The Winter Countdown is on! For the next twelve days in a row you can play FarmVille and ask your neighbors for a special gift. Once you get all twelve you unlock a super-secret bonus prize!

You can access the Winter Countdown via a special icon the right-hand side of FarmVille.


Just click on it, and the Winter Countdown window will open:



Here’s how it works: every day for twelve days in a row, starting from December 27, you will have the ability to get a new item in the Countdown.
As you can see in the image above, the first item available is the White Soldier. You acquire these items by clicking on the “Ask/Share” button:



From here you’ll be asked to make a post to your own wall asking for this item. If a neighbor or friend gives you this item, they’ll get one in return. The criteria for acquiring that item of the day is met when you get the item from a neighbor or you get one by answering one of these feed posts. Each new day a new item will appear, and the process will start all over again.

What happens if I miss a day? you may inquire. That’s okay, you can catch up. For example, if I miss getting a White Soldier on December 27 and I’m already on December 28, I see that I can still ask for that first item (click “Beg”), or I can just buy it outright for Farm Cash (the “Buy” button). If “Beg” is clicked on you’ll be shown six of your FarmVille neighbors and friends you can ask for this item.

On the twelfth day all of the items will be visible. If you have received (by asking for or gifting to someone else, thereby getting one in return) all twelve items, the special bonus prize will unlock. The ability to acquire these items, as well as the special bonus prize, will remain for a few days after January 7, 2011 (the twelfth day), so even if you miss most of the days you still have a chance to catch up and unlock the special bonus prize.