6 months ago or so Rovio started BLATANTLY rigging the game to cause players to use more powerups. Regardless of platform, the game levels should play the same. This week, for example, on ipad lvl 2, FLW goes all the way down and almost all the way to the top on the other side. On PC, FLW barely makes it DOWN, that’s DOWN, to the bottom on the left side. Initially it was fairly easy to figure out. All or most levels had advantages on one platform one week, the next it would usually be a different platform. Now, one level may have an advantage on PC, another on iPad. In case the significance escapes you, seeing scoring above a player on say, level 1, then seeing that other player drastically outscore you on another level, would cause most people to keep using more powerups to try to match or beat that score, assuming they have any competitiveness at all, unless they play on more than one platform and can see the dramatic difference in levels.
I hate to think how much I’ve spent on AB. An estimate I did a few months ago was shocking. I will not post that amount here, but it was a lot more than I expected. I set a budget on my playing, and every week I would end up having to stop playing because after I bought MORE powerups, and used them, I didn’t want to exceed my budget.
“Organized” gifting is just having a community of players, much like this one, ABN, in a forum, where we exchange tips, comments, funny stories, and of course, gifts. The other forum to which I belong (with my REAL friends many of whom I know personally) is much like ABN. We also complain about cheaters, of which anyone will admit there are still quite a few. Heck, we even exchange recipes. I shared my heart-attack-on-a-plate, which appropriately for AB, has 3 different pork cuts. So as I said, the other forum to which I belong is very similar to ABN, but its main focus is primarily AB Friends. I see nothing wrong with being able to play a bit longer every week because I get gifts from friends, which is perfectly legal, and Rovio/Facebook ENCOURAGE gifting.