Informant Podcast: Recent Episodes
Informant News Crew
Jen and Pete have the show to themselves tonight. They spend some time chatting about the Spockholm annual April fools joke. The also spend a good bit of time talking about the Blackjack event and the newly released SpackJack spocklet
In this episode we talk about what just pasted as events and we speculate that our reprieve will not last long. Jennifer was unable to join us, so we were not as detailed on game news.
Well finally we return for another episode. We are still trying to work out the logistics but we will be back doing a show a week for the foreseeable future. We do play some catch up this week. However, a lot of the same. A few twists on new events. However, mostly a repeat of […]
Well new event hits the game at the same time as about 5 other things. The crew spends a good bit of time talking about the event Lords of Lesotho.
We have a strong belief that what makes this game what is it is the people who play it. We take some time to discuss the potential of resurrecting community style mock wars., giving players a chance to really meet new players. We also spend some time discussing the issues around event fatigue and how […]
This show it is just Pistol Pete and Jen. Jana is taking a sick day. The discussion is mainly about the stock pile of activities Zynga has once again thrown at us. We also talk in detail about a few strategies to help tackle some of these events. We have yet another Special News report […]
Apologizes lead the show. Pistol Pete has several for the crew and listeners. The game is in break mode. We have several repeat events to contend with but for the most part you can take advantage, and play as you want. Jen talks some about the Zynga growth model and purchase of a mobile gaming […]
For all the fans of the great change management book Who moved my Cheese? You will appreciate the title of this show. It was a busy week at Spockholm contending with the url change Zynga place on its user base. We are not criticizing or questioning the need to change it. Companies do things like […]
Not really any deep thought provoking conversation. Oddly, we start out with some weather talk. Sorry we just could not help it, becuase it is COLD. Good Mafia Wars playing weather. We delve into the NERF talk. Yup, Zynga did it again and wait until you hear their explanation. We discuss the maintenance and the […]
Here we are off starting yet another year. We have now been broadcasting the show for 3+ years. So thanks to all of you loyal listeners for keeping us motivated. There is not a lot going on, which honestly is the best thing ever. It is nice to have a break from all the events, […]
Jennifer, Pete and Mike catch up to get a quick recording over the holidays break. We attempt to cover most of the changes in the game. Since there has been a lot.
We are excited to be back in the swing of things. However, we were thwarted by Skype this episode. We had choppy audio and dropped calls. Skype is usually good to us, but this was a tough show to edit. So we ask again for you patience and understanding. Hope you enjoy, we cover a […]
First, thanks in advance for you patience with us. Life is a great complicator to producing a show. We are glad to be back and hopefully will be more regular (Prune juice will help). In this episode, random talk… tattoos, TWD (very briefly), football, weather, birthdays. Pistol Pete talks about Snow in TX. The crew […]
The woes of updating. Pistol Pete updated the recording software and low and behold it did not work as expected. Therefore, is sounds like the girls locked him in the Hopper. Apologizes, in advance, you may have to turn up the volume a little from time to time. This show is mainly about the overabundance […]
Mr. Bill and Leonard Wong sorta return to the game. Which leads to good discussion about sparking interest in the game again. The crew discussed the family size of 100 and how now days it is hard to keep a family full. There is a belief players would like to see an option for both […]
The crew is back together, sorta. Mike decided to join us from the Bar, which makes for a couple of laughs. Jen covers the new things going on in the game, like the new district in SA. We spend a lot of time discussing what is not working in SA. We discuss a little about […]
This episode has a little dose of everything MW, ranging from Icing to Victory coins. In addition, as the title states, the crew at Spockholm has been busy.
We are back. Apologizes for last week. Had some technical difficulties. It was a really great show, sorry you all missed it. This week we pickup where we were. We cover the Mob Fury and the additions to Spartacus to support it. We would be remiss if we did not talk about the new Mission […]
Halloween soon will be upon us and Jana is all Jazzed. The crew is also excited about the return of AMC’s Walking Dead this Sunday. So a little bit of talk occurs about that. October is also Breast Cancer Awareness months and yes Leif we talked about you. Not that we will ever sway your […]
The Crew is back again. This week we talked about the new South Africa “Extreme Missions” and the shock Chester had last week. The final level of VIP membership is approaching for some players, and questions arise about whether people will keep the VIP membership. There is another IceBoard event upon us. We also spend […]
I was going to call this Episode the Meat and Potatoes becuase we give you a healthy fill of details for you MW games. However, since Jennifer is a Vegetarian it did not seem appropriate. Pistol Pete and Jennifer have this show solo. It does seem scheduling is a challenge. Bear with us why we […]
Jennifer and Pistol Pete got caught up with work stuffs. So, Chester shows up with Jana at his side to bring you this episode. In usual Chester form the show starts off a little unorthodox. We think you will find it interesting to hear his perspective of the game as he actually logs in and […]
The show this week is not only Late in coming, sorry for missing last week. However, it is being recorded during the wee hours of the morning. We jump right in on the Arena supremacy event which took place last week. Then onto the Family Ice Event and discussion of who dominating the leaderboard. There […]
Well Jana is not with us tonight, so we go really off topic. We lead off with some Boy Band talk, which is easily explained. We have to deal with Jennifer’s cricket and Event Fatigue at the same time (No correlation). New Operations event with a FB Event twist is put before us. Robbing has […]
Well Mike Nester has escaped from the Hopper and so it is just Jen, Jana, and Pete. We talk about a little about the Weather, just kidding. We talk some about energy requirements in SA some more and make a recommendation and would like to hear feedback on if it would work or not. We […]
It goes without saying, the majority of the conversation has revolved around South Africa. It was an amazing observation how Energy intensive the destination really is. Zynga hits us with yet another Ice Season. We share a couple of tips on how to get your Ices pretty quickly. Spockholm Team was all over South Africa […]
Well we do not always jump right into MW, but tonight we did get a pretty good jump on it. We tackle the Ice Event and the bug that allowed one family to keep some carryover ices from a previous event. Guess what a new location is here and its name is “new Location”, the […]
We actually had everyone back together. However, I am not sure we were quite in the swing of things. We did seem to get a bit off topic a few time. However, we did manage to talk about the following items: South Africa Coming Las Vegas Closing TV talk and Baby talk – Don’t ask […]
In this episode we on right on it talking about the new Secret District and energy cost based on level. There is some concern this will hurt some fighters, who have chosen to pump into Stamina, Attack, and Defense. There is some evidence in some server images that Vegas might finally be on its way […]
This show is a little about theory, hence the title. We sit back and do a little theorizing about were the game is and where it might be going. We also talk some about some possible fixes. Hopefully, Zynga is listening…
Well we would be remiss if we did not talk about the volume of events going on s the same time. For goodness sake stagger them. We discuss Operations, Kami’s, Limited Time Mission, Stars and Stripes Collection and a myriad of other topics. Some serious unrelated squirrel moments take place like our discussion of Doug […]
The show starts off with an official ASSHAT reference. Bringing back some old memories. We then drive right in to all the stuff in the game that hit us this week. We have a new challenge mission. The consumables collected is similar to the egg-sellence event collection. The spocklet Event Meter will help keep you […]
Couple of house keeping items. First thanks to Damian for pointing out that Episode 248 was duplicated and the later one should have been 249 this has been fixed on this site. All we can say is OOPS… To bad it was not April. Secondly, Pistol Pete played around with the sound again a bit. […]
The Family Ice Event is underway, and with the ability to gain lots of ices in the Arena. The numbers are through the roof. There is a small bug allowing some players to buy Family Progression for 0 RP. It has been difficult to identify how and why this shows for some accounts. We would […]
There are lots of issues with the game and refreshes are driving players crazy. Two new types of events, Lucky Streak and the Face-Off are reviewed and of course each one has several Zynga factors. Weird things involving old destinations are happening and 4 new Raven achievements have been added. Team Spockholm takes on a […]
The whole crew is back together (well except for Nester, who hardly talks away :)) Lots of talk about the newer events. Jenn and Pete fumble a few words here and there. However, we think you will enjoy. So give a listen and let us know your thoughts.
Welcome to this episode of the Informant Podcast. Had a tough time getting the entire crew together. So Pistol Pete improvised and brought in an old friend. Enjoy.
Little bit of everything was discussed today. We talk sports, Mafia Wars, Weddings. That is right, Weddings. Mafia Wars continues to bring people together, while tearing us apart. Sorry could not resist. One highlight of the show Jenn talks about the crafting (multiple Build option added to the game), only to have it yanked away […]
We are back at it and up to our usual antics. Apologizes in advance. Jenn’s dog is a little territorial and does not to be left alone. So she makes her presence known throughout the show. The focus this afternoon is in part about the things we like about the game and what got us […]
Busy two weeks. So busy in fact we could not find the time to get a show recorded last week. This week however we are back at it and there is a bunch to discuss. Some big shifts in the family life in MW. The Roving Rebels retired their Family tag. Stating nothing left for […]
We cannot help ourselves we have a bit of TV talk at the beginning of the show. Pistol Pete is PO’d about the Game Performance. We get to discuss the VIP RP glitch and the hopes it would have stayed in place. The limited time Property is coming to an end for non VIP members, […]
Mixing up the show a little bit tonight. We have delve into the VIP Program a little and talk about the Harbinger of Death and the crazy a** crap Zynga pulled with the option to buy additional ones. We get side tracked and talk some about Zynga Gaming, Minecraft, the level cap, and the egg […]
Shockers advance into Elite 8, Nester is drunk in Vegas, and Mafia Wars is egg crazy. What do all these things have to do with one another? Tune in to find out.
Jennifer, Janna, and Pete get together and just have a nice chat about MW, Easter, Walking Dead, and whatever else just seems to come up in conversation. Enjoy.
Goals are what keep many playing Mafia Wars and they could be the golden goose for Zynga. While many are bored with the creepy Warlord guy, Jana ventures into a new goal and gets some advice on how to reach it. Something fishy is going on in the Arena and ratios are changing. The Fence […]
Pete ends up on a Lego hunt while Jana plays with Bacteria while we was away. The crew discusses the Ice Board and some confusion involved. Some chat about the war going on with Spock along with some talk about joining families and how they differ. Some explanations on the new limited time mission and […]
New feature Daily Fix introduced. We are waiting to see what the feedback will be on the feature. Janna has big news regarding Robbing Mastery. There is a new Charity Event with two interesting twists. One, you can use RP points which is very nice. Secondly, there is a leader-board for contributors and the prize […]
Pete, Jennifer and Jana discuss the trials and tribulations of playing Mafia Wars. From bugs, rumors and MIA support it becomes a challenge to ease through it all. The community sponsored Battle Tournament is underway and is going smoothly despite the roadblocks of the game. Exciting news from the Mafia Wars Team promises a new […]
We are knee deep in the ice season which is a great opportunity to gain some of the new fight loot and tally some arena fake ices. Fake Ices, those achieved through the arena have become a problem for long time players. Since now, Zynga merged them with Regular Fighting Ices. This has caused some […]
An exciting week in Mafia Wars. Mike Nestor gets his MIG Mafia Wars tattoo in game, tied to Boss Gouda. Zynga releases several days of fighting in the arena without fear. This has players really enjoying the arena. Our guest Brandon, has a little different view on permanent 0 lost respect time periods. The SPOCK […]
With Super Bowl Weekend upon us we could not help chatting about it for a bit. Which lead into interesting conversation about Sports Books, and the potential for a MW Book for the IceBoard Event. It was a nice turn of events to have something extremely positive to say about the Arena, no losing respect […]
Once again long time players are leaving the game. We say goodbye to The Swede and Alan Potter to name a couple. Like all before, you will be missed. We struggle to grasp what is the Zynga motivation. If it is truly greed. There would have been better ways to get more money from a […]
As usual Arena talk including different strategies being used to master the family event. The Informant Podcast Crew and players would really like for Zynga to do three simple things. 1. Stop (insert expletive here)ing with the game, FIX IT. 2. Stop trying to (insert expletive here)ing control us. 3. Stop (insert expletive here)ing overwhelming […]
Pete and Jen are without Jana but manage to get by. The dwindling player base has created unnecessary drama as many players believe they are targets when in realty they are just showing up on the fight list more frequently. There are a few more useful Spocklets and many useless Events. Jen discusses changes in […]
After a 2 week break the gang is back to let out all of their rants. The Arena is driving players crazy and is the main focus of the show. Mafia Wars can interfere with real life and Pistol Pete ends up in the dog house. Discussions turn to a shrinking player base and it’s […]
The gang is back…only because the world didn’t end. Pete tells the Mayans to suck it and talk immediately goes to Christmas. Once the pleasantries are out of the way, the ranting about the Arena begins. The third Family Ice Event came and went and the Arena had a big impact on the number of […]
Pistol Pete gets to meet Steve Wozniak (the Woz) co-founder of Apple at a recent Users Group Meeting. More and more frustration is present over event fatigue. Players just do not understand and some are just leaving. Features we like and enjoy end up being butchered by Zynga. Take for example the Robbing Spree changes, […]
Well after a two week haitious the crew returns to discuss the Arena. Well what do you expect it is all the rage. The good, bad, and the ugly of it. We try to cover a little and lot of the features.
Pete and Jen are without Jana but that doesn’t stop the conversation flowing as Zynga has thrown in way too much content. We have a new Poker Season, a nerfed Robbing Spree, a nerfed Iceboard, a Secret District, a Limited Time Mission, a Limited Time Property and many are still waiting for the Arena. With […]
The main conversation revolves around the Arena. Lots to talk about, we have likes, we have dislikes, and we have strategy. So tune in and hopefully you will learn something.
The crew gathers to discuss some of the pending Game changes, to include New Secret Distirct, Crafters Choice, Property, and whatever Zynga has on the horizon. Spockholm has been busy helping with Interface changes, adding a Raven Combo-a-nator to the Toolbar, and the Acheivements cleanup, similiar to the Profile page collapse and expand options. A […]
Elections are over in the US but does not stop the conversation from bleeding over into the show a bit. With Mike and Eike in Vegas, Jenn talks about getting to meet them both and how vertically challenged she was in comparison to them both. With the 101st use for MW Swag explained by Jenn, […]
Not your typical show. Fortunately there has been an event reprieve. I think we were all about to go nuts. The crew does spend some time discussing the possible future of Vegas, the pro’s and con’s of removing it and other cities. There is a good bit of debate over converting older destinations like Cuba, […]
On the heels of halloween the crew delves right into the Halloween candy talk. Werewolf event is in full effect, concerns it only favors the script users. Then there is heated discussion around the Pink Toolbar, and script thief begins. Jenn gets skunked by a Zynga trick on imaging naming. There is clearly another round […]
Well there is speculation with the Raven hiding and showing he might have gotten Jana this episode. Nah, she is will family enjoying a Spooktaculuar evening. So Pete and Jenn get to discuss once again the information overload or event fatigue whichever you would like to call it. So lets cover all the new and […]
The Raven is returning and the gang celebrates Gangnam Style. Recent rumors of Mafia Wars shutting down are debunked. The Car Wash is open for business. There are 2 new districts in London and nobody is impressed with them. In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the Spockholm Mafia Toolbar goes Pink.
It’s just Pete and Jen and they get into a lengthy conversation about Customer Support, VIP payments and Facebook Game Cards. The ranting continues as Pete shares his feelings on the pirating of intellectual properties. We have also gotten several new things, like a Crafter Choice stats change on the items, a new Gifting event, […]
Baseballs are in the air but that’s not going to stop Mafia Wars. Zynga cures Jennifer’s Lucky Stash addiction and Team Spockholm prevents accidental reward point purchases and the gang offers sound advice to not be overcharged for the VIP Membership Program. Will Zynga need to find new revenue streams? Sneaky Pete makes it easier […]
Pete, Jana and Jen are more excited about the premiere of the Walking Dead than they are about Mafia Wars. Fortunately they got back on track and discussed the happenings in Spockholm and Mafia Wars. Talk soon moved to scandalous cheating in FarmVille2. Is it ok to cheat if it’s not Mafia Wars?
Apologizes in advance for the sound. We tried something new while capturing our audio and it did not fair well for Pistol Pete's sound. Spock boys in the back room have been dreaming up some cool new features. These include toolbar features like Job Dropdown, Home page module control, and Highlight best unmasterd job. We […]
The crew is on the mend, however a Skype Virus is traversing the Internet so make sure you do not open unknown links from trusted contacts. The new Secret District has hit the game and the gnay discusses ratio's and some strategy. Jenn notices the drop rate on Victory Coins has deminished and wonders if […]
Many are not getting RP for completing the ads in MW, causing some serious frustration. Couple of new thing from Team Spockholm, the copy ice feature in the streamline fighting in TB, there is also the lucky stash spocklet, and a nice revision to the 501 spocklet too. Pistol Pete shares an experience with True […]
Jenn brings Pixie to the show, and you can hear her panting in the background. Pistol Pete thought maybe we needed more air in the Hopper for Mike. We it probably could not be avoided but we had more Farmville Talk, becuase of the level 20 requirement, as opposed to, previous level 12 in other […]
It’s just Pete and Jen on the Mic and the Mike is in the Hopper. There are lots of things going on in Mafia Wars and Facebook. In addition to all the usual copy/paste events (present and coming soon) and a productive Team Spockholm, there are a few surprises. Trippy Trailers, Silver Elephants, PM3Craft, Fake […]
The entire gang unites to reminisce about the journey to where we are now, the Big 200. Don’t worry for those that do not like the chatter only, Jen does attempt to get a summary of game changes in, every now and then. However, I guest usually does not let it happen.
As the gangs gathers to close in on the magical 200th episode. They share a short show for those attention challenged. We have it all, well maybe not all but a little of everything. Here are the highlights: Burn button added to toolbar Remove post Spocklet by Eike Click-trap remover broke from FB fix Gift […]
After a break, the gang is back to discussing the same old issues. It often feels like every show is identical and Zynga won’t change. Questions arise as to what is the point of continuing. If you have the Spockholm Toolbar, Pete explains why it’s raining Precious Gems. Jana reaches a milestone and Jen goes […]
The crew is back and loaded with new information and game information. There is a second round of the Ice Board Event, Jen shares a trick to rise to the top of the Mafia Leaderboard quickly. Yes, its true, there is a cross promotion coming with Farmville 2. The Spockholm toolbar gets a couple of […]
Do to some traveling conflicts there will not be a show tomorrow evening… We will return on Sunday to bring you all the changes. For those that just need a fill of something… We have included a couple the Trader No Goh saga, when he leaves his store to his nephew, and meets the TSA.
We welcome to the show this evening Laurie from the MwG (Mafia Wars Gods). We appreciate her time talking to us about the Gods, and how different this social group is. Jen fills us in on the new secret district that is going to be coming out. Pete covers some more profile page changes, and […]
WOW, the Spockholm crew has been busy…At last count 4 new Spocklets, 2 Toolbar addtions, and Family Exp updated. So here is the run down Player Updates…BETTER!, Request-o-Nator, Beg-o-Meter, VLA-a-Nator. Toolbar features include mwid, fbid fixes, Iceboard Profile Links, and a revamp of the Profile/Stats Page. You have to check it out. Jen and Janna […]
The gang is all present with Mike in the Hopper and the discussion focuses on the usual Zynga copy/paste events and bugs. Jana is proud she reached Level 10 in Robbing, Jen is mad she couldn’t access her inventory and sneaky Pete was busy removing unnecessary things from the game via the Spockholm Toolbar. There […]
Pete, Jana and Jennifer are back and discuss the Family Ice Event results and the scary possibility that more may be on the way. There is a new fighters survey to take and the gang is skeptical as to whether Zynga will listen or not. Problems are brewing in ChefVille and another property is on […]
Jana returns from a long vacation and Pete and Jen fill her in on what she missed. Pete ponders how new players survive the game without knowing what they need to do. Starting out in Chicago would have them missing out on the Golden Throne. The price of paying to replay a Secret District went […]
Pete and Jen run solo again. As Janna has become a world traveler or at least a stateside one. Her traveling even has her contemplating moving to the west coast. We digress, most of the discussion this evening is about the newly released Family Icing Event. Which like before has caused nothing but grief over […]
It’s just Pete and Jen discussing the usual antics of Zynga. Confucius say “Too many events at one time cause server overload”. Pete gives a nice audio tutorial about the different ways to remove the Facebook frame around your game. Jen has a few rants and talks about things to come.
There are lot of things going on in Zyngaland. From lawsuits to resignations, it’s all covered. Despite falling revenue, Mafia Wars shows no signs of slowing down. The Mega Power Attack is back and more features are returning. We have contests, gimmicks and possibly new features on the horizon. The shout outs provide Pistol Pete […]
In this episode of the the Hopper Turns, will Mike finally be released, will Jana leave the game forever, will Pistol Pete’s blood pressure rise, and will Jen blog about the 50% off RP. Stay Tuned, and see.
Welcome to Brandon Venery, who joins us from his camping trip. If you listen close you can hear the crickets in the background. We have a nice chat bout him joining Team Spockholm. In addition, Jen covers all the game changes, and again there are lots.
Jen and Pete are solo tonight. Janna is off enjoying some time with her family. Pete announces the addition of Brandon to Team Spockholm. His knowledge of the FB api, and his knowledge of the game will make him a great addition to the once team of three. We have Ripped Rims, with Rimmo Rim, […]
The cross promotion of Mafia Wars and the Ville, is going strong. Jen actually got hooked and played. Pistol Pete even got to playing, and realized it is a Mashup of all the Zynga games, well except MW. The VL-a-nator is coming soon, as well as a couple of other secret spocklets.
Apologize for yet another late show. This is one is jam packed with our usual antics. We laugh, we rant, we laugh again. Add to that even more script Drama, and viola you have this show. Enjoy.
Well it has finally happened. The ZMC popup, that jumps in view with every game refresh has been changed to be one a once a day occurrence. Thanks Zynga for the change. Pistol Pete talk about a mini spocklet called the “War Loot Needed” now available in the Toolbar. In addition, Jen and Janna cover […]
You would think with a title like this. There would be a new Spocklet called the Ice Machine, while that would be catchy. It is the MW name of our guest this evening Nic Deleon. He is probably one of the youngest MW players we have come across in a while. Although we surmise Brandon […]
Well the crew gets right down to discussing something things which would really help the game. These ideas come from all types of players in the game. They include very simple fixes, like restarting the boss fights, and removing Operations. To the more complex issue of adding Robbing to Family Progression. Lot’s of other ideas […]
WOW!! Lot’s new. Spockholm is at the mercy of their hosting company for stability, there have been some disturbances in the force (Sorry for the mix up Star Wars vs. Star Trek). Jen delves deep into the game changes. Janna pushes strongly for a Red Cross in-game item to help with all the tragedies our […]
Everyone is back to raise some havoc. Pistol Pete is on a mission to start a MW revolution. He just keeps bucking the system, by only getting to level 11 on yet another Property. Jen and Jana cover a tremendous amount in the way of the recent game changes. From the Hellish Hydraulics event to […]
Sleepy Episode. Jen got caught sleepy, which Pistol Pete was totally to blame. Gotta listen to know why. So Janna and Pete attempt to fill in the blanks on all the game changes. We sorely missed Jen, we will say that much.