Happy Pi Day!

π    π    π    π    π    π 

Hey Jammers, happy Pi Day! I wish my math teacher had taken the opportunity to give us actual pie instead of using today as an excuse to give harder problems than usual. :T

Because I'm obligated to make this blog at least semi-educational because Animal Jam itself is semi-educational, here are some fun facts about pi!

First of all, what is pi?

Pi is the circumference of a circle, which is like the circular version of perimeter. The distance around a shape. The exact reason why circles need their own version of a perimeter is too mathematical for my tired brain to remember, but basically it's because a truly perfect circle is much more difficult to measure. 

Pi begins with 3.14159... and goes on and on with no end! Because it goes on forever with no apparent pattern, any and every combination of numbers are theoretically within pi. Your phone number... your birthday... the script of your favorite movie written in binary... Yep. But only theoretically, it's not for certain, but isn't it an interesting thought? ^_^

And now, a useless fun fact: the billionth digit of pi is 9! Enjoy that information. Use it well. 

Now, back to Animal Jam! To celebrate Pi Day, some pi-related items are back in Jam Mart Furniture after a year of absence. Over in Jam-Mart-Clothing is a brand new pi item, too!

My two favorite items out of this group are the Giant Pi Statue and the Pi Hat. I like the Pi Statue colored lavender with the vines. :D

Because Pi Day also falls on a Monday, a pair of Rare Shamrock Sunglasses are being sold in Jam Mart Clothing to shield your eyes from the horrors of Winter not being over yet:

This may sound a little weird, but even if I don't celebrate a holiday I usually like to celebrate it in any way I can. For example, I personally don't like Valentines Day, but I love buying bucketloads of candy and giving horribly cute cards to my friends. In that same way, I'll probably sit around wearing green all day on the 17th just for the sake of it. Idk why, I guess I wish every day was a holiday? Eh... C(o.o)D

That's all for now, Jammers. See you in Jamaa!

Rumored AJ Merch + TV Show!?

Hey Jammers! By now you've probably noticed that a habit of mine is to take reeeeeeally long breaks from posting during the week due to how exhausted I feel from all the homework I get. 

I've been trying to break that habit, but I was planning on getting all up to date on Friday when, lo-and-behold, I got too sick to do anything more than lie around and feel sorry for myself! What great timing.

I'm still sick, but better enough to sit upright and type this out. There's actually quite a lot of news I have for you today that I think you'll find interesting!

However, because I've missed so much, here are some screenshots of all the items I've missed out on updating you with:

...And because tomorrow is the 14th, you should expect a whole slew of Pi Day items in Jam Mart Furniture!

And now, on to the crazy news of the day! Brace yourselves...

I admit that none of this information is mine. The one who did the research and put all the clues together is Snowyclaw, AJ blogger and YouTuber. This info ain't mine, but I think this is really interesting!

Here's what various sources are saying about the details of upcoming AJ merchandise, including new info about the figurines coming out in June.

A New Master Toy Partner?

First off, Animal Jam is partnering up with toy company Jazwares to make and distribute their merchandise as their Master Toy Partner! I'm not entirely sure if they're still with Commonwealth Toy & Novelty as we'd thought in the past, but it's sure they'll have a lot less involvement if Jazwares is to be AJ's Master Toy Partner.

Pricing Info for Figurines, Plushies, and Play-sets!

I love that butterfly!

These are the "Adopt-a-Pet" Figurines and they will be sold for $3.49 US Dollars each, including a little house.

Four of these little friends will be sold together for $4.99 US Dollars. You can dress them up, too!

These are called "Light-up Friends" and are sold for $8.99 US Dollars. They come with a magic blacklight ring that shows hidden patterns!

Themed dens will be sold for  $14.99 US Dollars.

Small plushies will be sold for $6.99 US Dollars. 

Deluxe plushies will be sold for $14.99 US Dollars.

A whole model Club Geoz including lights, sound, and special figurines will be sold for $29.99 US Dollars. Jeez!

Exclusive Online Features?

All of these products will apparently unlock exclusive online features. Because the majority are figurines of things in Jamaa already accessible (dens, animals, pets), there's a slight possibility that things in Jamaa could be changed drastically. 

For example, because you'll be able to get an arctic wolf from a code on an arctic wolf figurine, the Diamond Shop wouldn't be needed anymore. Additionally, because buying a toy is more profitable than slowly collecting diamonds, the Diamond Shop would shut down altogether!

That's an extreme possibility and seems like it would shake things up way too much to be implemented, so don't worry. For now...

Another possibility is that the digital things unlocked from toys already represented in Jamaa will be completely new. For example, purchasing an action figure of an arctic wolf could get you a digital version of that action figure, rather than the arctic wolf itself. 

Or perhaps, the online feature yielded from the toy could be unrelated or only loosely related to the toy itself. Maybe a panda plushie gives you special armor. Only time will tell...

Animal Jam TV Show!?!?

And now, the most exciting and terrifying news of this post. 

I'm gonna spell it out slowly for you so you keel over backward with shock:

In the future... Animal Jam... may... have... a TV show. And I'm not talking about that weird kids show called Animal Jam with the weird puppets that used to come up whenever I Googled AJ. An actual TV show! For Animal Jam! Are you scared? I KNOW I AM.

There are no press releases concerning a possible TV show, so for now it's only an idea. However, it's an idea that WildWorks seems to want to see happen. 

Personally, I really don't think a TV show would be necessary. I think one of the big reasons why AJ is so successful is that it's really personal. Sure, it's the most popular kids game out there, but there's a strong community and a sense that Animal Jam is much more than just a money-sucking kids game. Unless WildWorks does something really unique and special, a TV show would make AJ feel a little more impersonal. 

TV shows for products are just ways of advertising, albeit a little more complex. They add more interest to games that lack storyline, such as Yu-Gi-Oh! or Pokémon– but an MMO? I really haven't seen any TV shows for MMO's that ever worked out. 

Sorry if you're excited for a TV show and this post seemed kinda negative. It's just a personal opinion because I'm kind of afraid how a TV show would affect Animal Jam. I've seen things special and unique that were made hollow by being brought into the filtered world of TV and movies, so I don't want AJ to be a repeat of that.

But who knows? WildWorks made an amazing kids game, so why not a good TV show, too?

Possible Trading Cards

And now, a rumor that's a little less controversial: Trading Cards!

It's not certain as to whether this idea is going to actually be introduced, but it sounds really fun! An Animal Jam trading card game is something I could get behind. 

They apparently tried out this idea during the beta days and released a handful of Alpha trading cards in an issue of Nat Geo Kids Magazine. (Nat Geo Kids actually has some really interesting stuff in it, occasionally AJ codes as well. Did you know that some rainbows can be only many shades of red?)

All of this information is credited to Snowyclaw in this video.

That wraps up this daily post. If you have any questions, don't be afraid to comment! :)

See you in Jamaa!

Lucky Clovers 2016 – All Prizes + Tips

Hey Jammers! DoomyPanda here, the doomiest of pandas reporting LIVE! from Jamaa about the latest seasonal group adventure, Lucky Clovers.

This is Lucky Clovers' second or third appearance, but the clovers are luckier than ever with the possibility of finding a much-sought-after Spiked Collar or Wristband in the Epic Treasure Chest. Hopefully, this influx of "spikes" will water down the rampant demand for them. Hopefully...

The object of this quest is to search far and wide across fields and rivers to collect four-leaf clovers for a happy koala in a snazzy hat. 

Patrick needs a total of 50 clovers from you, but for every ten clovers you collect, he'll give you a special key! This key will unlock any one of four treasure chests at the base and will give you a seasonal prize.

Because I'm nonmember, me and a kind member friend tag teamed it collecting screenshots of all the prizes. For your convenience, here are all of the prizes you could expect to win from any one of the four smaller chests:

Now, the giant Epic Treasure Chest is a whole other story. That's where you have the chance to win a Spiked Collar or Wristband! If you're member, that is. 

There are two prizes total you can get out of the Epic Treasure Chest, just like the regular chests. Nonmembers can only open the nonmember one, whereas members can open both the nonmember and member one.

So, what sort of prizes could you get out of the Epic Treasure Chest?

I'm a nonmember and I got the pale blue Rare Shark Fin as my Epic Prize. Not something you'd normally call 'epic', but rare nonetheless. I've also heard some people who got Nerd Glasses, so I'm assuming that anything nonmember and marked "rare" will be what you'll get from the nonmember Epic Chest. Basically, Rare Item Mondays.

On the member side, however, while playing I noticed a few people who actually got Spiked Collars/Wristbands like the Jamaa Journal promised. Three out of six member players is a lot, don'tcha think? I wonder if AJHQ noticed how messed up the current trading pool is and hoped that making Spiked Whatevers more accessible would even it out. They're not really that rare in terms of date, but in demand? Definitely.

I've heard a lot of players complaining in-game about their Epic Prizes. Personally, I don't really care about the prizes! It's true, I don't! I just love going through the beautifully designed quest with my friends! It's always exciting to see what prize you'll get, but the prize itself is just an added bonus. 

I love all the tiny tree stump dens in this adventure. I would really want to live in one!

I spent a good three hours trying to collect all the nonmember prizes, so I think we could all use a few tips, eh? Here are some tips that will help you stay on track and not get lost!

Tip #1: Make sure you have enough computer time! This adventure will take at least 45 minutes.

Tip #2: Keep your map open at all times. It's really helpful in not getting lost!

Tip #3: In addition to keeping your map open, try to be organized. The map is split up into four sections of a clover. Focus on one leaf at a time and make sure you get all the clovers you can from it! Scour each river and rock, leave no stone unturned!

Tip #4: If you just got a key and see another clover heading back to base, you won't be able to pick it up. Take a screenshot of your position on the map (the blue dot) and after you get your prize, open the screenshot and find your position so you can collect that clover!

That's all for now, Jammers. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to comment! 

May all your clovers be lucky! :D

Lucky Update 2016!

Hey Jammers! Even though March is here and Jamaa is full of clovers everywhere, it still snowed yesterday. Blah. Hopefully, that will be short lived and Spring will soon arrive in the Northern Hemisphere!

Yesterday was the biweekly update that brought a ton of new things. Without any further ado, here's the Jamaa Journal!

Otters are back! I never noticed they were gone, really. There are way too many animals to keep track of nowadays! However, is that really such a bad thing? ;D

Along with an older animal coming back, we've also got a new pet today! And along with the lovely pet skunk, there's also a brand new gigantic den! For diamonds only, of course. Here are some screenshots:

It's so beautiful, I wish it were for nonmembers! I also forgot to include that it has a rainbow slide. :D

With the return of March comes the return of Lucky Clovers, the seasonal adventure. There have been quite a few changes to this new adventure, and I'll be making a full post on it soon!

I hope that spiked collars and wristbands will finally stop being so obsessed over now that they're out again, but that's what I thought last year and they still are. :\

Stay tuned for a post all about Lucky Clovers 2016, including prizes!

I feel like I'm the only one who regularly goes to the Conservation Museum. C'mon! Pretty music, cute hats, and lots of fun facts about beautiful creatures! What's not to love? I hope you'll go check this new exhibit! 

March 14th is Pi Day! The first few digits of pi are 3.14, get it? Last year was a particularly special Pi Day, as the next couple digits are 15. March 14, 2015 and 3.1415!

Regardless of the year, some new cool items are gonna be coming on the 14th!

I wish pandas would have come before horses, but I have no idea the order in which all the animals will be released. Still, welcome to Play Wild, digital horse!

Finally, with all the new additions that this update brought, rhinos will be temporarily going traveling. It's a shame that rhinos aren't as popular anymore, they're so wonderful! I wish they were nonmember. Additionally, many rhinos are critically endangered and on the actual cusp of extinction. To put this in perspective, there is literally only one male white rhino left in the wild. ONE. It's awful and so sad, you can't even fathom what it's like to be the last of your kind. 

• • • •

The new update has also brought a few more subtle changes. For example, a lot of the borders on things have been darkened:

Additionally, some new Spring-y loading screens are here!

And oh, who could forget how beautiful Jamaa Township looks now?

I'm so happy. I can't wait until it really looks like this outside my window. 

...Minus the giant clovers, of course, but wouldn't that be so cool?

That's all for now, Jammers. See you in Jamaa! :D

Big Post Coming Tomorrow!

Hey Jammers! It feels like I always fall into this loop of posting a lot over the weekend, swearing that I'll stay on track during the week, and then getting so wrapped up in school that I completely neglect to do so. Sadly, the truth is that I really put a good amount of sleep before anything else, then next is school, and then next is this blog. 

I try really hard to balance out the stuff I want to do (i.e. AJ Stream) with the tedious amount of repetitive assignments I get from teachers who think in a quantity-over-quality way and still end up with 8 hours of sleep. It causes me to occasionally cut some of the fun stuff out during the week.

I feel like I give this speech every week here, but I just wanna let y'all know: I love this blog, I'm so happy you read it, but I'm not much of a night owl on weekdays. I try my absolute best to update every day I can, but... I need some sleep. 

Anyways, this week's update is a really great one! Everything's all covered in clovers. However, I need to study so I'll get back to ya tomorrow, okay? 

Peace out!!! I hope you don't have as much homework as I have...

– DoomyPanda