Gaia Gold | Gaia Online Gold Money Tips Cheat Account Hack Guide

Gaia online shops

2009-03-04T18:09:00.000-08:00

What can I do in the shops?

The shops are the places where you spend your hard-earned Gaia Gold and outfit yourself. Here you can purchase pants, shirts, hats and even costumes for your avatar.

If you want to know what an item is, simply click on it and a description box will pop up showing you its name, a description of the item and how much it costs.

In addition to these, it will also give you the following options:

Buy — allows to you purchase the item using your Gaia Gold funds.
Preview — shows you how the item will look like when equipped on your avatar. The item may substitute for something that you’re already wearing — for example if you’re wearing a hat already and would like to preview another one.
Cancel — stops a transaction and closes the window
Buy With Credit — allows to purchase an item using Gaia Credits.
Add to Wish List — If this is an item that you would like to purchase at a future time and want to keep track of, you can add it to your Wish List. Items in your wish list will show up in your profile page. It’s also a great way for others to find out what you want or are looking for. A generous soul may surprise you one day.

After purchasing, any items that you buy from the store are automatically added to your inventory.

You can also SELL your items back to the store by clicking on your OWN inventory items.

How do I sell an item back to the store?

While at a store, you can click-select any item in your inventory. It will bring up the following choices:

Sell — allows you to sell an item back to the store. The standard buy-back price for a store is 50% of the store price.
Cancel — stops a transaction and closes the window.
Give as Gift — allows to you wrap the item as a gift and give it to a friend or any other Gaia member.

Can I haggle over prices?

There’s not even an option to haggle, so the answer is no. The price shown is what you’ll have to pay. If you don’t like the store’s prices maybe you can find the item you’re looking for in the Marketplace.

Where do I get inks?

Ink can be obtained only as a trade. If you have 50 or more bugs of the same kind in your inventory, Moira in Durem will present you with her 揈xchange Bugs?section and the ink(s) that you can trade for them.

Some ink colors are direct trades for bugs, while others have to be made by combining different inks.

Where do I buy flower bouquets?

You have to pick your own flowers before they can be made into bouquets. Rina in Barton can help you put together a bouquet of flowers for yourself or that special Gaia Friend. At the store you can have Rina make you:

Single flower bouquets
Regular flower bouquets
Deluxe flower bouquets

The more complex the bouquet, the more Gold it costs to make and the more flowers it requires. You can also dye the paper and wrappings that you use for your bouquet using inks.

Gaia online Salon

2009-03-04T18:04:00.000-08:00

What can the Salon do for me?

At the Durem Salon, you can change your hairstyle and hair color. You can click on any hairstyle to see its name and cost. You’ll be presented with these choices:

Buy — allows you to purchase a new hair style. Your new hairstyle will not be immediately apparent. You will need to go back to your inventory page and re-save your avatar before any changes show up.
Preview — shows you what your new Do will look like on you before you buy it.
Cancel — stops the transaction and closes the window.
Buy With Credit — Purchase a new hairdo using Gaia Credits.

Can I change my style without changing color / Can I change color without changing style?

No. The two are not mutually exclusive. You can chose a new color in the same style you抮e sporting, or you can chose another style in the same color you have, but you抣l still have to pay full price for your new hairdo.

You can see all the styles of a given color by clicking on the color mark on the toolbar.

Gaia Online Game FAQ

2009-03-03T19:30:00.000-08:00

What can I do with the tickets I win from Slots and Cards?

Tickets can be used to purchase merchandise from the Prize and Joy store in Gold Mountain. These prizes can be found nowhere else on the site.

Prize and Joy does not accept Gaia Gold or Gift Credits.

Can I convert my tickets back to Gaia Gold or tokens?

There is no direct way to convert tickets back to gold or tokens. They CAN be sold in the marketplace though.

When I try to start up Slots, Fishing, or other Flash games, I get a blank screen.

Most Gaia games require that you install version 7 or later of the Flash ?

Plug-in for your browser. For more information about installing Flash, please read the last section of “Why do I see blank pages / blank elements?”

I only see one fish / flower / bug / etc. in my inventory! What happened to the rest?

Certain items such as fish, insects and trash are what we call Quantified Items — only the first of its kind is shown. Additional items of that kind are marked by a small number next to the the item.

What can I do if a Flash-based game does not load/partially loads?

Your browser’s cache may need to be flushed. Please follow the instructions provided:

Internet Explorer Users:

1. From the “Tools” menu, select “Internet Options”.
2. From the Temporary Internet files section, select “Delete Files…”.

Mozilla Browsers (Firefox, Mozilla, Netscape):

1. From the “Tools” menu, select “Options”.
2. Select the “Privacy” icon and then click on the Plus symbol next to “Cache”
3. Select the “Clear” button.

This operation may take serveral minutes.

If you continue to have issues, you may wish to clear the cookies from your computer - this will cause your system to forget any passwords that you may have saved on your computer, so use caution. The procedure for clearing the cookies is:

Internet Explorer Users:

1. From the “Tools” menu, select “Internet Options”.
2. From the Temporary Internet files section, select “Delete Cookies…”.

Mozilla Browsers (Firefox, Mozilla, Netscape):

1. From the “Tools” menu, select “Options”.
2. Select the “Privacy” icon and then click on the Plus symbol next to “Cookies”
3. Select the “Clear” button.

Gaia Online FAQ Vending

2009-03-03T19:27:00.000-08:00

What is Vending?

Vending is a way to buy and sell items on the Gaia Market.

If you have items that you have multiples of, or are not using any longer, you may want to sell them for gold by setting up your own store.

You will find that many items actually fetch a better price on the market than if you try to sell them back to the stores.

How do I set up shop and do my own vending?

First, you will need to obtain a vending pass from the Bank, located in the Isle De Gambino. A vending pass has a one-time cost of 1,000 Gaia Gold. Once you have a vending pass, you can add or remove items to sell, check on bids placed and customise your store page.

You can get to your store by clicking Marketplace, under the Community tab, or by using the World Map under the Games tab to get to the Isle De Gambino.

How do I sell an item in the Marketplace?

To place an item for sale, click the pulldown menu next to “Select an Unequipped Item to Sell“

Next, choose how you want to sell this item. You have three choices:

Both Bid and Buy: With this option, you are allowed to have users bid gold for your item, while maintaining an “Auto buy” price that you can set. When time expires on the sale, if there is a standing bid, the item will automaticly be transfered to the highest bidder, and the gold directly deposited in your account. If there are no bids placed, the item will be returned to your inventory.

Buy Only: This allows you to set an item for a certain price; it will only be sold at that set price. If its not sold when the time the limit you set expires, the item will be placed back in your inventory.

Bid Only: This option allows you to have an item that can only be bid on. This is usualy best for large items that have the possibility of going over a possible auto buy. Again, if time on the auction expires before any bids are placed, the item will be placed back into your inventory.

Next is the Auction Duration

This is the time limit that your item will be in the Marketplace. Once it expires, the item will either be sold to the high bidder, or returned to your inventory.

Next, fill in the Buy Now and Bid Price fields.

The Buy Now Price field is where you put the price that the item can be purchased at. If it is an auction, it is the auto-buy price. Remember that you do not need to use commas, if you do only the numbers before it will be accepted. For example, 50,000 will be only 50.

The Starting Bid Price field is where you put the starting bid price of the item you are selling.

Last, is the Minimum Bid Increment

This is where (if you are holding an auction) you can set a minimum price that must be placed to increase the bid. If you set it to 100g, and your item is at 1000g, the next bid must be at least 1100g, and the following would have to be 1200g ext.

When finished filling out this form, click sell!

Your item is now for sale in the Marketplace!

How many items can I sell at once?

You can sell any items from your inventory but only four at once. This is done in order to prevent abuse.

Where do my items and gold go when using the Marketplace?

Any items you are selling in the Marketplace are removed from your inventory, and put in your Marketplace Shop. Similarly, when you bid on an item in an auction, your gold is held in the Marketplace until the auction is completed — this is done to ensure that people don’t bid on items that they can’t afford and also to insure that bidders get their merchandise after winning a bid.

If my bid doesn’t win, do I get my gold back?

Yes, Gold is automatically returned to you.

What happens if no one buys or bids on my item?

If time runs out and no one bids on or buys your item, it will automatically be returned to your inventory.

Can I search for a specific item within the vending system?

You can search for a specific item by using the “Search Keyword” box. For example, if you were looking Mini Angel Wings, you could simply type “wings” and the search will bring up any items that contain the word ‘wings’ (Fairy Wings, Mini Nitemare Wings, etc…) . If no results are returned, it means the item you’re looking for is not currently being sold by anyone in the marketplace.

The default page for the Marketplace will show you the most recently added items for sale.

Does the system keep track of my vending transactions?

The system will send you a private message alerting the seller of the results of your vend.

When the transaction is completed:

If you’re the seller, gold will be credited to your account.
If you’re the buyer, the item will be added to your inventory.

Gaia Online FAQ Trading

2009-03-03T19:21:00.000-08:00

What is a trade?

We make it possible to trade virtual goods and Gaia-specific currency between players. This is accomplished via a trading pass obtainable from the Bank on the Isle De Gambino. A trading pass has a one-time cost of 500 Gaia Gold. A trade is simply an exchange of goods or virtual currency between two players.

Where can I trade?

There are three ways to start a trade with another member:

When looking at another member’s post, you can click the Trade Button located in their status bar:
A similar status bar can be found at the bottom of all private messages.
Trades can also be initiated at the Bank located in Isle De Gambino.

How do I start a trade?

If you have already bought a Trading Pass, all you need is the name of the member you would like to trade Gaia Gold or items with. Ideally you should have specified the details of your trade in a forum or via private messaging.

Trading is a three step process, starting a trade, receiving a trade and confirming a trade.

If you are starting a trade, you will be asked:

The username of the member you want to trade with.
The item(s) that you want to send to that member.
If you want to include any Gaia Gold in the trade.
A title for the trade.

If you are receiving or confirming a trade, you will see the trade request icon above your avatar:

When you click on the trade request icon, it will take you to the bank, where you can see any pending trades. You can chose to accept the trade by confirming, or you may decline a trade by clicking Cancel Trade.

Trading requires authorization. When sending, receiving or confirming your trade, you will be asked to enter your password during every stage of the process.

If I receive a trade request, does it mean that I HAVE to accept it?

No. A trade request requires mutual agreement. You can’t be forced into trading with another member if you don’t want to.

What if I don’t want to trade, but just GIVE something away?

If you wish to give an item to another member as a gift, you can wrap it and send it off. To do this, go to your My Stuff page, click on the item you wish to send, then click the button, and follow the step-by-step instructions on the Give Gift page.

I can’t select one of my items for trade. Why is that?

If you have a pending trade, you can’t initiate another trade using the same item or gold. The gold or items you are sending are held in the bank until the trade is completed or canceled.

Gaia Online FAQ Towns

2009-03-03T19:16:00.000-08:00

What are Gaia Towns?

Gaia Towns are the next logical extension to Gaia Housing. Multiple Gaia Homes are arranged into Gaia Neighborhoods that you can walk around in. As you navigate the neighborhoods, you can strike a conversation with other members and even visit their homes.

How do I get to Gaia Towns?

Take a train to the burbs. The train station is located in Barton Town.

There’s a bunch of non-player characters hanging at the station. Click on them to strike conversations with them (and get some helpful tips on using the site) before clicking on the Location button and heading to your destination.

How do I get around Towns?

Moving your avatar in towns requires the use of a mouse. You simply point to where you would like your avatar to go and click. Your avatar will immediately start moving towards the point on the screen where you clicked last.

Other commands can be accessed via the The Gaia Towns Toolbar - which looks like this:

The Settings button allows you to specify how detailed your world renders. The higher the detail, the better and more detailed your world will appear, but doing so may introduce delays in the form of lag - especially if there are lots of other players on screen.

The Status button allows you to see if any of your friends are on-line. Also you can click on their address to go to their house.
BG on/off allows you to turn the background music on or off.
The Chatrooms button allows you to determine if any of the houses nearby have other people in them. You can use the listing in Chatrooms to automatically go to a nearby house that has member activity without having to walk there.
The Navigate button gives you a glance of the world map by zip code. Each zip is in turn divided into nine other subdivisions.
The emoticons can be used to express mood while in Towns.

Is my house automatically assigned a place in Gaia Towns? How do I find it?

Having a house does not mean that you live in a neighborhood (Gaia Towns). In order to have a physical location in towns, you must first obtain a housing permit from the Housing Commission. Keep an eye out on Navigate from within towns to find if any new land has been allocated for houses. If you see a sign that tells you a plot is available, you can place your house there.

The Navigate button will also pinpoint where your house is located by highlighting it in yellow. Those houses belonging to friends will be highlighted in blue. Occupied houses (of people NOT on your friends list) will appear red and finally, green houses are plots where people can place their houses.

Better be quick! Gaia land is at a premium.

Can I move my house from its current location?

Yes you can. Maybe you and a friend want to have their houses close to each other. It costs 2,000 Gold to do so though and also remember that plots are in short supply. The land commission is hard at work finding new land for Gaia to expand into while maintaining ecological equilibrium.

There’s bugs flying around in towns! Can I catch them?

Gaia’s luxuriant flora is host to a number of colorful bugs. You can catch and store these bugs in your backpack. Unlike flowers and trash, you don’t need to compete with other players for bugs — they’re so small that only YOUR avatar can see them.

Your backpack robot will keep the bugs safe and sound until want to transfer them to your inventory (just click on him to initiate the transfer).

When you have caught enough bugs, you can trade them to Moira at the Durem Depot (She has a thing for bugs… W E I R D!) for inks. These can be used to color flowers and papers, which in turn can be made into bouquets for your avatar and your home.

What should I do with the trash in towns?

Pick it up! It’s the responsible thing to do, after all.

Any trash you pick up will go into your backpack. When you’re ready to empty your backpack, click on your backpack robot - who will then transfer it to your inventory.

Take your trash to the Hat Shop and ask little Peyo nicely. For your diligence and environmental awareness you’ll be rewarded with cool paper accessories that your avatar can wear.

Don’t worry - we clean the paper before we make it into clothes… or do we?

What about the flowers, can I pick those? What can I do with them?

Gaia has some of the prettiest flowers around and no fines for picking them! You can take advantage of this and make beautiful floral bouquets for your home and avatar.

When you have enough flowers, Rina at the Flower Shop can help you make arrangements out of your flowers for a fee, or course. (a girl’s gotta make a living) You can also use inks to dye your flowers and wrappings to make even more startling and unusual combinations.

Gaia Online FAQ Shops

2009-02-25T00:12:00.000-08:00

What can I do in the shops?

Buy — allows to you purchase the item using your Gaia Gold funds.
Preview — shows you how the item will look like when equipped on your avatar. The item may substitute for something that you’re already wearing — for example if you’re wearing a hat already and would like to preview another one.
Cancel — stops a transaction and closes the window
Buy With Credit — allows to purchase an item using Gaia Credits.
Add to Wish List — If this is an item that you would like to purchase at a future time and want to keep track of, you can add it to your Wish List. Items in your wish list will show up in your profile page. It’s also a great way for others to find out what you want or are looking for. A generous soul may surprise you one day.

After purchasing, any items that you buy from the store are automatically added to your inventory.

You can also SELL your items back to the store by clicking on your OWN inventory items.

How do I sell an item back to the store?

While at a store, you can click-select any item in your inventory. It will bring up the following choices:

Sell — allows you to sell an item back to the store. The standard buy-back price for a store is 50% of the store price.
Cancel — stops a transaction and closes the window.
Give as Gift — allows to you wrap the item as a gift and give it to a friend or any other Gaia member.

Can I haggle over prices?

Where do I get inks?

Where do I buy flower bouquets?

Single flower bouquets
Regular flower bouquets
Deluxe flower bouquets

The more complex the bouquet, the more Gold it costs to make and the more flowers it requires. You can also dye the paper and wrappings that you use for your bouquet using inks.

Gaia Online FAQ Salon

2009-02-25T00:09:00.000-08:00

What can the Salon do for me?

At the Durem Salon, you can change your hairstyle and hair color. You can click on any hairstyle to see its name and cost. You’ll be presented with these choices:

Buy — allows you to purchase a new hair style. Your new hairstyle will not be immediately apparent. You will need to go back to your inventory page and re-save your avatar before any changes show up.
Preview — shows you what your new Do will look like on you before you buy it.
Cancel — stops the transaction and closes the window.
Buy With Credit — Purchase a new hairdo using Gaia Credits.

Can I change my style without changing color / Can I change color without changing style?

You can see all the styles of a given color by clicking on the color mark on the toolbar.

Gaia Online FAQ Maps

2009-02-25T00:05:00.000-08:00

What are maps?

The maps are visual representations of the world of Gaia. As the world grows, you’ll see more map tiles be added to the World Maps section. Most Gaia features can be accessed via the maps.

Do the maps contain hot spots and links?

Yes they do! If a spot on the map leads to a feature or another location, the spot will change to a highlighted version. Special events may not be as obvious however, so keep your eyes open and check the maps often.

Are there any hidden Easter Eggs on the maps?

If there were, we wouldn’t tell you, now would we? However, during special events, make sure to check the maps. You could miss part of a story if you don’t.

Do the Gaia maps change?

Yes! Gaia’s maps are dynamic and reflect the time of day based on GST (Gaia Standard Time). A full day in Gaia time is 12 hours, so if you log into Gaia within that span you’ll be able to experience the Gaia day and night cycle.

The maps also change according to season and in accordance to Gaia Holidays and special events.

Can I see Gaia Towns in the World Maps?

Though separate from the map, you CAN access Gaia Towns from the train station icon from within the Barton map.

Gaia Online FAQ Homes

2009-02-23T22:52:00.000-08:00

What are Gaia Homes?

Gaia Homes is a way for you to build your own Home, customize your Home, and place your Home inside Gaia Towns. You can then invite your friends over to your Home and have a party!

How do I get started?

To start building your Home, visit Josie at the Housing Commission. Josie will guide you through selecting a Home style, finding a place for your Home in Gaia Towns, and customizing your Home using the Housing Arranger.

Can I change the way my house looks from the outside?

You can change your house to a different floor plan. At only 1000 Gaia Gold to do so, it’s a bargain at TWICE the price - just ask any contractor.

Can I make my home bigger?

You can upgrade the size of the INSIDE of your Home (for a fee). Visit the Housing Commission and choose the “upgrade” option on the right-hand menu.

Where can I buy furniture?

You can buy furniture for your house from The Faktori, which is the furniture store in Aekea. The store is fully automated and manned by robots! (get it? MANed…… ugh, yeah. Not a good joke. At least you don’t have to assemble the furniture yourself)

You can also buy “used” furniture from the Gaia Marketplace.

How do I put furniture in my home?

Navigate to Aekea Housing Commission. Click Arrange Furniture and follow the instructions. You will need to first move items from your inventory into your Suitcase. Once you SAVED your progress, click Arrange My Home

Can I move my Home once I choose a place for it?

You can move your Home, but there is a small fee. Visit the Housing Commission and choose the RELOCATE option on the right-hand menu.

Can I change my Home style once I’ve already picked one?

You can change your Home style, but there is a small fee to do so. Visit the Housing Commission and choose the CHANGE STYLE option on the right-hand menu. Your Home’s style is seen from the outside and there are three options to choose from.

How do I use the housing editor?

The housing editor allows you to arrange your furniture and other items that you have chosen to move into your suitcase. It also allows you to place any friends that you’ve invited into your home:

The housing editor looks like this:

The Edit/View button allow to go from Edit mode to view mode. View locks the items and shows you what your house will look like to a visitor. You can turn the global lights on and off from the view screen.
The Tiles button will show you your floor and walls and allow you to select different finishes, colors and available for them.
The Friends Palette is the red icon with the two people on it. It allows you to place friends inside your home.
The Inventory Icon contains the items that you can place inside your home. It has three tabs: Wall, Floor and Miscellaneous. Any items you previously placed in your suitcase will be assigned to one of those three tabs.
The Eye is the Show Button. If you click on it once, the room will go into blend mode — a semi-transparent mode that allows you to see items that may have been placed behind each other and as a result, hidden from view. Click on it again and the room will be placed in hide mode. Hide does exactly that: Hides all the items and people so that you can see the floor and wall textures.
The Clear Room Icon allows you to remove all items from the room and gives you a blank slate — so to speak — and make a clean start.

Every time you place an item in your home, you are given the choice to rotate it. Try different angles for a different look (and different flows of Chi. How Feng Shui!)

When you’re happy with what your room looks like, the Save Button will commit any changes you’ve made to your house. These settings will load back every time you re-load your home.

Can people take items from my home while I’m away?

No. All items in your home are locked. Visitors can look at your home, but cannot change placement of items and are certainly not allowed to take any of your items or furniture. That would just be rude!

Can I lock my house?

Yes you can. Simply enable Lock Home from the Account link of your profile page. Users in Gaia Towns cannot enter locked homes.

Gaia Online FAQ Gaia Slots

2009-02-23T22:48:00.000-08:00

What are Gaia Slots?

Gaia Slots is just one of the games available to members who frequent Gold Mountain located at Isle De Gambino. The basic premise is the same as a normal slot machine: Pull the lever and hope for three of a kind. The more rare the combination, the more you can win.

Slots can be played as a single player game or a multiplayer game with as many as five other players. If you chose to play a multiplayer game, you can exchange real-time messages with your fellow slot-players.

How do you play Slots?

First of, you’ll need to buy some game tokens from Gold Mountain. The exchange rate is one token per Gaia gold. When you chose to play, you’ll be asked if you would like to play alone or join a multiplayer game.

If you pick single player, you’ll be taken to the slots screen right away. If you chose multiplayer, you’ll be shown a list of game rooms available. You can also create your own game room and have as many as five other players join in.

The screen for slots is broken down like this:

Player’s name. Your name will appear here
The number of tickets you’ve won. Every time you hit Cash Tickets?your current winnings will be converted to tickets.
Tokens — the number of tokens you’ve got left.
Current Winnings — Winnings are a type of intermediate currency. You can turn winnings into tickets or you can use them as if they were tokens to keep playing slots.
Values Table - This table shows you how many winnings you can earn by matching three items of a kind. The X1, X2 and X3 show you much you can earn if you play more than one token at a time. The more tokens you play, the greater the risk, but greater the potential rewards. Partial payouts are made if you match two of a kind, but only if they’re adjacent to each other.
Slot display — This is where you see the results of your spin.

The buttons are pretty much self-explanatory. You can use your mouse to tug on the handle of the slot machine instead of clicking on the Spin button

Can I use Gaia gold to play Slots?

No. You must buy game tokens from Gold Mountain in order to play slots. Any winnings you make from playing Slots can:

Can be used in lieu of tokens by selecting Play Winnings or
…Converted to tickets by hitting the Cash Out button.

Why do I only see one token/ticket in my inventory? What does the little number next to it mean?

The tokens and tickets that you obtain from Gold Mountain are what are called Quantified Items. Only one item is shown and the small number indicates the quantity of this particular item that you have in your inventory.

Can I block someone who’s being a nuisance while on a multiplayer slots game?

Your first option should be to ask her/him to desist. If they continue to annoy you, you can simply click on their avatar and select Ignore- a message in the chat window will alert you that the user is now in Ignore Mode.

If you wish to remove a player from Ignore Mode simply click on the player’s avatar and then select Stop Ignore.

A word about Ignore: Ignore affects YOU. It prevents you from seeing any messages sent by the offending player. Other players can still see conversations carried on by that member.

Can I report a player for a violation of the TOS while playing slots?

If you feel that a player is violating the terms of service agreement, asking that player to desist is the best course of action. If the player continues to misbehave you can report that user by clicking on the user’s avatar and selecting “Report Abuse”.

Please remember that differences of opinion do not necessarily constitute a violation of ToS, so do not use this button unless you’re certain that the person is breaching rules.

When in doubt, ask.

Gaia Online FAQ Gaia Cards

2009-02-23T22:43:00.000-08:00

What are Gaia Cards?

Pit yourself against the shrewd yet attractive Gold Mountain Dealers in a high-stake head-to-head game of cards. The object of the game is simple: Get as close to 21 without going over it. And remember:

The Dealers will take you for all you got! DON?T let them see you sweat. It?s also rumored that they can smell fear! (WOW!)

Can I use Gaia Gold to play Cards?

No you cannot. Instead, you’ll need to buy tokens from Gold Mountain at Isle De Gambino. The exchange rate for tokens is 1 token per 1 Gaia Gold.

How do I play Gaia Cards?

The first thing you’ll be asked when you play Gaia Cards is if you want to create your own card room or join an existing one. The window will tell you if the room is locked (password required) and also the number of people currently in that room. If you chose to create your own room, you can make it public or private. If you make a private room, other users will need the password you used to create the room (Not your account password. Never EVER give that out).

The object of the game is to get your hand as close to 21 as possible without going bust. (over). All number card have values equal to their number. All face cards (Jack, King Queen) have a value of 10 and an Ace can be either a 1 or 11 and will automatically adjust depending on your hand.

If you get an ace and a face card as your first two cards, that is an automatic Blackjack and a win for you. (It pays TRIPLE! How lucky!) Most likely, however, you’ll have to add cards to your hand to bring you closer to victory.

You can:

Request an additional card (Hit) or …
You can refuse additional cards and force the dealer to reveal his/her hand. (stand).
Double your bet, but you cam only draw one more card. (sudden death).

The dealer has to abide by the house rules:

17 or more, dealer stands.
Less than 17, dealer hits.

If your hand matches that of the dealer, it is considered a tie (push) and the winner of the next hand takes all.

The Gaia Cards Game screen looks like this:

1. Player. In a multiplayer game, you would see other players sitting next to you.

2. Your current hand.

3. Other player’s hand (only active in multiplayer games)

4. Allows you to cash out your ticket winnings and quits the current game. If you decide to come back later, you’ll be pitted against the last dealer that you played against.

5. Turns the background music off

6. Sets the detail level of your game. Less details, faster response time and smaller loads.

7. Turns background and sound effects off.

8. Allows you to reset your game and start anew from the very first dealer (beginner difficulty)

9. Keeps track of all your tokens, tickets and winnings.

10. Lets you to place bets in the form of tokens. Each time you click on this button, it will raise your bet by one token up to a maximum of 3.

11. In lieu of tokens, you can play using the earnings from your game.

12. Click this button to deal the cards after you’ve placed your bet.

13. Hit this button to request another card (Hit).

14. You can only do this once per game: (only if you’ve not drawn any cards) Double your bet, but you can only draw one more card. Use this option if you feel that your one hit will allow you to overtake the dealer’s hand.

15. Decline further cards and force the dealer to play his/her hand.

16. Your life bar. It represents the winnings that you start out with. If you’re an exceptional player and win regularly, this bar will turn to gold or even platinum.

17. Your rage meter. Whenever you lose a hand, your rage goes up. If it reaches critical levels, a cheat button will appear. Cheats allow you to look at the dealer’s hidden card.

18. The dealer’s life bar. If you beat your dealer enough times, he’ll just throw his arms up in the air and call it a night. (You Card Shark, you!

19. This is the dealer’s rage meter. Dealer’s are not above cheating and sometimes they’ll have an ace up their sleeves.

20. This is your opponent: The dealer.

Why doesn’t my token total in Gaia Cards exactly match my total in my inventory?

You have not lost any tokens. For performance reasons, Gaia Cards borrows tokens from your inventory in groups instead of one at a time. Gaia Cards will always return these borrowed tokens when you press the “Cash Out & Quit” button.

What is push?

Push is a tie. In Gaia Cards, when there is a tie, all the bets stay on the table and carry over to the next deal. Two or three of these in a row followed by a victory can be crippling to your opponent.

How do I cheat? What are super moves?

As you play a small meter under your face will fill with red. When this meter fills up you will have the option to use your super power by clicking the CHEAT button.

But beware! Dealers also have super moves, and they won’t hesitate to use them against you.

What options does multiplayer Gaia Cards offer?

In a multiplayer environment, you can have up to 5 other people join you for a total of 6 people total in the card room. The person who creates a room has the option of making it password protected.

You can talk to any of the people in the room by typing out a message and then clicking? Send? If a player decides to end their card by hitting? Save and Quit? it does not affect the rest of the players in the room ?who continue playing the game as normal.

What if someone’s being a nuisance while on a multiplayer Cards game?

Your first option should be to ask her/him to desist. If they continue to annoy you, you can simply click on their avatar and select Ignore. A message in the chat window will alert you that the particular user is now in Ignore Mode.

If you wish to remove a player from Ignore Mode simply click on the player’s avatar and then select Stop Ignore.

Ignore only prevents you from seeing any messages sent by the offending player. Other players can still see the messages sent by those you have on ignore.

Can I report a player for a violation of the TOS while playing Gaia Cards?

Terms of service violations can be reported from within the game. Though generally most issues can be resolved by asking nicely that they stop. If the player continues to misbehave you can report that user by clicking on that user’s avatar and selecting ? Report Abuse?

Please remember that differences of opinion are not necessarily violations of ToS, so do not use this button unless you’re certain that the person is breaching rules.

When in doubt, ask.

Gaia Online FAQ Fishing

2009-02-23T22:38:00.000-08:00

What is Gaia Fishing?

Fishing is Gaia’s favorite pastime. It requires nerves of steel and a steady hand as you pit yourself against the fish that populate the ponds and rivers of Gaia.

Fishing can be enjoyed singly or in the company of friends. All you need to do is find one of the various fishing spots. Armed with your trusty fishing rod and some bait, take on the feisty (yet delicious) fish that live in the murky Gaian waters.

What equipment will I need in order to start fishing?

Old Man Logan on the shores of Bass’ken Lake will be happy help outfit you for the task with fishing rods and bait.

The basic fishing rod costs only 100 gold to buy and you can upgrade from there. Generally the more costly the rod, the easier it becomes to fish.

None but the dumbest of fish (and MAYBE tires and boots) will latch onto a bare hook, so you’ll need some bait. There’s several kinds of bait and different fish prefer different types of bait so it pays to have a variety.

Next, you’ll need to pick a fishing spot. There are several lakes, lagoons and even man-made structures where you can fish. You’ll need to check the map to find places where you can fish at.

There are types of fish live only in one place and even within the same body of water, some fish like cool, deep waters while others prefer the shallows of the coast.

How do you play Gaia Fishing?

Once you select the peer (room) you want to join or create, you’ll be presented with the fishing screen. (Your view may vary depending on the location and time of day):

1. Save and Quit — Effectively exits the game and saves any fish in your bucket to your inventory.

2. Room Lock — prevents or allows other users to join your fishing peer.

3. The name of the body of water that you’re fishing at.

4. Sounds On/Off

5. View Window — shows your location relative to the body of water you’re fishing at. In a multiplayer game, it shows you where the other players are stationed at.

6. Bucket — shows you what you’ve caught during your fishing session.

7. Distance Marker — shows you how far you were able to toss your line.

8. Power Bar — allows you to cast your line closer or further away. The more power, the further you can throw the line.

9. Rod type — different rods have different characteristics.

10. Chat window — use this to read and write messages for other people at the peer.

Click your left mouse button once to start the power bar going. Then click on the left mouse button again to cast your line:

Cast far out, and you have a greater chance to hook a fish, but also a greater chance of losing it.
Cast too close and you might spook the fish and catch nothing.

If you hook something, the game will alert you that something’s about to tug on your rod. Use your mouse to stay within the threshold of your rod indicated by the red markers. If a fish goes outside those markers, your line will break and the fish will get away.

If you manage to successfully reel in something, it will go into your fishing bucket.

Who knows what lurks in the cool waters.

How many fish can I catch per fishing session?

One bait will allow you to catch a full bucket of fish (or other items). Fish that get away do not consume your bait, so you can keep fishing until your bucket is full. (up to 18 items)

You can click on the Save & Quit button to transfer all your fish to your inventory — this will effectively end your fishing session. (even if your bucket is not full)

What do I do with the fish I catch?

You can take the fish back to Old Man Logan on the shores of Bass’ken Lake. He can craft interesting items like hats and accessories out of fish (He’s a very VERY lonely man).

What options does multiplayer fishing offer?

In a multiplayer environment, you can have up to 5 other people join your pier for a total of 6 people. When creating a new pier, the first person has the option of setting a password. If so, you’ll need the password in order to join that peer.

You can talk to any of the people on the fishing pier by typing out a message and then hit the “Send” button. If a player decides to end their fishing session, they may opt to hit “Save and Quit” during any point during the game. So long as there is at least one player at a given pier, it will continue to exist.

Can I block someone who’s being a nuisance while on a multiplayer fishing game?

If you wish to remove a player from Ignore Mode simply click on the player’s avatar and then select Stop Ignore.

A word about Ignore: It prevents you from seeing any messages sent by an offending player. Other players can still see messages sent by that member.

Can I report a player for a violation of the TOS while playing fishing?

If you feel that a player is violating the terms of service agreement, asking that player to desist is the best course of action. If the player continues to misbehave you can report that user by clicking on the user’s avatar and hitting “Report Abuse”.

Please remember that differences of opinion do not necessarily constitute a violation of ToS, so do not use this button unless you’re fairly confident that the person is breaching rules.

It always pays to ask questions first before making a brash decision.

Gaia looking to sell?

2009-02-23T21:54:00.000-08:00

Either Gaia Online is thinking of raising a new round, looking to sell, or they’ve just gotten tired of not getting talked about more. First CEO Craig Sherman shows up at Web 2.0 (props to Susan for getting two normally recluse companies - Club Penguin & GAIA - to show up to a panel), and then arranges for a cushy article from GigaOm.

Readers of this blog have heard about GAIA several times in passing (1, 2, more) but perhaps a bit more detail is warranted. GAIA started out as a web forum for Anime fans, and has grown into a social network/micro-economy/flash game portal juggernaut on the Internet. It’s not as immersive as Second Life, not even as “world-like” as Habbo Hotel. The best analogy is that GAIA is Neopets for anime fans. What Neopets does for virtual pet lovers as a casual semi-immersive social experience, Gaia does for anime lovers. And if anyone thinks that’s a slam on GAIA, you don’t know your Neopets (#18 most popular place for US users to spend time online).

I often use them as an example of “mega-niche” — where dominating one niche category so thoroughly can be an effective strategy of reaching the mainstream (the Lord of the Rings movies, for example). And with the number of concurrent users and activity at GAIA Online, it has effectively moved into the mainstream of what Millenials (18-24) do online.

We all know how you like the stats, so here are some that have come to light recently:

Craig: Gaia is the world’s fastest growing hangout for teens. #2 forum, a billion posts, over 1M posts yesterday, 2M monthly unique visitors. Avg simultaneous users 64k. 3x growth since May 2006. Avg minutes per session: 48, beats myspace, facebook, habbo, runescape, puzzle pirates

and

85% US users, 55% female audience, 300k users log in daily. Were doing .5m uniques a month this time last year, now doing 2.5m/mo.

Additionally - it’s practically a post-modern social network. Just look at the varied offerings and activities: virtual world (10% of users time), rate each other’s artwork and other content (7-10% total activity), play multiplayer Flash mini-games with group chat (10-15% total activity), chat on GAIA forums (30% of activity - not surprising as this was the genesis of the site).

Bing Gordon (chief creative officer at EA) where Bing said something that has stayed with me: “virtual worlds will be a rite of passage for every teenager”. The chance to interact with various types of people, to play “dress up” and experiment with different identities was (IS) just a formative part of adolescence.

So Gaia Online is here

2009-02-23T21:53:00.000-08:00

By the middle of last year, it was attracting half a million unique visitors monthly; fast forward to last month, and that number is two million. It’s not a traditional MMO like World of Warcraft; it’s not a social game like There; it doesn’t originate from Europe like Habbo Hotel or from Asia like Cyworld. You haven’t heard of it partly because the San Jose company has kept a low profile.

Another reason you’re still likely in the dark: it’s primarily designed for teens. But with online worlds all sizes and styles poised for an explosion, you’ll almost certainly hear a lot more about it soon.

It’s called Gaia Online, and as a guy on a giant crane behind us tore down the giant Web 2.0 conference banner in Moscone West, I had a chance to sit down with CEO Craig Sherman— formerly COO with Myfamily.com, and an Entrepreneur-in-Residence with Benchmark Capital, a main funder of Gaia— for a furious round of questioning. How did Gaia grow so large so quickly so stealthily?

“The world’s fastest growing online world hangout for teens.”

That’s the way Sherman and his team prefer to characterize Gaia, the brainchild of Studio XD, a comic art firm which gave the site its anime-influenced look. Gaia’s online world aspect (which launches in a separate Java-powered window) is a series of virtual towns where Gaian avatars can socialize (up to 100 in a single space), with apartments they can own, and treasures they can find. (No combat, however.) It’s just that 10% of total user activity takes place in the world itself.

Gaia’s Many Experience Channels

The world is just a conduit to the larger activity on Gaia, says Sherman: in addition, there are website arenas where users can upload and rate each other’s artwork and other content (7-10% total activity), or play multiplayer Flash mini-games with group chat (10-15% total activity.) The largest cohort of activity (wholly 30%) takes place in the Gaia forums, and here’s where the truly staggering numbers come in: Averaging a million posts a day and a billion posts so far, Gaia’s message boards (with topics running the gamut from pop culture to politics) is second only to Yahoo in popularity.

Gold for Activity

A unique innovation is the way the company distributes its virtual gold currency: instead of selling it for real money (as with There) or allowing its trade on the open market (as with Second Life), Gaians are automatically given gold for participation: You get gold for posting on the Forums, for riding events, for uploading content, for exploring the world. Subscribers are rewarded for engaging in Gaia, in other words— and the reward incents them to engage in Gaia even more.

Gold for Auction

With the gold, Gaia subscribers can buy items, clothing, and accessories for their avatars, some sold by the company, but most of it sold via Gaian-to-Gaian auction. (They estimate some 52,000 auctions are completed every day.)

What pays in Gaia, however, stays in Gaia: the company strongly discourages real money trading, and works with Ebay to curtail it. That’s not to say Gaian treasures haven’t been sold online. “One item sold for $6000,” says Sherman. “Wonderful to tell you, but bad for what we’re trying to accomplish.”

Gold— for Gaia Interactive, Inc.

Instead of monthly subscriptions, Gaia Online sells “rare items”— treasures, fantastically cool fashion accessories for player avatars, and so on— two offered a month for $2.50 each. Subscribers buy them via credit card, Pay Pay, cellphone—or cash on the barrel. (“We employ someone full time whose job is getting dollars and quarters” out of envelopes kids send them, Sherman notes.)

… but first, a world for our sponsors

The company’s other revenue source are ad campaigns created to run within the world of Gaia. Before launching these, Sherman says, they solicited subscriber feedback, to find out which potential advertisers they wanted to see in the world— and which they didn’t. (Cool fashion brands got the majority nod; big American auto companies, however, didn’t.)

Staffers work with advertisers to create, not passive billboards, but an extended immersive experience. Gaia’s campaign for New Line Cinema’s fantasy adventure The Last Mimzy, for example, challenged their users to accomplish a series of tasks in order to get their own special Gaian-only Mimzy (a super-intelligent bunny). Hundreds of thousands of these Mimzyies were given out—meaning some 10-20% of their total user base jumped through the hoops to win the advertiser’s prize. (By contrast, when Nissan began giving away virtual versions of their cars in Second Life, far less than 1% of Residents took them up on the offer.)

The Secret to Gaia’s Success

Craig Sherman has been thinking what the value-proposition of his site in the era of MySpace or Facebook. “In a world where teens are constantly branding and packaging themselves” on sites like those, he points out, “Gaia is where you get away from it all.”

Whether that remains the case when the competition reaches full roil remains to be seen, but for now, the Gaia seems destined to keep growing.

The Gaia Numbers: Demographics and Usage Patterns as of April 2007

300,000 log in daily, according to the company; average unique visit is two hours a day.

Average concurrency: 64,000 users. Maximum: 86,738.

85% of users are based in the US

10% are English-speaking but non-US (with 5% a nebulous Other)

Breakdown by gender: 55% Girls - 45% Boys

About 20% of subscribers put up their real life photo in their avatar profile.

Number of Gaia gold “millionaires”, as of last week: 1385

Choose your Gaia Gold

2009-02-23T21:52:00.000-08:00

First of all, we have some great news: the Gaia Film Festival Contest is now open to international entries.! Now everyone, from every corner of the world, can participate in our contest.

You can view the complete rules and info at our Film Festival Contest home page.

And now a little bit about the Gaia Convention Tour!:

Anime Expo is in one week, so be sure to visit out our AX info page see what we’ve got in store. Don’t miss Gaia’s official dance!

We have added more stops to the Gaia Convention tour: New York ComicCon and the New York Anime Festival. We also updated our Convention Tour home page with new information about Otakon.

Please visit our Convention Forum to discuss our upcoming events!

We’re also proud to announce Kiki’s Road Trip Across America:

Quote:

Kiki Kitty, one of Gaia’s most beloved characters, is going to be traveling across America and making stops at a number of different conventions where she’ll be hosting special Gaia Online gatherings. These gatherings are special events where Gaia Online members can meet each other and hang out while making new friends and exchanging usernames. In addition to hanging out with your fellow Gaians, you’ll also have the chance to win a special jumbo Kiki plushie, which will never be available in the Gaia store.

We will be visiting even more cons and hosting special Gaia events, so be sure to check out the road trip home page regularly for updated tour dates and info.

I’ve set up a special thread where you can suggest more conventions for Kiki to visit! We’d love to hear from you, and we hope to see you soon .

Cheap Gaia Online Gold

2009-02-23T21:49:00.000-08:00

Hey, guys! We wanted to give you some advance notice about a couple of important changes that you’ll be seeing on Gaia very soon.

For a while now, we’ve wanted to simplify how username colors of Gaia staff and Moderators appear around the site. We’re about to make things way easier to understand:

In brief, there are going to be 2 main colors for people that are here to help; Green for Moderators and Orange for Administrators.

Green - For all Gaia’s Moderators. In addition, there will be a text title under their usernames that better explains what their role is and how they can help you. If you need help, people in green are the ones who can help you.

Orange - For Administrators. These are the ones who manage the forums and lead the moderation and member services teams.

You may also see these other colors on usernames:

Dark Brown - For names will be given to those who do art, coding, and other fun stuff for you. These are the people that talk about features and development.

Black - For all other members on Gaia. So if a black username tells you they are a moderator or admin, they aren’t .

Members on your friends list will still be in Dark blue, and NPCs will continue to remain Red.

As you may know, there are currently several different username colors given to our staff based on what they do to support you, and that can be really confusing. We believe this new way of identifying Moderators and Adminsitrators will make it even easier for you to find who you need to assist you with anything on Gaia.

Green Moderators will still be your first line of support for all of your community needs. And Orange Administrators will continue being the official voice of Gaia as well as leaders of the community team.

Gaia’s support team is growing really fast! That’s why we want to make things more clear and simple.

We’re already improving on our response time, and this color change is another effort in making things better. You should expect to see both the green moderators and orange admins engaging the community more than ever before.

We’ll let you know when this takes effect, so stay tuned!

Rules of Gaia Online

2009-02-23T21:46:00.000-08:00

I-”[OMGSOHAWT!!1] is spam. Do NOT post it here.”

This thread is about having ACTUAL conversations. Not running in here and spamming! If you are posting in this forum, please include some information in your post. The fact that you find a celebrity “Purdy” is not information. It is spam, and will be treated as such. Do not try to start conversations with this sort of material. Joking/chatting (which wouldn’t contain any useful information about celebrities) is allowed, but don’t overdo it. Try to keep a celebrity as the focus of the conversation. The chatterbox is for chatting.

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II-”Personal Ideas”

If someone says they don’t like a certain celebrity, do not try to force them to like that celebrity. Everyone has their own personal ideas as to who they think is hot/smart/sexy/ect, do not expect everyone to have your same ideas. If you ask people what they think of someone, and they say they hate them, it is their choice. Do not flame people who don’t like your favorite celebrity. Respect their choices and move on.

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III-”What Belongs Here?”

Any thread in the celebrity forum, must be about a specific or a specific group of celebrities. Threads about “Have you ever seen Family Guy, Isn’t It Funny?” don’t belong in this sub-forum. If the thread was about “Seth Green as Chris from Family Guy”, that would be acceptable. Another thing, musicians count as celebrities. BUT here you must talk about them rather than their music. If the thread only talks about how good their music is, it doesn’t belong here.

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IV-”Making A Thread”

If you want to make a thread in the celebrity forum, first check AT LEAST five pages back, as well as in the below lists for a similar thread. If there already is one, DON’T make one. Reply in the already made thread. If there isn’t one and you decide to make your own thread, don’t make the beginning message, “ISN’T [insert-name-here] HOT?!?!”. The thread should tell something about the celebrity. Threads that do not follow these rules will be treated as spam.

.

This is an appropriate message for starting a topic about, say, Jennifer Aniston.

——————————————–

This thread is dedicated to Jennfier Aniston. I think she is wonderful actress, and I love the tv show friends. I also think she is very attractive and sexy. If you don’t know who she is, below is a picture and a short filmography.

Photo:

[IMAGE WOULD BE HERE]

Filmography:

[LIST OF FILMS WOULD BE HERE]

Gaia Online Infor

2009-02-23T21:45:00.001-08:00

Okay, I’ve been playing on Gaia for a while and figured I like it enough to put together a brief introduction about it. This introduction is pretty low-level and explains various concepts that are not exclusive to Gaia, such as the concept of forums. That’s because whenever I talk to friends about Gaia, I have to backtrack and explain such concepts before they can appreciate what’s involved in Gaia. And yes, my friends are not as ‘Net-nerdy as I am ^^

This section also houses majority of the files that are on this site. Even though it may appear that I have lots and lots and lots of text, I have even more pictures. You probably had a sense of that from looking at my Toybox. Well, this section houses my Gaia extended sig, which contains all pixels that I have purchased in Gaia Be afraid. Be very afraid.

This is also the section where incredible use of real emoticons started Some people may call it emoticon rape I can’t help it, they provide me with the means of coming across text better. But anyway, yes, it started here. And it spread outward to the rest of this site’s pages, like the plague

I initially joined Gaia because of pixels. I love having adorable, animated creatures in jars. While hunting for them one day, I came across somebody’s toybox. This person indicated that she may have adopted some of her pixels from Gaia, but she couldn’t remember. Gaia? I then asked nobody in particular. So I got onto Gaia and signed up.

I didn’t really start getting into it until the day after I signed up. But before I knew it, I was addicted. It’s essentially taking on the form of this little pixel sprite that you can dress up, provided you have the pixel gold to purchase the pixel item.

I don’t know how long Gaia will be around. They opened in February 2003 and is still in alpha phase at the time I wrote this up (and even at the time I joined). It’s still riddled with bugs, and new features are added to it constantly. Someday, Gaia might disappear, taking its pixelated sprites, items, and gold with it. When that happens, there will be a general outcry from countless Gaia addicts around the world. I don’t see that happening anytime soon, though. Right now, it’s a tool of procrastination for many, many people.

The banner you see down yonder will take you to Gaia. Go check it out. And if you do sign up, why don’t you send me a hello? ^^

What else does Gaia have to offer?

2009-02-23T21:44:00.002-08:00

Gaia is continuously expanding, with a lot of features for its users. It has a wide variety of forums, of which anime is only one (but yes, it still calls itself an anime community. It started out like that). It has an ever-expanding set of minigames. It also has Gaia Towns, where you can have a furnishable house, collect particular game items, and have real-time interactions with other users present.

What kinds of clothes and items are there?

2009-02-23T21:44:00.001-08:00

Ah, therein lies the rub. There are six general types of clothes/items on Gaia.The first is commons. These are the stuff sold in stores. Basically, if you have enough money, you can get them. Their prices stay the same, and Gaia never runs out of these items.

The second is rares and uncommons. These are clothes and items that you get during the treasure chest or the gift box random event. Random event, you ask? Yeah. At random times (note the term “random”), you will get a beside your avvy. Yeah, it looks just like that. It’s accompanied by a flying treasure chest or a flying gift or a glowing pink link. You need to click on these things. If you click on the flying chest or gift, you will get it in your inventory. Then you can open them to get clothes or items that are not found in stores. If you click on a pink link, your gold will go up by 1000. You can buy and sell rares and uncommons in the Exchange and in the Marketplace.

The third is donation items. If you donate at least $2.50 to Gaia, you will get a donation letter in your inventory. It’s unsealed around the end of the month and contains an item that is not found anywhere else in Gaia. Very old donation items are very expensive. The most expensive item on Gaia is the angelic halo, which was the very first donation item. That means the only people who got the halo were those who donated when Gaia was born. And the admins, of course, because they created everything. And people who were lucky enough to get the halo or buy the halo from the first donators. It costs tens of millions of gold. Seriously. That’s a lot of posts and polls XD Donation items are also available through the Marketplace and the Exchange.

The fourth is special occasion items. There are special events in Gaia, such as Christmas caroling, balls, and Olympics. Unique items are released during these events. From experience, most of them are usually not as sought-after as the donation items. They are also available through the Exchange and the Marketplace.

Fifth is game items. Gaia has some mini-games that you could play. Currently, there is fishing, slot machines, and getting bugs/flowers/trash in Gaia Towns. When you have a certain number of particular items from these games, you can have them exchanged for things that you can equip to your avatar. Game items can also be purchased from the Marketplace.

Sixth is prizes. There are particular games that are competitive, in that you and a whole bunch of other Gaians will be jonesin’ for the same prizes. This is the case for fishing and the Art Arena. If you win first, second, or third place, you get a trophy (fishing) or a medal (Art Arena). Note that these prizes are more rare than the items you could acquire using the previous methods. As mentioned before, you have to compete against a lot of other users, and only a certain number of prizes are handed out at a time. People who have won these prizes may sell them through the Exchange or through the Marketplace.

Where do I buy clothes and items?

2009-02-23T21:43:00.000-08:00

You can buy clothes and items for your avvy in Gaia shops. There’s a bunch of them scattered all over the place. To find shops, you have to go to the map (don’t worry, when you actually get on Gaia, you’ll find that the map button is in plain view, no matter what part of the site you’re in). The map will then show one city with a bunch of buildings. Hover your mouse over the buildings, and you will see their names. Just click on buildings that say “Shopping.” You will be taken inside that particular shop. Once inside the shop, you can then click on particular articles of clothing or items and view their descriptions and their price. You can also preview how they would look on your avvy. Naturally, you can purchase an article of clothing or item if you have enough gold for it. You will then be able to equip it to your avvy.You can also buy clothes and items from other users. There is a forum called the Exchange (okay, technically, it’s considered a subforum, but okay…), where users sell clothes and items through postings. Some of them ask for a particular asking price, some hold auctions, and some do a combination of both (auction with a reserve price or a buy-it-now price). Users usually go this route if they want a particular item (or items or combination of items and gold) in exchange for the item that they have. If you and the seller agree to a trade, the two of you do the trade through the bank.

There’s also the marketplace. This is sort of like eBay, where you can bid on and/or buy particular clothes and items from other users just by clicking a button. I personally prefer this over the Exchange, because it’s faster. Once you click on the buy button and type in your password, you will get the item (of course, assuming you have enough gold to pay for it). Or once you click on the bid button and type in your password, you are in the auction. And when the auction ends with you as the highest bidder, you automatically pay for the item and then it becomes equippable for you.

And of course, you can also use these methods to sell items that you have

How do I earn gold on Gaia?

2009-02-23T21:42:00.000-08:00

Gold is what makes Gaia go ’round. Before you get excited, let me clarify that this is Gaia gold. It’s good only for buying items for your avatar, or to access particular site features. This is no different from the paper money you get when you play Monopoly. In other words, Gaia gold is useless outside Gaia.Anything you do on Gaia earns you gold. When you refresh the page or click another link on the site, you get 1g. When you post, you earn gold. When you answer polls (yeah, a topic can have a poll), you earn gold. There are more ways that you can earn gold, but these three are the most common.

Other users can also donate gold to you. Some users take advantage of this and go begging for gold through posts. They also send private messages to users whose avvies look rich (with lots of nice clothes and items). There’s a charity subforum where altruistic users raise funds for those who just joined Gaia and have no good clothes and shoes.

With the gold, you can buy clothes and items, which goes into your inventory and can be equipped on your avvy. Gaia has a wide range of clothes and items that you can get your grimy paws on, and it’ll probably be safe to say that you can create an avvy that is unique.

What are these customizable avatars?

2009-02-23T21:41:00.000-08:00

Sure, you can customize your avatar on some forums. You can choose a picture from the forum’s image gallery. You can also upload a picture to an online image hosting service and edit your forum profile so that picture of yours will become your avatar. On Gaia, however, you get a little stack of pixels in form of a chibi human as your avatar. When you sign up, you get to choose its gender, hairstyle, hair color, eye style, eye color, and mouth configuration. When you’re a new member on Gaia, your avvy has nothing except its white undies and peasant clothes that are incredibly ugly. With gold, you can purchase better clothes and items for your avvy.Oh yeah, and your avvy is usually positioned at the upper right-hand corner of your screen as you navigate through Gaia. So you can admire how good your avvy looks. Or bemoan. Whatever floats your boat.

Gaia Online and Scion Allow Teens to Pimp Their Virtual Rides

2009-02-23T21:40:00.000-08:00

Partnership Brings Virtual Scion Cars into Gaia’s Fast-Growing Online Hangout for Teens

SAN JOSE, Calif., June 19 — Gaia Online, the fastest growing hangout for teens on the web, and Scion, a marque of Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc., today announced a joint partnership that will enable Gaia members to buy and customize virtual versions of Scion cars. Beginning with the virtual Scion xB available today, Scion is the first auto maker to introduce its vehicles to the more than two million teens who visit Gaia every month.

After getting their virtual Scion xB, Gaia members can ‘pimp their rides’ with customizable options such as wheels, decals, fog lights, tail lights, spoilers and more. Gaia members can also compete in and socialize at drag races, join forums dedicated to car culture, and nominate their cars for accolades within Gaia’s arenas. Enterprising members can trick out and sell cars in Gaia’s marketplace for Gaia Gold, the currency of the Gaia economy.

“Teens spend hours every day on Gaia because there are endless opportunities to have fun, socialize and express their creativity. Customizing Scions is an exciting new way for our members to do all three,” said Craig Sherman, CEO, Gaia Online. “Teenage obsessions with cars go back more than half a century, so bringing Scion into the Gaia community is a great new way to fulfill that interest.”

Gaia Online is a fun, social environment online where teens can make friends and express their individuality through customizable avatars and homes — and as of today — cars. The site combines elements of social networking, virtual worlds, casual gaming and narrative entertainment. The Gaia community boasts more than two million unique users per month (up three fold from a year ago), with members spending an average of more than two hours on the site per day. Gaia’s forums have exceeded a billion postings with a million new posts being added each day, and the Gaia economy sees more than 190 million in Gaia Gold transactions per day.

“We’ve had great success reaching virtual world visitors who might not be familiar with us otherwise. Gaia Online is a fantastic next step in our approach,” said Adrian Si, Scion interactive marketing manager. “Gaia offers a community of young, creative people who seek customization and fun, so it’s a perfect match for the Scion brand.”

Beyond the Scion personalization options, drag races and other features available today, Gaia will introduce new ways to modify cars and activities involving vehicles in the future.

“Gaia has created immersive experiences for sponsors around New Line Cinema’s movie The Last Mimzy and Time Warner’s movies Gracie and Nancy Drew, and the uptake by Gaia members has been phenomenal. We believe these sponsorships represent some of the highest engagement between brands and online communities on the web, and we expect the same kind of intense interest and participation for the Scion partnership,” added Sherman.

Gaia Online FAQ Arena

2009-02-23T07:06:00.001-08:00

What is the Arena?

How do I get to the Arena?

Art Arena: What is it for?

Can I upload my picture to the Gaia Site for submission into the Arena?

Help! Someone is claiming my artwork as their own!

Why isn’t my artwork showing up on the Art Arena?

How many pictures can I submit to the Art Arena?

Avatar Arena: What is it for?

How much does it cost to enter the Avatar Arena? Can I get my gold back if I change my mind?

Why can’t I find my avatar in the submissions for this week?

If I make a change to my avatar, does it change my entry in the Avatar Arena?

When are the winners of the Avatar Arena announced?

Can I change my avatar once I’ve submitted it?

Can I view the winners of Avatar Arena from past weeks?

Housing Arena: What is it for?

How much does it cost to enter the Homes Arena?

Why can’t I find my home in this week’s submissions?

When are the winners of Homes Arena announced?

Can I change the look my place once I’ve submitted it to the Homes Arena?

Can I view winners of the Homes Arenas from past weeks?

What is the Arena?

The Gaia Arena is a place to showcase your artistic talent and gain exposure in the Gaia Community. Originally intended for member-drawn art, the arena now includes an Avatar and a Homes showcase for those who wishing to share their dressing and decorating abilities with the rest of Gaia.

How do I get to the Arena?

The Arena is the large Coliseum-like building in Barton Town. It’s actually three Arenas in one:

Art Arena ?for showcasing artwork drawn by members
Avatar Arena ?for showcasing your style in dressing up your avatar
Homes Arena ?for showcasing your home decorating skills

Art Arena: What is it for?

The Art Arena is designed to show off your artistic skills to your fellow Gaians. You upload a picture and your fellow members rate it on a scale of 1 to 10. You can also view and vote on the artwork of others as well as offer constructive critique. Artworks are displayed chronologically from most recent to oldest.

From the Art Arena you can:

View the top ranking pieces of art
View all posts chronologically
See a listing of artists
View the 10 top posters
View the 10 top artists

Every month, we award medals to the top 10 most popular pieces of art submitted to Gaia. Those who win are awarded Gold, Silver and Bronze medals ?which are very rare items in the Gaia Universe.

Can I upload my picture to the Gaia Site for submission into the Arena?

You can’t host your images on Gaia. Instead we recommend that you upload the picture to an image-hosting site like Photobucket that allows you to link to the URL of the image hosted when you register with them.

Help! Someone is claiming my artwork as their own!

If a member has claimed artwork belonging to you or someone you know, you can report it to a Gaia moderator who will work with you to resolve disputes. We pre-screen all artwork prior to posting in order to avoid questionable content and art-theft.

Why isn’t my artwork showing up on the Art Arena?

We pre-screen all entries into the art arena so that content is appropriate for the site. It may take a couple of days for your artwork to appear in the arena. Also adhere to the guidelines that we specify for submitting artwork to make sure that your work is published swiftly

How many pictures can I submit to the Art Arena?

You can submit up to two pictures per day, every day.

Avatar Arena: What is it for?

The Avatar Arena was designed for people who want to show off their fashion sense. It is a kind of fashion-show where members put their avatars on display while other members vote on them. It costs 1000 Gaia gold to enter the Avatar Showcase, and winners can earn up to 50,000 Gaia Gold.

From the Avatar Arena you can:

Submit your avatar for the showcase
Look at the entries that are open for voting (the previous week’s entries)
Look at the past winners (a great source of inspirations)
Look at all the submissions (last week’s entries)
Submit your avatar (for next week’s judging)
Edit your submission (check up how the voting is going for you)

How much does it cost to enter the Avatar Arena? Can I get my gold back if I change my mind?

The entry fee is 1000 Gaia Gold. During the submission phase, you can opt to pull out and get your gold back, but once voting starts you cannot get your entry fee back.

Why can’t I find my avatar in the submissions for this week?

In order to make voting fair to everyone, we collect all submissions for a given week and present them all at once the following week. This way everyone’s avatars are displayed at the same time and have an equal chance at votes.

If I make a change to my avatar, does it change my entry in the Avatar Arena?

No. The Avatar Arena takes a snapshot of how your avatar looked at the time you made the submission. Changes made to your avatar afterwards do not reflect on your Arena entry.

When are the winners of the Avatar Arena announced?

Voting closes on Sunday 6:00PM PST and the winners for that week (the entries for the previous week) are announced on Sunday 7:00PM PST.

Can I change my avatar once I’ve submitted it?

When you click on the submit button, the site creates a snapshot of your avatar. No further changes are allowed, so make sure to ready up your avatar and have it looking her/his best before clicking on the submit button.

Can I view the winners of Avatar Arena from past weeks?

Yes. When you go to the option Past Winners you will be presented with the year and a slider that allows you to pick which week from that year you wish to look at.

Housing Arena: What is it for?

The Housing Arena was designed for people who want to show off their home-decorating sense. It is a showcase of home decorating (sometimes on a budget) where members put their homes on display while other members cast their votes on whose home gets the prize. It costs 1000 Gaia gold to enter the Home Showcase, and winners can earn up to 50,000 Gaia Gold. That’s a LOT of home renovations!

From the Homes Arena you can:

Submit your home to be showcased.
Look at the entries that are open for voting (the previous week’s entries)
Look at the past winners (a great source of inspirations)
Look at all the submissions (last week’s entries)
Submit your avatar (for next week’s judging)
Edit your submission (check up how the voting is going for you)

How much does it cost to enter the Homes Arena?

The entry fee is 1000 Gaia Gold.

Why can’t I find my home in this week’s submissions?

To make voting fair to everyone, we collect all submissions for the week and present them the following week. This way everyone’s homes are displayed at the same time and have an equal chance at receiving votes.

When are the winners of Homes Arena announced?

Voting closes on Sunday 6:00PM PST and the winners for that week (the entries for the previous week) are announced on Sunday 7:00PM PST.

Can I change the look my place once I’ve submitted it to the Homes Arena?

When you click on the submit button, the site creates a snapshot of the interior of your home. No further changes are allowed, so make sure to vacuum all rugs and wash all the windows before clicking on that button.

Can I view winners of the Homes Arenas from past weeks?

Yes. We archive pictures of the top 10 choices of every week. When you go to the option? Past Winners?you will be presented with the year and a slider that allows you to pick which week from that year you wish to look at. The pictures reflect what the home looked like when they entered the contest. Their home may have changed since then.