u/WestieAndBandit

Another day, another Cash Cow 2 tutorial from me for the challenge that’s heating up. This one is short to highlight a concept that I didn’t get the greatest chance to show in my other narrated playthrough, and I saw a chance while playing today, so the iPad camera went on.

This is one of those moments that show a caveat to the general rule of trying to make “mega groups” of bottles to maximize points… and on a level like Level 3 where it’s a common failing point, just a few points can be the difference of passing or failing (this was an unlucky Level 3 already, as you can see I had a big light blue group around a lightning bolt without much room to separate it).

I have a big group of yellow bottles on my screen where the video starts, and I have two options:

-1. I can knock out the 2 groups of 2 green bottles (and get very little points for those green bottle) to add the section of three yellows and the other 1 singular yellow onto my big yellow group. This will leave me with just the existing group of 4 green bottles on the far left. (A group of 13, a group of 4, and 2 groups of 2).

OR

-2. I can take my big yellow group as it is, which brings the green bottles separating the yellows together with the ones on the left into a group of 8. Then, I can get more points out of that group of 8 green bottles compared to 1 group of 2 and 2 groups of 2. And, after doing this, I still get a group of 4 yellows leftover. (A group of 9, a group of 8, and a group of 4)

While a group of 13 is great for the points it gives, the difference between a group of 9 and a group of 13 is not worth missing out on a group of 8! Now, if those 2 groups of 2 greens weren’t set to fall and join up with another cluster of green to make a large group, I might have just chased making that big group of 13. Because if those other green bottles weren’t there on the left and I was only going to have those 2 groups of 2 become a group of 4, then 13 and 2 groups of 2 would probably be better than 9 and 4. The surrounding bottles and having an idea of where things are going to land after a click makes a big difference.

Do I ever make mistakes where I miss out on a second big group because I dismantled it while chasing another big group too far? Only all the time! So don’t feel bad after if you realize you should have done something different -just keep going on, because it happens! Even knowing the strategy, seeing these possibilities can take additional practice and focus (focus I don’t have when I’m playing this game while zoning out to unwind after a hospital shift!) Some of these jump out more than others (the clusters are sometimes smaller than this), and it’s a learning curve to get to where the others jump out. But that’s just another part of trying to pull every possible point out of a game.

If you’re just getting here and struggling along with the current challenge, my previous generalized Cash Cow 2 guides are here:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Webkinz/comments/1v1vjre/cash_cow_2_strategies_in_action_trialing_video/

https://www.reddit.com/r/Webkinz/comments/1v2o53k/supplemental_narrated_cash_cow_2_playthrough/

To supplement my long silent screen recording https://www.reddit.com/r/Webkinz/comments/1v1vjre/cash_cow_2_strategies_in_action_trialing_video/ with all the text I posted yesterday, here’s a longer narrated walkthrough that I had to record with a separate device due to limitations of the software I have available. This is some of the strategy narrated in real-time play. I’ve always been teased for having an annoying voice, and I don’t like the sound of it on recording either, but I can’t change how it is, so forgive me. I’m doing this for everyone’s benefit, and this is about how to play Cash Cow 2 with strategy to make the challenge points. Not about how this video sounds.

The video is long, and I’ve noticed it sometimes takes a few minutes after the post appears to process and play, so please wait a moment before downvoting if it’s not working… I’ll take down and try reposting if it doesn’t work in a few minutes.

Highlights here: Maximizing points with the use of the lightning bolt, timing of when to use + sign bottles, how to use chocolate milk and multiplier bottles (and a classic example of a got-too-greedy screw-up when making a big group with the multiplier)… and where really strategizing your last few moves to minimize how many bottles are left on your screen might make or break you at the end of a level with the potential bonus.

Alright (second time typing this all and uploading because Reddit decided to just upload while I was in the process of typing up my last attempt for this!) since my Cash Cow 2 video uploaded well (albeit did something weird and doesn't show in the post preview), I'm trying to do a walkthrough for how to play Lily Padz and score high on it. Which is a much more intensive video I didn't want to fight with making unless I had prior experience to figure out how to make this work. I still had some time to work with, so I did another video.

It should be noted that I have had lots of time to develop skill with this game, and beginners won't be able to pull off every trick I do here. This takes time and practice to develop muscle memory, timing, and a sense for how far jumps will go with different jump distance and angles. I'm going to explain how to do this, but this is something to work up to, and not something to feel bad about not being able to do right away. I do get through every level here, so you all can see what the game looks like, which also helps with what to expect. It's also not the best game I've played, and I've made mistakes here, but it's an idea of what to work toward.

First and foremost, once you learn how to just get through the game and your basic feel of everything, you'll notice I'm using my spacebar for nearly every single jump here. In an ideal game, I will use it for all the jumps. For every jump with your space bar, you get 25 points (more for jumping over a flower). You do not get points for jumping forward to a consecutive pad or rock with your left arrow key alone, so you want to use your space bar as much as possible. So, to do this, I am pressing down on the space bar, using my left arrow key to angle my arrow even further up and back to shorten my jump distance, and letting up almost immediately with barely any filling of the arrow so I can land on the pad or rock directly in front of the one I'm on without overshooting the front edge. This has to be done very quickly, pressing and holding the spacebar, very quickly tapping the left arrow key, and letting up on both at the same time... every now and then I get uncoordinated and hit the left arrow faster than I hit the space bar and screw myself up, and I say that with the point, this takes some practice to get a feel for. But, once you get it down, you've unlocked the key to major points and KC. You might want to start by trying this out on the first of a set of 3 so that if you overshoot a little, you have room not to fall in the water, and until you have your timing down, if in doubt that you can make your jump short enough with the space bar, play it safe.

This game, unlike its sequel (Lily Padz 2), is not on a diminishing time bonus, so take your time to max out your points. You can blaze through fast by jumping over several pads next to each other, but this will cause you to lose opportunities to get points. Your energy bar will diminish faster taking every possible jump with the space bar to maximize points, so you will have to stop and use your up arrow to jump and eat bugs. Take your time and camp out on a rock if you have to (I am rushing here to not make this video too long to post, and I run into trouble for this here!)

Now, a walkthrough of the gameplay and strategy to explain these things in action:

Level 1: This was an ideal playthrough with every possible jump being a space bar jump. When you're starting to learn how to do this, you might want to make the first jump with the space bar, and then if you're on the front half of the second rock, just use the arrow key so you don't overshoot the lily pad into the water. You'll get a feel with practice for how far forward is too far to make a spacebar jump to the next, and as you get the timing of the left arrow + space bar, your jumps will be tighter. (I still occasionally overshoot).

Level 2: The set of 3 you start with is tricky here. I was able to do it, but I still often make the jump off the second rock onto the pad with the arrow key, and as it was here, I was uncertain if I could do it with how far forward I was on the rock. You will see that on 50 seconds, after I jump the flower, I land too far forward on the first of the 2 lily pads, so I use the arrow key instead of the space, because I knew I wasn't going to make it short enough and I would fall in the water. Also, take special attention around 1:13 with the two rocks between the flowers. If you land on the front half of the first rock, you're better off jumping from that first rock over the flower than trying to go forward by any method, because the flower is so tight against that front rock, you won't be able to get a good angle. I landed on the back half of the rock and was able to do it here, but I often forfeit 25 points here to not get caught under the flower.

Level 3: The very first jump here is another that can be tricky with the space bar, and one that I wouldn't recommend trying when you're new to this technique... I barely made it here, but it can be done. (Again, this is another place where on a bad day where my timing just feels off, I'll forfeit a space jump and use the arrow key). On the rest of Level 3, though, you'll notice the lily pads and rocks have a little more space between them, so this is a great level to practice the space bar technique on while you're still getting the timing down, because you have a little more room to land.

Level 4: ***This level is key. You keep the points you make on a level you fail, and don't lose any points for falling in the water, so you want to use all your lives to get your points. This level awards the most points, so this is the level you want to "intentionally fail" on if you haven't used up lives yet on mistakes. You'll notice I play through once, fail at the end, and then I messed up on the second run and failed before the end because I came up too short under a flower (rushing for the sake of not having the video be too long). If you want to play safe, let yourself go forward to Level 5 with one life left for an extra try. If you want to play with fire, go onto Level 5 with zero lives left (but by this point, even if you were to fail, with this technique, you'll have high enough points to get decent KC anyway, so it's not that bad).

Level 5: ***This level is the longest and has less edible bugs flying over, so you really need to be watching your energy meter and catching bugs any chance you get. You have less time on the lily pads here compared to even Level 4 (another reason why it's better to repeat Level 4 than 5 because you're more likely to get through it). I did mess up and let go too fast at one point here, so I fall off, but I make it through to the end on my last life.

Despite mistakes and playing it safe on Level 4 and leaving myself with an extra try for Level 5, I still score in the 6000s, and I got 130 KC in less than 5 minutes for this game. The time I had a perfect game after playing with fire on Level 4, I got my personal high score of 7350. So... this game has a steep learning curve, but it can be really worthwhile to learn the tricks of, because the payoff is great! But take it one step at a time. Learn how to get through the game with the arrow keys and just practice your power and timing to get over the flowers... then start learning how to add in the space bar jumps and worrying about catching more bugs when you can. You're still going to get decent KC if you fail halfway through practicing the space bar jump technique, and that's good for something. And yeah, that's how I end up on the high score list whenever I play. (Which I don't do every month... but it's fun from time to time.)

Let's please not talk details about recent posts on why this is relevant, because I do not want the discussion to cause this guide post to be removed due to topics that aren't allowed in this sub. If you know, you know. That said, if you see a pet name that is totally inappropriate and offensive at the arcade, this is how to report it.

Step 1: Go to the Newspaper on the Things to Do Menu and choose the "Scores and Achievements section from the side panel.

Step 2: Once on that page, choose the High Scores Lists tab.

Step 3: Use the Left side panel to scroll and find whatever game you saw the inappropriate name on the leaderboard for.

Step 4: Choose the Daily Score tab.

Once you are on the Daily Score tab, there will be a list of the daily top 10 pets names with the first three letters of the username. Unless the user plays again and scores so low that their overridden score takes them off the board (which is unlikely -a troll will usually get a high score and not play again unless someone outscores them to make sure they stay there), they will be there, and if they are on the leaderboard pictured at the arcade, they should be in first place.

Step 5: Get a screenshot and email it to Webkinz customer support (webkinzsupport@ganz.com), or go to the Webkinz website and go to the support page to submit a ticket. Explain why the name is inappropriate (e.g. if it's spelled backwards, give details on what it actually says when switched around so that staff know why it's a problem).

Again, let's please not talk about the recent names in the arcade that have made this post relevant here (because that will cause the post to get removed and then it can no longer help people), and please just use this guide to handle it. It has been theorized (and is entirely possible) that the person doing this is lurking here and being egged on by posts reacting to it, so just silently report and leave it at that.

I don't want to clog up the site search results by naming the inspiration, but my little cousin is super excited about one of her favorite video games. I have a room set aside for her to play with and decorate for whatever she's interested in, and I gave her free-for-all access today while I was at work to get creative with some special event stuff I have built up in my dock and dress any of my pets up like characters. This was the result. I think she did a really good job! Especially with not having Deluxe event or estore items to work with.

I wanted to share some video evidence of a tip I have been giving on the ongoing park challenge, because I’ve been downvoted a few times, probably because not everyone believes me on it. Which is fair -there was a time I didn’t know about that and also just thought Webkinz itself was lagging. There are additional factors for lag, but a laptop on battery power automatically slows the frame rate of the display, so you see things more laggy and with delays on high-demand graphics, even if your computer and connection are fast. Webkinz demands a lot of memory and has high power graphics. The difference is considerable.

I used the stadium to demonstrate because there’s additional factors in the park (e.g. how many pets are in a park), but plugging in makes a big difference for me in the park, too. And here, you can see that when I pull the charger plug off my computer halfway through the Googles walking back down the runway, it immediately slows down, and the motion is more choppy.

It’s not going to solve every problem with this ongoing challenge, but plugging in your laptop if it isn’t already will help with delays in seeing other users picking up trash, which will help know where to try going, and what’s already been taken.

For the benefit of newer users, or those who simply forgot, as there were a few posts a couple of months ago with realizations of this. Adventure Trail Mix is currently being given out in the park as part of the Summer Mega Challenge, but it’s not just something you feed your pet to get to the next level (as with the Energy Bars).

You can cook with Adventure Trail Mix and make items to go in your room. So this is one where stockpiling might be something you want to do (even though you only need one with the feed it to your pet while they’re full glitch to get through the challenge). Whether it’s to make those items for yourself, or to save for trading, as demand for it does go up when it’s been awhile since the last time it was available, and so far it hasn’t always been consistent as to when it does.

There is a cookbook in the W-Shop for it, but there’s also a section in the Webkinz Picture Guide for what you can make here https://webkinzguide.com/wiki/Solved_Object_Recipes#Adventure_Scouts