The Official Game Artwork on loading Screens have been given a Halloween twist for the Halloween Update
The Halloween update (v. 1.2) was introduced on the 20th of October 2015, with a bug fixing patch (v. 1.2.1) being released for the update on the 27th October 2015.
The Halloween Update made a number of other changes, most noticeable of which was adding a new set of Monsters that are used to give players the new Fixers added by the update; changes to the game such as changing what items can be won in some Locations (e.g. Ship); and extra items being added to the Free Gift options in the Gifting System (e.g. Fixers introduced by the update and Piece of Eight Access Passes).
The Update also introduced Main Events to the game for the second time. Players have a limited amount of time to complete 2 special challenges in the game in order to win unique rewards.
The Halloween Timed Challenges - Mystery of the Gloomy House[]
The Halloween 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 Halloween Update's timed challenges
The Halloween timed event introduced 2 new challenges for players to complete within a set time frame:
Complete 30 special challenge quests and assemble the new Ghost Buster artifact (increases your chances of receiving collection items and Fixers when exploring Locations by 55% for 3 days) to win the Thirteenth Chest that adds +5 energy to a players maximum energy.
Candy Cauldrons 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 Ghost Buster Artifact that you naturally complete as you complete the 30 special challenge quests.
As usual, you will start out with 10 Candy Cauldrons given to you by the game when the challenge begins, except this time there is an introduction by Anna Sherwood to make this obvious to players.
Important: The amount of time available for the Halloween 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 20 days beginning on the 20th of October 2015, and then a 7-day extension was given to all players, making the total time available to players 27 days, starting on the 20th October. This timer will expire for all players on the November 17th 2015 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 October you will have 25 days to complete the challenge, and if you wait until the 5th of November to download the update you will only have 12 days to complete the challenge. Delaying installing the update will not delay the timer.
The Challenge Quests; the Ghost Buster Artifact; and the Thirteenth Chest[]
The Thirteenth Chest, the reward for completing the 30 Challenge Quests and combining the Ghost Buster Artifact
The Thirteenth Chest can be won once a player completes all 30 of the special Halloween Quests and then combines the new Ghost Buster Artifact. The 30 special Quests ask the player to find all the items for and then combine the 5 Collections needed to combine the Ghost Buster 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 Thirteenth Chest and have +5 added to their maximum energy. The quests must be completed and the new Artifact combined within the 20 day time limit of the Main Event in order to win the Thirteenth Chest and maximum energy boost.
The Decorative border that indicates a Challenge Quest as opposed to a regular Quest
A special decorative border, that is silver with a bat and pumpkin decoration, in the quest list marks the 30 challenge quests needed to win the Thirteenth Chest. 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 Gloomy House picture. However, this quest does not count towards the 30 quests needed to win the Thirteenth Chest. 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 Gloomy House (which this quest opens).
The special 30 quests that must be completed in order to win the Thirteenth Chest and maximum energy boost 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:
Terrifying Treats (combines to create "Haunted House Cake"and rewards 10 Candy Cauldrons when combined)
Undead Masquerade (combines to create "Lost Bride" and rewards 15 Candy Cauldrons when combined)
Halloween Ambiance (combines to create "Golden Door Handle" and rewards 20 Candy Cauldrons when combined)
Mysterious Hobbies (combines to create "Chest of Wandering Souls" and rewards 25 Candy Cauldrons when combined)
Precious Panel (combines to create "Precious Panel" and rewards 30 Candy Cauldrons 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:
Assemble and trade (combine) a collection to get the item
Precious Panel (Precious Panel collection)
Precious Panel
The Ghost Buster Artifact[]
Once the quests are completed, you will have combined 1 each of all 5 Collections needed to create the Ghost Buster Artifact. The Ghost Buster Artifact increases your chances of receiving Collection items and Fixers when exploring Locations by 55% 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 Thirteenth Chest and +5 maximum energy reward.
The Ghost Buster Artifact
To combine the Ghost Buster Artifact, you must open the Artifacts Tab of the Collections Window, and scroll down to the bottom of the list. The Ghost Buster 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 the Ghost Buster 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.
The Fixers required to combine the Ghost Buster Artifact are:
Fixer
Amount Needed
How to Obtain
Item(s) Required to Banish Monster
Can be Sent as Free Gift to Friends?
Garden Boot
18
Banishing the Living Scarecrow Monster
Hat with a Surprise x3 (won by banishing the Crazed Pumpkin using Lollipops won in Gloomy House!)
Yes, unlocks level 35
Candy Pumpkin
9
Banishing the Madam Grimoire Monster
Mustard Powder x2 (won by banishing the Living Scarecrow using Hat with a Surprise earned by banishing Crazed Pumpkin Monsters using Lollipops won in Gloomy House!)
Yes, unlocks level 40
Green Potion
9
Banishing the Madam Grimoire Monster
Mustard Powder x2 (won by banishing the Living Scarecrow using Hat with a Surprise earned by banishing Crazed Pumpkin Monsters using Lollipops won in Gloomy House!)
Yes, unlocks level 45
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, Gloomy House, until you win some Lollipops. You then used these Lollipops to Banish the new Crazes Pumpkin Monster, collecting 'Hat with a Surprise's as you do. You then use the 'Hat with Surprise's to banish the Living Scarecrow, collecting the Garden Boot Fixer and also the 'Mustard Powder' needed to banish the Madam Grimoire Monster in order to get th Candy Pumpkin and Green Potion. So as you play Gloomy House in order to complete the 30 Special Quests you will naturally collect all that you need to create the Fixers needed to combine the Ghost Buster Artifact after you have finished the Quests.
Once the Ghost Buster Artifact is combined, you will receive a notification that you have completed the 30 Quest Challenge and won the Thirteenth Chest. At this point the +5 will automatically be added to your maximum energy.
Notification that you have successfully completed the Special Quest portion of the Challenge once the Ghost Buster Artifact has been combined
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 completing the special quests and combining the Ghost Buster Artifact).
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.
Both the Artifact and the Chest will automatically go into your Inventory. You must go to the Inventory in order to Activate the Artifact.
The Ghost Buster Artifact can be found in the Talismans Tab of the Inventory Window (1st tab, symbol of an Owl). Tapping on the Ghost Buster Artifact in this Tab will bring up an information box for the Artifact which will explain its function and allow you to activate it.
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. 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 55% greater chance of winning Collection items and Fixers 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 Artifacts function.
The Thirteenth Chest[]
Once the Ghost Buster Artifact is combined, you will receive a notification that you have completed the 30 Quest Challenge and won the Thirteenth Chest. Your maximum energy will automatically be increased by 5 points when this happens.
Both the Artifact and the Chest will automatically go into your Inventory. You must go to the Inventory Window in order to use the Chest.
The Thirteenth Chest, the reward for completing the 30 Challenge Quests and combining the Ghost Buster Artifact
The Thirteenth Chest can be found in the Chests Tab of the Inventory Window (4th tab, symbol of a box). Tapping on the Thirteenth Chest 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 Thirteenth Chest 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)
Hints/Tips for Completing the Challenge Quests[]
Although it will take many plays of Gloomy House 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 Candy Cauldrons to play Gloomy House, 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 Candy Cauldrons, 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 Gloomy House, so it is best to continue to work on Gloomy House 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 Gloomy House 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 Gloomy House, 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 Gloomy House, then play other Locations (collecting Candy Cauldrons that you will need) until an anomaly appears in Gloomy House. You can then dispel the anomaly, making the next mode Text mode.
Use Anomaly Summoning items to force Anomalies into Ship for the Quests (by limiting where they can summon the anomaly to just Gloomy House before using them)
Some Quests will ask you play Gloomy House when it has a certain Anomaly. For the duration of the Halloween Update, Gloomy House is the only Location in the game that rewards Anomaly Summoning items, which can be very useful for these quests. As you play Gloomy House 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 Gloomy House). 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 curse 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 Gloomy House 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 Gloomy House 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 Gloomy House and you can attempt to win the Quest item by playing it. You may have to Summon the Anomaly to Gloomy House 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 Gloomy House, 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 Candy Cauldrons needed to play Gloomy House, make sure you play a wide variety of Locations and not just one easy to solve Location over and over. You will need to collect a large number of items in the game in order to gather enough Fixers to complete these quests. These items are spread around many Locations, so be sure to play a wide variety of Locations (see below):
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 Ghost Buster 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 Gloomy House (which requires Candy Cauldrons to play). 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.
Again, although gathering Fixers to combine these collections sounds complicated, it mostly just involves playing Gloomy House to collect Lollipops and using those Lollipops to banish the Crazed Pumpkin Monster (and using other items obtained by banishing the Crazed Pumpkin Monster to banish 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 Wish list 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.
Important: A glitch in the game caused the Talking Hat Fixer to originally appear with the unfortunate name "Required to turn in collections", which is the description for Fixers that usually appears when you tap on any Fixer and bring up its information box. This seems to be resolved now.
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?
Candy Apple
48
Banishing the Crazed Pumpkin Monster
Lollipop
Won by playing Gloomy House
Yes, unlocks low level (<13)
Gummy Worms
48
Banishing the Crazed Pumpkin Monster
Lollipop
Won by playing Gloomy House
Yes, unlocks level 13
Talking Hat
18
Banishing the Living Scarecrow Monster
Hat with a Surprise x3 per Banish (so 54 total)
Won by Banishing the Crazed Pumpkin
Yes, unlocks level 16
The Special Avatar - Getting Gloomy House to Virtuoso Rank[]
The Special Avatar that is won when you reach Virtuoso Rank for Gloomy House
Players can win two Unique 'Halloween' Avatar by playing the new Hidden Object Location, Gloomy House, until they increase its Location Rank up to Virtuoso Level during the Halloween update's time sensitive challenge (during the first 20 days after the update is released).
'Candy Cauldron' Access Passes are needed in addition to energy points for each play of the Gloomy House Hidden Object Location. The number of Candy Cauldrons needed for each play will increase by 5 each time you increase the Rank of the Location, from 5 Candy Cauldrons per play when you first open the Location at Novice Rank to 25 Candy Cauldrons per play when you are at the Detective Rank (the Rank before Virtuoso).
This means that players must collect Candy Cauldrons before they can play Gloomy House 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 Gloomy House, in order to win enough Candy Cauldrons to play Gloomy House enough times to reach Virtuoso Rank.
A certain number of Candy Cauldron Access Passes are required, in addition to Energy points, for each play of the Gloomy House Location
Candy Cauldrons cannot be won as rewards for winning Hidden Object games of Ship, Shack, Gloomy House or by winning Puzzle games.
Candy Cauldrons 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 Ghost Buster Artifact that you naturally complete as you complete the 30 special challenge quests).
the goal is to reach Virtuoso Rank in Gloomy House
The more you play the Gloomy Ship Location, the higher the Location Rank you will achieve for the Location, and the more Candy Cauldrons will be required for each play.
As a guide, in order to reach Virtuoso Rank on Gloomy House, and win the new Avatars, you will need to play Gloomy House approximately 150 times, which will require approximately 3,285 Candy Cauldrons!
Assuming you complete the 30 Special Time Challenge Quests as you play Gloomy Ship, and so win the 100 Candy Cauldrons that the collections you combine working through these Quests give out, then you will need to find 3,185 Candy Cauldrons by playing other Hidden Object Locations. You will earn (as an over all average) around 1.8 Candy Cauldrons per play of other Hidden Object Locations, so you will need to play roughly 1,769 Hidden Object games to collect enough Candy Cauldrons to complete this challenge. This works out as playing 88 Hidden Object games every day over the course of the 20 day challenge. It is best to round this up to 100 games per day to ensure you have extra time for the challenge should any problems crop up.
Hints/Tips for Winning the Special Avatar[]
Although it will take many plays of Gloomy House 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 Candy Cauldrons, 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 Candy Cauldrons, as by winning Truffles and restoring the energy you are using to play, you are basically collecting Candy Cauldrons 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 when you can, as this Location 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.
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 Candy Cauldrons, 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 Candy Cauldrons, 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 Thirteenth Chest, you will be able to combine 5 new collections added as part of the update. These quests will reward Candy Cauldrons once combined.
Do not rely on Luck Talismans to earn more Candy Cauldrons. Luck Talismans and Artifacts will not increase the number of Candy Cauldrons 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 Candy Cauldron. 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 Candy Cauldron or 3 Candy Cauldrons for that play is weighted, but the Luck Talismans do not affect that weighting. So they will not increase your chances of getting 3 Candy Cauldrons. They can only increase the overall number of items won, and do not effect the weighting of items themselves.
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 Candy Cauldrons 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 Candy Cauldrons will be useful in the long run as they will help you combine the Collections needed for the Challenge Quests (which reward Candy Cauldrons) as well as other useful Collections in the game.
Find a system that works for you when you are collecting Candy Cauldrons. Some people like to work methodically through each Location in the game one time each and then play Gloomy House with however many Candy Cauldrons they have collected (even at Detective Level you should get one play). Others like to play until they have collected many hundreds of Candy Cauldrons so that they can play Gloomy House 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 Candy Cauldrons for one play of Gloomy House. 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 Candy Cauldrons. The first option is good in that stops the need to count how many Candy Cauldrons you have in your Inventory at any one time, as you play the Gloomy House Location when you reach it on your map and not at a certain Candy Cauldrons 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 Candy Cauldrons, 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 Candy Cauldrons 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 Candy Cauldrons naturally and will be slowly working towards this goal in the process.
Ignore Shack and Ship for now. Although it is tempting to play the new Location Shack and also play Ship more now that Pieces of Eight are easier to win in-game, neither of these Locations award Candy Cauldrons. This means that every play of these two Locations is a missed opportunity for earning Candy Cauldrons.
After the Challenge is Complete[]
Once both challenges are complete (both the 30 quests/Ghost Buster Artifact and the Avatar challenge) or the challenge timer expires (whichever happens first) then Candy Cauldrons are restricted so that they are no longer won in most Hidden Object Locations.
From this point forward, Candy Cauldrons can only be won in by winning Hidden Object games of Alley.
Changes to Hidden Object Locations[]
Ship Rewards Changed[]
The items you can potentially win by playing Ship have been changed.
Pieces of Eight Can Now be Won in Every Hidden Object Location[]
At the end of the Foggy Ship Update's timed challenges, Pieces of Eight Access Passes needed to play Ship were restricted so that they could only be won in Mayor's Office.
These Access Passes can now be won in every Hidden Object Location, and it is also possible to win more than one Piece of Eight at a time.
Anomaly Summoning Items Now Won in Gloomy House[]
For the duration of the Foggy Ship update, Anomaly summoning items could be won by playing Ship. These items are now no longer available in Ship, but instead can be won in Gloomy House. 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 Collections[]
A number of changes have been made to Collections in the game, including which ones are giftable (can be added to your Wish list and can be gifted to friends, see changes to Gifting section below), and also which Location items can be found in. Collections that were previously 'quest only' and could not be won during normal game play, can now be found as rewards for winning Hidden Object games in Hidden Object Locations (namely Ship and Gloomy House).
Changes to Gifting[]
More Changes to What Collections are Giftable[]
The Foggy Ship Update introduced 'non-giftable' Collections to the game, whose Collection items cannot be gifted between Friends. These were added retroactively to many preexisting Collections in the game as well as to some of the new Collections added by the Update.
The Halloween Update has turned some non-giftable Collections back into Giftable Collections, including some Collections needed to combine Artifacts.
Collections that were NOT giftable during the Foggy Ship Update, but now ARE giftable again:
Venetian Masks (Reward: Coffee a la Vienne x1; forms part of Forged Mask Artifact)
Golden Armor (Reward: Lightning in a Bottle x5)
Engraved Spell (Reward: Piggy Bank x1)
Special Equipment (Reward: Thunder Amulet x1)
Memorable Figurines (Reward: Lanterns x75)
Sign's of a Pirate (Reward: Piece of Eight x10; forms part of Great Captain Artifact)
Ship's Treasure (Reward: Piece of Eight x15; forms part of Great Captain Artifact)
Ben's Collection (Reward: Piece of Eight x20; forms part of Great Captain Artifact)
Real Sailor (Reward: Piece of Eight x25; forms part of Great Captain Artifact)
Ghost Hunting (Reward: Piece of Eight x30; forms part of Great Captain Artifact)
Changes to the Free Gift System[]
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.
Pieces of Eight Added to Free Gifts[]
A certain number of Piece of Eight Access Passes are required, in addition to Energy points, for each play of the Gloomy House Location
Piece of Eight Access Passes, required to play Ship, have been given multiple Locations where they can be won as rewards in the game by the Halloween Update. It is also possible to win more than one Piece of Eight at a time when playing Hidden Object Locations.
In addition to this, Pieces of Eight have also been added to the Free Gift System, and can now be gifted between Friends (and do not come out of your Inventory)
Pieces of Eight are unlocked as Free Gifts when a player reaches Game Level 40.
Changes to Visiting Friends[]
The Foggy Ship Update introduced Access Passes as potential rewards that can be won as part of Daily Bonuses when visiting Friends. The Halloween Update has taken this one step further, and now it is possible to win up to 5 of the Access Passes when it is one of the rewards given for a Daily Bonus.
The exact number of experience points and coins earned as part of the Daily Bonus is also now listed.
Changes to Banishing Monsters[]
As new Fixers have been added to the game, they have been integrated into other systems in the game to allow players to earn them.
3 new Monsters have been introduced to the game to allow for the new Fixers to won in the game. These are a new group of 'Halloween Monsters', that have 3 levels of difficulty like every other Monster Type in the game:
Level 1 (easiest): Crazed Pumpkin
Level 2: Living Scarecrow
Level 3 (hardest): Madam Grimoire
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 Halloween Fixers described above). The Glass Rose, Candlestick and Pincushion can be won by winning Hidden Object games of Clock Tower and the Bookmark can be won by winning Hidden Object games of Ship.
Changes to Foggy Ship Fixers[]
It is now possible to win the Fixers introduced by the Foggy Ship Update once again by banishing Monsters. These were originally winnable by banishing Monsters, but then restricted after the Foggy Ship Update timed challenges ended.
Additionally, you can now win 5 each of these Fixers when banishing their respective Monsters.
Changes to the Darkwood Town Map[]
The Darkwood Town Map has been decorated for Halloween.
Changes to Other Systems[]
More New 'Regular' Avatars[]
A couple of new Avatars have also been added to the list of standard Avatars. They can be found at the start of the list.
Halloween Update Patch (v. 1.2.1)[]
A patch was released for the Halloween update on the 27th October 2015. Patches are minor updates that are released to fix small problems with the current version of the game and do not provide new content. In this case, the Halloween Update is version 1.2 of the game, and the Halloween patch, v. 1.2.1 was intended to fix minor problems with the game. No release notes were provided for the Halloween patch.
Glitches Fixed by the Halloween Update[]
Players Game Boards Not Reflecting Correct Update Versions[]
(To be Confirmed) For players who game stats are frozen on the games servers, and do not update on either the Top 100 players list or in their Friend's Friends Lists, their game boards also appear frozen when their Friends visit them. Their Friends will not see their correct Location Ranks for Hidden Object Locations and Puzzle games, and will see all new Hidden Object Locations introduced by recent updates as locked (as if they have not downloaded the update despite the player gifting update Fixers). This problem may be resolved for some, but not all players, with the problem. Visiting Friends with previous frozen stats and unlocked Hidden Object Locations, and the new Hidden Object Location, Gloomy House, will appear unlocked with some progress on Location Rank for that Location (though this still may not accurately reflect their current Rank for the Location).
Glitches not Fixed by the Halloween 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 Halloween Update[]
The main problem with the Halloween Update is that a new content Update was released instead of one that fixed some of the major problems players are experiencing in the game. Releasing new Locations and introducing a set of timed challenges is not the best use of resources, when there are game crippling problems that are left unaddressed. Players experiencing these problems would probably be happy playing the original game content and waiting a little longer for new content to be released if it meant that these problems were being fixed.
No Male Avatar for Completing Virtuoso in Gloomy House[]
Unlike the Foggy Ship Update, only one unique avatar, a female one, is given as a reward for completing the Halloween Update challenge. No male option is given.
Server Problems Visiting and Gifting Friends[]
As with all large updates released for large social games, the Halloween 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.
Glitches in the Halloween Update[]
The "Required to Turn in Collections" Fixer[]
One of the new Fixers added by the Update has a somewhat unusual name
Catchy name but not exactly a problem in the game.
A glitch in the game gave theTalking Hat Fixer the unfortunate name "Required to turn in collections" when viewed in the Collections Section or Gifting Window. This the description for Fixers that usually appears when you tap on any Fixer and bring up its information box. This appearsto have been resolved now and the Talking Hat is back displaying its own name.
Some Quest Information Appearing Blank[]
Again, not really a big problem since there other ways to get the information. But some Quest dialogue boxes introduced by the update appear to be blank, so you cannot see the Quest information or the Story line update that comes with the Quest.
Some Quest dialog boxes appear to be missing all their information including title and Story disposition by game characters
