Thread:Merrimack/@comment-25989346-20160613022629/@comment-32738051-20160613172428

We're connected now and I got your gifts. Thanks!

Everyone who plays SSHM has to play at their own rates, limited by RL and the device they're using, amongst other things. I do keep a tracking spreadsheet but I finally have my friends list to a point where I don't have to regularly use it and even if I were, or when I update it next, I only look for activity (i.e. 1 gift received) once a week and with my Wiki friends I would contact them here if they went inactive. I'm a bit of an uber gifter myself though so, just as much as I don't mind if friends aren't as active as me, I hope they don't mind if I'm more active. Some feel guilty for not gifting me back as much a I gift them and I always tell them not to worry about it...I neither expect nor ask the same in return. So no worries if RL means you can't play as much as I do or even as much as you like. And no worries either if you don't TT.

I do have routines I use for gameplay and I like to stick to them. If I don't, it throws off my rhythm and my gameplay goes into chaos and interferes with my own RL. Ugh! So please forgive me if I do something in game you'd rather I didn't or vice versa.

Just to give you an idea, here's my basic routine. I generally gift first, then visit, then hire friends, time permitting. I don't really pay attention to quests other than to complete each collection the first time. I gift all friends the 1 CE (or special paid room item) per day I can give them and I gift the max 10 daily CIs as well. I'll usually gift even if a friend is away and I get the gift box full message because sticking to the routine is easier than keeping track of the few friends whose boxes are full. I usually only TT on weekends, twice at 5 times each. When I TT, I gift the max each time and I use the same routine as my weekday gifting. When I gift CEs, I start with the end (right side) of the friend's WL and work my way backwards in my 5-day rotation. I gift special items in rotation when a WL is blank or has less than 5 items or if the friend has it in their game name that the want 1 or more of them or if they request it on the Wiki. Usually when I gift CIs, I gift whole collections, 2 per day, and I gift those in rotation working my way through my entire friends list. I almost never give low-end collections, unless it gives a really nice reward (like Poker Combinations). If I'm running low on whole collections, I'll send individual CIs on my friends' WLs instead and will use the activity sort checkbox to determine who to send those to. When I receive gifts, I only give TYs back for any CIs I receive and accept...I don't for CEs received, though I do accept those (I'm always in need of CEs...isn't everyone?). The reason I don't give back TYs is I don't really like them myself and, as a rule, I delete them. Rarely, particularly during a challenge, I might accept them...there are times when I might want that glut of low-end CIs and it is easier and quickly to accept them than to delete them. But just like my routines make it easier for me to do more in game, I wouldn't want to ask anyone to do anything out of the ordinary for them that would make it harder for them to do more in game. Most friends TY me for all the gifts I send them, which is currently roughly 675 CEs and 150 CIs for a total of 825 gifts per week, but that's OK and it's OK if you do too. Believe it or not, I plough right through my gifting routines each day and can usually also get to visiting and hiring. I visit once per day...since I TT backwards, there's no point to visiting while I'm TTing. When I visit, I usually only charge desktop items, though sometimes I may also charge a limited number of some friend's pics and puzzles, when my power is at full. When it's not, I visit and leave. If there is time, I'll do my max hiring, hiring 3 friends at a time. I limit my gameplay, puzzles and pics, to my daily hires, which usually means I can play roughly 14 times per day. When I TT, I sometimes work in an extra 2 max hires but not usually. Currently, I'm working on getting all my pics to purple frame so I'm only playing those that are below purple, with the exception of the occasional Gem Match.

That's it in a nutshell, though it sounds like a lot more than it really is. Now you pretty much know my whole game strategy. 😉 Welcome friend! 😍