Myspace Mobster Mania Tips--How to Build a Big, Strong and Effective Mob

Online games get addictive. If you're on Myspace, you have a bevy of options that can keep you busy 24/7. Hopefully you won't have to enter a 12-step program to overcome your game addiction. Hopefully, you'll just play to work out the stressors of the real world. What a better way to de-stress than to enter an alter world and loot and pillage. Stuff that would be frowned upon in real life will get you props in the alter world.

The problem with jumping in with both feet immediately is that there is general a strategy to cull that will take you much further in the game. Often you don't find out the real tricks to the game until you are knee deep in it. You can't go backwards (with the same character), so you really should try to get the tips early on.

I've read lots of articles involving tips for Mobster, but the tips are scattered---all over the road. My plan is to write several articles dealing with one topic only :(building up membership, making the most of your equipment, maximizing your money, etc.). If you have something you'd like written about, please add it in a comment here. If you are looking for Mobsters to join you, list your Myspace address in the comments section. (Take advantage of every opportunity to find members.)

This article is about one specific, crucial aspect of playing the game Mobsters: how to increase the number of Mobsters in your Mob. You'll need those all-important foot soldiers to back you up when your Mob is attacked or when you want to attack another Mobster.

One reason this is crucial is that no matter how much you have by way of equipment, it may be moot without the right Mob. You can't use all your weapons unless you have the proper number of Mobsters to support that equipment. In the end, you may be paying upkeep on equipment you can't use because you failed to build up your Mob.

Numbers are vital in this game. Your cap is 500. If you end up with more, the game will only use the 500 anyway. I have well over 600 now. It has been hinted at that when you reach level 100, you may be able to use more. But I don't have that confirmed. So, even if you get to the 500, I wouldn't do the hard-core marketing to ask people to join you, but if someone asks for an invite, hit the "accept" button. You never know.

Find and add people.

For all of the following tips on adding Mobsters, one rule applies: For anyone to be added as a Mobster in your Mob, you will need to add him as a Myspace friend first. Go to the Myspace homepage, click on the Friends tab. It will give you an "add friends" option. Paste in the Myspace name of the Mobster you want to add.

When you add them as a Myspace friend, you can send a message. I always keep it simple. "Mobsters/heroes add, please." I copy that phrase and simply paste it into each message box of the person I'm adding. It becomes very assemly line, and you can add many Mobsters in an hour while watching TV.

After the person accepts your Myspace friend invitation, he will be listed on the Mobsters homepage under "My Mob". Click on the "My Mob" tab to view the photos of the potential Mobsters. Above each photo, you'll see one of three things:

member (self explanatory),

requested (you've sent an invite),

and nothing. Send Mobster requests to those people.

So, how do you get friends to join your Mob? If you have 500 friends who want to join with you right off the bat to play the game, more power to you. Most people won't have that. Here are nine tips to beef up your numbers:

Go to Your Myspace Friends First. Send out a bulletin via the main Myspace page. You can do this two ways-one via the Mobsters homepage page; the other via the Myspace homepage.

------Via the Mobsters homepage. You'll see all of your Myspace friends there. There you are given an option to invite ALL of YOUR friends. Choose this, and a bulletin will be broadcast on your main Myspace page.

------Via the Myspace homepage. You can go the direct route and write a better invitation directly on your Myspace homepage via the bulletin section. Don't do this more than once or twice as your friends will just get annoyed with you.

Check the broadcasts on the Mobsters Homepage. You will click on the Main Menu tab, then scroll to the bottom. There are always "trains," a broadcast that lists people who are looking for Mobsters to add.

I have a friend who took this to a bit of an extreme (effective, but extreme). She copied and pasted the user names requesting Mob members into a Microsoft Word document. She'd then added a bunch at a time. This is a bit time consuming, but it ensures that you a)don't get duplicates and b)don't waste time trying to add an improper addy. You'll be amazed at the number of people who type in an obviously wrong name (i.e. spaces randomly in the middle of the name).

Jump on the Train. If you use the "trains," be sure to add your name to it so people can add you. (They will...it works.) Note, be sure to list your Myspace name, not your Mobster name. I am KimmyTerp30 on Myspace, but Baltimorons in game play. People cannot send me a friend request unless they know KimmyTerp30.

Check out the Web site www.spuko.com. A lot information and shop-talk from players of game applications can be found here. Click on Mobsters, then click on the section to quickly add members. You'll see a bunch of icons (the graphic version of the train you'd see in broadcasts). This is a great way to add people. Just as with the train, join the Spuko site, then add your name to the list of those asking for people to add them to Mobsters.

Check Messages Left for You by Other Mobsters. You can access these by going to the Mobster homepage, clicking on the Main Menu tab, scrolling down, then clicking on "News Only."

Also, you can access your messages by going to the "Stats" button at the top of the screen. Click there, then scroll down. On the left side, you'll see comments Mobsters are leaving for you.

When you attack someone, odds are high that the person will leave you a comment. If you've beaten the person in battle, he'll likely ask you to join him. This one is a bit more time consuming, as you'll be adding one at a time to your Myspace friends, then to the Mobster list. Even though this takes more time, you should add people who ask for three reasons:

------PR, that person may grow stronger and have a long memory and start attacking you repeatedly later;

------That person has a Mob, too. If you don't make peace, the person can send out a broadcast to his Mob and all of a sudden you'll be attacked by people who can beat you. If you read the broadcasts, it will become immediately apparent that many who are playing this game live to attack for whatever the reason;

------You've already gotten a peek as to the person's fighting ability and equipment.

Make it Easy. If you are looking for people to make the first contact with you, make it as easy as you can to befriend you.

On Myspace, people use several privacy options. One is that you must have the person's last name to send a friend request. (Wonderful if you aren't playing these games, but the fact is you won't know these people, so how would you know the last name.) The other is the Captcha. For the life of me, I don't see the sense of this one. It's said that it stops wholesale spammers from contacting you. I get Nigerian scammers write me all the time to tell me of their undying love. That Captcha phrase wouldn't stop them.

What the last name and Captcha requirement will stop is people who want to add you as a friend. I got to a point that the minute I saw either requirement, I moved onto the next name. If you read the broadcast for just one day, you'll see I'm not alone on this one. Think of this as being like any other sales gig. You don't want to make it hard for someone to "buy" from you (in this case add you as a Mobster in their crew).

Follow Through. When you sign on to the Mobsters game, check your "My Mob" section. If people accept your invites, their icon will show up now, and ask you to accept or decline the person. When you accept, the number of mobsters goes up immediately. So add those members before you attempt to fight. Again, a big mob, a big, well-armed mob, is essential.

Act Like a Mobster. If someone sends out a broadcast asking for your help, and you can help, do so. People will see your Mob name again and again in broadcasts, and they'll learn that you're an asset to have. They'll come looking for you. When people are looking for you, and not the other way around, you've gotten the hang of building a good Mob.

Please the Godfather. On the Mobster homepage, click on Godfather. Here you'll see a number of ways to gain favors. For every 20 favors you are granted, you will be given 1 Mobster from the Godfather. You will gain favors by reaching milestones in the game, as well as by trying "offers" from sponsors. I wouldn't recommend the latter unless the offer is something you planned on trying anyway. Even then, be careful before throwing your email out into the wind. There are lots of "free survey" offers. I know many will disagree, but I looked into these, and didn't see a free one in the lot. All of the "free offers" ultimately required that you sign up for something that would cost you.

Note: Your level ranking plays into the number of Mobsters you can use at a time. This will be discussed in another installment of Myspace Mobster Mania Tips. Also, having a lot of Mobster friends may interfere with your Myspace page. You'll be inundated with bulletins from people you don't really know. I'll be dealing with this problem in another installment of Myspace Mobster Mania Tips as well.

There are many things you can do to enhance your game play. More importantly, you'll get more fun out of a game played well. If you're an online gamer, add me as a favorite CP and stay tuned for upcoming tips on game playing. If you have a tip you'd like to share, please comment.