I really want the donut machine but there's only five days remaining. I'm sitting at 2600. Maybe I should get the license to help me along.

How many probes to get the machine? I'm about 200 probes away from the mutant peacock. Then I see there are 4 or 6 more bags before the machine is the active goal.

8050 probes I think.

Damn. Probably not going to get it then. 5 days left and that's 5000 probes to go.

Supposedly the donut machine will be available in the craft shop if you don't get enough probes. This says it'll cost 200 fences, 500 candy corn, and 500 chocolate bars, so plan accordingly.

How are folks getting so many probes? I've been playing twice daily to send all of the kids out trick-n-treating (I can't do that EVERY 8 hours, I have to work/sleep) and have been clearing all of the aliens and launching gremlins into neighbor towns every time. I'm not even up to the Peacock yet.

What painfully obvious thing am I not doing that all y'all ARE doing to get so many probes?

I'm getting close to Hugo. Is that just a Bart skin?

I "got" that and couldn't find it in my inventory. So it doesn't really exist?

I'm around 6000 probes without getting the license. I probably send the kids trick-or-treating twice a day, and I think I have nine of them. I do check the game every three or four hours, and there are always a lot of aliens to clear, though I'm not sure how often they regenerate.

I go in 3 or 4 times a day, send the kids out
every 8 hours and barely have 3k probes.

I have friends who have over 10k. I don't get it.

Don't want to say people are cheating but I think poeple are getting these probes due to having a ton of donuts from previous things going on in their game.

I rarely have any rockets to send out to kill the saucer and lucky if I have 6 aliens to drop off in their towns.

Still thinking Family GUy is much more fun. Wish I could get the Flintstones to open.

you need an average of 671 probes a day for all the days to hit 8052 and the donut machine. You can get 90 from visiting all your neighbors every day and some more from opening the bags from the trick and treat kids. Most of it comes from clearing out the aliens. I am about 1 day ahead of schedule so hopefully I can get the donut machine and ghoulish Mr. Burns whenever that prize opens up.

I should have the doughnut machine tomorrow, I have all 17 characters that can go trick or treating, and the license. But clearing the aliens every 4 hours is a great way to get probes.

I try to pop into my town every 3 or 4 hours to pop the aliens in my town. The last few days of visiting people I had 8 shells to shoot down UFOs and 6 of those gave me 50 probes, so that helped.

I'd think Hugo would be his own character instead of a skin for Bart. I mean, there are two characters in the show, right?

I just earned the Peacock and I don't know if I'll get the donut machine. No idea what I could do to earn more probes. Tap every four hours, I guess, but do we know how often they regenerate? What does the license actually do? Why can't someone just tell me these things so I don't have to Google it?!

The license gets you two probes per tap in friends cities for up to 180 a day instead of the 90. When I log in each time I seem to have quite a few aliens roaming around. I don't bother to hunt them all down.

I just got Hugo this morning, he's his own character and he has a mission that involves Homer being free to start.

SEVENTEEN trick or treating characters?!? I have 10 kids (8h task) plus Squeaky Voiced Teen (16h task)... eleven. Who else can trick/treat besides them?

Update... my trick/treaters are:
Bart
Lisa
Dolph
Kearney
Martin
Milhouse
Nelson
Ralphie
Rod
Todd
SVT (16h)

I think those are all I have, though Kearney (who I bought by accident) is also 16 hours. There's also Database ordering bags online. The rest must be premium characters, like the creepy twins.

Marge does if you have the witch skin. Hers is a 16 hour task. Same with Shauna and Sherri & Terri. I think Uter is supposed to, but I don't have him.

I got Hugo a day or two ago and the donut torture device this morning.

Are the trick or treat rewards changing with the next phase? I'm unsure if I'll be able to unlock The Grand Pumpkin.

Your mention of the Grand Pumpkin goes perfectly with your username and avatar.

Ha. Thanks. That reminds me that I need to update it to Great Pumpkin Linus. Watched it last night. Even though I own the Blu Ray, I have to catch the broadcast every year.

Yup, Uter is the other one. And Jimbo was the other character not mentioned.

There will be other trick or treat rewards but you will still be able to get the grand pumpkin and Hugo. You will also be able to use the trick or treat rewards to get the doughnut torture machine later on if you don't unlock it by the 20th.

Got Hugo and the donut machine thing yesterday!

I assume the probes we're continuing to earn will help us with the second round of prizes but I haven't cashed out all off my bags just in case.

I'll be lucky to get the donut machine tomorrow night but I think it's perhaps unlikely. I'm only at 4700 probes and I'm maxed out on friends' towns until late tomorrow night. Would tap you all earlier, but we're going to Pearl Jam.

I'm still cashing out the bags, but I'm saving the grem-aliens in case the probes become worthless. (I'm assuming we'll still be using the grem-aliens in the next stage, and on Monday I can send out dozens of them and rack up some quick goodies.)

Also, does anyone else find themselves having inappropriate thoughts about Shauna in her devil costume?

I've about 2000 probes away from the donut machine. I don't know if I'll make it.

I did notice some new (returning) premiums, like witch Marge and Devil Flanders with Heckhouse.