Treasure Isle on Facebook - Game Guide

Treasure Isle is one of the newest games released on Facebook. The game is developed by Zynga, makers of mega-hits Farmville and Cafe World. It is safe to say that Treasure Isle looks set to follow in the footsteps of these insanely popular social games. This guide covers some basic game tips and strategies to get off to the best start possible.

The main object in Treasure Isle is to sail from island to island digging for treasure. The more treasure you're able to recover the more rewards you will be receiving. As you dig and hack your way through various islands you will also gain experience points that will help you level up. As you progress through the levels, more items are unlocked and most importantly you gain access to more island and more buried treasure.

How to move around

Any island you are currently on has a dock. From the dock you can get in your rather flimsy looking row boat and travel to any island you have unlocked. Once you have explored every part of and island, it is marked as complete on the map and you can not travel there any more. It's not necessary to walk all the way to your boat, in the bottom right corner there is a shortcut. If you click on the map you'll jump directly to the last island you visited. The map is also where you can return to your home island.

Home, Sweet Home

Your home island in Treasure Isle is the only place where you can personalize the game. This is where you can place your various decorations and grow your own fruits. Your island also has a very special gem tree. You can not plant gem trees and you can not sell the one you have. The tree produces on gem of a specific color every day. When you pick you gems you will be able to share your bounty with all your Treasure Isle friends. Make sure you share the gems you pick as there are four different color gems, and one of the best way to get gems of different colors is to get them gifted from friends.

Another important function of your home island is that you can grow crops there. While you will occasionally find fruit while digging for treasure, producing your own fruit can be very handy. Eating fruit will restore parts of your energy. Energy is required to dig for treasure. Having a good supply of fruit can help you progress through the levels faster and discover more treasure.

Finally, home island is where you receive your visiting friends, and where you can show off your personal flair. As with most social games, Treasure Island has a wide array of decorative items you can buy in the game. More items are also sure to be added constantly so you can create exactly the tropical paradise you want.

Leveling up

To be able to get anywhere in the game you have to level up. The higher the level the more islands you can visit and the more stuff you can buy for yourself. The game awards experience points based on various things you can do. By far the best way to gain experience is by exploring islands and digging for treasure. When exploring a blank tile you get awarded 1 XP and use 5 energy points. If there is brush, flowers or trees growing on the tile it takes 7 energy to explore it. More importantly these tiles give 3 experience points when excavated. When you get to a new island, try to explore as many of the tiles with items in them as possible for maximum experience.

While digging fro treasure, the game will give you hints if you are close to uncovering a hidden treasure chest. If the game tells you there is treasure close by that means there's a chest buried two squares away. If you get even closer and dig up a tile that is adjacent to a treasure you will be notified that there is treasure very close.

Use these tips to zero in on the hidden chests. It pays to jump all around the larger islands while waiting for one of these notifications. Finding parts of a treasure is rewarded with lots of experience points. Also, as you gather all the different pieces of a specific treasure you will be very handsomely rewarded both in money and experience points.

As you hack your way through the underbrush you might recover a part of a certain treasure that you already have found. When this happen, share the piece with your friends. It might be the piece they are missing to complete their treasure hunt, and one day they will probably return the favor.

On the larger islands, some areas are blocked by huge statues. These statues needs gems to be removed. They all require different colored gems however and this is where trading with your friends becomes essential. As you can only harvest one color gem on your home island you have to find the other three colors somewhere else. Gems can be given as gifts, but if you have many neighbors you can visit their islands and harvest their gem tree as well. The color of gem your friend has available is shown on the list of neighbors. Don't worry, harvesting gems on your friends islands will not keep them from collecting their own gems.

If you are getting close to leveling up, conserve your energy and consider eating some of your fruits. If you run out of energy you can't dig for any more treasure. If you are close to leveling up however, that is a great time to dig into your fruit supply and get a little extra boost. Plan what fruit you eat so you get just enough energy to make sure you will level up. As soon as you reach a new level, you're energy will be completely refilled and you can set off on more treasure hunting. Also, keep in mind that finishing all the tiles on one island will give a big experience point reward and will often be enough to promote you to the next level. This is particularly important early in the game when you level up quickly.

Game Tips

Treasure Isle present an interesting mix of some typical social game experiences. You have to tend to your crops on your home island which is similar to the many farm games on Facebook. The main concept of the game however is in the island exploration and treasure chest hunting. Your success will depend on how efficiently you can explore the many available islands. Here energy management becomes very important, an aspect borrowed from the Mafia Wars type games.

Managing your energy efficiently will be a huge benefit in the game. This includes things like never eating a fruit that will give more energy than you need, and login in and playing the game frequently. Your energy regenerates completely in about 9 hours, to get the most possible exploring done try to log in roughly every 8 hours and work the islands until you are out of energy. This way you will not have your character sitting idly by with a full energy supply. Of course, sticking to a strict 8 hour schedule is only feasible for Treasure Isle nuts, but as a general guideline it can be helpful also for more relaxed players.

As with any Facebook game, inviting friends to be your neighbors carries some huge benefits. Zynga wants as many people as possible to play and they are giving players lots of incentives to spread the word about their game. Not only will neighbors give you access to the different colored gems, but they will also help you collect missing pieces of treasure and be able to send you much needed fruit. And finally, what is the point of building a sweet paradise on your home island if no one ever comes by to admire it?