Gather round, Common Ground World players and get ready for another exciting weekly competition, starting tomorrow (Tuesday July 23rd) at 10am PT!
Watch Friday’s Town Hall Replay
Thanks to the magic of live streaming, our bi-weekly Common Ground World Town Hall events live on as replays, giving players who couldn’t be there a chance to catch up on the latest and greatest updates and news from the game. Don’t miss your chance – Link below 👇
Our next Town Hall event is happening on Friday, August 2nd at 8am PT! Be there 👩🌾
This Week’s Box Bash
Running from 10am PT on Tuesday, July 23rd to 10am PT on Friday, July 26th, this contest features aged Oak Barrels, glittering Gold and Sweet Jam, celebrating some of the community’s top picks! Raise a toast, spread the sparkle and enjoy crafting your way to victory!
Goal: Sell Startlight Market Boxes Trade Time: 40s & 1 Gasoline Biome: Desert N Edges: Desert N, Mountain E, River S and River W
In addition to the standard $GALA rewards, top finishers will also pick up a special Crafty Candy Shop Blueprint, reducing the craft time of all Candy Shops, both in-game and NFT! Craft time reductions are determined by the rarity of the Blueprint from Uncommon (10%) all the way to Diamond 💎 (20% boost!). Good luck!
Starlight Market Boxes
Check out the new standard recipe for this craft, voted in by the community!
Ingredients: 8 Oak Barrels, 15 Gold, 2 Jam, 1 Wooden Box Made in: Boxing Facility Stored in: Warehouse Craft time: 60s Affected by: Nothing Standard Cash: $100K Standard Stars: 5010
💰Cash Boosts
Gold: $4880 👉 $9760
Oak Barrel: $5500 👉 $11K
Jam: $25K 👉 $50K
⭐Star Boosts
Starlight Market Boxes: ⭐5010 👉 ⭐50K!!
New NFT Items Available
Iron Mine (Rare)
This eco-friendly marvel crafts without being slowed down by nearby Water, producing just a third of the pollution compared to a regular Iron Mine! Keep your production swift and your air clean with this rare gem of a mine!
When using offline mode you do need to log back in before the event ends to make fast forward happen.It is run by your computer currently, and if you do not load the game back up, fast forward will not take place.
If you use Fast Forward check in often, the longer you stay offline, the longer it takes to bring your town up to date.
Always make sure the game is the ONLY TAB in the browser it’s running on.
Don’t fully cover the browser window with another window or program if you are actively playing. If you do, make sure to relaunch the game before trying to play again.
Thanks for Playing!
If you’re enjoying Common Ground World, thank you so much for being part of our amazing community. If not, we hope you’ll consider joining in the relaxing and strategically challenging action today! It’s fun and easy to learn, created by some of the same developers who brought the world the beloved Farmville franchise!
You can start playing Common Ground World right away in your browser through Gala Games– No need to download anything or spend any money at all! You’ll love watching your town grow!
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the advent of the internet revolutionized the world of poker, breathing fresh new life into an already beloved game played all over the world.
Online poker platforms emerged, offering players the opportunity to play from the comfort of their homes. Texas Hold ‘Em in particular, which was known casually in poker circles as “the Cadillac of poker,’ quickly became a worldwide phenomenon, attracting a whole new type of player to the game.
The early 2000s saw a significant boom in online poker, particularly after Chris Moneymaker, an amateur player who qualified through an online satellite tournament, won the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event in 2003. This victory inspired millions to try their hand at online poker, believing they too could win big.
By combining the streamlined appeal of video games with the thrill of gambling on well-known and trustworthy games of skill, online poker companies made billions of dollars, one $50 deposit at a time.
Despite the convenience and accessibility of online poker, there are elements of live poker that are typically missed by an online remote experience. There’s something special about sitting down at a green felt table for a game as exciting and historically rich as poker.
Physically Reading Players
In live poker, the ability to read physical tells and body language is a crucial skill and an intrinsic part of the game. Players can observe their opponents’ reactions, postures and facial expressions to gain insights into their typical behaviors with certain hands. On top of that, a player will typically spend a lot more time in a live game seat than an online one, giving opposing players more of an opportunity to draw conclusions about their patterns and behaviors.
Communication at the Table
Live poker provides a social atmosphere where players can engage in conversations, banter and psychological games. This social interaction adds a layer of depth to the experience. Sometimes live players will bond of a big pot hand in a way that can lead to a lifelong friendship, while you’ll seldom find a similar bonding experience in an online game. Even the most serious live poker players will tell you they enjoy conversations they have had at poker tables, or that they have kept in touch with people they met at memorable card games.
Even with its inherent connection to money and wagering, poker is a distinctly social game, and one of its most enjoyable aspects is the camaraderie of sitting around a table for hours, having refreshments and engaging in light conversation with other players. Some players even like to use this conversational aspect as an important dimension of strategy, allowing their friendliness or intimidation tactics to influence the ways their opponents act and react within hands.
The “Dealer” Experience
The presence of a human dealer who shuffles and deals the cards, manages the pot, and controls the pace of the game adds a tangible authenticity to the game. The dealer also acts as an impartial mediator, ensuring the rules are followed and calling out the action in a convenient way that makes the game easy for players to follow.
Even the physical game components themselves are a very enjoyable piece of what makes live poker such a popular game throughout the world. The shuffling, passing and holding of cards is extremely satisfying to the players. Playing cards are a timeless form of gaming and perhaps the most popular type of game in the world. There are hundreds and hundreds of card games that can be played with the standard deck alone, and over a hundred different games within the card game family we call Poker. Additionally, almost all board games have some kind of card element. People love playing with cards.
Even with all the magic of live poker, online poker offers several benefits that enhance the gaming experience in ways live poker cannot:
Easier to Find Players
Online platforms host millions of players from around the world, making it easy to find a game at any time. This vast pool of players ensures a diverse range of skill levels and game types. Whether you’re looking for a heads up showdown, a ring game or a large multi-table tournament, you can be almost certain that the type of game you’re looking for is somewhere on the internet, just waiting for you to take a seat.
Instant Access
Players can log in and start playing instantly without the need to travel to a physical location. This convenience is a major draw for many players. Even when you factor in things like creating an account, KYC procedures and jumping through deposit hoops, chances are that these obstacles will be far easier than traveling to the nearest casino game.
This aspect also makes it easier than with live games for players to get up and switch seats as often as they like. When you know there is another seat waiting for you at another table only 30 seconds away with a fresh set of players, you’ve got more options and you can play more freely.
Without the need for things like shuffling and physical dealing, online poker typically has faster gameplay, allowing players to play far more hands per hour compared to live poker. This can drastically influence play style for many players, usually resulting in tighter and more mathematical gameplay online. The more hands you play, the truer the statistics and the odds become and the less likely that there will be probability outliers.
I’ve known online players who will keep a game going for hours while barely paying attention to it, simply folding every hand until they see pocket Kings, pocket Aces or AK. This is an extremely tight mode of gameplay made possible by online poker, but even that method has its pitfalls– If you have to wait 60 hands to see that high pocket pair, then chances are you’ll expect to win once you get it, which could make you less likely to fold against someone else’s drawn straight or flush. You can still lose with good hole cards.
Less Patience Required
The pace of online poker means there is less waiting time between hands, catering to those who prefer a faster-paced game. The addition of buttons like “Fold to Any Bet” or “Check/Fold” have also given online players the ability to auto-select their coming action based on the action of those before them in the round. Thus, a great deal of strategic play in online poker has morphed into what I call “reaction time” strategy. If you have auto-selected your action and therefore act instantly, you’re indicating that you barely had to think about it. On the other hand, if you almost let your action timer run out before calling, checking or folding, you’re showing opponents that you were really thinking about this one.
Multiple Games at Once
This is one of those things that’s entirely impossible in the world of live poker and only became a reality because of online gameplay. Online platforms allow players to participate in multiple games simultaneously, significantly increasing the potential for winnings and providing a more engaging experience. In the heyday of online poker, I was often playing on 4 cash game tables at a time, and I remember speaking with skilled online players who would play more than that simultaneously.
One friend used to say that he’d always have a tilt table in play to ensure that he could play responsibly on the other ones. He’d use that table to make wild bets, play with rags and basically blow off steam whenever he was mad about the results of a hand from one of the more legit tables.
Evolution of Poker into the 21st Century
Both live and online poker have evolved to meet the demands of modern players, each bringing unique advancements to the game:
Live Play as a Spectator Sport
Professional poker has transformed into an exciting spectator sport, with live broadcasts showing players’ hands and featuring expert commentary. This transparency and analysis bring a new level of engagement and education for viewers. While professional players probably have mixed feelings about their gameplay becoming so transparent, aspiring players have been able to learn all sorts of new tactics from watching the pros. Overall, the adoption of poker as a spectator sport has elevated the game throughout the world.
In the same way that casinos have continued to enhance security and grow with the latest technologies, online poker platforms have continuously improved their security measures to combat cheating and bot usage. This has led to stronger, more secure platforms that provide a fair playing environment for all users.
The integrity of the game of poker is paramount to its enjoyability. If someone is rigging the system somehow, it’s good for the whole poker community when that person is discovered and removed from the game. In the Wild West, we may have had outlaws with aces up their sleeves, but the new outlaw can sometimes take the form of a hacker with a bot network up their sleeve.
Despite the differences, both online and live poker remain immortal games of chance, skill and strategy. Whether played on a phone, PC or at a live casino table, the core essence of poker endures, captivating players worldwide.
Join the Fun with Sweep It Poker
Experience the best of casual and free online poker with Gala’s first poker title, Sweep It Poker. Enjoy completely free gameplay, and earn more chips each day to accumulate entries in the Weekly Sweepstakes. Sweep It Poker is not gambling. It’s just a chance to play some cards with Gala players from around the world, sweetened with a weekly chance to win some $GALA.
Join the vibrant community of poker enthusiasts. See you at the tables, and we look forward to sharing some more poker content with you again soon!
So now that you’ve got all that land from the recent Plains Frontier sale or from May Mayhem– including a bunch of duplicates– You’re probably wondering what you can do with them…
What else? Smash them together to make even rarer land!
With the initial launch of Project Cerberus V1 (coming soon), all VOX landowners will have the ability to use this feature, merging and improving their collected land as they please.
For example, if you have 3 Common Plains, you can smash them together into 1 Uncommon Plains!
But you do need a piece of special VOXTech to achieve this.
The IsoCube
IsoCubes are what VOX use as a powersource. Need to run a teleporter? Use an Isocube. Power a starship? IsoCube. They are so powerful that they can help bind full parcels of land together and improve it! It is the purest form of a voxel cube in the universe.
There are different types of IsoCubes, from common ones that can be found in nature, to the super rare ones that can only be purchased from vendors, which are greatly coveted by all VOXkind.
Merge!
Ok, so you now have your IsoCube and your 3 identical parcels of land. What’s next?
Here’s a step-by-step:
Select 3 duplicate lands (same type, same rarity).
Add your IsoCube.
Hit the merge button and watch the planet-shaking creation magic happen!
The above image shows the merging of 3 Common Fantasy lands into an Uncommon Fantasy land. It includes all adjustments in terms of what resources can be collected and the number of workers allowed on the land.
Here’s the really cool part: This process actually creates (on the fly) a brand new land NFT.🤯
I know, right? It’s one of those smooth and convenient web3 gaming experiences we’ve all been waiting for: The ability to create and mint something in a game. No fuss, no muss. Easy peasy, geometreezy.
Just imagine the possibilities with that functionality in the future! It’s like our own real world IsoCube technological Power! Mwuahaahaa!! Seriously though, we’ll only use that power for good; in other words, to create fun game experiences that are adorable and addictive.
Get ready for a great Town Hall live stream with members of the team from The Walking Dead: Empires, the survival MMO set in the treacherous world of AMC’s The Walking Dead.
The action starts in just 3 hours, at 11am PT. Set a notification and give an early shout in the comments at the link below and we’ll look forward to seeing you there!
Early Access Public Dev Build
Have you started playing TWDE yet through Gala Games? The game is still in development, but the team has opened it up to anyone with a Gala Games account, absolutely free.
Fight off walkers and do your best to scrape survival out of the hellish ruined world of AMC Networks’ hit TV series. You can even play as some of your favorite characters from the show!
Download The Walking Dead: Empires and start playing now on PC or Mac 👇
A series of recent NFT sales in the Gala Games store has made it possible to play as some of the most iconic and beloved characters from AMC’s The Walking Dead. Each Hero Card is available in the standard 6 different rarities (Common, Uncommon, Rare, Epic, Legendary and Ancient), only while supplies last.
All Heroes are sold in increasing price tiers– When each batch sells out, that item will only return at a higher price.
You’ll find more details about the sale and price structure in THIS RECENT BLOG.
NFT collector-players, take your pick from any of the following awesome Heroes:
Glenn
Abraham
Jesus (Paul Rovia)
Prepare for Survival
This game is your chance to collect, craft and survive your way to high status in the chaotic world of The Walking Dead. Play now and you’ll be ready when the real chaos begins!
It’s a new week, Farmers, so get ready for a new exciting Common Ground World 3-day competition event packed with new challenges and strategies to explore and new ways to win!
If you haven’t caught the latest CGW Town Hall from Friday, July 5th, check it out at the link below for the latest on community questions, new NFTs and more!
Join us this Friday, July 19th for the next bi-weekly Town Hall, just before the Harvest Pie Hoedown competition ends. We’ll be streaming live at 8am PT– If you have questions, you can submit them now at THIS FORM.
Harvest Pie Hoedown!
Start: 10am PT on Tuesday, July 16th
End: 10am PT on Friday, July 19th
This week’s meta is all about the scrumptious Fruit Pie, packed with Blueberries, Apples, Strawberries, Sugar and Dough. With all the farmers pitching in, it’s a berry good time for a bountiful harvest!
Goal: Sell Fruit Pies
Trade Time: 60s & 1 Gasoline
Biome: Plains S
Edges: River N, River E, Plans S, and Ocean W
Rewards
In addition to the standard $GALA leaderboard rewards, it’s a Blueprint Week, your chance to pick up the new Crafty Candy Shop Blueprint!
Blueprint: Crafty Candy Shop
Owning the Crafty Candy Shop Blueprint will reduce craft times for all crafts in the Candy Shop, as well as Lolli and Pop Shop NFTs. Boosts vary based on Blueprint rarity:
Luxury – 20% craft time boost
Platinum – 18% craft time boost
Legendary – 16% craft time boost
Epic – 14% craft time boost
Rare – 12% craft time boost
Uncommon – 10% craft time boost
New Crops & Crafts
This week we’re introducing a new crop and two new crafts to make way for those delicious Harvest Pies!
Blueberry Field
Build Cost: $ 900 Affected by: Dirty and Salty
Blueberries
Cash: $300 Stars: 1 Ingredients: 3 Water Made in: Blueberry Field Stored in: Silo Craft Time: 60, 120, 240, 480s Affected by: Dirty & Salty
Fruit Pie
Cash: $43,850 Stars: 520 (meta value this week is 50,000) Ingredients: 1 Dough, 2 Apple, 3 Strawberry, 4 Blueberry, 1 Sugar Made in: Cakery Stored in: Storehouse Craft time: 40s Affected by: Nothing
💰 Cash Boosts
Flour: $2000 👉 $ 6000
⭐ Star Boosts
Fruit Pie: 520 👉 50k
New NFT –Blueberry Stand
Dropped on Friday, July 12th, this market stand gives passive Blueberry to surrounding buildings in a large area (3-2-1 passive Blueberries).
When using offline mode you must log back in before the event ends to make fast forward happen. It is run by your computer currently, and if you do not load the game back up, fast forward will not take place.
If you use Fast Forward, check in often. The longer you stay offline, the longer it takes to bring your town up to date.
Always make sure the game is the ONLY TAB in the browser on which it’s running.
Don’t fully cover the browser window with another window or program if you are actively playing. If you do, make sure to relaunch the game before trying to play again.
Litepaper Feedback
The team is still taking feedback on the litepaper released a few weeks ago.
Everyone is welcome to submit feedback through this form.
Don’t forget to join the Discord community for all the latest discussion and Common Ground World updates!
Good luck with your towns this week. May your Fruit Pies be the sweetest in the land!
