Free virtual money giveaway at Island Life and My Vineyard

Metaplace -- makers of Island Life and My Vineyard -- is offering free premium virtual currency in their games today for everyone who signs in and plays.

Right now, you can get 3 Bux from Island Life and 3 Wine Cash from My Vineyard. This will put your premium currency total to 8 in each game, since you already start with 5.

Both games are, in a sense, farming sims with the usual shebang of planting, harvesting, and selling crops for money, then using that money to decorate and plant some more. While the mechanics are tried-and-true, My Vineyard is probably the first Facebook vineyard game. They also both sport a very distinctive, semi-realistic look that YoVille players would be familiar with -- where rocks and trees look like real rocks and trees, instead of cartoon-like shapes and bright colors. It's not an easy aesthetic to get used to, especially when it's layered on an isometric grid, but it's certainly different.