Welcome to a new week, Common Ground World players! 🎉 We’ve got an exciting new competition in store, starting tomorrow at 10am PT and lasting for 3 days. As always, this competition is a great way to win $GALA for outcrafting and outselling the competition!
Join us every two weeks on the Gala Games Youtube channel for a live Town Hall to bring us home just before the weekly competition ends, Friday mornings at 8am PT.
Catch a new Town Hall event this Friday, August 16th and watch the replay of August 2nd’s Town Hall at the link below if you haven’t watched yet! These live events are a great way to stay informed on all the latest– Things change a lot around town to keep you on your toes!
Sushi Boat Bash
Set sail with the Sushi Boat Bash! Craft and sell Sushi Boats loaded with salmon, shrimp, eel, and a zesty side of wasabi. It’s a fish-tastic race to deliciousness!
You’ll find the standard Cash and Star values for all crafts in the Gala Games Discord community’s CGW-FAQ channel.
Epic Shrimp Farm
If you’re looking for an NFT solution to crafting Shrimp, look no further than the new Epic Shrimp Farm, available now while supplies last in the Common Ground World store.
Upgrade your farm with the Shrimp Farm NFT! This eco-friendly marvel crafts Shrimp from Seaweed, unaffected by pollution, and comes with its own dedicated Aquaculturist. Dive into cleaner, greener shrimp farming and watch your harvest soar!
Crafts Shrimp from 2 Seaweed like its in-game counterpart
Not affected by Dirty proximity effects
3×3 size (¾ of a standard in-game tile)
Includes an Aquaculturist worker
No Road required
No wage paid
This NFT is being sold by increasing price tiers, so do not hesitate to get yours. When each tier’s supply sells out, the next pricing tier will be unlocked:
TIER 1 – 1-10: $99.99
TIER 2 – 11-60: $149.99
TIER 3 – 61-160: $199.99
TIER 4 – 161-300: $$249.99
Get your Shrimp Farm now!
Join in the Farming Fun
If you’ve never played Common Ground World before, this week’s competition is a perfect time to get involved with the most exciting community of players in the web3 world! You’ll love the simple and relaxing (but strategic and challenging) gameplay!
Common Ground World was created by some of the earliest pioneers of the social gaming realm whose experience brought the world titles like Farmville 2, Words with Friends, Zynga Poker and more! It’s free to play and no download is needed. Plus, you can enhance the experience and your chances of winning by building an NFT collection of your own!
If you haven’t played Common Ground World yet, this week is a great opportunity to join the fun and dive into the awesome community. Each week, players from around the world compete for three days with a unique new set of meta rules. Build an efficiently functioning town that produces and sells the right goods faster than the competition and you’re destined for the leaderboard.
Here’s the standard leaderboard reward chart
In addition to the huge variety of in-game buildings and characters, players can also take advantage of owned NFT items for an extra strategic edge. By playing with NFTs, you can enjoy faster and more flexible play, enhancing your production and avoiding costly builds. The best part of NFT ownership is that you actually own your items, so you can always list them for sale on the secondary market any time you want!
Last Friday’s Town Hall
Join us for the next live CGW Town Hall with the team, Friday August 16th at 8am PT on the Gala Games Youtube channel. If you haven’t caught last Friday’s yet, watch the replay at the link below.
Town Halls take place every 2 weeks on Friday morning. They’re the perfect place to get all the latest updates and hear about exciting new opportunities coming to the game!
Chandelier Earrings
This week’s competition starts at 10am PT on Tuesday, August 6th and ends at 10am PT on Friday, August 9th.
Your goal is to Craft and Sell Chandelier Earrings, which will fetch a handsome Star Boost for this event only.
Trade Time: 20s, 1 Gasoline Biome: Desert S Edges: Desert N, Desert E, Desert S, Desert W
You’ll be surrounded by desert, so be sure to stay hydrated! 💦
To jump in the ongoing discussion and meet people from the team and community, be sure to join the Gala Games Discord server and check out the latest in the Common Ground World channels.
Build to Own, Build to Win
Common Ground World was created by the pioneers of social gaming, some of the same amazing builders who brought the world the beloved Farmville series. Don’t let the relaxing and adorable feel fool you. This game is a masterfully crafted strategic experience, enhanced by web3 ownership through GalaChain and regular global competitions.
You don’t need to download anything to start playing Common Ground World today. All you need is a free Gala Games account– The game opens right in your browser! So what are you waiting for? Start building with this awesome free game today!
Craft vibrant Starlight Market Boxes with eco-friendly paper and paint made from Strawberries, Blueberries and Corn. Splash some color, go green with bamboo and paint your way to victory!
Sell Starlight Market Boxes
Trade Time: 20s & 1 Gasoline Biome: Forest E Edges: River N, Forest E, Forest S, Forest W
Check out the new recipe for Starlight Market Boxes 👇👇
Ingredients: 1 Red Paint, 1 Blue Paint, 1 Yellow Paint, 1 Eco Paper, 1 Wooden Box Made in: Boxing Facility Stored in: Warehouse Affected by: Nothing
New Standard Cash value: $71K New Standard Star value: 8329
This Week’s Cash Boosts 💵
Clay Lump: $300 👉 $900
Ceramic Bowl: $2000 👉 $6000
Honey: $7500 👉 $22,500
This Week’s Star Boost ⭐
Starlight Market Box: 8329 👉 50,000
You’ll find more information about the standard meta values of all crafts in Discord’s #cgw-faq channel.
Guild Upgrade
If you’re a Common Ground World Node operator, it’s almost time to convert your Node Workload NFT from V1 to V2 to enjoy the full upgradeable capabilities of running a CGW Guild!
Common Ground World Guilds are the most exciting new game feature, unlocking a whole new level of team strategizing and turning all Node operators into Guild leaders! With shared NFT libraries, special Guild competitions and more, you’re missing out if you’re not part of a Common Ground World Guild! Get connected in the #cgw-guilds channel in Discord.
Epic Stationary Shop
Craft without Water Drums and use half the crops for vibrant paints. Perfect for efficient, colorful creations!
Available on: Friday, July 26th Price: $199.99 Supply: 500
Don’t miss your opportunity to hear all the latest town chatter from your friends on the Common Ground World team, every two weeks live on Youtube! The last Town Hall took place on Friday, July 19th at 8am PT. If you missed it, watch the replay at the link below! 👇
Don’t miss the next Town Hall, this Friday (August 2nd) at 8am PT!
Gameplay Reminders
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.
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.
Summer Strong
We’re having a blast with all these summer vibes, with new players and some amazing competitions. As always, we’re glad you’re part of this awesome community and we look forward to bringing you more exciting updates in the weeks and months ahead!
If you’ve never played Common Ground World before, what are you waiting for? It’s absolutely free and played directly from your browser. It’s easy to learn but endlessly challenging to master. It’s a relaxing beauty of a competitive strategy game, and you can even win $GALA for placing in the weekly competition!
This game is an action-packed and visually stunning PvPvE extraction FPS adventure, set on a hostile alien planet called Aura. After picking a Hunter (one of four with unique abilities and specialties), players team up and prepare to take on Aura.
Your mission is to collect a priceless alien artifact with untold technological power: The Notari Core. While fighting off countless vicious predator aliens and other extraction teams, your team must locate and extract core fragments, leading ultimately to the Core, the main focus of the mission. Once you have extracted the Core, it’s a no-limits dash to the dropship, where only one team can escape with the Core (and their lives).
From the moment you drop onto Aura’s surface, you’re in for a high-powered adrenaline rush that keeps you on the edge of your seat. Stay close to your team and you just might be able to protect yourselves long enough to mine and extract the Notari Core.
The Premium Event
Starting very soon and running for two weeks, Last Expedition will hold a Mission Ready Premium Event. Watch closely for updates and announcements.
To participate, players must purchase an event pass in-game for 3 Core Chunks LECC. The ability purchase this item will become available when the Premium Event begins.
LECC can either be acquired by swapping for $GALA on GalaSwap, or by successfully extracting with a Core in-game.
Purchasing an event a pass will unlock the ability to play on Premium Servers and experience Aura like never before. Seven new creature variations will challenge players from the moment they land. We’ve even included a secret feature designed to push player skills to the limit!
Premium Servers give 3 types of premium rewards! There will be XP rewards, Character Coin Rewards and Fire Skins, all exclusive to this event. But wait there’s more! Players who place on the Premium Leaderboards in the top 10 will receive Alice Fire skins, LEMIN, and LEFC. The top 3 Finishers will also receive a bonus “Darkness Sniper Rifle Skin.”
The Last Expedition Leaderboard is the ultimate measure of your skills as a hunter. Wins, PVP Kills and Creature Kills all contribute to your score so don’t delay. Get your pass and start hunting!
Upgrade your Node
Last Expedition Node Operators (OPs) will play an integral part in this premium event. Upgrade your node with a special Operator’s Premium Pass for only 3 LECC to unlock the ability to host premium matches on your server. This pass will last for the duration of the 2 week event, setting up your Node with a preselected bundle of creatures. This will give all participating nodes a consistent threat level, providing the competition with a level playing field. When the event is over, your node will return to its original configuration and threat level.
For every match hosted during the event, Node owners will be rewarded an extra 25 percent of LEMIN, LECC and LEFC. In addition, Operators will receive the following participation rewards:
10 LEFC
Legendary Alice Fire Skin
Splat Grenade Launcher Fire Skin
In-Game Loot Drops
Here’s an in depth look at all the loot items players can find by killing creatures on Premium Event Servers during this event:
XP drops
Common – 250 XP
Uncommon – 500 XP
Rare – 750 XP
Epic – 1000 XP
Legendary – 2000 XP
Character Coin Drops
Common – 110 CC
Uncommon – 220 CC
Rare – 440 CC
Epic – 880 CC
Legendary – 1000 CC
Fire Skin Weapon Drops
Stalker Assault Rifle
Cease and Desist Shotgun
Hornet SMG
Hagelsturm LMG
Jackal Pistol
Lynx DMR
Splat Grenade Launcher
Tempest Rocket Launcher
Character Coin and Fire Skins are shared so the person on the team that is carrying them has to extract for it to be rewarded to the team. The CC rewards are not split. Each member receives the amount specified above. Finally XP rewards are granted to the individual that picks them up, awarded at the time of pickup.
Hunters Prepare
The bottom line is that it’s time to get some skin in the game and extract some Cores. Download and play Last Expedition now on PC, completely free through the link below.
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!
