Friends and neighbors in Island Experiment

In order to send and receive gifts in IEx, you have to be either a friend or a neighbor. (Sending gifts is the only way to help others in this game; there is nothing to do on other people's islands except look around.)They are slightly different things, so let's learn the differences:

FRIENDS: "Friends" are Facebook friends that also play the game. Anyone that you are friends with who plays the game should be automatically added to your friend bar at the bottom of the game screen. To make friends, simply post your link in the game chat, or many of the FB Groups also have an "add me" thread to which you can add your name and ask for people to send them a friend request. Once you have friended someone via Facebook, simply refresh your game and the person should be in your friend bar.

Many people don't want strangers seeing their Facebook, and that's completely understandable. You can put game friends (or anyone, actually) into the "Restricted" category when you friend them, and then they will not be able to see anything that you post unless you have that post set to Public. You can also "unfollow" the person and then you will not see their posts in your own newsfeed.

To restrict someone, go to their profile and hover over the "Friend" button on the right, and a drop down menu will appear. Choose "add to another list" and click that. Scroll down through your lists until you come to Restricted and choose that. If you like, you can also set up a list for all game friends and also add the person to the list. This helps you find all your game friends for a particular game easily. To unfollow a person, hover over the "following" button and in the drop down menu, choose "unfollow".

To unfriend a game player for whatever reason, simply unfriend them on Facebook.

NEIGHBORS: "Neighbors" are found only within the game, and have no access to your Facebook account. This is good for mobile players and for those who dislike adding people to their FB account. To add neighbors, go to the end of the friend bar and click on the "Neighbors" button.

When you click the neighbor button and it opens, the middle tab will be automatically selected. You should have a bank of 4 pictures of players, with the words "send a request" next to each one. The words are not brightly lit, but they are clickable. Click the "send a request" next to each person you want to send a request to. If you don't want to send requests to anyone on the page, click the refresh button for a new set of players.

Clicking the third tab at the top left takes you to the area where you can cancel requests that you have previously sent out. You can only have a certain number of active requests, so if you want more neighbors, you have to periodically clear out the requests left on the third tab.

The first tab of the window takes you to list of neighbors who have accepted your requests, and also the players who have sent requests to you - you can accept those requests here. If you ever decide to remove any neighbors, you can do it on this first tab, just click the red X next to their picture.




Neighbors will also show up in your friend bar at the bottom of the game, but since you are not Facebook friends with them, there is no way for you to contact them or for them to contact you.

You cannot search for someone you know in the neighbor section. Occasionally, but VERY rarely, you may actually see a player you know, but the selection is totally random.

Sending and receiving gifts in Island Experiment

In order to send and receive gifts, you must be either a Facebook friend or an in-game neighbor. Both friends and neighbors can send and receive gifts in the game, but only FB friends can contact each other to arrange trades.

Once you are friends with someone, if they have a wish list made (http://islandexperimentwalkthrough.blogspot.com/2017/01/how-to-add-and-remove-items-from-your.html) all you have to do is hover over their picture in the friend bar at the bottom of your screen. The wish list will pop up, and you simply click on the item you want to send.

Once you click on the item you want to send, another window pops up. This window tells you the name of the person you're sending to, how many of that item you have, plus-and-minus buttons, and a send button. Select how many of the item you want to send either with the plus and minus buttons, or by clicking inside the number box and then typing in the number. Hit send, and the items will go to your friend. REMEMBER THAT ANYTHING YOU SEND THIS WAY COMES OUT OF YOUR OWN STOCK IN YOUR WAREHOUSE.

When you bring up a wish list, if an item is showing but it is faded out, that means that you do not have any of that item in your own warehouse.

When a player adds an item to their wish list after you have already loaded your game, it will not show on your end when you look at their list. You (the sender) will need to refresh your game in order to see their new list.




When you receive a gift, all gifts go to the giftbox in the lower left corner of your game screen. A number will pop up telling you how many packages you have received. You can have up to 25 of the daily friendship coins (hearts) and up to 100 packages of regular gifts. Each package can contain an unlimited number, but only 100 packages can be in the box at a time. Regular gifts can sit in the giftbox for up to 7 days, but there is no timer on them, so if you need to let things sit in the box due to warehouse space issues, make a note of how long those items have been in there so that you don't lose them due to leaving them too long.



You can collect gifts two ways: one at a time by hitting the "collect" button under each individual gift, or by hitting the "collect all" button. Collecting one at a time helps you to see the picture of each person who sent that gift, and it prevents your warehouse from filling too quickly when you are picking up gifts of resources. "Collect all" is useful for when you only have daily heart coins in the box, or when you know you only have a few items. If you want to know who sent gifts of regular resources, don't use "collect all" because the summary of gifts will not show their pictures. You can only see profile pictures when you are collecting one at a time.

If you have game notices turned on in Facebook, sometimes you will get game notices that you have gotten a gift but nothing ever shows up. This is because you still get notifications for all daily heart coins, but once you have reached your max for the day, they will not show up in the gift box. This is one reason I recommend turning off notifications for the game. (You can still see your list of gifts by hovering over the Island Experiment icon in the games area.)

Sometimes you will also see a game notification that you have received a "chemical solution". This is nothing more than a daily heart coin gift. "Chemical solution" is old wording and old coding for the gifts that mobile players were once able to send to friends, and even though now they too can only send daily heart coins, the old wording is still there.

As of the day of this writing (1/31/17) many players are having to refresh their game in order to receive their gifts (or wait a very long time), but hopefully they will fix that soon.

How to exchange event resources in Island Experiment

How to do exchanges on Island Experiment events and arches

Most events and archs now include an “exchanger” for the obstacle resources so that you can turn in excesses of one or more colors in hopes of getting some of the rarer colors that you need. Each time you exchange, there is a “fee” for doing so… one basket takes 11 resources but only returns 8 (loss of 3), two baskets takes 21 but returns 16 (loss of 5 total, or 2.5 per basket) and three baskets takes 30 but returns 24 (loss of 6 total, or 2 per basket).

Each tutorial at the beginning of the event or arch includes a forced exchange. The following pictures are from the Illusions event, but each event and arch works the same way, no matter what resources are involved. When doing a tutorial exchange, make sure that you have collected your big box of free resources from the GET GIFTS icon on the right before proceeding, so that you have enough to actually do an exchange.

First, click on the exchanger:

For the tutorial, you can only choose 1 basket of resources.. just click.

After the tutorial phase, you can choose 1, 2, or 3 baskets at any time you like:

After you have clicked on the number of baskets you want to exchange, you will get a screen that shows you all of the resources you have on hand to turn in. Any resource that has 1 or more in inventory will have a green plus next to it. In this case, I am going to turn in 6 of the first color and 5 of the second color.  Click the green plus next to any color you want to turn in, and then on the next screen, use the slider bar to choose the number you want to turn in:

Once you have selected enough resources to total the number required (11, 21, or 30) then a green EXCHANGE button will light up at the bottom of the exchanger’s main screen:

Click that exchange button, and the machine will spit out a box or boxes for you to open:

After the tutorial exchange, there is a time limit between exchanges, so don’t pile up a huge amount and think you can do several exchanges at once.

As stated, there is a small fee each time you exchange, so don’t do them unless absolutely necessary. But it is better to lose a few of the ones you have in excess than to be completely stuck and unable to move forward. When possible, always exchange 2 or 3 baskets since you lose fewer per basket that way.

How to get the hippo pet in Island Experiment

1. (Lock / button #1) The first requirement is easy - go join the official group if you haven’t already.
2. (Lock / button #2) This is the tricky part - although it says “invite”, all you really need to do is get 5 friends to tag you from their hippo quests. Tagging requires that you must be FB friends first. Each person can only tag once, so it may be hard to find 5 people who are willing to tag you. Once someone tags you, you will need to refresh your game to see the new number in your hippo window.
   
   DO NOT CLICK THE SECOND BUTTON. IGNORE IT. You will need to ask friends in chat or in groups to tag you. Or use an alternate account and tag yourself from that account.
   
   If you want to use the alternate account method, be aware that the other account will have to play for a while before the hippo quest is available.You have to play until you get the blueberries uncovered, around early level 4-ish, maybe level 5. To get there faster, you can skip the second house, the sawmill, the stinky flowers and the 50 food quests. Do everything else and you will get there soon. You can also use gems to hurry the tasks you are doing to get done faster. Once the alternate account has reached the hippo and tagged your main account, do not delete the alternate account, or delete the game from the other account, until after you get your hippo. If you do, you will lose the tag that account gave. You can also go to the Official Group and add your name to the list of hippo tag requests. Don't count on this helping very much, because there are literally thousands of people on this list: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=674722986052021&set=pcb.1630912046928485&type=3&theaterhttps://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=674722986052021&set=pcb.1630912046928485&type=3&theater See below for further instructions for doing these alternate accounts.
   Please, for everyone’s sanity, don’t clog chat or the help groups with tag requests every few minutes.
3. (Lock / button #3) The easy one - you can only tag one person, and it can be ANYBODY. Simply type in the name of the person you wish to tag. Ignore the list of friends. Remember, you can only give out ONE tag. You must be FB friends with the person you wish to tag. When you ask someone to tag you, this is the button that they need to click from THEIR account. Do not tag anyone without checking first that they actually need the tag, or it will be wasted. If your hippo window has a "check" mark next to it (as in the picture below) then you have either used your tag, or you used the "skip" button on this section, and you no longer have a tag to offer to anyone. (Please note that your screen may vary slightly depending on how many tags you have received, how many neighbors you have, etc.)
4. 

   (Lock / button #4) Neighbors - neighbors are a game feature that are separate from “friends”. “Friends” are people that you have friended on FB itself. “Neighbors” stay in the game and even though they show up on your bar, you have no FB interaction with them at all. To fill this requirement, you must gain 15 IN-GAME neighbors, not FB friends. Read THIS ARTICLE for more information about friends vs. neighbors.
   To send requests, simply click the last button on the hippo quest. A box will pop up with 4 names on it. Click on any or all of them OR click the refresh in the lower right corner for new names. You can send out I think 45 invites at a time, and then sending is locked for a while. As people accept your requests, your number on the last section of the hippo quest will go up. You can also accept the requests that are sent to you to increase your neighbor number for the quest - these requests are found in the neighbors button at the end of the friend bar. You can only have 100 of these in-game neighbors.
   
   IF YOU ARE NOT GETTING YOUR REQUESTS ACCEPTED, TRY THIS: Click the neighbors button at the end of the friend bar, then click the tab with the big plus on it. Hit “Cancel” on all the existing requests. Then go to the tab with the magnifying glass and send out a new batch of requests.
   
   TO ACCEPT REQUESTS: Click the neighbors button and open the tab with the big plus. Any requests that have been sent to you will have the person’s name, picture and a big green ACCEPT button. Click the accept button to accept them as neighbors and they will count toward your quest.
   
   Please don’t be scared of adding these in-game neighbors, they don’t have access to your FB.
   

   HOW TO MAKE ALTERNATE ACCOUNTS TO GET TAGS: Instructions provided by the ever-helpful Miki, thanks Miki! PLEASE NOTE: Alternate accounts are actually against Facebook rules. If your alt accounts are found out, they will get rid of them. I don't know that your main account would be punished in any way, but just be careful if you use this route... don't do stupid things like spamming or scamming people. (A useful rule of thumb in all things!) BEFORE DOING ALT ACCOUNTS: See if any of your friends or family members will let you borrow their account for 20 or 30 minutes so you can play the game yourself and do these steps. This won't be against FB rules.
   

   I recommend using Chrome but these instructions work for any browser with an incognito/privacy mode.
   
   In Chrome, open up a new incognito window by clicking on the three dots in the top right below the X you use to close the window.
   
   Go to Gmail and create a new account.  The more believable the name, the better.  Keep that tab open.
   
   Open up a new tab, go to Facebook and create a new account using that email address.  Again, the more believable the name the better.  They have to deal with 1.3 billion accounts so unless you decided Crappy McUpyours was a good idea, you should be fine.
   
   After you've confirmed your new alt account and logged into FB, send a friend request to your real account.  THIS IS PARAMOUNT.  Do not start playing IE before both accounts are friended.  PM yourself to test.
   
   Now for the fun part.  Load up IE on your alt account.  Burn through the intro part where it forces you to click stuff.  
   
   Once you're over that, here's what you need to know:
   
   You only need one house, two fields, one workshop, and a boatload of food and wood. Keep one worker on food at all times.  (Use the free gems they give you if you're in a hurry for the food). Move the grass out of your way to get a better angle on the palm trees.
   
   To get the red berries, just clear out that one fern and pick through that one red berry plant with one worker.
   
   After you make the bridge all you have to do is collect five blueberries and you have your tag.
   
   Ignore the stinky plant quest, the second house quest, the sawmill, and the 50 food quest; also ignore any of the upgrades it tells you to do, and you can get your tag at level three in under 20 minutes. USE GEMS to hurry up things like food and the bridge to get done as quickly as possible... since you're not going to keep this game account, it doesn't hurt to spend gems to move things along a little faster.
   
   Don't bother to delete your alt email but do NOT delete your alt FB account.  If you do that, your tag goes poof.

How to make a wish list in Island Experiment

PLEASE NOTE THAT THESE INSTRUCTIONS ARE FOR COMPUTER PLAYERS ONLY. THE MOBILE APP DOES NOT HAVE A WAY TO MANAGE WISH LISTS. IF YOU PLAY ON A MOBILE DEVICE, YOU HAVE TWO OPTIONS. ONE, YOU CAN DOWNLOAD THE PUFFIN BROWSER TO YOUR DEVICE AND LOAD UP THE GAME THERE AND PLAY JUST LONG ENOUGH TO MANAGE YOUR WISH LIST, THEN SWAP BACK TO THE APP OR TWO, GO TO A COMPUTER AND PLAY THERE LONG ENOUGH TO MANAGE YOUR WISH LIST, THEN SWAP BACK TO THE APP.

How to add and remove items from your wish list

To add items, go to the quest or building that needs the item you want to add. When you click on it, you will get a window that shows all the items you need. If you do not have enough of the item, there will be a green plus next to the picture of the item IF it is a giftable item:

Click that green plus, and a new window will appear. You item will be on your list, if there is room for it. There are 4 slots available for requests. If your item is in one of the slots, simply close the window and move on. DO NOT click the “Ask Friends” button that is seen in this window - doing so will only send requests to NON-playing friends, not to your actual game friends. Once the item is on your list, you can just ask for it in chat, in a group that allows requests, or by sending messages to your friends through FB PMs. (If you ask for the item(s) in chat, please tell people your level and a brief description of your profile picture so people can find you on their friend lists. If asking in a group, tell your level, they will already be able to see your picture.)

What if you open the quest or building and you DO have enough of the item, so you don’t have a green plus? Or you're in the delivery hut, which never has green pluses? Simple, it only requires one more step. First, click the picture of the item:

When you do, you will get another window with a “Find” and an “Ask Friends” button. This particular asking button is OKAY to click, it works just like the green plus, so go ahead and click it. When you do, you will get the wish list window (as shown above) and once again, simply close it.

What if I already have 4 items on my list, and want to add something different, or want to remove an item I no longer need? Simply bring up your list by following either set of instructions above (with any item at all), and when the list pops up, you will notice a red X by each item on the list. Just click the red X next to any item you want to remove, and it will be taken off the list. Then simply close the list window.



There are some items in the game that cannot be gifted, including:  food, coins, gas masks, crab claws, first aid kits, gears, bananas, platinums, mushrooms, liquid flame, energy spheres, energy potions, elixirs of life, chain saws, rebars, cement and a few other things. If there is no green plus, and if clicking on the picture does not bring up an asking button, then that item cannot be requested.

TO ADD GOLD BARS: Click your dragon, then click the UPGRADE button. Then follow the instructions as shown in this document. PLEASE DO NOT EXPECT ALL OF YOUR FRIENDS IN THE GAME TO GIVE YOU ALL YOUR RESOURCES. GIFTS ARE TO HELP EACH OTHER, NOT TO LET OTHER PEOPLE PLAY YOUR GAME FOR YOU. IF YOU DO THIS, PEOPLE WILL CATCH ON AND WILL BE LESS LIKELY TO HELP YOU. ALSO, ACTIONS TAKEN ON THE ISLAND GIVE OUT XP, WHICH IS WHAT INCREASES YOUR LEVEL... IF YOU LET OTHER PLAYERS COLLECT ALL THE GOODS FOR YOU, THEN YOU ARE MISSING OUT ON THE XP YOU WOULD HAVE EARNED AND IT WILL TAKE YOU MUCH LONGER TO LEVEL UP.