Archives for category: Level 26
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How do the bonus levels work – and what will happen when we get level 27?

By TSTO Tips
March 20, 2013 //
27

This question has come up a lot in the last few days, so it’s worth addressing again.

Up until you reach level 26, your XP bar is blue. It fills up normally and when it’s full, you get a pop-up telling you that you’ve reached the next level, like this one:

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When you get to level 26 (the highest level at the date of this post), the XP bar is still blue, but a little gift box appears at the end of it which indicates that you won’t be leveling up once the XP bar is full this time and you’ll be hitting a bonus level instead (ignore the hearts on this screenshot – it was taken during the Valentine’s event):

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Once you hit the bonus levels, you get a choice of three boxes containing 1,2 or 3 donuts – and you can read about what happens here. But once you’ve passed the bonus level, your XP bar turns pink and drops back to the beginning again, as you can see in this screenshot:

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The first time it happens, it can be disconcerting. But it doesn’t mean you’re back to the beginning of level 26 again. It just means you’re building towards a new bonus level. And, hidden behind the scenes, your blue XP bar is full and waiting for the release of the next level.

So, what will happen when level 27 comes out? You’ll be pleased to know that your XP bar will automatically turn blue again, no matter how much of the pink bar has been filled up. You’re also likely to have a head start on your XP (when level 26 was released it was around 10,100) and you’ll be heading towards the bonus levels again. And that’s where you’ll stay until level 28 is released.

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Categories Bonus level, Level 26, Level 27, XP

What should level 26 players do with their money right now?

By TSTO Tips
March 18, 2013 //
18

A very good question came in from Michael today:

Today, I have 2 million dollars and now I’m not sure what’s the right way to go:
1.) Buy the Popsicle Stick Skyscraper and then have nearly 0 dollars
2.) Wait until I collect 3 million dollars and buy the 50-foot Magnifying Glass or
3.) Don’t spend my money on these big buildings and save money for upcoming events?

Whats your opinion?

My advice for the moment would be to hold on to your cash. If level 27 is on the way, there’ll be at least one new building and it’s likely to be more expensive than Burns Manor. Each of the recent updates has also had a second, quite expensive new building. (For level 27, the Springfield Buddhist Temple and the Adult Education Annex are predicted.) You may also need to buy new land to make room for these, depending on their size.

The bottom line for players currently on level 26 is that you may need up to half a million dollars spare for any level 27 buildings. So my advice for level 26 players who are saving for the really expensive items would be to make sure you have around $500,000 free – and wait and see what may be on the way over the next few days.

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Categories 50-foot Magnifying Glass, Adult Education Annex, Cash, Land expansion, Level 26, Level 27, Popsicle Stick Skyscraper, Springfield Buddhist Temple, Update

There’s nothing new happening in the game! When’s the next update?

By TSTO Tips
March 6, 2013 //
9

For the first time since January 11, when there was a 1-day gap between the Christmas Stockings finishing and level 26 being released, there’s absolutely nothing special happening in the game. There’s no new level and no special event. There are no special premium items and even Gil is taking a break. It’s all eerily quiet and the characters are just going about their daily business.

So, when will that change? Will there be a special event and, if so, what will it be? Where is level 27? Is Gil coming back anytime soon? Or will there be another episode promotion?

Only EA knows the answer to any of those questions, and they rarely say very much in advance. Everyone has been expecting something this week, particularly when EA announced that Gorgeous Grampa would no longer be available after Monday, but right now there’s still nothing to report. There may or may not be something by the end of the week. All we can do is wait and see.

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Categories EA, Level 26, Level 27, Update

I’m on Android and I’ve finished level 26! Where’s level 27?

By TSTO Tips
March 4, 2013 //
7

Wow! That was quick. It took me three months to get to level 26!

The best advice I can give for those new to the game is that Tapped Out is not a race (try Real Racing for that!). It’s one of those games that’s about more than just completing the levels. Slow down, plan your own Springfield, and get creative and it’s so much more fun.

While it may be tempting to speed up tasks using donuts, that’s a temptation to avoid because it’s a bit like eating all your Easter chocolate before lunch on Easter Sunday. Although EA adds more levels regularly, there’s about a month to six weeks between them, and the special events only seems to happen every other month. The faster you go, the more downtime you have.

So, when’s level 27 coming? It could be as early as this week – but when it does come out, take your time with it. Don’t rush it through in a day, because it’s unlikely that level 28 will arrive before April.

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Categories Android, Donuts, EA, Level 26, Level 27, Levels, Update

I just completed level 26 and my XP bar dropped back to 0!

By TSTO Tips
March 4, 2013 //
27

Quite a few people worry about this and, harp issues aside, it’s simply to give your XP something to do until the next level is released (originally, it just went to waste). It won’t stop you from automatically leveling up to level 27 on its release date.

This is how your XP bar looks during level 26. As you can see it’s the standard blue:

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But, because there’s currently no level 27 (although fingers crossed on that changing this week), your blue XP bar is hidden for the time being and temporarily replaced with a pink XP bar, as you see here:

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What happens then is that your XP accumulates on the pink bar until you get to a bonus level, where you have the chance to win up to 3 donuts:

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Incidentally, this is the cause of the harp of death, so if you pass through it with no problems, it’s likely that the harp glitch won’t be a problem for you. Your XP will remain pink and reset to 0 every time you reach a bonus level right up until the time level 27 is released.

As soon as level 27 is available, you’ll automatically level up and your XP bar will turn blue again (with a bit of an XP head start).

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Categories Bonus level, Gameplay, Level 26, Level 27, Update, XP

Why is there no special event or level 27?

By TSTO Tips
March 1, 2013 //
11

The latest update saw Gorgeous Grampa, the Gorgeous Grampa Billboard (both for a limited time only), and the Golden Scratch-R Game. But there was no new special event and no level 27. Why not?

Let’s deal with Level 27 first. It’s only been a couple of weeks since level 26 was released, so expecting a brand new level within that time frame was always optimistic. Currently, there’s about a month to six weeks between levels and I really don’t expect them to start coming any more quickly than that.

As for a special event, each time one finishes, the game seems to go back to normal play for a while before the new event begins. Easter is not until the end of the month, so that’s still possible. And with Springfield’s Whacking Day in May, that’s also a possibility as a special event for April/May.

So, something will come – but probably not until March 7/8 at the very earliest. It may already be sitting on your device, waiting to unlock at just the right time.

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Categories Costume, Easter, Golden Scratch-R, Gorgeous Grampa, Gorgeous Grampa Billboard, Level 26, Level 27, Update

What are Ralph’s tasks?

By TSTO Tips
February 18, 2013 //
6

While waiting for El Chemistri to build (36 hours!), there’s plenty of time to explore Ralph’s tasks. At this stage, they’re a bit limited – he initially has no 2 or 4 hour tasks.

So, what exactly are they? Here’s a list for the benefit of those who still have to wait to unlock Ralph:

Eat a crayon sandwich – 1 hour
Go to school – 6 hours
Burn things – 8 hours
Celebrate his birthday again – 12 hours
Play Wiggle Puppy – 24 hours

Once El Chemistri is finished, Ralph has a 4-hour task to eat there (yes, I know it’s not a very “Ralph” task, but it makes sense in the context of the storyline.)

My favorite is the animation for celebrating his birthday again, where the Wiggum house lights up like the police station. The screenshot below doesn’t really capture it but should help you get the idea.

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Categories El Chemistri, Gameplay, Level 26, Ralph Wiggum, Tasks, Wiggum House

What happens in the “Executive Lackey” quest?

By TSTO Tips
February 17, 2013 //
20

This post walks you through the Smithers quest, Executive Lackey, and takes you up to the end of the quest and unlocking the Wiggum House. It continues from the Hibbert level (level 24), which you can read here.

Remember that your XP may have taken you to level 25 faster than you have progressed through the tasks. You also need to have unlocked all the buildings prior to it on the list before Burns Manor will unlock.

Here, then is what happens during Executive Lackey:

1. Executive Lackey Part 1 Burns should have been free at the end of the previous level so he can tell Homer to work at plant (16 hours – keep Burns free as he finishes)
2. Executive Lackey Part 2 Wanting a rich man’s house, Burns initiates the building of Burns Manor ($120,500 and 24 hours to build, unlocking Smithers – but keep Burns free as he finishes to be safe)

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3. Executive Lackey Part 3 Smithers checks mail at the post office (the first time a character has used this building – 4 hours and keep Comic Book Guy free as he finishes)
4. Executive Lackey Part 4 Smithers writes his Malibu Stacy newsletter (6 hours) then whips it (8 hours – these tasks can be done in either order, but keep Burns free as he finishes both of them)
5. Executive Lackey Part 5 Burns decides that he can doesn’t really need Smithers to run the plant, so Smithers becomes a hideous drunken wreck (he needs to do this twice at 12 hours each – keep Chief Wiggum free as he finishes for the second time)
6. Executive Lackey Part 6 Chief Wiggum makes Smithers sleep it off (24 hours – keep Burns free as Smithers sobers up)
7. Executive Lackey Part 7 Burns, who we now know has an enchanting musk, decides he needs Smithers to handle his laces and initiates a task for Smithers to attend an AA meeting (2 hours – keep Burns free as the meeting finishes)
8. Executive Lackey Part 8 Re-hired,Smithers exercises for Mr. Burns (this task has confused lots of people but Smithers and Burns simply need to be free at the same time and the screenshot below shows why – 1 hour and keep Principal Skinner free and Chief Wiggum, to be safe, as they finish to begin the next quest, which you can find here)

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Categories Burns, Burns Manor, Chief Wiggum, Comic Book Guy, Executive Lackey, Gameplay, Homer, Level 24, Level 25, Level 26, Principal Skinner, Smithers, Walkthrough, Wiggum House

Were any new decorations added to the game with level 26?

By TSTO Tips
February 16, 2013 //
4

Yes, there were – and I forgot to mention them in my earlier posts…

The level 26 update added 2 new standard decorations – a Rabbit Hedge for $1300, which improves your Tree-hugging rating, and a Swing Set for $2600, which improves your Vanity rating. These only unlock when your XP bar takes you to level 26 – the good news being that you don’t have to unlock the Wiggum House to get them. The Swing Set is great for anyone who wanted more decorations for their school ground.

These are both in addition to the new premium decorations – a Police Car, which costs 40 donuts, and the Tetherball, which costs 20 donuts. Both of these give you bonus money and XP.

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Categories Conform-o-meter, Decorations, Donuts, Level 26, Police Car, Premium decorations, Prices, Rabbit Hedge, Swing Set, Tetherball, Tree-hugging rating, Update, Vanity rating

What happens in the “This Little Wiggy” quest?

By TSTO Tips
February 16, 2013 //
19

At the end of the Executive Lackey quest, you need to have Skinner free (and Chief Wiggum, too, to be safe) so he can kick things off for level 26.

So, here goes:

1. This Little Wiggy Part 1 Once Skinner and Chief Wiggum have finished their conversation, the Wiggum house unlocks and you’re prompted to build it by a Ralph face in your task book ($116,000 and 24 hours, unlocking Ralph – keep Mayor Quimby free as the building finishes)

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2. This Little Wiggy Part 2 Ralph eats crayon sandwiches in a task initiated by Mayor Quimby (60 minutes – keep Comic Book Guy free as Ralph finishes)
3. This Little Wiggy Part 3 Comic Book Guy prompts you to build El Chemistri ($142,500 and 36 hours – keep Lisa, Chief Wiggum, and Ralph free as building finishes)
4. This Little Wiggy Part 4 – Lisa prompts Chief Wiggum and Ralph to eat at El Chemistri (4 hours – keep Lisa free)
5. This Little Wiggy Part 5 Ralph prompts Lisa to work on her blog (24 hours – keep Kent Brockman free as she finishes)
6. This Little Wiggy Part 6 Brockman does an undercover report (24 hours – keep Chief Wiggum free as he finishes)
7. This Little Wiggy Part 7 Ralph plays Wiggle Puppy (24 hours – keep Nelson free as he finishes)
8. This Little Wiggy Part 8 Nelson and Ralph go to school (6 hours each – keep Reverend Lovejoy free as they finish as he begins the level 27 quests)

And there, it seems, the This Little Wiggy quest ends. If there’s anything else, I’ll post an update. Remember, though – keep your donuts and avoid doing what my friend did and speeding through the quest!

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Categories Chief Wiggum, Comic Book Guy, El Chemistri, Gameplay, Kent Brockman, Level 26, Lisa, Mayor Quimby, Nelson Muntz, Principal Skinner, Ralph Wiggum, This Little Wiggy, Walkthrough, Wiggum House

When will we get level 27?

By TSTO Tips
February 15, 2013 //
41

I’ve been looking at the search terms hitting my blog today through Google and one set of terms is surprisingly common given that it’s just 24 hours since the level 26 update. And that’s “simpsons tapped out level 27″.

Level 26 has only just arrived and there probably won’t be a level 27 until mid-March at least (unless EA have a couple more surprises up their sleeves). That’s been the usual gap between levels since September 2012.

With that in mind, my best advice would be to relax and enjoy level 26. However much you may be tempted, don’t use donuts to speed up tasks because once they’re done, they’re done and from then on it’s a really long wait. Take the scenic route rather than the expressway and enjoy the ride. And remember, too, there are still rumors (only rumors, though) of an end-of-Valentine’s event and something happening at Easter.

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Categories Donuts, EA, Easter, Level 26, Level 27, Update, Valentine's Day

Have the prices of any of the buildings changed now that the level 26 update is here?

By TSTO Tips
February 15, 2013 //
10

Every time a new level is released, the prices of some or all of the more expensive buildings at previous levels are adjusted downwards. With this update, there are also some new, lower prices for everything from the Post Office up to Burns Manor and Pimento Grove.

So, here are the latest prices for all the buildings from Bart’s Treehouse onwards:

Bart’s Treehouse – 25,000
Springfield Library – 20,500
Android’s Dungeon – 30,000
Orange House – 24,500
First Church of Springfield – 32,500
Java Server – 26,500
Moe’s – 32,000
Jake’s Unisex Hair Palace – 29,000
Springfield Downs – 34,500
Gilded Truffle – 31,000
King Toot’s – 37,000
Police Station – 40,500
Skip’s Diner – 35,500
Luigi’s – 36,000
Springfield Penitentiary – 46,000
Retirement Castle – 37,500
Town Hall – 63,000
Muntz House – 60,500
Krabappel Apartments – 70,000 (thanks to graciesauermma for the update)
Post Office – 96,500
Channel 6 – 74,000
Hibbert Family Practice – 85,500 (thanks to ThumperKT for the update)
Springfield General Hospital – 104,500
Burns Manor – 151,000
Pimento Grove – 112,500
Wiggum House – 175,000
El Chemistri – 214,000 (and 36 hours to build)

Escalator to Nowhere – 1,000,000 (and 3 days to build)
Popsicle Stick Skyscraper – 2,000,000 (and 3 days to build)

With the exception of Bart’s Tree House, which builds right away, every other building on the list takes 24 hours to build (except where I’ve indicated something different).

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Categories Buildings, Burns Manor, Channel 6, El Chemistri, Escalator to Nowhere, Hibbert Family Practice, Level 26, Pimento Grove, Popsicle Stick Skyscraper, Post Office, Prices, Springfield General Hospital, Updates, Wiggum House

Are there any other reasons why it’s a good idea to continue collecting hearts?

By TSTO Tips
February 15, 2013 //
7

A couple of days ago, I posted about why it was a good idea to continue collecting hearts and leaving Valentines, even if you and your friends have all the Valentines stuff you need. You can see that post at http://tstotips.com/2013/02/14/whats-the-point-of-collecting-hearts-my-friends-and-i-have-all-the-valentines-stuff-we-need/.

One person commenting anonymously overnight suggested another reason: you can use your hearts to buy lots and lots of the Choo-choo-choose Me trains and then sell them back for $1000 each. It’s a really good idea and one I hadn’t thought of. And a great idea given that the level 26 update has given you the Wiggum House and El Chemistri to save for.

Hold off spending those hearts until at least the 24th, though. By then we should know if any kind of hearts for donuts deal is on the way.

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Categories Choo-choo-choose Me train, El Chemistri, Friends, Hearts, Level 26, Update, Valentine's Day, Valentines, Wiggum House

What’s EL Chemistri and how do I unlock it?

By TSTO Tips
February 15, 2013 //
8

El Chemistri, like Pimento Grove, is one of Springfield’s fine-dining restaurants. It first appeared in the episode “The Three Mouthketeers” when Marge, Bart and Lisa were invited to dine there for their food blog.

Molecular gastronomy is the order of the day at El Chemistri, and the menu includes:
- Deconstructed Cesar Salad, where each element comes in its own test tube and has to be consumed in a strict order.
- Pork Chops 100 Ways – 100 tiny pork chops served on a 3-storey platform.
- Apple Pie Ball – a slice of apple pie rolled into a ball and served in a bag woven from the silk from a spider fed on blueberries.

In the game, El Chemistri costs $214,000 and takes 36 hours to build. Unlike Pimento Grove, the build is part of a quest – part 3 of This Little Wiggy. Comic Book Guy prompts the build once Ralph has finished eating crayons. And as you’ll see once the build has finished, it’s also different from Pimento Grove in that at least two of your characters get to eat there!

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Categories Comic Book Guy, El Chemistri, Gameplay, Level 26, Quests, Ralph Wiggum, Update

I’m at level 26 – how do I unlock the Wiggum House and Ralph?

By TSTO Tips
February 15, 2013 //
1

The Wiggum House will unlock only if you’ve already unlocked all the buildings and characters that come before it on the building list. Remember that even if your XP bar tells you that you’re at level 26, if you haven’t done that then you’re really at a lower level for the purposes of the game. For example, although your XP bars says you’re at level 26, if you’ve only just built the hospital, your real game level is 24. This variation between the XP level and the game level often happens to people who check into their game a lot and visit lots of friends – the XP bar levels them up faster than the game does.

So, which character unlocks the Wiggum House? The honor goes to Principal Skinner, who will need to be free at the end of
the Executive Lackey series of tasks. In a conversation he initiates with Chief Wiggum, Skinner complains about seeing a pantless vagrant every morning – and he means the Chief. Wiggum complains that he has nowhere to sleep – he can’t break into the Brown House because he’s a police officer and he can’t sleep at the police station because it’s full of criminals. Skinner suggests that he needs to build a house – after all, even Willie has his shack.

This conversation opens This Little Wiggy Part 1, and lets you buy and build the Wiggum House for $175,000. It also puts Ralph’s face into your task book for the first time, letting you know that he’ll arrive when the building is finished.

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Categories Gameplay, Level 26, Prices, Principal Skinner, Ralph Wiggum, Update, Wiggum House

Ralph is here!

By TSTO Tips
February 14, 2013 //
42

So, I got my Valentine’s wish after all! With an update, Ralph and level 26 have arrived in Springfield (and headstart of 20,100 out of 111,120 on the XP clock as well)! Along with Ralph are another restaurant, El Chemistri, and two new premium decorations – a tether ball and a police car.

Thanks EA – and I hope the bugs are also fixed for everyone who hasn’t been able to play.

Now that would be a happy Valentine’s Day.

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Categories EA, Gameplay, Level 26, Ralph Wiggum, Update

My XP bar says my next target is 796,279,688! Is my game over?

By TSTO Tips
February 12, 2013 //
2

No, your game isn’t over. This XP bar glitch being experienced by some level 25 players is one of two significant glitches that arrived with the Valentine’s update. (I’ve written about the other one, the frozen game with the spinning donut and the harp sound at: What do I do about the frozen game with the really strange harp sound?)

What happened for some players is that they reached the bonus level and then the game went crazy. Some got lucky in the midst of the craziness and received around 100 donuts. But when the craziness settled down, they found that the new target on their XP bar was impossibly high – somewhere between 3 million and 796,279,688.

As usual, EA have made no comment on this glitch (and if they have and I’ve missed it, please let me know). However, it will almost certainly be fixed by the release of the level 26 update, which will happen in the next week or two.

In the meantime, keep playing and don’t think that you need to start your game again. If you received donuts as a result of the glitch, at least there’s some consolation – and if you didn’t, I’m really sorry.

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Categories Bonus level, Bugs and glitches, Donuts, EA, Level 25, Level 26, Update, XP bar glitch

Why does my XP bar turn pink when I finish level 25?

By TSTO Tips
February 12, 2013 //
0

Your XP bar turns pink at the end of level 25 to show that you already have enough XP to get to level 26, but you’re now working towards a bonus level. This distinguishes it from your regular blue XP bar, which has reached the end of level 25 and should stay there, but hidden, until level 26 is released.

When level 26 is released:

- your XP bar should turn blue again,
- you should have a head start on level 26 XP
- the bonus levels will probably be moved to the end of level 26

For more on the bonus levels and how they work, take a look at this post: What happens at the bonus level for level 25 players?

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Categories Bonus level, Level 25, Level 26, Update, XP

What’s Pimento Grove and which characters carry out tasks there?

By TSTO Tips
February 9, 2013 //
0

First – what’s Pimento Grove? Well, it’s a fine dining restaurant in downtown Springfield owned by Fat Tony. It first appeared in the episode “A Fish Called Selma” and is apparently the restaurant of choice for many local and visiting celebrities, whose pictures line the walls.

In the game, it arrived as part of the level 25 update. What’s special about it from a game perspective is that you can unlock it as soon as you hit level 25 on XP. You don’t need to first unlock the buildings that come before it in the list – all you need to do is save up enough money. Currently, it costs $138,000 but the price is expected to come down to $112,00 when the level 26 update is eventually released.

Which makes it a shame that the answer to the second question is “none”. None of your characters, including the limited-time Fat Tony, ever go and eat there. So, Pimento Grove just sits there just making money and XP ($350 and 30XP every 24 hours). While this is not really a bad thing, it just seems a bit of a waste.

However, it could be that EA have plans for Pimento Grove in future updates. After all, the post office sat unused for a long time until Smithers arrived with his Malibu Stacy newsletter.

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Categories EA, Fat Tony, Level 25, Level 26, Pimento Grove, Smithers, XP

How long until we get the Ralph Wiggum level 26 update?

By TSTO Tips
February 8, 2013 //
6

I wish I could answer that one. After all, since the accidental release at the end of January, we know Ralph and level 26 are on the way. As EA traditionally keep things very quiet until launch day, though, the best I can say is that Ralph Wiggum will be with us very, very soon (although one person posting a comment here has suggested that it could be as late as February 24).

So, what can you do until then? Well, keep playing, collecting hearts, and enjoying the game. And you can also take a look at this YouTube video of Ralphisms posted there by alasdairdavidstewart. It’ll make you want Ralph even more.

Update: the Wiggum House and Ralph, together with El Chemistri, were finally released for real on February 14. You can read about it at http://tstotips.com/2013/02/15/im-at-level-26-so-how-do-i-unlock-the-wiggum-house-and-ralph/

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Categories EA, Hearts, Level 26, Ralph Wiggum, Update, Wiggum House
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