Zynga will launch FrontierVille's Pioneer Trail with a 'send-off bash'

FrontierVille Save the Children Pioneer Trail
Unfortunately, this isn't a confirmation that the expansion to FrontierVille is coming tomorrow. However, it appears that good-byes will be in order when Zynga releases Pioneer Trail to the masses. According to a Facebook post, the company will throw a community send-off event that, once the goal is reached, will unlock Pioneer Trail for everyone and send $200 thousand to Save the Children, a long-time Zynga beneficiary . Here are Zynga's words from the Facebook News Feed post:

    We're about to throw a Pioneer Trail send-off bash and it'll take a lot of work (oh, about a Billion Golden Hammers' worth) from y'all to get ready for it! Once accomplished we'll donate $200,000 to Save the Children and unlock Pioneer Trail!

It's already been rumored that this FrontierVille expansion will be a brand new app rather than an extension of the original game, far different from FarmVille English Countryside. If it is indeed true, we still don't know how our experience, money, belongings, family and friends will play into this new adventure. Regardless, you'll be the first to know--well, right after we do, of course.

[Image Credit: Zynga]

Have you seen what Zynga has been teasing about the Pioneer Trail? What else do you expect from the new expansion, and how do you think it being presented as a new app will change things?

FrontierVille Pioneer Trail Sneak Peek: Use TNT to blast your way through Avalanche Pass

TNT and snow-covered mountains? That doesn't sound like a very safe combination, but apparently we'll need to live dangerously in FrontierVille's upcoming Pioneer Trail expansion. Via a new fan page post, Zynga has revealed that while in Avalanche Pass, we'll need to use a "big blast of TNT" to make our way through the mountain. We'll likely either have to ask friends for the explosives, or perhaps craft them along the way; that particular detail wasn't revealed. Here's the full blurb:

    When you hit the Pioneer Trail in the next few weeks, you're sure to have a blast on the Avalanche Pass! In fact, a big blast of TNT may be the only way through the mountain! So keep yer friends close and yer stash of explosives even closer!

This would apparently explain the need for shovels that we were warned about in a previous sneak peek. Could it be that we'll become buried under an avalanche caused by our TNT blast? Will we have to ask our friends to frantically dig us out before it's too late? Or, could this all be much more casual, asking us to simply dig our way closer to the rock before setting off the blast? Either way, the plot continues to thicken here in the world of Pioneer Trail speculation (including that mention of "in the next few weeks"), but we'll make sure to clear everything up for you (including whether or not the Pioneer Trail is an entirely new app) just as soon as we know more.

What do you make of this latest sneak peek? Do you think the dynamite blast will deal more with asking friends for items or crafting them yourself?