Hooves of Fire: My Latest Favorite Facebook Time Waster

Heaven knows the popular social networking site Facebook can be quite a time waster, even if you don't get involved with games like Farmville, Bejeweled Blitz, or Mafia Wars. Just signing up for Facebook can put you in contact with people you thought you'd never see again. That's what happened to me, and it wasn't long at all after I signed up on Facebook that I did start playing games, mostly because my friends were doing it. My latest discovery is Hooves of Fire, introduced to me by a friend I met on another Web site. I noticed that she played every day. Since I am a horse lover, I figured I'd check it out. Before too long, I was hooked, too!

What is Hooves of Fire?

Hooves of Fire is an Adobe Flash game produced by Rubber Duck Software. The object of the game is to make money racing and breeding horses. There is also a chat feature on this game, but I have never used it.

How to play

When you first start playing the game, you are given $15,000 in virtual cash to purchase your first horse at the market. That amount of money will only get you a "poorly bred" horse. You can buy a mare, stallion, or a gelding (castrated male horse). Stallions cost the most, mares are slightly less expensive, and geldings are the cheapest horses because they can't be bred. Once you've purchased your horse, go to the stables and you'll find your unnamed steed in a stall. Click on the stall and then look for the button that says "new horse". Click on that, and then you can give your horse a name and set its appearance. Bear in mind that you can only do this once, so if you don't like your horse's color, make sure you reset it when you give your horse a name.

Now that you have your first horse, you can enter a race. Click on the tab that says "races" and look at the list of races being run. Your horse can only race in the races he or she is qualified for. For example, if the race specifies Group 3 Mares, you can only race a mare who is in Group 3. If the race specifies that it's an open race, any horse can run. The race listing will also show what kind of track the horses will run on. This is important, since the horses all have preferences as to which kind of track they like best.

Once you enter your horse, you can see the odds of their winning. You can bet on your horse or other horses in the race. The higher the odds, the more money you'll win if your chosen horse wins, places, or shows. On ther other hand, the higher the odds, the less likely winning will be. Keep your bets low when you first start the game so you don't run out of cash. If your horse wins, places, or shows, that is, comes in first, second or third, you will win prize money. You will also win money if one of the horses you bet on comes in first, second, or third place.

Making more money

Once you have your first horse, you should think about your second. First, you'll need to expand your stable. Click on the tab that says "expand stable". You will have to pay to do this. At first, it only costs about $1,000, but it gets more expensive every time you expand. You can't purchase another horse until you make room for it. Once you have an empty stall, click on the words "buy horse", which you'll see if you have a vacant stall. This will take you back to the horse market, where you can purchase your second horse.

Personally, I like the idea of breeding horses, so I started with a mare, then purchased a stallion. If you don't care about breeding, you can buy a gelding. The better the horse's breeding, the more expensive the horse will be. When you're first starting the game, you will only have enough money to buy a poorly bred horse and geldings are the cheapest. However, you can train your gelding to be a moneymaker.

Start racing your new horse so that he or she develops some stats. Improve your horses' performances by feeding, training, and brushing them. Keep racing and betting to make more money. You can also visit your friends' farms and brush their horses for extra money.

You can earn access to special brushes and treats by taking good care of your horses and earning achievements. I haven't been playing quite long enough to take advantage of this yet, but I know it's coming soon!

Breeding

Once your mare or stallion is two days old (in real time), you can opt to breed them. A stallion can be sent to the stud farm and offered for other players to breed with. The game determines the amount you can charge for a stud fee and your stallion will be out of the action for twelve hours, unless you recall him from the stud farm. You can do this without penalty whenever you offer your stallion for stud service.

Before you breed your mare, you must have an empty stall for the foal. Pay to expand your stable so that it has an empty stall, then head to the stud farm. A mare can be bred with another player's stallion or your own stud if you have one. If you use your own stud, you don't have to pay a stud fee. If you use another player's stud, you pay whatever fee they're asking. You can look at the available studs to choose one that is the best fit for your mare as well as the best price. Once you breed your mare, she will be out of action for 48 hours. When she comes back, there will be a new horse in the empty stall that you can train, race, and later breed.

VIP status

For five dollars payable through PayPal, you get 30 days of VIP access, which gives you $15,000 extra game cash and the ability to see extra information about your horses. You'll find out which types of tracks they like best, star ratings of their strength and ability, and health and breeding information.

Being a VIP player allows you to use boosters, which temporarily improves your horse's performance for three races, steroids, which permanently increases your horse's stats, but can cause sudden death, or enhanced feed, which keeps your horse fed for three days. You also have access to special saddle blankets for purchase.

VIP status also allows you to sell one horse per day. If you don't have VIP status, to get rid of an underperforming horse, your only option is to set it free, which doesn't give you any extra cash. I think VIP status is worth having for this feature alone, especially when you're just starting the game and have little money!

You can also purchase extra game cash if you want to, but it's more fun to raise it by playing the game and being shrewd.

This game is surprisingly addictive

I've never been one to gamble, but playing this game makes me see why some people get hooked on betting. It's fun to guess which horse is going to win a race and see how much money you can make by choosing wisely. I enjoy choosing horses, naming them, and training them to perform well on the track. I'm especially enjoying the breeding feature. It's like Match.com for virtual racehorses! It's fun to fix up my mares with someone else's eligible stallion and seeing the results after two days.

On a more educational note, I think this game might be useful in teaching statistics, a subject I had a lot of trouble with when I was in school. Seeing each horse's odds and watching their stats change as they develop their track records is a practical way of learning about odds. The best part is, you're not losing any actual money doing this, unless you choose to buy a lot of extra cash.

Maybe Hooves of Fire is not going to be as wildly popular as Farmville or Mafia Wars is, but I'm enjoying it for now. Hope to see you at the track, too!

Sources: Personal experience

http://wiki.hoovesoffire.com