One of the newest of the Facebook games, SimCity Social, has all of the favorites for fans of the Sims and Facebook. The free online game has content similar to previous Sims games but also features new developments that are made just for Facebook and that come from the newest and upcoming Sim game.

In SimCity Social, the focus is on socializing and city-building according to All Things Digital. The city-building is similar to previous Sim games and to Facebook games such as CityVille and FarmVille. However, unlike the Sims there is no need to take care of the utilities within the city and there are no taxes.

The city-building in the game happens through using one’s resources wisely. The game currency is called simoleans, which can be used to buy things like houses. Diamonds are also used as currency but they are normally used for upgrading factories or larger projects. Players can buy game diamonds with real money in order to get a boost in the game. Some of the things players can buy include things that one could consider advertisements, such as Dunkin’ Donuts or a billboard advertising a Mercedes.

The game has several features, including 3D graphics and even more creative freedom than in previous Sim games according to IBN Live. There are no set paths, although players can gain experience points from completing certain tasks and building new things in their cities in order to reach the next mayor level.

SimCity Social provides the players with real social issues to deal with spontaneously such as natural disasters and climate change. Players can also experience different scenery depending on whether they choose to be in German, British, or French style neighborhoods.

SimCity Social, even more than city-building, is about socializing with friends. Within SimCity Social, players can interact with their friends and send gifts to each other – much like in FarmVille. Players can hire each other for certain tasks and can become allies or enemies with different cities. A player can also visit a friend’s city in order to get an energy boost and can receive more resources and higher property values if a friend visits his or her city.

Jami Laes, Vice President of Playfish Global Studios, claimed that the game provides many different options for every path a player could want to choose when interacting with his or her friends. Laes stated, “whether you… [act through] kindness by helping put out a fire or through mischievous acts like helping a criminal escape, the decisions you make with your friends will determine how the story of your city plays out.”

Currently there are around 750,000 Sims Facebook fans. The game creators have announced that if someone is playing the game and adds his or her ‘like’ to the Facebook page they can receive free access to exclusive content from the next Sims game.

SimCity Social is essentially a prototype version of the latest Sims game that will be coming out in 2013. In the newest version there will be multiplayer support and will allow up to sixteen friends to play together at once.

According to Kotaku, what SimCity Social lacks is the depth of the PC version of the game. Because the game focuses more on city-building, making it similar to Facebook games like CityVille and FarmVille, other aspects such as the collection of taxes and taking care of utilities that made the game more complicated are lost.

Kotaku states, “[it's] strategic enough to distract players from the fact that they’re caught in an endless cycle of earning enough residents to expand their city, buying new land, and starting the whole process over again…SimCity Social is a cute and capable social city-builder. It’s also a shameless attempt to capitalize on the success of Zynga’s wildly popular CityVille, slapping a powerful name on a game that could never live up to its legacy.”

However, Kotaku does admit that the upcoming PC version of SimCity Social will be much more exciting and complicated. “What’s exciting about this new Sim City is how alive it feels, how much it makes the earliest games in the series feel as static as board games. This one feels alive.”

It looks as if most fans of Facebook’s city-building games will enjoy this latest addition, but fans of previous Sims games should wait for the next PC version.

Image Courtesy of   SimCity Social

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Milwaukee, U.S.A. – Police Officers are staking out Dunkin’ Donuts rooftops to support the Special Olympics in Wisconsin, scheduled for June 22. Law enforcement officers throughout the state will stake out Dunkin’ Donuts rooftops to benefit Special Olympics Wisconsin, beginning at 6 a.m. That morning, police officers are scheduled to cover 15 Dunkin’ Donuts rooftops to heighten awareness and raise money for the Law Enforcement Torch Run to benefit Special Olympics Wisconsin….rain or shine!

“The tradition of police officers and donuts goes way back as kind of a joke,” states Wisconsin Torch Run Director and Kenosha County Deputy Sheriff Ray Merlin. “What better way to raise money and awareness for Special Olympics Wisconsin! It’s a great opportunity to meet your local officers as they are up on the rooftops of your local Dunkin’ Donuts collecting donations as part of the Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics Wisconsin as they celebrate 40 years of serving athletes in our communities.”

In return for the police officers “doing time” at their restaurants, Dunkin’ Donuts will donate $5,000 to the Torch Run fund. In addition, each guest who visits a Cop on a Rooftop location that day and makes a donation to the Torch Run will receive a Free Medium Hot or Iced Coffee coupon.  Guests donating at least $15 will receive a Law Enforcement Torch Run shirt (while supplies last) and a coupon for a Free Medium Coffee. Police officers will be stationed at 15 Dunkin’ Donuts in Milwaukee, Madison, Oak Creek, Edgerton,Janesville, Racine, Kenosha, Whitefish Bay, Plover, Waunakee and Wisconsin Dells.

Earlier this month, police officers in Illinois held a Cop on a Rooftop event at 130 Dunkin’ Donuts and raised more than $225,000 for Special Olympics Illinois. The Torch Run is the largest grass-roots fundraising program and public awareness vehicle for Special Olympics. Law enforcement officers from the 50 United States, 12 Canadian provinces and territories and 40 nations carry the Flame of Hope in honor of Special Olympics athletes. Special Olympics Wisconsin provides year-round training and competition opportunities through 18 different Olympic-type sports for nearly 10,000 individuals with intellectual disabilities. The organization holds 137 statewide competitions and five state tournaments per year.

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Silver Spring, U.S.A. – We’ve grown up with America’s favorite treat – fast food. From beloved childhood memories to classic Americana, the art of quick and delicious fare represents some of life’s greatest pleasures and often marks milestone moments. .

Destination America invites fans to celebrate gastronomy-to-go as Fast Food Mania makes its world premiere on June 3, 2012, diving into the pop culture world of fast food, digging into its cuisine, featuring its fanatics and exploring all the one-of-a-kind wonders it has to offer. The immersive tour de food will be led by the intrepid fast food aficionado, Jon Hein (“The Howard Stern Show” and “The Fast Food Show” on Sirius/XM) as he dines and decodes the world’s most popular dishes.

The travel-packed and finger-licking series will not only look at awesome eats, but also offer up essential tips for navigating the ever-winding drive troughs and ordering secret menu items, as well as delve into never-before-seen test kitchens of some of America’s favorite chains.

Fast Food Mania also reveals behind-the-scenes stories and little known facts, including answers to trivia questions such as “Who designed the signature red and white KFC bucket?” Bet you didn’t know it was the owner of another popular fast food restaurant – Dave Thomas of Wendy’s — who once operated one of the largest KFC franchises!

“Some of our country’s most fascinating stories are born from the hard work and determination of what were once mom and pop businesses that evolved into great American successes – stories of the underdog selling the hot dog, if you will,” said Marc Etkind, senior vice president of content strategy for Destination America.

“Fast Food Mania celebrates those accomplishments and takes viewers on a nostalgic ride revisiting memorable campaigns, iconic outposts and, of course, tasty menu items – sometimes with a side of fries.”

This season, Fast Food Mania makes stops at beloved eateries such as Sonic, Dunkin Donuts, Dominos, Taco Bell, and the original hot dog stand by the sea, Nathan’s Famous in Coney Island, NY. But it’s not just about the legendary brands. Fast food mania also uncover the up-and-coming chains making their mark, as well as hidden gems like Jet BBQ, a historic firehouse turned true drive-thru restaurant in Wichita, KS.

Fast Food Mania is produced by Sharp Entertainment with Matt Sharp serving as executive producer. Bob Larson is executive vice president and Dan Adler is vice president of production at Sharp Entertainment. Alison Mouledoux serves as co-executive producer. For Destination America, Fay Yu is executive producer, Sara Kozak is senior vice president of production, Marc Etkind is senior vice president, content strategy and Henry Schleiff is president and general manager.

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The Dunkin’ Donuts & Baskin-Robbins Community Foundation has announced a grant of $102,000 to Feeding America, the country’s largest domestic hunger-relief organization. The donation will help support child hunger relief through Feeding America initiatives such as its BackPack program, which provides hungry children with nutritious and easy-to-prepare food to take home on weekends and school vacations when other resources are not available.

The DDBRCF grant will be distributed among eight food banks across the United States: Greater Boston Food Bank, Food Bank of Western Massachusetts, Philabundance, Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee, Cleveland Food Bank, Greater Chicago Food Depository, Albuquerque Road Runners and Los Angeles Regional Food Bank. The donation was made possible in part from a grant from the Rich Family Foundation.

The DDBRCF has had a national partnership with Feeding America since 2007 and has donated nearly $1 million to support local food banks. Over the past four years, The DDBRCF has addressed the issue of hunger relief through both national and local efforts. Dunkin’ Donuts and Baskin-Robbins franchisees have led food drives in the communities they serve and have organized volunteer days at their local food banks to help fill backpacks filled with nutritious snacks for children.

Feeding America is the nation’s leading domestic hunger-relief charity, with more than 200 member food banks serving all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Feeding America’s food banks secure and distribute 3 billion pounds of donated food and grocery products annually through a network of approximately 61,000 food assistance agencies, such as food pantries, soup kitchens, emergency shelters and after-school programs.

37 million Americans receive food and groceries from Feeding America each year, including nearly 14 million children and 3 million senior citizens, and approximately 5.7 million Americans receive the Feeding America network every week.

According to Karen Raskopf, Co-Chair of The Dunkin’ Donuts & Baskin-Robbins Community Foundation and Senior Vice President of Communications at Dunkin’ Brands, “Our Foundation is committed to working with Feeding America to help eradicate hunger, particularly childhood hunger, in the communities we serve.

Dunkin’ Brands and our franchisees are proud of our support of this cause and look forward to continuing to support the Feeding America network of food banks in the fight to end hunger.”

“Nearly 49 million people – approximately 1 in 6 Americans – struggle with hunger, including more than 16 million children. Every day, working families in every neighborhood are forced to choose between food, rent and medicine,” said Leah Ray, Feeding America’s Vice President of Corporate Partnerships.

“The support of our partners has never been more crucial, and we are extremely grateful to The Dunkin’ Donuts & Baskin-Robbins Community Foundation for their generous grant to help us combat hunger.”

Image Courtesy of   http://www.flickr.com/photos/politicalpulse/

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Dunkin’ Donuts, America’s all-day, everyday stop for coffee and baked goods, recently opened its 10,000th restaurant. The landmark 10,000th new restaurant is located in Xi’An, China. Several other Dunkin’ Donuts restaurants, which opened throughout the world over the past few days, vied for the honor of being the 10,000th location. These include three new locations inRiyadh, Saudi Arabia, as well as new restaurants in Bogota, Colombia and Kingsland, Ga.

Dunkin’ Donuts has more than 80 restaurants in Greater China. The newest restaurant in China, the 10th in Xi’An and 10,000th in the world, is being opened by franchisee Shannxi Stellerich Food & Restaurant Management Co. The opening of the 10,000th Dunkin’ Donuts location will be celebrated in Xi’An with much fanfare, including a grand opening ceremony complete with local dignitaries, a traditional Chinese lion dance and a jazz band.

“We are proud to have opened the world’s 10,000th Dunkin’ Donuts restaurant in China, a country which we believe offers tremendous opportunity to both our Dunkin’ Donuts and Baskin-Robbins brands,” said Nigel Travis, CEO of Dunkin’ Brands and President of Dunkin’ Donuts. “From its beginnings as a single restaurant in Quincy, Mass., Dunkin’ Donuts is today a global brand located in 32 countries around the world. Our geographic diversity is truly a testimony to the fact that customers everywhere, from China to Saudi Arabia, Colombia and Georgia, appreciate what Dunkin’ Donuts offers - high quality food and beverages served in a friendly, fast environment at a great value.”

During the first nine months of 2011, Dunkin’ Brands, the parent company of Dunkin’ Donuts and Baskin-Robbins, opened approximately 480 net new locations globally, including 230 net new Dunkin’ Donuts restaurants. Dunkin’ Brands has more than 16,500 restaurants in 56 countries and is one of the largest U.S. quick service restaurant (QSR) companies internationally by unit count.

Dunkin’ Donuts has maintained steady global growth over the past several years, opening new restaurants in the United States, the Middle East, Asia-Pacific, Russia, and Latin and South America. Earlier this year, Dunkin’ Donuts announced an agreement to enter India and plans to open more than 500 restaurants in the country over the next 15 years. Last month, Dunkin’ Donuts surpassed 100 restaurants in Saudi Arabia.

“Because of our strong brand recognition, our differentiated products, innovative marketing and nearly 100 percent franchise business model, we believe Dunkin’ Donuts has significant growth opportunities both in the U.S. and abroad,” concluded Travis. “We are delighted to celebrate the opening of our 10,000th Dunkin’ Donuts restaurant, and look forward to many more openings to come both in existing and new markets around the world.”

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