I discovered that if you right click on the desktop icon for the game and then left click on "run as administrator" the game works perfectly!

I love the butterflies....am really enjoying the game. I played this online for quite a while.

I just love the butterflies...I'm really enjoying the game.

I've had the same problem after first run as many above. I run game "as administrator", and... voila! It works!

Win 8.1 had the same experience. Closed it and it will not reopen. EXE and License file in place. Click the EXE and nothing happens.

Thanks a lot for indulging me. I said I was embarrassed, but there was also a part of me that thought it was hilarious that my bad joke appeared after your full post. I mean, my comment made absolutely no sense at that point.

Anyway, I want to say that I really appreciate your in-depth reviews when you have time to give them. I'm a big fan of this site and the games have really improved relatively recently. I remember a time when it was pretty much solid re-runs. I'm not complaining about the re-runs. I know you offer what you can, and it's free. I'm just saying that things really picked up rather unexpectedly. I'm glad I never gave up on the site.

Also, I appreciate when you give heads up on the giveawayoftheday site of large downloads coming up and I always give you a +1 when I see your comment there.

Thanks again.

I'd installed this yesterday and played through a couple sections to place a bench and fence. The next time I try to fire up the game, it says the prog stopped working and needs to close. I'm not sure why it worked once after I d/l and installed it and now no worky at all the next day. Seemed fun for the short amount of time I had to dick with it until I had to leave, and figured I'd pick it up again later.... nope. :/

Well after attempting the XP compatibility and still didn't work; I right-clicked on the icon for the game on my desktop and of all things; selected...run as administrator; unbelievable; it worked; it came up to where I left off previously; played it a short time, then exited; clicked on desktop icon; would not pull up; right=clicked again and selected "run as administrator" again and the game came up. Unbelievable; but I do love this game and don't mind having to do something extra so long as it works. Thanks for the help here!

Sorry, bad joke. At the time I posted, it showed you had made a post, but it wasn't even a full sentence. I think it was a solitary letter and that was it. Maybe it was a bug on my end. The next time I looked, your full post was up and I was embarrassed, hoping my reply wouldn't make it past moderation. Sorry.

...................................Moderator Comment....................................

Ah, that explains it. No you wern't wrong with respect to the single letter. To ensure that I can get the reviews posted in the first comment spot, if I've not completed the review, I will 'reserve' the spot by typing a short sentence such as Review to follow soon. I also sometimes, especially if I'm busy will just type a single letter to reserve the spot, then hide the comment till the review is ready. You must have logged into the page in the short space in time where I'd typed a single letter and was in the process of hiding it from view. If you'd checked moments later the review would have been posted.

So, no need to aplogise. It should be me apologising. :)

I have having the same issues as above with Win 7. I am on my 3rd installation. I do like the game and decided to minimize it in the hopes I can complete it. Never ran into this with any other GOTD download. Thank you for the nice game, wish I could replay it after closing it out.

.....................................Moderator Comment...........................................

Have you tried compatibility mode? Seems to work for some community members.

Been whiling away some hours today earning money to refurbish my garden. This is quite similar to Fishdom H2O, especially some of the items look very similar. I hadn't played H2O in a while (I've been trying to beat the tourney portion of Cradle of Rome 2), but was getting very good at finding the items. Thanks again to Playrix for these fun games. Til next weekend,

Cara in NC

..................................Moderator Comment................................

:)

Fun little game and easy for the kids too. Thanks GOTD and Playrix.

I am enjoying the game. I almost didn't download it as I didn't want to be rushed but I was pleased to see I could play it in "relaxed mode". It is a challenge to find some of the hidden items, money and other special items but just enough to make it interesting. It is bright and cheery, and I like the butler. I don't have time to finish the game so my feedback is limited to what I have played so far. I think this game might be improved by having more options - I really didn't see a fence that said "buy me!" The spring flowers were not very flowery, a bit boring. Thanks for the chance to play this game.

..................................Moderator Comment................................

Thanks for your feedback Elaine :)

Very disappointed today. While I would install on my laptop, it will not install on second/moms laptop. She could only play it an hour. And when she returned to try again it wouldn't open, and both laptops have the same brand and components.

Windows 8.1

That's ok It was a fun game when I played it as a trial so I could only get so far. That's why I wished I could've downloaded it today. Thanks anyway am glad u had fun.

I've just started playing this game so I don't have much to say, but at this point...

WOW!!! The graphics are amazing, and this game is not all that big in file size. VERY IMPRESSIVE!!!!

As was the case with several people above, the game started up and ran fine the first time and then refused to run again.

The game process can be seen running, however the associated program (the game) will not run for whatever reason.
This is some very unusual behaviour and yet, there must be a common issue on all of the various systems affected by it.

I went thru your FAQ List and didn't see anything I thought would be applicable in this case.

If Playrix has any ideas on how to rectify this, I would be grateful as this looks like a neat little game.

Thanks to Playrix and GGotD Team for the game.

Same here, and I am also on Windows 7 - 64 bit. Sounds like that may be part of the problem as running in XP mode fixed it for someone else further down...

..........................Moderator comment..............................

Glad you got it sorted. :)

I think they may be confusing this game with one we had a year or so ago (as did I, initially), where you have to help your Dad or Uncle or someone to rebuild the garden doing something time-managementy or other. I don't see it on this computer so I can't find the name of it, but it looked a whole lot like this one.
But after reading the description of this game it's pretty obviously different. The other one was centered around the garden itself, this one is a HOG in an old house.
That's my story anyway, and I'm sticking with it.

...................................Moderator Comment...............................

Ah yes, farmscapes. I think I was confused at first. I wonder if we will get the other two in the series eventually? Playrix have been brilliant over the last several years. We've had many games from them. More recently, they have been giving us games that they had never given before rather than the rounds of repeats we'd had over the last few years.

Also was using gchrome as I have XP software don't know if that mattered it shouldn't I've used it before. Thnx

..........................Moderator comment..............................

Sorry I couldn't be of more help. :)

Yeah I checked out FAQ it didnt help thanks for an answer though. Hope it was fun.

Ummm, thought "mildly interesting game, good for a few minutes of play"....and here it is evening and I realize I just blew the entire afternoon playing. Not hard, but oddly addictive "oooh, I'll just play enough longer to buy one more thing". Nice breakups with finding multiples, and then finding pearls, candy, etc across panels. Thanks for a fun game....and maybe tomorrow my housework will get done!

..........................Moderator comment..............................

Good luck with the hopuse work. Have a great week. :)

Ok, changed compatibility to XP and game works fine. Is this an old game?

..........................Moderator comment..............................

Fairly old. :)

Hard typing when your cat is lying on your mouse arm....:)

Ok, so this game installed fine and started up and played fine. I named the dog, played one more level then closed the game out. Now, when I try to open the game I get an error popup asking to close the game or look for a solution online. I'm really bummed. This is a nice game. Similar to Gouramania but more fun. Sorry, I can't explain why I feel this way.

Per a post above it seems that uninstalling and reinstalling doesn't help. I'm on Windows7 home 64 bit. I'm going to give it a try on my Windows 8.1. Back later.

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Hi Nan Grif, have you check the event log. You can usually find what the problem is by opening up the event viewer. :)

I very much like this program. It is a nice break from the past HOGs.....which I also like. I have enjoyed Gardenscapes tremendously. I find this game to be very light hearted....thanks for the gift.

..........................Moderator comment..............................

:)

Hi!
Enjoyable playing! The relaxed mode is very easy. The graphics are great and enjoy most Playrix games!
It does become a bit repetitive at times, but that is normal for this type of game. Might put more
movement in the garden. Breaking it up with collecting books, wine etc. is a good idea and coins!
Thanks for another great game and have a good week!

..........................Moderator comment..............................

You too. :)

Hey Wrascally Wabbit,

Awesome game. Reminded me of the Farmscapes games. Where's Billy running about the yard? Pretty graphics and you don't have to hunt in 15 different rooms for stuff that belongs in other rooms. That drives me crazy.

Thanks GGOTD and Playrix for the really SWEET game. Nice review too, Wabbit. I first thought it was a TM game but thanks to you I got it.

Glad the tests/reviews etc are over for now. Take a break and enjoy a game. Big hugs to the kids, wife and you.

.............................Moderator Comment...............................

Thanks Delenn. Just had a beautiful day with my aunt. She used to look after me when i was a baby and toddler. Have some fond memories of her. She emiograted to Australia way back in the mid 1960's. This will be the third time i've seen her since then.

I hope your head aches have subsided.

Got the idea to install this on my laptop (Win 8.1) Seemed to install ok; but clicking on desktop icon; nothing happens. I love this game as I have it on my IPad mini; wanted it on my desktop or even this lap top. Never had any trouble with anything on this website for past 9 years; and the one time I really want something; can't get it to work. Very disappointed.

Yes, I am now giving up.,
Thanks anyway.

Tried to open up set up file to install but it gives me a 'Failed to connect. Try again later' message. Deleted files and downloaded again to see if that fixed the problem, but no. I've tried the suggestions in FAQ but everything's fine on my end (firewall, no work offline, etc.). First time this happens when trying to install a game from here. I'll keep trying but this is disappointing. I hope it's not an issue from now on.

Setup keeps telling me failed to connect error what a shame used to love playing this game.

.................................Moderator Comment.............................

Hi Tamara, sorry for the late reply, I've had my Aunt visiting from Australia. It wouldn't have been polite to leave her to moderate.

Have you checked the FAQ's I've linked to in my review above? There are some fixes that may enable you to install the game.

I have all three in the Gardenscapes series. They are pleasant well done games that are easy on the eyes. I good way to pass the time. The only drawback is that the game forces you to buy an item from each category. In one of the series, I think one of the sequels to Gardenscapes, you have to add a golf space in the middle of an otherwise beautiful garden. But it wasn't so terrible that it stopped me from purchasing the games.

The same to me as "Rose". The game is not able to start the second time, windows is not "able to repair". I had uninstalled it, downloaded it again - and again it will not start :(
A pity, as I had much fun in the first levels..

Decided not to download anymore HOGs as I had enough. The dark scenes that go on and on. I am 3 HOGs behind on my pc as is. Then I saw how bright and cheery this one was and even some building to do So here goes again for yet another to do later this week. I just on my pc now at 5 pm.

I run everything as administrator on my laptop - at least I am the admin.

Nice game from PLayrix! Installed easily on my 8.1 Windows Dell laptop. I especially like the little "extras" in each scene, eg. the coins and 3 different ways of adding in hints. Makes you look a little harder. Thanks for another great givaway!

My neighbor will give me all the free ZUCCHINI I want. That doesn't mean I will eat it, dude!

I can't SEE what I can't SEE whether it's FREE or not FREE.

..............................Moderator comment............................

Would you complain about getting it free?

Thanks for the post, takiainen. Having to run something as trivial as a game in Admin mode a deal breaker for me. No offense, but hope it is only in your case, and not on my Win 7 system. Unfortunately, won't be able to post an answer today. Posting here as a suggestion to developers. Never any reason for a game to force Admin mode. AV, firewall, etc., yes. Game, never. TY GOTD and Big Fish/Playrix for this game.

This is a great little game which I purchased some years ago. However its one of the few HOGs which for me is a keeper. It can be played during a short or long break without having to retrace your steps to work out what to do next. The graphics are great and sometimes you just want to find things and not solve so many problems. (Although I am enjoying yesterday' game, but it's a totally different category!) Great work Playrix & GGOTD, looking forward to more in the future.

Love Farmscapes so I was happy to see this one. Downloaded, extracted and started from the finish dialog with no problem, but every other time I attempt to start it, I get an error:

Problem signature:
Problem Event Name: BEX
Application Name: Gardenscapes.exe
Application Version: 0.0.0.0
Application Timestamp: 4b8baf70
Fault Module Name: Gardenscapes.exe
Fault Module Version: 0.0.0.0
Fault Module Timestamp: 4b8baf70
Exception Offset: 002e38b7
Exception Code: c000000d
Exception Data: 00000000
OS Version: 6.1.7601.2.1.0.256.48
Locale ID: 1033
Additional Information 1: 7d47
Additional Information 2: 7d473e5cacd82bbdc4558c00dc9f995e
Additional Information 3: e4b7
Additional Information 4: e4b7ff10ddcefd986f5247bc9eab853c

Read our privacy statement online:
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=104288&clcid=0x0409

If the online privacy statement is not available, please read our privacy statement offline:
C:\Windows\system32\en-US\erofflps.txt

****

I normally download the games to an external drive and have never had a problem with that. I'm going to attempt an install where it wants to install and see if that helps any.

Thanks as always for the games!
Rose

Nice game, quite similar to Gourmania. This one apparently has to be run as an administrator (at least in my setup, W8.1). Thanks!

Thanks to GGotD, and to you, Whiterabbit.

Gardenscapes is a charming game. I bought it, then its sequels, some time ago, after playing the Farmscapes and Fishdom games from GGotD. These games are very easygoing for casual play. One thing I really love about most of the Playrix HO-type games is that the HO scenes are well-lit and the objects are fully visible, look like they ought to, and are placed realistically (i.e., things are not mysteriously suspended in draperies, wallpaper, or mid-air). The challenge is that there's always eye-catching distraction to lead your eye away from where you're trying to look, so it's hard to see a tree for the forest, as it were. No pixel-hunting, here -- just honest trickiness! Austin the butler is an amusing character, and if you leave him to his own devices for very long, he'll go into these eccentric stream-of-consciousness monologues that are ridiculously funny. All the Gardenscapes games are well worth having (although I have not been able to get the "Mansion Makeover" game to run well on a 64-bit system).

Thanks again, Whiterabbit, and I hope your visit with the Aussie relations is full of fun.

Installed this on my Win7Pro system; play up to purchasing a dog house and naming the dog; had to close out; came back and Windows would not open it as exe file was bad: and got this message:Problem signature:
Problem Event Name: BEX
Application Name: Gardenscapes.exe
Application Version: 0.0.0.0
Application Timestamp: 4b8baf70
Fault Module Name: Gardenscapes.exe
Fault Module Version: 0.0.0.0
Fault Module Timestamp: 4b8baf70
Exception Offset: 002e38b7
Exception Code: c000000d
Exception Data: 00000000
OS Version: 6.1.7601.2.1.0.256.48
Locale ID: 1033
Additional Information 1: 7d47
Additional Information 2: 7d473e5cacd82bbdc4558c00dc9f995e
Additional Information 3: e4b7
Additional Information 4: e4b7ff10ddcefd986f5247bc9eab853c

Read our privacy statement online:
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=104288&clcid=0x0409

If the online privacy statement is not available, please read our privacy statement offline:
C:\Windows\system32\en-US\erofflps.txt

I used revo to uninstall; and then installed again. Same thing happens; I guess I will download game again??
Can't understand this.

Thanks Playrix Entertainment and GGOTD. This looks like a very fun game.

i am looking forward to playing this. i thought i had it and i went through my collection of games and i have the other two. i am not sure i even knew this one existed. i love the other ones. i don't do TM anymore. too stressful. i can do this one and use casual and enjoy a great game if it is like the others and i have no reason to believe it won't be. thanks for the games!!! the devs on this one are good and have found a happy balance for me.

I don't know whether or not we've had this on Game Giveaway but we've had Farmscapes, which is similar. I've had Gardenscapes before and I enjoy it so I'm glad to see it's on here. I'm sure people are getting tired of the HOG type games but, as has been said before, they are FREE GAMES. It's not like a lot of companies are crazy about giving away free games because they don't do it on their websites. You guys do a lot of legwork to get these and even on games that I don't care for, I appreciate the work you put into it so we at least have free games on the weekends. I also know it may not last so if you guys don't like the free games, don't play them but stop complaining. I've seen weekends on here where there's nothing at all and nothing coming so it's nice to see any activity.

As for the game itself it installed perfectly and leaves a shortcut on the desktop (love it). You have a yardsale, search for items people want and sell it to them. Once you make enough cash you can fix up your garden. Simple enough. It's a good time waster and you don't have to sweat or get stung by bees in your own garden. The screensaver factor is awesome but older computers tend to crash when it comes back from screensaver mode.

YES - another easy to download and install HOG for my addiction.

Everything works fine under my Win 8.1 - thank you!

Thanks for what looks to be a nice game. HOG's are my favorite especially the ones without timers and I consider two in one week a real treat. Norton Security Suite says it contains malware and deleted the file, but it was easy to 'restore' the file manually. To those who might be reticent to do the same....I've been downloading games here for years and never had a problem with a virus or malware. Thanks to GGOTD team for all you do.

Hi Stephen,

I've just played the first two levels after a quick download, and this is a fun alternative to Fishdom. I like that Playrix has combined HOG with decorating a garden. I keep hearing a cat meow but have yet to catch sight of her! For me this is definitely a keeper, thanks to you, GGOTD and Playrix. Hope you and your family enjoy your visit together, and keep well.

Cara in NC

I bought this game a quite some time ago, and love it. This type of HOG is my favorite type. You can quit, go back to it much later, and pick up right where you left off. I dislike the HOGs that have you running around willy-nilly, back and forth many times to pick up the objects you need. I have gotten to the point where I just don't have that kind of patience, lol. Unfortunately, most HOGs fall into that category, which makes me love games like Gardenscapes that much more. Two thumbs up for today's offering.

Gardenscapes is an excellent hidden object game from Playrix with a garden to restore with the money you earn holding rummage sales. You can either play it timed, which makes it a time management/hidden object hybrid, or without a timer as straight hidden object gameplay. I own the whole series of these games and they are well worth playing, especially if you get frustrated with the huge HO adventure games which now proliferate the casual gaming world. If you like this game, check out the Playrix site as there are several more similar games available. Highly recommended and works fine with both Windows 7 and Windows 8. I'm impatiently waiting for the next new game in the series :o)