Thursday, August 28, 2014

You're not fooling anyone

If you feel the need to +1 all your forum posts they're probably not as helpful as you think. Just saying.

Don't think we don't all notice.

Saturday, May 10, 2014

Earning Passes - Part 3

Time to wrap up my three part pass earning guide. This post will be discussing web sites that allow you to earn money for doing simple tasks.

How do these sites work?

These sites work by having you complete tasks and offers, for which they reward you with a small amount of points you can exchange for real prizes - including money and prepaid game cards.

Common tasks include answering surveys, watching videos and completing sponsorship offers but all this really varies from website to website.

Why use them?

A lot of these websites are very trustworthy and have great track records. They're much more likely to reward you than Howrse's own SponsorPay offers. These sites are secure, pay well, and make it easy to earn rewards.

What are the drawbacks?

Like any online offers, sometimes these websites don't reward as promised. Some take a while to reward, and others may intentionally make it difficult to complete offers. It all comes down to what site you're using and how carefully you're following the offer instructions.

Are they safe?

Some are safe, and others are not. I'll be discussing two sites I know are safe, but if you want to know about any others feel free to ask me specifically. I'll be happy to help. Alternatively, you can also look up reviews.

What sites should I use?

I'm glad you asked! I'll show you my two favorites and give you some pros and cons.

Swagbucks - This is probably the premier website for earning rewards. Swagbucks has been around a long time and they're very trustworthy and reliable. This site offers many different ways to earn rewards - including videos, surveys, polls, flash games and special codes you can redeem for points.

I personally suggest this website to Howrse players because they have a great rewards shop that not only allows you to transfer your points to Paypal, but you can also buy Zeevex giftcards that you can use to purchase passes. This is great for users who don't have access to Paypal.

You can easily earn a dollar a day on here, but even at less than that you should still be able to afford some passes once or twice a month. It doesn't take much time or effort at all.

GiftHulk - Gifthulk is basically a Swagbucks knockoff. This site is newer, but it works almost identically to Swagbucks. You can complete offers in exchange for points. This site doesn't have as many offers as Swagbucks, but their videos offers do pay more.

One downside to Gifthulk is that they have a rather limited reward shop. You can transfer your points to Paypal but you cannot buy any gamecards that are compatible with Howrse.



Disclaimer - If you choose to use either of these sites, please practice common sense when completing offers. Remember that offsite partnership offers may not be safe or secure and some may be phishing for your personal information. When in doubt, always play it safe! If you're concerned, stick to onsite offers like videos and polls.

If you need help or have questions please don't hesitate to ask. I'm happy to help.

Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Stop Whining

Complaining about how pass buyers and VIP players get better odds of snagging divines is like walking into McDonalds, ordering off the dollar menu, and then crying when you see another kid get a toy in their Happy Meal. 

Pay up or quit your bitching, free loader.



Sunday, April 27, 2014

Earning Passes - Part 2

For the second installment of my impromptu guild on earning passes I'll be covering SponsorPay offers. I can just hear people groaning already. I feel like the only player out there who understands how to do these things. I figured I'd offer some advice instead of hoarding all the glory for myself.

What are SponsorPay offers?

Strictly speaking, the SponsorPay offers are partnership promotions offered by third party companies who have paid Owlient for advertising space on the Howrse website. These offers are not directly affiliated with Howrse.

The SponsorPay offers allow you to earn passes for completing activities like surveys and website signups.

How do they work?

Generally, these offers are straight forward and the terms are clearly listed on the initial offer page. After completing an offer, the SponsorPay is supposed to confirm that you have earned the passes.

These things never work!

I see a lot of players claiming these offers never work. I can assure you that this isn't true. Many offers do not reward, this is true, but there are others that do. I frequently earn passes doing SponsorPay.

Tips and suggestions

First of all, and I cannot stress this enough, be sure you are following the instructions. If an offer says to register and confirm your email address, you must confirm your email address to be eligible for passes. If an offer says to complete a survey, you must complete a survey. You cannot stop half way through.

Secondly, learn to spot offers that will likely reward. You'll find many of these offers are from the same company. If one of them doesn't reward, it's likely none of them will. Save yourself the time and try something else.

Third, don't freak out if an offer doesn't give you your passes. Remember this is free. It sucks to waste time, but I figure we're here sitting on our butts playing with digital ponies - what's it really matter if we get shafted by a survey? If you want free passes, keep trying.

Keep yourself safe

It's important to remember that the SponsorPay partners are out to make money. They're not giving you passes because they like you. You must take certain precautions to keep yourself safe from scams, malware and adware. I know that all sounds pretty scary but I promise you it isn't hard so long as you use common sense.

First of all, it's a good idea to have a decent anti-virus running on your computer. Keep its registry files up to date.

Secondly, be very careful giving out any personal information. Many offers will ask you for your phone number. It is a good idea to not give it. If you carefully read the terms of service on such sites, you'll find you're essentially signing yourself up for telemarketing calls.

Third, use a junk email account. Many of these offers will absolutely flood your inbox with spam mail. Don't use your personal email for this.

Fourth, do not download content you do not trust. If you're unsure, always play it safe. Players who are more experienced with computers and web-safety may want to look into a "sandboxing" program that will allow you to download and quarantine programs and applications without risk.

Fifth, never give your billing information to sites whose legitimacy you cannot confirm.

Sixth, if you're a minor be sure your parents know what you're doing. Don't be afraid to ask for help.

Trouble shooting

Some players insist on taking screenshots confirming they have completed offers so that they can send a ticket to the SponsorPay representatives if an offer does not reward. I honestly find this to be a waste of time, but you're welcome to do it.

If you've completed a bunch of offers and none are rewarding you may want to try clearing your cache and cookies.

I've never been able to earn more than 25 passes in a single day. The Howrse admin told me they do not impose any limits on SponsorPay, but that they sponsors themselves may. I'm inclined to believe there is a limit to how much you can earn daily.



Any questions?

Saturday, April 26, 2014

Earning Passes - Part 1

I see so many players stressing out about passes. I figured I'd take a moment to talk about how to earn them without spending your hard earned cash (or your parents hard earned cash, whatever).

This is the first in a series of three posts and, perhaps predictable, I'll be covering pass horses.

What is a pass horse?

I know this seems basic, but I often see people confused as to what pass horses are exactly. A pass horse is generally defined as any mortal horse aged 30 years or older that is sent to Heaven in order to earn a free pass.

Simple, right? The horse (or donkey, or pony) must be mortal, it must be 30 years old or older, and it must be sent to Heaven when it dies. Remember those three things and you're good to go.

What are the limitations on pass horses?

Howrse has understandably imposed some limitations on this system. You cannot get unlimited free passes by sending horses to Heaven.

Pass horses work in monthly cycles, with the timer being subject to when you sent your horses to Heaven. For instance, if you send 10 horses to Heaven on the first of the month, those horses' timers will expire in 30 days. If you send 2 horses to Heaven on the first on the month, and then you send 8 to Heaven on the second the first 2 will expire on the first of the next month, and the second batch will expire on the second. A bit confusing, I know.

Each month you may send 10 pass horses to Heaven and each will grant you a free pass. These first 10 passes are guaranteed.

The next pass horses you send to Heaven have a one in three chance of granting you a pass, with the other two thirds giving Black Market Items with value roughly equivalent to a pass. You may receive anything from Fertility Wands and Medusa's Blood to bonus items like Whips and Bell Boots. You are not guaranteed to get a good item.

After you have received 30 passes in a monthly period, you will no longer be eligible for either passes or Black Market Items, though you can still send horses to Heaven so do try to keep track.

How do I get pass horses?

The most cost effective way to get a pass horse is to raise them yourself. This obviously takes a while, but if you're a serious player who logs in daily it shouldn't be too much of a hassle.

You may also buy them in the sales, though pre-aged horses tend to be rather pricey.

Other stuff

If you're bad at keeping records, know that the VIP account offers a perk that allows you to track how many pass horses you have sent to Heaven. It's very useful!

Raising and selling pass horses is an excellent way to earn equus. There's always a market for pass horses - especially during events.




Any questions?