient Cards; Docks; Clothing Store and Mosaic are in this rotation (rewards items for collections needed to combine Valuable Pyramid) are in your rotation while you increase your chances of getting more of these powerful luck talismans to use for the quests. (Note: the Puzzles do not reward Gingerbread Trees, so they should be played sparingly if possible during the challenges unless actively seeking the items for Collections needed to create the Valuable Pyramid Artifact)
The Guardian of Time increases your chance of winning items by an additional 12% for 10 days
Use your Guardian of Time Talismans during the challenge. The Guardian of Time Talisman works as a luck Talisman (it increases your odds of finding objects by 12% when activated), and is unique among the Talismans in that it can be used at the same time as another Talisman/Artifact of the same function. This means you can add an additional 12% increase in odds of finding objects to other Luck Talismans that you use during the challenge. You can only use one other Luck Talisman once the Guardian of Time Talisman is activated (as you cannot use more than one Luck Talisman at a time), but you can use one of any other Luck Talisman or the Valuable Pyramid Artifact at the same time as Guardian of Time Talisman. The Guardian of Time Talisman lasts for 10 days when activated.
The Challenge quests usually ask for you to play Winter Yard, so it is best to continue to work on Winter Yard as normal when playing and not to worry too much about the quests themselves, they will be completed as you go. That is, it is better to concentrate your resources just working on the Avatar challenge - getting Winter Yard to Virtuoso Rank. You will complete the quests naturally as you increase the Location to Virtuoso. The hints/tips for that challenge will therefore also aide in completing this challenge.
Read the quest instructions carefully. Most quests just ask you to play Winter Yard, but some will specify a mode. The item will only be available to win when the picture is in the correct mode. Most modes cannot be 'forced', which means you cannot make them appear in rotation. However, 'Text' mode can be triggered by dispelling (not playing) an anomaly from the Location. If the quest asks for Text mode in Winter Yard, then play other Locations (collecting Gingerbread Trees that you will need) until an anomaly appears in Winter Yard. You can then dispel the anomaly, making the next mode Text mode.
Use Anomaly Summoning items to force Anomalies into Winter Yard for the Quests (by limiting where they can summon the anomaly to just Winter Yard before using them)
Some Quests will ask you play Winter Yard when it has a certain Anomaly. For the duration of the Christmas Update, Winter Yard is the only Location in the game that rewards Anomaly Summoning items, which can be very useful for these quests. As you play Winter Yard to complete the other quests, you will naturally acquire the items to summon the Anomalies needed to complete the quests that require them.. When you use an Anomaly summoning item, you cannot choose which Location the Anomaly will appear in. However, there are limitations to the Anomaly summoning items that you can take advantage of to ensure that the Anomaly will appear in the Location you want it to (in this case, appear in Winter Yard). Anomaly Summoning items cannot create Anomalies in Locations that already have Anomalies or in Locations that are currently in Anagram mode. If all Locations in the game either already have an anomaly or are in Anagram mode, then you will receive an error notice when trying to use the Anomaly summoning item stating that 'you cannot create an anomaly right now'. You can use this fact to make sure that when you use the Anomaly summoning item that Winter Yard will be the only Location that the Anomaly can appear in. Simply play all the other Locations until they each have an Anomaly present (Anomalies are triggered by playing Locations, keep playing each Location over and over and eventually an Anomaly will appear in it). Leave Winter Yard in any mode except for Anagram mode (as the Summoning item will not work on a Location in Anagram mode). Then when you use the Anomaly Summoning item, the Anomaly will appear in Winter Yard and you can attempt to win the Quest item by playing it. You may have to Summon the Anomaly to Winter Yard and play it a number of times before you win the quest item. If you do not have the right Anomaly Summoning item for the Anomaly required for the quest, then just keep playing Winter Yard, as this will trigger anomalies naturally and you may win the right summoning item as you play.
The items needed to complete the quests cannot be gifted between friends. However they may drop as random items when you are visiting your friends and charging their Darkwood Town Maps; from the Collectors Trophy when collecting its rewards; and from opening the Rare Chest, Antique Box, and Carved Box Chests. Whether this happens or not will be completely up to chance, but in order to increase your odds it is a good idea to visit your friends every day when doing the challenge, and open any Collection Items Chests you have won if you are stuck on a stubborn quest.
When you are playing other Hidden Object Locations to collect Gingerbread Trees needed to play Winter Yard, make sure you play a wide variety of Locations and not just one easy to solve Location over and over.
Important: Plan ahead for the Fixers you will need to combine the 5 Collections the Challenge quests ask you to find and combine, as well as the Fixers you will need to combine the Savior of Christmas Artifact. You will require a large number of these Fixers to complete the challenge. The Fixers you will need to combine both the Collections and the Artifacts will require you to banish the new Monsters introduced by the update, which will require a large number of Banishing items. Many of the Banishing items required need to be found in Winter Yard (which requires Gingerbread Trees to play).
Again, although gathering Fixers to combine these collections sounds complicated, it mostly just involves playing Winter Yard to collect Golden Bells and using those Golden Bells to banish the 'Goldie' Monster (and using other items obtained by banishing the 'Goldie' Monster to banish the other monsters).
It is important to note that all of the Fixers required for these Collections and the Artifact can be gifted as Free Gifts (they do not come out of your own Inventory) so be sure to gift them to your Friends who are also doing the challenge. You can put these Fixers on your Wishlist ahead of time so that your Friends can be helping you by giving them as gifts, even if you are not ready to combine the collection/artifact yet. Aim to have everything you need to combine each collection and the artifact before you get the quest to combine that collection/finish all 30 quests to avoid delays in the challenge.
Note: You are not guaranteed to get a particular Fixer every time you Banish the right Monster, so you may have to Banish many more than the minimum amount of that Monster to gather the right amount of Fixers.
Fixer
Amount Needed to Complete Challenge
Monster to Banish to win Fixer
Item(s) Required to Banish Monster
How to obtain Banishing Item
Can be Sent as Free Gift to Friends?
Christmas Hat
53
Banishing the 'Goldie' Monster
Golden Bells
Won by playing Winter Yard
Yes, unlocks at level 20
Sweet Nuts
53
Banishing the 'Goldie' Monster
Golden Bells
Won by playing Winter Yard
Yes, unlocks level 20
Carrot
9
Banishing the 'Sir Fatty' Monster
Red Mitten x3
Won by banishing the 'Goldie' Monster using Golden Bells won in Winter Yard
Yes, unlocks level 30
Polka-dot Bow Tie
9
Banishing the 'Sir Fatty' Monster
Red Mitten x3
Won by banishing the 'Goldie' Monster using Golden Bells won in Winter Yard
Yes, unlocks level 30
The Chest of Wonder and +5 Max Energy Increase - Collecting 150 Snowflakes[]
The Chest of Wonder, the reward for 150 Snowflakes
A third timed challenge has been added to the Christmas Update's Timed Challenges (compared to just 2 timed challenges in the Foggy Ship Update and the Halloween Update.
Players must collect 150 Snowflakes by banishing the Christmas Monsters
Players must collect 150 Snowflakes by banishing the new 'Christmas' monsters added to the game by the update ('Goldie'; 'Sir Fatty' and 'Ice Queen'). The number of Snowflakes that you recieve depends on the level of the monster being banished, with more Snowflakes given out for banishing higher level Monsters.
Collecting Snowflakes[]
In order to collect Snowflakes, players must banish the new 'Christmas' monsters. Each monster gives out different numbers of Snowflakes:
Monster
Monster Level
Banishing Item(s) Required
How to Obtain Banishing Item
Number of Snowflakes Rewarded
Goldie
Level 1
Golden Bells x1
Won as reward for winning Hidden Object games of Winter Yard
1
Sir Fatty
Level 2
Red Mitten x3
Won by banishing the 'Goldie' Monster (using Golden Bells won in Winter Yard)
2
Ice Queen
Level 3
Icy Flowers x2
Won by banishing the 'Sir Fatty' Monster (using Red Mittens earned by banishing 'Goldie' Monsters using Golden Bells won in Winter Yard!)
3
Again, although gathering the items required to banish the Monsters and win Snowflakes sounds complicated, it mostly just involves playing Winter Yard to collect Golden Bells and using those Golden Bells to banish the 'Goldie' Monster (and using other items obtained by banishing the 'Goldie' Monster to banish the other monsters....)
You will naturally complete this challenge as you collect the Fixers required to combine the 5 Collections that make up the 30 Special Challenge Quests and to combine the Savior of Christmas Artifact.
Golden Bells are available to win as potential rewards for winning Hidden Object games of Winter Yard from Novice Rank onwards.
As a guide, in order to win 150 Snowflakes, and win the Chest of Wonder and +5 maximum energy, you will need to win approximately 71 bells from Winter Yard!
+5 Maximum Energy Increase[]
As soon as you collect the 150th Snowflake, a notification window will appear announcing that you have Snowflake portion of the challenge completed the challenge, and 5 Energy points will automatically be added to your maximum energy.
Notification that you have successfully collected 150 Snowflakes and completed the Chest of Wonders portion of the Challenge
This means that your maximum energy will be 5 higher than the base maximum energy for your current game level (see base maximum energy for each level on this page if you are unsure whether you received the reward upon completion of the quests - if your maximum energy is 5 higher than that listed in this table then you have received the boost for successfully colecting 150 snowflakes).
This +5 maximum energy boost will carry forward as you continue to increase your game level, i.e. you will always have 5 more maximum energy than the base maximum energy listed for whatever level you are on.
The Chest of Wonders[]
Once you have collected all 150 Snowflakes, you will receive a notification that you have completed the 30 Quest Challenge and won the Chest of Wonders. Your maximum energy will automatically be increased by 5 points when this happens.
The Chest of Wonders will automatically go into your Inventory. You must go to the Inventory Window in order to use the Chest.
The Chest of Wonders, the reward for collecting 150 Snowflakes
The Chest of Wonders can be found in the Chests Tab of the Inventory Window (4th tab, symbol of a box). Tapping on the Chest of Wonders in this Tab will bring up an information box for the Chest which will explain what is inside and allow you to open it to collect these rewards.
Tapping on the green 'Open' button at the bottom of this information window will open the Chest and you will receive the rewards inside. The chest will then disappear from the Chest tab of the Inventory.
Tapping on the brown 'X' button on the top right of this information window will close the window without opening the chest. The Chest will remain in the Chest tab of the Inventory until you open it and collect the rewards inside.
The Chest of Wonders contains the following rewards:
2x 'Belgium Waffles' Energy Item (restores 100 energy points)
1x 'Cake' Energy Item (restores 150 energy points)
1x 'Magic Folio' Talisman (+100% experience points for 2hrs)
1x 'Seeker's Star' Talisman (+90% luck for 2hrs)
1x 'Magic Ingot' Talisman (+100% coins earned for 2hrs)
5x 'Thunder Amulet' Talisman (energy restores 5 times faster for 90 minutes)
After the Challenge is Complete[]
Once all the challenges are complete (the 30 quests, snowflakes and the Avatar challenge) or the challenge timer expires (whichever happens first) then Gingerbread Trees are restricted so that they are no longer won in most Hidden Object Locations.
From this point forward, Gingerbread Trees can only be won in by winning Hidden Object games of Train Station.
Additionally, the new holiday Monsters will disappear from the Darkwood Town Map. This means it will only possible to obtain the 6 Christmas Fixers (Christmas Hat, Sweet Nuts, Carrot, Polka-dot Bow Tie, Icy Crown and Snowy Cake) as (free) gifts from Friends. It will not be possible to combine any more collections that use these Fixers by playing the game, the Fixers must be gifted to you.
If you complete all the challenges before the timer expires, then the timer will also immediately disappear from the Darkwood Town map, rather than continue to count down.
Changes to Hidden Object Locations[]
Changes to Gloomy House[]
With the introduction of the Christmas update and a new set of timed challenges linked to a new Hidden Object Location (Winter Yard), Gloomy House has been changed to reflect the fact that it is no longer part of a set of timed challenges.
The game level required to unlock Gloomy House has been increased to level 42. With this, so have the energy requirements for each play of Gloomy House increased, and so has the experience points and coins won at every Location Rank for the Location. These increases are to bring Gloomy House in line with the energy costs and rewards used in other Hidden Object Locations with high opening levels.
Candy Cauldrons remain in the game, and continue to be requirements, in addition to energy points, for each play of Gloomy House.
The Anomaly summoning items, that could be won in Gloomy House for the duration of the Halloween Update, have no been removed from the list of potential rewards when winning games of Gloomy House.
New Collection items, introduced by the Christmas update, have been added to the list of potential rewards when winning games of Gloomy House.
Candy Cauldrons Can Now be Won in Every Hidden Object Location[]
At the end of the Halloween Update's timed challenges, Candy Cauldron Access Passes, needed to play Gloomy House, were restricted so that they could only be won in Alley.
These Access Passes can now be won in every Hidden Object Location, and it is also possible to win more than one Candy Cauldron at a time.
Anomaly Summoning Items Now Won in Winter Yard[]
For the duration of the Halloween Update, Anomaly summoning items could be won by playing Gloomy House. These items are now no longer available in Gloomy House, but instead can be won in Winter Yard. This means that the Anomaly Summoning items are moving depending on which Location is currently being used for the current set of Timed Challenges. This is to make the timed challenges easier for players.
Changes to Access Passes[]
All Access Passes, required in addition to energy points to play certain Hidden Object Locations, can now be won by playing any Hidden Object Location.
This means that Gold Threads, Lanterns, Theater Tickets, Pieces of Eight, and Candy Cauldrons now appear in the 'You can find' section of the Explore Window of every Hidden Object Location in the game. You are not guaranteed to win any of these items for every play of a Hidden Object Location, they are just one of the many items that could potentially be won.
An unusual side-effect of this change is that each Access Pass can also be won in the Hidden Object Location that requires them.
The only exception to this is the new Gingerbread Trees, required to play Winter Yard. These can be won as potential rewards for winning Hidden Object games of every Hidden Object Location except for Winter Yard itself.
Changes to Collections[]
A number of changes have been made to Collections in the game, including which Location items can be found in.
Changes to Gifting[]
Changes to the Free Gift System[]
A 'Select all' check box has been added to the gifting window when a player is sending a free gift to their friends. This means that players can select all available friends at once when sending free gifts, instead of manually selecting each Friend to send the item to.
The Free Gift System in the game has been expanding to include a number of the new Fixers added to the game in the update. This gives players much more choice in what they can send their Friends as a gift each day. Players are still restricted to only sending one free gift to each friend each day (up to a maximum of 50 friends), but now they have more choice in what they can gift.
Candy Cauldrons Added to Free Gifts[]
A certain number of Candy Cauldron Access Passes are required, in addition to Energy points, for each play of the Gloomy House Location
Candy Cauldron Access Passes, required to play Gloomy House, can now be won by winning Hidden Object games in any Hidden Object Location. It is also possible to win more than one Candy Cauldron at a time when playing Hidden Object Locations.
In addition to this, Candy Cauldrons have also been added to the Free Gift System, and can now be gifted between Friends (and do not come out of your Inventory).
Candy Cauldron are unlocked as Free Gifts when a player reaches Game Level 60.
Pieces of Eight Unlock Level Increased[]
The game level that players must obtain in order to unlock Pieces of Eight Access Passes as Free Gifts has been increased from level 40 to level 50.
Changes to Banishing Monsters[]
The 'Halloween' Monsters, added by the Halloween Update, have been removed from the game, and have been replaced by the new 'Christmas' Monsters introduced by the Christmas Update. The Fixers that players used to win by banishing the 'Halloween' Monsters can now be won by banishing other Monsters in the game:
The Candy Apple Fixer can now be won by banishing the Strolling Silhouette and the Clot of Dark monsters
The Gummy Worms Fixer can now be won by banishing the Werewolf Ranger and the Werewolf Leader monsters
The Talking Hat Fixer can now be won by banishing the Gremlin Squabbler monster
The Garden Boot Artefact Fixer can now be won by banishing the Gremlin Leader monster
The Candy Pumpkin Artefact Fixer can now be won by banishing the Naga Hunter monster
The Green Potion Artefact Fixer can now be won by banishing the Medusa monster
3 new 'Christmas' Monsters have been introduced to the game to allow for the new Fixers added by the Christmas update to won in the game (and also to allow players to win snowflakes for the timed challenges). These are a new group of 'Christmas Monsters', that have 3 levels of difficulty like every other Monster Type in the game:
The rewards have been changed for some other Monsters, with Fixers from the Foggy Ship Update being added back to their potential rewards (see changes to fixers section below).
Changes to Fixers[]
More New Fixers Added to the Game[]
More Fixers have been added to the game (in addition to the Christmas Fixers described above). The Brush, Cameo and Pepperpot can be won by winning Hidden Object games of Shack and the Sachet can be won by winning Hidden Object games of Gloomy House.
Changes to the Darkwood Town Map[]
The Darkwood Town Map has been decorated for Christmas.
Changes to Other Systems[]
More New 'Regular' Avatars[]
Two couple of new Avatars have also been added to the list of standard Avatars. They can be found at the start of the list. This time, one male and one female avatar have been added, rather than 2 new female avatars like in the last 2 updates.
Glitches Fixed by the Christmas Update[]
coming soon...
Glitches not Fixed by the Christmas Update[]
Players Stats Frozen in the Top 100 list or for Friends[]
(To be Confirmed) Many players have a problem with their player stats in the game, where their game stats are not updating in the Top 100 List or in their entry on their Friends' 'Friends Lists', and when their Friends were Visiting them.
Wishlists Not Updating[]
(To be Confirmed, and if stats fixed it is likely so is this...) Players Wish Lists are still not updating correctly on the games servers, so that their Friends cannot see what they are currently asking for but instead see a much older version of the list of requests.
Game Crashes Losing Player's Progress[]
(To be Confirmed) Some Players have been experiencing game crashes that result in them losing all their game progress and having to start the game over again since the game was first released.
Problems with the Christmas Update[]
Server Problems Visiting and Gifting Friends[]
As with all large updates released for large social games, the Christmas Update caused an overload in the games servers during peak times for a couple of days immediately following the release of the update. During this time players may encounter problems visiting and gifting, and be given a "Failure to connect to the servers." error message when trying to interact with the Friends portion of the game. The servers normally go back to normal after a couple of days once all players have downloaded the new update, and server interactions have settled back down to normal levels.
