Tiny Towers Game Exploit: Free Bucks!

A couple of days ago  I discovered an exploit for one of my games. As far as I can tell I'm the first to write about it. This is not a cheat or a hack, but a bug exploit.

I play a couple games on my iPad  and one of them is Tiny Tower, from NimbleBit. Tiny Tower is one of those free games that makes some money off of advertising and "micro-transactions" for players buying a leg-up in the game. Usually you can spend a buck or two, or more likely $10-$20 if you get hooked on the game, obtaining some valuable resources.

Tiny Tower is a building game where you build a tower, stocking it with people and shops. Your goal is to build the highest tower and get your residents into their dream jobs in your shops. Your workers earn coins you spend on building and stocking and there are in-game "bucks" that you can also spend to boost things along. You get these bucks when you build a new floor, fully stock a shop, complete missions, and when it is a resident's birthday.

Recently NimbleBit introduced another way to get bucks, which is by watching a short 10-15 second video for another game or product. You can usually only watch maybe six to ten of these little short ads before the opportunity for free bucks dries up until the next day.

Before

I discovered a way to get unlimited bucks without having to hack anything whatsoever. After the advertising video plays the game presents a final screen shot of the ad with a close button and a repeat button. On your first free buck ad of the day just keep hitting the repeat button to show the same ad again. You can just keep watching that same ad over and over again as long as you like. As long as your iPad doesn't get shut off, like you forget to hit repeat and it goes to sleep, and you don't hit the close button, you will continue to earn bucks, one per viewing.

Unless NimbleBit gets paid for these ads I expect them to fix this bug in a

After

future game update, but for now it works like a charm. I've been hitting the repeat button over and over while I'm working on this blog post and I earned 142 bucks! (More time was spent on making the intro graphic than the post itself)

I forgot to mention that after you finally close out the ads you'll have to hit the "Thanks for Watching" continue dialogue button about a bazillion time....ok probably just once for every video you had watched. If you mash the hell out of it trying to get them to close eventually you'll finish and end up hitting the button for purchasing some bucks. You can back out of that transaction easily enough, but there is the chance your button mashing locks things up because of the attempt to purchase bucks. A simple re-boot will un-glitch it.

This isn't cheating the game at all because you aren't doing anything other than playing the game as it is presented. heck, I'd barely call it an exploit, but my guess is that the player was only expected to get between five and ten extra bucks a day from watching the videos, so the ability to watch 142 in one setting has to be a bug.

Xbox Arcade Game Review: Dungeons & Dragons Daggerdale

I haven't played Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition and while I'm not trying to dismiss the game it is fair to say that I never intended to give it a go in the first place. I already have a game I like and a one-off with a system I'm familiar with is OK, but a game that by all accounts is a complete departure from expectations...not so much.

A lot of commentary I've heard regarding 4th Edition was that it played like a video game. I do not have any idea if there is any truth to this, but I've heard it quite a few times.

Furniture Row EPIC FAIL: Flag Desecration

Yesterday I happened to drive by the East side of the mall, something I don't do very often. Usually I'm driving to the mall or somewhere near the mall that requires me to pass by the West side, but today I took the seldom-used route that I avoid because of a couple of intersections near Furniture Row, a collection of four furniture stores under one roof.

As I'm driving by, passing underneath the overpass, my attention is drawn to a HUGE US flag being flown by Furniture row. It's a pretty big flag and unfortunately it catches my attention because it is in pretty poor shape. The flag appeared dirty and more than worn. Usually when I see a flag that sorely needs to be retired it has simply frayed at the end, a common cause for a flag's retirement. This flag was so much worse. It had two extremely large holes at the top end of the flag and it was dirty. This flag need to be replaced and it should not be flown in its current condition.

I realize that a lot of things can really piss me off, but flying a soiled and sundered flag is decently high on that list. The fact that it is being used as a promotional tool for an upcoming sale is inexcusable.

I've written an email to the company through their customer website form, but I doubt it'll do any good. I need to figure out how to kick this up a notch.

Textastrophe

This falls under both "WTF" and "Awesomesauce" categories because it has me laughing heartily and scratching my head trying to figure out just what kind of moronic genius came up with this idea.

Textastrophe is personalized trolling at its best. This guy/girl/comedic robot finds people's cell number from advertising and then starts a dialogue with them that quickly spirals out of control.

I really don't want to post any spoilers for these dialogues, but you can see them all at the Textastrophe website, just after a short intro from the comedian itself:
"Next time you post your phone number in a public place, think again. This is a collection of text messages I've exchanged with people who have done just that.

textastrophe@gmail.com"

Enjoy...

CSI Graduating Class of 2013

Today is my graduation from college.

At 7 PM tonight in the College of Southern Idaho's gymnasium I could be walking across the stage as part of CSI's 40th graduating class.

Could be.....but I'm not. I don't see the point in driving 2 hours one-way to get my 2nd Associate's Degree, 4th overall college degree. I think it is great that CSI has an actual commencement ceremony and the folks attending to get those diplomas should be congratulated.

I hope those getting their Associates Degrees move on to earn their Bachelor's and those getting Technical Certificates find the type of employment they are looking for.

I just don't feel the same pride for this accomplishment than what many others would. I'm just looking forward to the next step of the VRAP program which is help getting a job. If it wasn't for this unemployment I hope I would have been working on an MBA instead of an Associates. I'm hoping that is still in my future, but only time will tell.