New Game: Zingoz Zangoz

Hello my fellow Webkinz fans! I’m sure you’ve seen by now that a new game was recently added to the Arcade. The name of that game is “Zingoz Zangoz,” and it debuted on February 14th.

As  you can guess from the name, this new Webkinz Arcade game features two fan favorite characters: Zingoz and Zangoz…and it also stars Wacky!

Currently Zingoz Zangoz is only available for Deluxe Members, but the good news is that it will be available to everyone on any day that it’s featured as the “Game of the Day.”

Zingoz Zangoz is very straightforward in terms of instructions and overall game play:

Fruit falls from the left side of the screen. Your goal is to “catch” the falling fruit with the trampoline so that it can bounce over to the right. On the right side of the screen is a meter that tells you how many fruits you need to catch/bounce:

There is also a timer. To keep moving forward in the game you must catch enough fruit before the timer runs out. If the time runs out and you haven’t hit your goal, then the game ends.

Even though the game sounds pretty simple, Zingoz Zangoz can definitely get very crazy and hectic as the levels progress.

Over time, new fruits are added. Each fruit “behaves” in a different way. For example, the watermelon must bounce twice before it launches to the right. The pineapple, by contrast, hovers up in the air and then drops straight down:

Also, each fruit has a different point value. You want to score as many points as possible because the first time you reach 300,000 points you win a trophy! 🙂 (More on the trophy later.)

Another thing that makes Zingoz Zangoz tricky is Wacky. From time to time, a Wacky (or two or three) will fall from the sky. Your goal is to avoid Wacky and let him hit the ground. Sounds a little crazy, right? But that’s how it works:

If you “catch” Wacky he will break your trampoline and the game will be over:

 

The good news is that you get a warning that a Wacky is about to fall. Check out the gif above…see the red flashing exclamation point? It appears a few seconds before Wacky falls, and it also indicates where Wacky is going to fall. (When you’re playing the game, the flashing exclamation point is accompanied by a buzzing sound.)

As the game progresses, the Wackies start to fall more frequently, and groups of up to 4 Wackies will appear at a time:

So, you can see that there’s a lot going on when you play Zingoz Zangoz…but there’s still more to talk about!

Notice on the top right side of the screen, near the meter, is a count of how many fruits you’ve caught in a row:

If you can catch 60 fruits in a row without letting any hit the ground, a special event called a “Starfall” happens:

Stars rain down from the sky, and when you catch them you earn lots and lots of points!

Another bonus to know about is the Shield. Shields fall from the sky. They’re blue and shaped just like a shield:

You can tell if you have the Shield in place because you will see a white shield symbol over your trampoline, like this:

The Shield is a layer of protection. If a Wacky falls on  your trampoline while you have the Shield in place, then your trampoline won’t break and your game play will continue. However, the Shield is only good for one hit. After it’s hit, it will disappear, and you have to wait for another Shield to fall from the sky.

As I mentioned above, you earn a trophy the first time you reach 300,000 points:

As you can see, the trophy looks just like the game:

Here’s a look at the Zingoz Zangoz trophy in my trophy room:

 

If you’re not Deluxe but you can’t wait to play Zingoz Zangoz, you do have one other option. If you play Webkinz Mobile on your phone or tablet, you can use eStore points to unlock Zingoz Zangoz. Note, though, that the game will only be accessible through the Webkinz Mobile app, not on the website.

So what do you think of Zingoz Zangoz? Have you tried playing this new Webkinz Arcade game yet? Let me know in the comments!

The Great Trophy Chase: Dogbeard’s Gold

Dogbeard’s Gold is a Webkinz Arcade game featuring your favorite pirate – Dogbeard!

The goal of Dogbeard’s Gold is to launch Dogbeard from one spinning platform to the next, collecting jewels and gold coins along the way.

You can either press the spacebar or click your mouse to make Dogbeard jump. There’s a handy arrow that shows you which direction Dogbeard will “fly,” so you can line the arrow up with the jewels/gold coins and get as many as possible.

Here’s a look at the arrow:

Dogbeard’s Gold actually gives medals rather than trophies, but they still look great in a trophy room!

You get a bronze medal at 10,000 points, a silver medal at 50,0000 points and a gold medal at 100,000 points. So far I’ve only been able to earn the bronze medal. My highest score has been just under 28,000 points.

I have a couple of tips to help you earn your medals. First, I use the mouse rather than the spacebar. For me, the mouse is quicker and more accurate.

Second, really pay attention to racking up those jewels and coins in the early stages of the game. When you hit all of the gems/coins without missing any, you start building up a “combo.”

You can see your combo progress in the lower right hand corner of the screen. Your combo number is how many gems/coins you’ve hit in a row. As soon as you miss a gem/coin, your combo goes back to zero.

Creating high combo numbers is important because you have the ability to quadruple your score. When you get a combo of 30, you start getting 2x the points, at 60 it’s 3x the points and if you can hit a combo of 90 you’ll get 4x the points. The points start to add up really fast at 4x, and you’ll hit the bronze medal very quickly.

In the beginning stages of the game, the platforms spin more slowly, so hitting the coins/gems is a bit easier. Also, you don’t have to rush. You get a full rotation of the platform before your combo number starts over. So while you can’t just spin around endlessly, you can complete one spin without losing your progress.

A little compass-shaped clock in the lower right hand corner of the screen shows you how much time you have before your combo starts over:

Another tip – and this is something I only recently learned – is that you actually get TWO jumps per platform. If you miss the platform on the first jump, you can click one more time for a second jump. This second jump can save you when Dogbeard starts to plummet.

As the game progresses, you will come across platforms that are triangle shaped map pieces:

For me, these are a bit trickier than the round platforms, but the more you play the game, the easier it will become to time your jumps from the map pieces.

One last thing to look out for – sometimes the jewel/coin chain is really steep. Here’s a picture to show you what I mean:

In those cases, I usually focus on jumping to the next platform, and I don’t worry about trying to collect the gems/coins. Even though you lose the points, you’re still progressing in the game, and you’ll have plenty more opportunities to earn points.

Currently Dogbeard’s Gold is only available to Deluxe members. (Visit the Ganz eStore to learn about Deluxe memberships.) But, if it’s the Game of the Day, anyone can play, and you can earn yourself some medals for your trophy collection!

Good luck!