How to DOUBLE Your Mafia Wars Free Gifts

Nearly *500* readers have left positive feedback on Facebook last week's post on how to gift (and get back) Terracotta Tiles and Stone Columns for your Italy Village. I really appreciate when readers hit "Like" on the Facebook icon next to a post, or comment on a post (or both, if appropriate) - the feedback helps either way.

And before we get started on tonight's trick - one that will skyrocket you ahead in Mafia Wars - let me encourage you one more time: if you haven't read - and been using - the Terracotta Tiles/Stone Column trick, you're missing out!.

TONIGHT's post will show you how to DOUBLE the free gifts that your Mafia members send you. You're shaking your head thinking, "Do I have to do one of those stupid surveys? Is this a Reward Point scam?"

A little faith here! There was initial skepticism when I said you could gift Tiles and Columns... but it worked for hundreds of this blog's readers. And so does this trick - I've used it for months.

You can DOUBLE how many Marble Slabs you get. DOUBLE the number of Red Mystery Bags you receive. Use the Terracotta Tile/Stone Column trick AND this trick, and you'll DOUBLE your intake on those tough parts too. You'll DOUBLE your Secret Drops, Mystery Shipments, Pignatas, Armory Parts, etc.

Anything that a Mafia member sends to you as a Free Gift, you can now get TWO of almost every time. Anything that you can send from the Free Gift screen (there are always 15 items to choose from) - or anything your Mafia can send to you (they have different Armory parts usually) - you can now double.

The trick to DOUBLING the free gifts you get in Mafia Wars starts with the Free Gift icon that is at the top right of your Mafia Wars screen - the open envelope with the number in it (the number tells you how many free gifts/crime spree requests/mission requests await you.

Step 1: Click on the Envelope Icon. You will see a screen like the one below, showing what Free Gifts your Mafia sent you.

(This list does NOT include Wishlist gifts, which appear on your Home screen... and this trick does not work on those gifts).

Step 2: Click on the 'Accept Gift' icon to the right of each Free Gift you received. You'll receive whatever Free Gift you were sent - or a substitute gift if you're over your daily limit on Mystery Shipments or Secret Drops. Be a good sport - send gifts back when prompted. It won't affect this trick, but it's good karma.

Now here's where the fun starts. Make sure you've accepted ALL of the Free Gifts using Steps 1 and 2 above before you proceed.

Step 3: Find the Facebook 'Games' Application icon. On my Mafia Wars screen, I can see it in the upper right corner - just to the right of the Free Gift Envelope icon - it's circled in red below:

IF you don't see that list on your screen while you're playing Mafia Wars, click the Facebook icon on the top of your screen to go back to your main Facebook page/newsfeed. On the left hand column of your Facebook home page (you're out of Mafia Wars now), you should see some application icons - with 'Games' as one of them, circled in red below.

If you don't see the Facebook Games Application icon in EITHER of these locations, go into your Settings and choose 'Games' as one of the Applications to display on your Facebook home page.

Step 4: Click on the Facebook 'Games' Icon. Notice how my Games Icon had a '32' next to it. Now look at the screen below, which will appear after you click on 'Games'. It shows... 32 Requests (circled in green):

You will keep coming back to this screen and repeating Step 4 but let's pony up some proof that this much-hyped doubling trick works.

Step 5: Click on 'Accept and Play' to the right of the first "request" on the list above. It will take you back into Mafia Wars, and you'll see a screen like this.

By the way... you just got a **second Marble Slab** ... from the same Mafia member who you collected a Marble Slab from in Step 2. Why? Because in Step 2, you were inside Mafia Wars, using Zynga's envelope. In Step 5, you are starting from Facebook's Games Application icon, which sends you back INTO Mafia Wars. More on this below... but first, a warning

WARNING: If you reverse this sequence, and collect your gifts from the Facebook Games icon, the same gifts will NOT be awaiting you when you go to Mafia Wars... your Free Gift Envelope will be reduced each time you go in reverse sequence.

So... follow the steps in order, the last two being:

Step 6: Click on 'Accept More Pending Gifts' - this is outlined in blue and red, with a yellow arrow, in the screenshot above. Click on this and you will go back to your full list of "requests" from the Facebook Games Application list.

Step 7: Repeat Steps 5 and 6 and accept all "requests" to double your Free Gift intake.

This trick is a GREAT way to race through the challenges like Prized Pigs and Robbery Masks because you can get two of each needed item every time a Mafia member sends you one. (And it looks like we have another challenge of this type coming up this weekend - so you can try this trick out and see if it speeds you through).

This is simply a Facebook/Zynga quirk. Back in September, in one of my first posts on this blog, I gave an all-text (BOR-ING!) explanation of this trick and predicted it wouldn't last long. But two months later, it still works.

The Fine Print:

-When you go through the Facebook Games "request" list, never accept two gifts from the same Mafia Member in one session. Leave it on that list and collect it another time. My experience is that when you go for the second gift from the same Mafia Member, you get an error screen in Mafia Wars (the screen under Step 5) and lose the request/second gift.

-You are still subject to Mafia Wars' daily limits on Mystery Shipments, Secret Drops, Pignatas, Loyalty Points, etc. But for all of those categories (except Crime Spree), Mafia Wars will give you a Mystery Bag or a replacement item. Sometimes the replacement item for a Mystery Shipment - once I'm past my limit - is an item from my Wishlist. So instead of a second Stone Column, you might get a Foo Fighter!

-Your Mission Requests are repeated in the Facebook Games Icon/request list. If you joined or ignored them on the Mafia Wars Free Gift envelope, just hit Ignore on the Facebook request list. You can't join them twice anyway.

-Your Crime Spree requests are also repeated in the Facebook list, and you can't do two for the same person in one day. So leave an extra one in your "doubling list" and you can get the 50 energy or 40 stamina points tomorrow.

-The Gift Application Icon seems to max out at 100 requests - so clear it out regularly.

-I can't find a precise time in which you can go back and collect the "second" round of gifts from the same person within the Facebook list, but it's shorter than a full day. Just space out collecting the "double-doubles" (the multiple gifts from the same person on your Facebook request list) and you'll be fine. Note that in your Mafia Wars Free Gift envelope, if the same person sends you two gifts, you can collect both. Not so with the Facebook list.

-Gifts from other Zynga games will be in this list, so I suspect the doubling trick works for Farmville, Treasure Isle, Poker, etc. As if this wasn't taking enough of our time...

-There are other quirks, but play with it and you'll get a feel for the temperament of this trick - how often it works (for me, almost every time, if I pause a few minutes in between the Mafia Wars envelope collection and the Facebook Games collection.)

-I use Google Chrome to play Mafia Wars, and am not sure if results are different on IE or other browsers - but I think this is a Facebook/Zynga mismatch that will work for all of us.

Good luck and let us know if it works for you! If so, you'll be collecting Italy Village parts, Armory Parts, and lots of other free loot at double the rate of other players...

Rumble in Russia - LIVE!

The Rumble In Russia challenge is live tonight, with four Russian Bosses to fight at 3 levels each, and four Rewards - plus a Grand Prize - to win as you go.

This screen shows the Reward associated with each Boss, and its stats at Gold level:

You get a Reward (and the Ursa Major) at each level, but with lower stats. You have a week to finish all 12 Boss fights. You can do it in a couple hours with some dedication.

Some other rules are posted. Note that you are directed to New York and Las Vegas for "Boss Fight Items" (Stun Guns and the like). Elsewhere, the rules indicate that you can get these items in Italy.

You know what would have been a clever city for Mafia Wars to feature for jobs that drop Boss Fight items during the Rumble in Russia? Ummm... how about... MOSCOW? Just a thought...

During down time between Health recharges, I got a Stun Gun doing the 2-Energy job in New York, and none from doing about 30 jobs in Las Vegas/Hoover Dam for 136 Energy apiece. Go figure.

Rather than trolling for these items, note that all four Boss Fight consumables (Stun Guns, Shivs, Grenades, and Health Kits) are available as Free Gifts now.

Of course, Mafia Wars helpfully offers the Boss Fight consumables for 1 Reward Point each, right on the fight screen - with a tally of your total RPs.

Don't fall for it! There is no need to buy consumables - if you are patient, send consumable to your Mafia, and get help in fights from your Mafia, you will breeze through these fights.

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The sequence of the 12 Boss Fights is best told in pictures, showing the Health that each Boss starts with at Bronze, Silver, and Gold levels - plus the stats of the reward for defeating each Boss at each level.

*BRONZE Level*

The Attack x5 feature is very handy, especially in later fights. At Bronze level, each attack costs 1 Stamina point. Throughout all Boss Fights, you get 1 XP for each Stamina point used. This is NOT a leveling-up ratio to strive for!

You will breeze through Dmitri - and probably all four Bronze level Bosses. Don't be fooled. The fun will come during Gold level.

You get both the Civ-4 Carbine and the Ursa Major when you defeat Sonya Bassinov, at which point the next level opens, and you are back to Dmitri Lenonov.

*SILVER Level*

On Silver level, each attack costs 2 Stamina Points. I also noticed Victory Coins dropping here during the fights.

Sonya Bassinov at Silver level, with her 42,000 Health, was the first Boss that I could not defeat in one sitting. You can either use your Health Kits - especially good in this challenge since they restore 100% of your Health - or just go back to any City and recharge your Health with currency.

*GOLD Level*

Now each attack costs 4 Stamina Points. Completing the 12 fights may require you to recharge your Stamina (I used over 2,500 Stamina during the 12 fights), so make sure you have an Energy Pack, or Treasure Isle promo gig, or something so you're not in the midst of a fight with the timer running when you hit 0 Stamina.

About now, you'll want to call on your Mafia for help, if only to speed up the fight.

On this fight, I had some help from my Mafia.

And at last, Boss Fight #12: Sonya Bassinov with 168,000 Health.

GET. SOME. HELP. You have 4 hours to defeat her, and can ask for help from your Mafia every 30 minutes.

After defeating Sonya in the final fight, the challenge appeared done.

But when I pressed "Get Started" just out of curiousity, all four Bosses had the red Attack light available.

With visions of stocking up on Gold-level Rewards for the next 7 days, I went after Dmitri for round 2 at Gold level (special thanks to JS for the help, as I was running out of Stamina).

And here was my Reward...

Awesome! NINE THOUSAND DOLLARS! I can finally buy that Delivery Truck I've been pining for in the New York Inventory. And TWENTY XP?!?! I leveled up like 40x with that one.

Helping your friends in the Rumble in Russia reminds me of the spiritual phrase that "the reward for a good deed is the good deed that follows it."

Getting to "share in the Boss Fight Rewards" for helping in a Boss fight - as mentioned in the rules at the top of the post - does *not* mean getting extra Crushed Ices or Civ-4 Carbines. Helping out earns some RP and cash... and the comfort of knowing I helped my Mafia... just as my Mafia helped me.

And that, my friends, was the Rumble in Russia.

Infiltrate the Pentagon... LIVE!

Looks like Mafia Wars rolled out the Infiltrate the Pentagon challenge this weekend after all - it is LIVE right now (and - on Saturday - updated with the less threatening name Rendezvous at the Pentagon).

This is an 8-day challenge structured like the Robbery Masks and Prized Pigs events, with the reward stats for the available Loot shown below.

The grand prize - Government Secrets with 103/132 stats - makes this challenge worth doing, and the timing is so spaced out that it would be hard to fail.

There are three branches of the Armed Forces - Army, Navy, and Air Force - represented in the challenge, and three tiers to master in each branch. Bronze Mastery requires you to collect 3 uniforms; Silver requires 6; Gold requires 12.

Fittingly, the Army challenge earns you Ranger Kukri (Weapon); the Navy challenge earns you a Patrol Dolphin; and the Air Force challenge gives a Angel's Grace (Vehicle). The Grand Prize looks to be an Armor piece.

The first branch is Army, and you can send and receive the Army Uniforms as Free Gifts.

Because this challenge requires you to collect Free Gifts, it is the perfect place to use the Double Your Free Gifts trick featured yesterday on this blog - a trick that many of you knew, but gave some readers a new and valuable Mafia Wars edge.

You can also send and request Army Uniforms from your Home Page, where 'Infiltrate the Pentagon' is one of your Daily Checklist menu items

Below is the notification for mastering the Bronze Level of the Army Uniform challenge. With the Doubling trick, you only need to get 11 Uniforms sent to you (each of which you can collect twice...) to get the 21 needed for Gold Mastery.

Impressive that Mafia Wars coupled this challenge with the 2x Fight Loot Weekend - lots of loot to capture out there. Certainly something to occupy us as we tap our feet awaiting Italy Regions 6, 7, and 8.

Good luck!

Rendezvous at the Pentagon UPDATE + More Loot

The challenge formerly known as Infiltrate the Pentagon (explained in detail here) has undergone a less-threatening name change:

But more notable than the name change is the fact that you can get MULTIPLE Mastery Rewards from the Army, Navy, and Air Force challenges once you obtain the Grand Prize from the Rendezvous at the Pentagon challenge (Government Secrets)...

BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE

If you act now, once you obtain a second set of Gold Mastery items (all 3), you can get a SECOND grand prize - another Government Secrets, with its 103/132 stats!

BUT THAT'S NOT ALL!

If you call within the next 15 minutes, we'll throw in a Mafia Wars Achievement for collecting 100 uniforms (collectively from the Army, Navy, and Air Force)

I know, enough with the cheesy infomercial hooks. But this comes straight from Zynga:

"Players who master all the military uniforms during the Rendezvous at the Pentagon event will earn the grand prize Government Secrets armor mastery item. The Grand Prize will only be given to players who master all three levels of all three gifts. For the first time, players will have the incentive to repeat the event after achieving the Gold Mastery Items, so that they can accumulate multiples of items. Collecting 100 military uniform gifts will award a special achievement."

So save up those Army uniforms once you reach Gold Mastery -- at 75 attack each, you'll want as many Gold-level Ranger Kukris as you can get your hands on.

Same goes for the Navy and Air Force uniforms once they go live - don't stop at 21 (needed to get to Gold Mastery) - you will want multiple Patrol Dolphins (77 defense) and Angel's Graces (78 defense).

Also from Zynga comes this helpful Q & A on the multiple rewards and the 100-uniform achievement:

"Q: When does this event end?

A: A deadline hasn't been set yet.

Q: How many multiples can I get?

A: Once you've earned the Grand Prize item, your ability to collect multiples of the 3 Mastery items will unlock.

The current best strategy is to collect just enough uniforms to accomplish the first Gold Mastery item for each uniform and then wait until you've collected the Grand Prize. Then you can resume collecting other uniforms. It is possible to have multiple Gold Mastery Patrol Dolphins, but only 1 either Bronze or Silver Mastery Patrol Dolphin are allowed to exist at a time. Once you have a second set of Gold Mastery items, you will receive a second Grand Prize item.

Q: When will the 100 Uniform achievement become available and how can I track my progress?

A: The 100 Uniform achievement will become available once the Grand Prize is available. Until then, only 21 of each uniform can count towards your total."

Since you need lots and lots of every uniform, this all the more reason to master and use the Mafia Wars Double Free Gift trick.

Saving all these uniforms may clutter up your Free Gift Envelope and Games Application icon for a couple weeks, but the extra Loot will be worth it.

When you finish Gold Mastery on all 3 challenges, you'll see this screen - granting you the Government Secrets prize and allowing you to replay the challenge and collect more Rewards and another set of Government Secrets:

Nov 9 Update: Word on the street is that you can complete the entire challenge THREE times... though one poster said he completed it FIVE times... either way, the more the merrier!

Nov 11 Update - 3x is indeed the maximum number of times you can complete the challenge: