Triple Town is a new puzzler on Facebook that had its start on the Amazon Kindle last October, where it flourished in popularity. It was created by Spry Fox, a game studio founded by Daniel Cook, the co-creator of Realm of the Mad God, and David J. Edery, a former Worldwide Portfolio Manager for Xbox Live Arcade. After a spiffy makeover, Triple Town made its debut on Facebook and Google+ Games earlier this month, with plans to go mobile. According to AppData, it's now attracted 190,000 monthly players on Facebook.
Hailed by one reviewer as "the Civilization of match-three games," Triple Town is a unique title with familiar aesthetics. Spry Fox originally chose the Kindle as the game's platform, which was explained as "an interesting emerging opportunity" by Edery. But as the game grew popular, Spry Fox wanted to spread the love around. Citing a lack of Bejeweled Blitz-type games on Facebook, Spry Fox decided to push for Triple Town's launch on the social network, as well as make it available in both English and Spanish.
Triple Town merge objects
A basic principle to understanding how to play Triple Town is the following idea: "Grass turns into bushes, bushes into trees, trees into huts, and so on." When you start a round, you're presented with a grid in a woodland theme. There are no time limits and no energy limit. Though you do run out of moves eventually, the creator made sure that you get so many moves that any average player would be able to earn enough virtual currency to buy more moves through play alone.
Triple Crown Double Combos
Like most match-3 games--Bejeweled Blitz and Diamond Dash, for instance--you'll receive random pieces one at a time, but you get to control where they go on your grid. But unlike those traditional games, matching stuff doesn't make it disappear. Instead, matching stuff creates other stuff that's worth a lot more, thereby, netting you more points. The goal of the game is to get as high a score as possible by continuing to merge objects and not running out of space to put things.
Triple Town bears church
The game also throws in some monkey wrenches in the form of Bears and Ninja Bears to make things more challenging. These are pieces that will move around the grid even after you've put them down. Despite having evil, beady and glowing red eyes, the bears are pretty adorable. They'll totter about, roar, and make grumbly ursine noises as you play. On the flip side, other pieces will be there to help you, like the Blue Crystal and Imperial Bot.
Triple Town gameplay
You can see how all these elements can make the game simple, yet surprisingly complex. Every time you move objects on the grid and a match occurs, you've altered the playing field. I thought I'd jump in for a few minutes for one round, but the better of a player you are, the longer you can last, and this game can easily suck up an hour.
Triple Town is truly unlike any game I've ever seen before, for Facebook or otherwise. The closest comparison I can think of is Scott Brodie's Hero Generations, which also involves manipulating an evolving grid-based landscape with a fantasy setting. But Brodie's game is more like an old-fashioned, 8-bit role-playing adventure game. Triple Town also isn't a social game at all, since the only element is a weekly leaderboard, though Spry Fox has plans to expand the game in the future, hinting that it's only a small aspect of a larger Triple Town universe.
Showing posts with label facebook games. Show all posts
Showing posts with label facebook games. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Sunday, January 8, 2012
Take a trip on the Wild West Express on Facebook
A recent theme found in many Facebook games is that of trains. From games like Train City and Lucky Train, which are focused solely on trains, to titles like CityVille, which relies on a train system to exchange goods between users, it's clear that developers are happy to release games themed around the railroad. So too was Vivo, Inc. who decided to go back to the wild west with their train-themed Facebook game, appropriately titled Wild West Express.
Led through the game by Railroad Bill, you'll be able to turn a once desolate stretch of railroad, in the middle of the hot desert into a sprawling, bustling western town. The goal of the game is to add "facilities" or businesses to your growing town that will produce goods. Goods are then sent along the railroad to other towns, with every shipment you send out making you more more, and giving you experience points used to level you up.
To see just what makes Wild West Express tick, hop on board and meet us behind the break.
While the concept of simply producing goods and shipping them off down the line sounds simple enough, Wild West Express actually has a fairly complex transportation system. You'll be able to own multiple trains, and you can send trains full of supplies to different towns. Of course, different towns will be different distances away from your own town, so the farther away a town is, the longer your train will take to travel and return.
You'l also need to buy specific kinds of cars for your trains to hold the various goods you produce. For instance, your starting Farmhouse will produce Grain, and you'll need to purchase a Grain Hopper for your train in order to transport the grain safely to a neighboring town.
Other businesses include Horse Stables, Ranches, Bakeries, Butcher Shops, Post Offices, and the like - things that you'd expect to see in any town of the old west. Depending on the item, you'll produce different goods. The Horse Stable produces Horses, obviously, while the Butcher Shop and Bakery produce general food items, as examples. You'll unlock more and more kinds of businesses as you level up in the game.
Wild West Express contains an energy system of sorts, that is instead called your "Water Supply." Being in the middle of the dry desert, you'll need water to grow your crops, power your trains and so on. You'll only have a certain amount of water to spend in every play session, with water regenerating slowly over time. You can also purchase water outright for premium currency.
All told, there are 13 different items your town can produce, and 13 different items that you can receive (you can send trains to and from your friends' towns, as well as the CPU controlled towns). As you send different items, and collect your profits successfully, your stock ticker will increase, showing your overall successfulness in the game. This stock ticker serves as a way for the game to compare you to all of the different players on Facebook via an in-game leaderboard.
There is also a light quest system in Wild West Express, that serves to help you become more acquainted with the gameplay by having you purchase specific businesses, collect their goods multiple times, and so on. You'll receive experience point rewards for completing them, so they aren't a waste of time, especially since they are likely tasks you would be completing on your own anyway.
Unfortunately, Wild West Express looks to be one of those titles that forces you to level up a bit too far before unlocking other game features, as you'll need to be at least level 9 to be able to hire a sheriff for your town, giving you the ability to add security to your trains. You can, however, purchase any locked item early for premium currency, which is an expected addition here.
If you've yet to try a train-themed Facebook game, why not hop on board with the other 11,000 players that have already tried this new game?
Led through the game by Railroad Bill, you'll be able to turn a once desolate stretch of railroad, in the middle of the hot desert into a sprawling, bustling western town. The goal of the game is to add "facilities" or businesses to your growing town that will produce goods. Goods are then sent along the railroad to other towns, with every shipment you send out making you more more, and giving you experience points used to level you up.
To see just what makes Wild West Express tick, hop on board and meet us behind the break.
While the concept of simply producing goods and shipping them off down the line sounds simple enough, Wild West Express actually has a fairly complex transportation system. You'll be able to own multiple trains, and you can send trains full of supplies to different towns. Of course, different towns will be different distances away from your own town, so the farther away a town is, the longer your train will take to travel and return.
You'l also need to buy specific kinds of cars for your trains to hold the various goods you produce. For instance, your starting Farmhouse will produce Grain, and you'll need to purchase a Grain Hopper for your train in order to transport the grain safely to a neighboring town.
Other businesses include Horse Stables, Ranches, Bakeries, Butcher Shops, Post Offices, and the like - things that you'd expect to see in any town of the old west. Depending on the item, you'll produce different goods. The Horse Stable produces Horses, obviously, while the Butcher Shop and Bakery produce general food items, as examples. You'll unlock more and more kinds of businesses as you level up in the game.
Wild West Express contains an energy system of sorts, that is instead called your "Water Supply." Being in the middle of the dry desert, you'll need water to grow your crops, power your trains and so on. You'll only have a certain amount of water to spend in every play session, with water regenerating slowly over time. You can also purchase water outright for premium currency.
All told, there are 13 different items your town can produce, and 13 different items that you can receive (you can send trains to and from your friends' towns, as well as the CPU controlled towns). As you send different items, and collect your profits successfully, your stock ticker will increase, showing your overall successfulness in the game. This stock ticker serves as a way for the game to compare you to all of the different players on Facebook via an in-game leaderboard.
There is also a light quest system in Wild West Express, that serves to help you become more acquainted with the gameplay by having you purchase specific businesses, collect their goods multiple times, and so on. You'll receive experience point rewards for completing them, so they aren't a waste of time, especially since they are likely tasks you would be completing on your own anyway.
Unfortunately, Wild West Express looks to be one of those titles that forces you to level up a bit too far before unlocking other game features, as you'll need to be at least level 9 to be able to hire a sheriff for your town, giving you the ability to add security to your trains. You can, however, purchase any locked item early for premium currency, which is an expected addition here.
If you've yet to try a train-themed Facebook game, why not hop on board with the other 11,000 players that have already tried this new game?
Friday, January 6, 2012
LOLapps' Ravenwood Fair nears 11M monthly players, but how?
LOLapps is not afraid to display its methods of success. In fact, it flaunts them in adorable infographics involving flagship game, Ravenwood Fair. This time around, the company is done educating the masses and shows that since Jan. 2011, the forests of Ravenwood have exploded with over 10 million monthly players and over 1 million daily players. However, the LOLapps may have unintentionally revealed how it achieved this milestone.
Then again, it could have been 100 percent intentional. Toward the end of the infographic, the company shows that the game has launched on three other platforms than Facebook: StudiVZ, Orkut and Imvu. Not to mention that Ravenwood Fair will soon launch on Mixi. (You mean other social networks exist?) Developers have a hard time getting close to even Zynga's worst-performing games. So, how does a game that suffered controversy and even a shut down short after its launch just explode in an instant? Alright, maybe not an instant, but it sure feels that way in social games at times.
All kidding aside, players from these networks could have easily migrated from their native social networks to Facebook, where the game was originally developed and released. Perhaps payments are complicated on these networks, as opposed to the simplified Facebook Credits method. Perhaps the game simply runs more smoothly on Facebook. Most importantly, perhaps there are more players already on Facebook. Granted, this is all conjecture, but let's be honest here: How many Ravenwood Fair players could there be on Orkut when compared to Facebook?
Social games require friends to succeed. It's plain and simple, and social gamers are privy to that. Is it possible that LOLapps intentionally released the game on other platforms to increase its player base inversely on Facebook? Perhaps this is too tin-foil-hat for some, and it could just as easily have been a pleasant mistake. But will this same thing happen again to the Mixi players? LOLapps said it themselves: A large reason why Ravenwood Fair and social gaming work is because of the nature of friend networks. Why do you think FarmVille isn't popular on its own website? Because that's not where the friends are, silly. You'll see if we're right in a few months.
Do you think this could be the reason for Ravenwood's rapid growth, intentional or otherwise? How long do Aside from being a well- designed game, how else do you think LOLapps achieved this success? Sound off in the comments. 5 Comments
Full infographic
Then again, it could have been 100 percent intentional. Toward the end of the infographic, the company shows that the game has launched on three other platforms than Facebook: StudiVZ, Orkut and Imvu. Not to mention that Ravenwood Fair will soon launch on Mixi. (You mean other social networks exist?) Developers have a hard time getting close to even Zynga's worst-performing games. So, how does a game that suffered controversy and even a shut down short after its launch just explode in an instant? Alright, maybe not an instant, but it sure feels that way in social games at times.
All kidding aside, players from these networks could have easily migrated from their native social networks to Facebook, where the game was originally developed and released. Perhaps payments are complicated on these networks, as opposed to the simplified Facebook Credits method. Perhaps the game simply runs more smoothly on Facebook. Most importantly, perhaps there are more players already on Facebook. Granted, this is all conjecture, but let's be honest here: How many Ravenwood Fair players could there be on Orkut when compared to Facebook?
Social games require friends to succeed. It's plain and simple, and social gamers are privy to that. Is it possible that LOLapps intentionally released the game on other platforms to increase its player base inversely on Facebook? Perhaps this is too tin-foil-hat for some, and it could just as easily have been a pleasant mistake. But will this same thing happen again to the Mixi players? LOLapps said it themselves: A large reason why Ravenwood Fair and social gaming work is because of the nature of friend networks. Why do you think FarmVille isn't popular on its own website? Because that's not where the friends are, silly. You'll see if we're right in a few months.
Do you think this could be the reason for Ravenwood's rapid growth, intentional or otherwise? How long do Aside from being a well- designed game, how else do you think LOLapps achieved this success? Sound off in the comments. 5 Comments
Full infographic
Runes of Magic is Facebook-bound, decrypts the future of MMOs
Frogster's premiere free-to-play MMO, Runes of Magic, is headed to Facebook in the second quarter of 2011. Runes of Magic will be the first major massively mutliplayer game to be released on the platform through Kalydo, but will unlikely be the last. Kalydo provides existing MMO games with a browser plug-in for the them to be played through networks like Hi5, Friendster and namely Facebook. According to the company (and us), its first effort with Godswar Online was a success, so it will be interesting to see how a major player in the genre fares with the transition.
Andreas Weidenhaupt, Chief Licensing Officer of Frogster Interactive, expects to see an increase in user numbers due to the simplified process of playing MMOs through Kalydo technology. However, Kalydo CEO Doki Tops has even higher expectations for his company's work:
This is the future of gaming. Players enter the game with a single click of the mouse instead of spending hours on a download and installation and get the exact same experience. We praise Frogster for recognizing this potential and taking a leading role with us in pioneering this massive new style of gaming.
The future of gaming? Possibly in the free-to-play MMO space, but certain game genres just wouldn't fit on Facebook. However, the guy has a point. How much longer are we as players going to pay monthly for persistent online gaming? The amount of free-to-play MMOs that take this route in 2011 could be staggering. Just watch out for those Facebook Credits.
Andreas Weidenhaupt, Chief Licensing Officer of Frogster Interactive, expects to see an increase in user numbers due to the simplified process of playing MMOs through Kalydo technology. However, Kalydo CEO Doki Tops has even higher expectations for his company's work:
This is the future of gaming. Players enter the game with a single click of the mouse instead of spending hours on a download and installation and get the exact same experience. We praise Frogster for recognizing this potential and taking a leading role with us in pioneering this massive new style of gaming.
The future of gaming? Possibly in the free-to-play MMO space, but certain game genres just wouldn't fit on Facebook. However, the guy has a point. How much longer are we as players going to pay monthly for persistent online gaming? The amount of free-to-play MMOs that take this route in 2011 could be staggering. Just watch out for those Facebook Credits.
Friday, December 30, 2011
PopCap launches 4th & Battery games label for Facebook, iPhone, & PC games
While PopCap may be known as the developer behind some of the most polished (and popular) PC, mobile, and Facebook games released to date (just take a look at Bejeweled Blitz for one example, which is in the finals of our March Madness Facebook game showdown), all of that time spent fine-tuning just a few games leaves the company's employees with a need to blow off some creative steam.
In come Ed Allard, Executive Vice President of Studios at PopCap to announce 4th & Battery, the company's new small games label that will be creating games for all manner of platforms, including PC, iPhone, and even Facebook games. The label's first announced game is Unpleasant Horse, and while it might be a mobile game, it does give us an idea of just how much "weirdness" (that's a quote) we can expect from this new division. Unpleasant Horse follows, you guessed it, a very unpleasant horse that has wings and destroys small birds or lands on other horses, sending them into the ground into a meat grinder. Doing this will reward you with extra points and "special bonuses." Obviously, the game will be meant for mature audiences, but it will be released for free later this month on the Apple App Store for all who are interested.
Jason Kapalka, CCO at PopCap, gives more of an explanation as to what to expect from 4th & Battery, via a company press release.
"4th & Battery is a purely experimental, creative label with none of the typical concerns like schedules, profitability, or even target audience. It's kind of the video game equivalent of B-sides or short films. Expect weirdness."
While no announcements have been made as to when an "experimental" new game will be coming to Facebook, we'll make sure to stay on top of things and let you know when that changes.
What do you think of the concept of the 4th & Battery games label? Are you looking forward to seeing what outlandish, creative titles these normally reserved developers can come up with?
In come Ed Allard, Executive Vice President of Studios at PopCap to announce 4th & Battery, the company's new small games label that will be creating games for all manner of platforms, including PC, iPhone, and even Facebook games. The label's first announced game is Unpleasant Horse, and while it might be a mobile game, it does give us an idea of just how much "weirdness" (that's a quote) we can expect from this new division. Unpleasant Horse follows, you guessed it, a very unpleasant horse that has wings and destroys small birds or lands on other horses, sending them into the ground into a meat grinder. Doing this will reward you with extra points and "special bonuses." Obviously, the game will be meant for mature audiences, but it will be released for free later this month on the Apple App Store for all who are interested.
Jason Kapalka, CCO at PopCap, gives more of an explanation as to what to expect from 4th & Battery, via a company press release.
"4th & Battery is a purely experimental, creative label with none of the typical concerns like schedules, profitability, or even target audience. It's kind of the video game equivalent of B-sides or short films. Expect weirdness."
While no announcements have been made as to when an "experimental" new game will be coming to Facebook, we'll make sure to stay on top of things and let you know when that changes.
What do you think of the concept of the 4th & Battery games label? Are you looking forward to seeing what outlandish, creative titles these normally reserved developers can come up with?
Monday, October 10, 2011
f8 Developers Conference: Facebook game shares move to the Ticker
You know those annoying pop-ups Facebook displays whenever you try to share something in FarmVille or what have you? Soon, those might be a thing of the past, according to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. The Facebook boss announced the change in brief during the f8 Facebook Developers Conference, referring to a particularly hilarious Internet meme.
This change applies to Facebook apps across the board, but, of course, we're concerned with the games. According to Zuckerberg, sharing activity will be directly and automatically published to the News Feed or the Games Ticker, depending on what exactly it is you're sharing. And with that comes the privacy concerns.
Judging from Zuckerberg's brief mention of the change, this would cause apps to inform users upon installation exactly what activity they will automatically share. This information is extremely early, but we imagine that, if developers like Zynga were to implement this change, that players would have the be informed of those changes.
Later in the presentation, Zuckerberg mentioned that games will take even more advantage of the Games Ticker, which launched earlier this summer. The Facebook chief showed an instance in which a friend played the word "TEXT" against another in Words With Friends, which was displayed on the Games Ticker. He then proceeded to mouse over that Ticker notification, and it displayed a snapshot of the game board.
Words with Friends Share
Of course, you could then jump into the game and start a match with either player. In short, the day of the game-stopping share notification will soon be over. In its place, much of the viral sharing in Facebook games seems as if it will take place in the Games Ticker. It appears that these changes have already taken place in Words With Friends.
When these specific changes will take place has yet to be announced, though we imagine much of them will be up to the developers. And if FarmVille players' reactions to when Zynga made similar changes to its flagship game is any indication, we're opinons will be ... mixed. We'll keep you posted.
What do you think of Facebook doing away with the game share notifications, automating them and moving them into the Games Ticker? Share with us in the comments. 1 Comment
This change applies to Facebook apps across the board, but, of course, we're concerned with the games. According to Zuckerberg, sharing activity will be directly and automatically published to the News Feed or the Games Ticker, depending on what exactly it is you're sharing. And with that comes the privacy concerns.
Judging from Zuckerberg's brief mention of the change, this would cause apps to inform users upon installation exactly what activity they will automatically share. This information is extremely early, but we imagine that, if developers like Zynga were to implement this change, that players would have the be informed of those changes.
Later in the presentation, Zuckerberg mentioned that games will take even more advantage of the Games Ticker, which launched earlier this summer. The Facebook chief showed an instance in which a friend played the word "TEXT" against another in Words With Friends, which was displayed on the Games Ticker. He then proceeded to mouse over that Ticker notification, and it displayed a snapshot of the game board.
Words with Friends Share
Of course, you could then jump into the game and start a match with either player. In short, the day of the game-stopping share notification will soon be over. In its place, much of the viral sharing in Facebook games seems as if it will take place in the Games Ticker. It appears that these changes have already taken place in Words With Friends.
When these specific changes will take place has yet to be announced, though we imagine much of them will be up to the developers. And if FarmVille players' reactions to when Zynga made similar changes to its flagship game is any indication, we're opinons will be ... mixed. We'll keep you posted.
What do you think of Facebook doing away with the game share notifications, automating them and moving them into the Games Ticker? Share with us in the comments. 1 Comment
Friday, September 30, 2011
Bubble Saga maker King.com hires Microsoft exec as marketing head
Can none resist the dollar signs allure of Facebook games? King.com, maker of Facebook game ports like Bubble Saga, announced that it has hired ex-Microsoft exec Alex Dale as its chief marketing officer. Dale joins King.com after overseeing Microsoft's marketing efforts on products including Bing, Internet Explorer and Windows Phone.
"We have made several strategic hires recently in an effort continue this growth and even take it one step further, becoming a clear leader in the space," King.com co-fonder and CEO Riccardo Zacconi said in a release. "We are confident that Alex will be instrumental in helping us further grow our global user- and partnership-base and are thrilled to have him on board."
Dale joins a list of executives that have found themselves in the social games space. Sean Ryan, director of Facebook games partnerships, was at one time the CEO of now-defunct social network LiveJournal. Zynga head of mobile games David Ko comes from Yahoo, and most recently Flickr founder Stewart Butterfield moved on to make his own social game, Glitch.
King.com, which most recently launched Bubble Witch Saga on Facebook, now joins the ranks of companies like Zynga in its willingness to source talent from other industries. And King.com says in the announcement that Dale will be at helm of the companies global expansion. It seems that the company is looking abroad to reach the top five game makers on AppData--it sits pretty at number seven with just over 17 million monthly players.
Do you think King.com, making hires like this, can become an even bigger competitor in Facebook games? What do you think of games like Bubble Witch Saga? Sound off in the comments. 1 Comment
"We have made several strategic hires recently in an effort continue this growth and even take it one step further, becoming a clear leader in the space," King.com co-fonder and CEO Riccardo Zacconi said in a release. "We are confident that Alex will be instrumental in helping us further grow our global user- and partnership-base and are thrilled to have him on board."
Dale joins a list of executives that have found themselves in the social games space. Sean Ryan, director of Facebook games partnerships, was at one time the CEO of now-defunct social network LiveJournal. Zynga head of mobile games David Ko comes from Yahoo, and most recently Flickr founder Stewart Butterfield moved on to make his own social game, Glitch.
King.com, which most recently launched Bubble Witch Saga on Facebook, now joins the ranks of companies like Zynga in its willingness to source talent from other industries. And King.com says in the announcement that Dale will be at helm of the companies global expansion. It seems that the company is looking abroad to reach the top five game makers on AppData--it sits pretty at number seven with just over 17 million monthly players.
Do you think King.com, making hires like this, can become an even bigger competitor in Facebook games? What do you think of games like Bubble Witch Saga? Sound off in the comments. 1 Comment
Monday, September 26, 2011
Facebook game lets you solve anagrams to save Canada's forests
True to its name, in order to play Donate2Play Media's first new game, Wordraiser, you're going to have to pony up some change. Wordraiser is an anagram game that has players make as many words as possible out of one word.
If you manage to guess the key word, you get to level up. After leveling up a few times, you'll be asked to buy "Karma Points" that enable you to play more games.
Donation packages range from $1 to $20 USD, where $1 USD equals 10 Karma Points, which is good for buying one game. But right now, it seems that there's nothing stopping you from playing as much as you want. We're not sure if this is a bug, as the game just launched during the previous weekend.
While Wordraiser is supposedly free-to-play, it's also the offspring of Donate2Play's partnership with The Ancient Forest Alliance (AFA), a Canadian grassroots organization devoted to finding the balance between forestry jobs and preserving British Columbia's ancient woodlands (defined as tree populations that are over 120 years old). So half of the money given to Wordraiser will be split between AFA and Donate2Play.
Gallery: Wordraiser
Lastly, there's a top ten high scores leaderboard that displays players' names followed by their levels, and two of AFA's founders, TJ Watts and Ken Wu, are currently on the board in ninth and third place, respectively. According to its Facebook page, Wordraiser currently has 202 monthly users.
Keep in mind, though, that Donate2Play is doing all the heavy lifting here, with no risk or prior investment from AFA. Outreach for the game is done via automatic Facebook wall posts. Players will also receive facts about British Columbian forests during load screens and photos of these forests by TJ Watt.
[Hat-tip: Times Colonist]
Click here to play Wordraiser on Facebook now >
Would you rather donate to a charity directly than through a Facebook game? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
If you manage to guess the key word, you get to level up. After leveling up a few times, you'll be asked to buy "Karma Points" that enable you to play more games.
Donation packages range from $1 to $20 USD, where $1 USD equals 10 Karma Points, which is good for buying one game. But right now, it seems that there's nothing stopping you from playing as much as you want. We're not sure if this is a bug, as the game just launched during the previous weekend.
While Wordraiser is supposedly free-to-play, it's also the offspring of Donate2Play's partnership with The Ancient Forest Alliance (AFA), a Canadian grassroots organization devoted to finding the balance between forestry jobs and preserving British Columbia's ancient woodlands (defined as tree populations that are over 120 years old). So half of the money given to Wordraiser will be split between AFA and Donate2Play.
Gallery: Wordraiser
Lastly, there's a top ten high scores leaderboard that displays players' names followed by their levels, and two of AFA's founders, TJ Watts and Ken Wu, are currently on the board in ninth and third place, respectively. According to its Facebook page, Wordraiser currently has 202 monthly users.
Keep in mind, though, that Donate2Play is doing all the heavy lifting here, with no risk or prior investment from AFA. Outreach for the game is done via automatic Facebook wall posts. Players will also receive facts about British Columbian forests during load screens and photos of these forests by TJ Watt.
[Hat-tip: Times Colonist]
Click here to play Wordraiser on Facebook now >
Would you rather donate to a charity directly than through a Facebook game? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment
Adventure World: Redeem a Zynga Game Card for 15 free energy packs
If you've become a fan of Zynga's newest Facebook game Adventure World (now Adventure World - An Indiana Jones Game), and are ready to lay down some real-world money in the game, you now have some extra incentive to do so. For every Game Card redeemed in the game, you'll receive 15 Energy Packs.
Unfortunately, we're not sure exactly what that means. We'd love for it to mean 15 full energy refills, but if you look inside the game, a 30 Energy pot of coffee costs a whopping 30 Adventure Cash. Now, I don't know about you, but that doesn't seem like something Zynga would just give away for free, especially in bulk. This leaves us with another option, the single cup of coffee, which gives you just five energy points. This would be a decent boost, since we're talking about a "free" prize after all, but even then, it still likely won't take you long to burn through all of those bonus energy points.
What's worse, there's yet another option for energy refills: a Bolt that gives you just one energy point. Surely this isn't the "Energy Packs" Zynga is talking about, but it's something to keep in mind all the same. We're working on discovering just which kind of "Energy Pack" you'll receive when redeeming a Zynga Game Card, but for now, why not take a look at our tools upgrade guide, so you'll be able to upgrade your tools to do more work for less energy to make all of your points go that much further.
Will you redeem a Zynga Game Card to earn 15 free Energy Packs? If you have, which specific kind of pack did you receive? Sound off in the comments.
Unfortunately, we're not sure exactly what that means. We'd love for it to mean 15 full energy refills, but if you look inside the game, a 30 Energy pot of coffee costs a whopping 30 Adventure Cash. Now, I don't know about you, but that doesn't seem like something Zynga would just give away for free, especially in bulk. This leaves us with another option, the single cup of coffee, which gives you just five energy points. This would be a decent boost, since we're talking about a "free" prize after all, but even then, it still likely won't take you long to burn through all of those bonus energy points.
What's worse, there's yet another option for energy refills: a Bolt that gives you just one energy point. Surely this isn't the "Energy Packs" Zynga is talking about, but it's something to keep in mind all the same. We're working on discovering just which kind of "Energy Pack" you'll receive when redeeming a Zynga Game Card, but for now, why not take a look at our tools upgrade guide, so you'll be able to upgrade your tools to do more work for less energy to make all of your points go that much further.
Will you redeem a Zynga Game Card to earn 15 free Energy Packs? If you have, which specific kind of pack did you receive? Sound off in the comments.
3 Blokes launches strategic assault on Facebook with Galactic Allies
Galactic Allies on Facebook
We can almost hear the 3 Blokes team in Australia screaming "Fire everything!" as they hit the proverbial "Launch" button on its first Facebook game under publisher RockYou, Galactic Allies. (It would be most appropriate, no?) Real-time strategy fans can jump in on the thrill of space-faring, asynchronous player vs player combat, complete with 3D visuals.
Essentially, Galactic Allies is RockYou and 3 Blokes's answer to the growing trend of hardcore strategy games on Facebook. However, the duo make a point of mentioning that this is a more casual approach to the burgeoning sub genre, and that the game features a heavy focus on an episodic storyline. And in keeping with current trends sparked by developers like Kixeye in War Commander, players can control units individually.
Gallery: Galactic Allies on Facebook
This means you'll likely be able to maneuver your starships around enemy fire, adding another layer of strategy to combat in the game. "Galactic Allies alters expectations for what a Facebook game can be," said 3 Blokes VP and GM George Fidler in a release. "It's a deep and compelling strategy game, but with the accessibility of a browser game." (It also looks like it takes the general idea behind Galactic Trader, one of 3 Blokes's first games, and blows it wide open using some familiar art assets.)
Hopefully this accessible approach will apply to the litany of upgrades players will accumulate across various missions and episodes. Judging from these early screen shots, it looks like Galactic Allies will focus heavily on dialog, but more importantly: Battles will take place both on the surface of alien planets and far above them in the infinite void. In other words, there will be plenty of things high and low to make go boom in Galactic Allies.
Click here to learn more about Galactic Allies on Facebook >
Are you a fan of strategy games on Facebook? How do you think Galactic Allies might size up against its competition? Sound off in the comments. 1 Comment
We can almost hear the 3 Blokes team in Australia screaming "Fire everything!" as they hit the proverbial "Launch" button on its first Facebook game under publisher RockYou, Galactic Allies. (It would be most appropriate, no?) Real-time strategy fans can jump in on the thrill of space-faring, asynchronous player vs player combat, complete with 3D visuals.
Essentially, Galactic Allies is RockYou and 3 Blokes's answer to the growing trend of hardcore strategy games on Facebook. However, the duo make a point of mentioning that this is a more casual approach to the burgeoning sub genre, and that the game features a heavy focus on an episodic storyline. And in keeping with current trends sparked by developers like Kixeye in War Commander, players can control units individually.
Gallery: Galactic Allies on Facebook
This means you'll likely be able to maneuver your starships around enemy fire, adding another layer of strategy to combat in the game. "Galactic Allies alters expectations for what a Facebook game can be," said 3 Blokes VP and GM George Fidler in a release. "It's a deep and compelling strategy game, but with the accessibility of a browser game." (It also looks like it takes the general idea behind Galactic Trader, one of 3 Blokes's first games, and blows it wide open using some familiar art assets.)
Hopefully this accessible approach will apply to the litany of upgrades players will accumulate across various missions and episodes. Judging from these early screen shots, it looks like Galactic Allies will focus heavily on dialog, but more importantly: Battles will take place both on the surface of alien planets and far above them in the infinite void. In other words, there will be plenty of things high and low to make go boom in Galactic Allies.
Click here to learn more about Galactic Allies on Facebook >
Are you a fan of strategy games on Facebook? How do you think Galactic Allies might size up against its competition? Sound off in the comments. 1 Comment
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Baseball Superstars: The League goes for a grand slam on Facebook
Just in time for the playoff season in the states (Philadelphia NL East Champs! ... sorry), Gamevil has released its very own baseball simulator on Facebook, Baseball Superstars: The League. The Korean and Los Angeles-based developer best known for the Zenonia series of RPGs (role-playing games) on the iPhone released this social version of its hit baseball sims on iOS.
Of course, EA Sports and Playfish have already staked their claim to the sub genre on Facebook with World Series Superstars, but already Gamevil has one thing going for it: global multiplayer. That's right, once you choose your team's name, logo and specialty between Power, Accuracy and Speed, you can jump into games immediately with anyone playing the game.
While you will certainly need Facebook friends to play in Exhibition games, those looking for a fast and easy Quick Play game, the world's digital baseball managers await you. There's also a Home Run Derby mode as well as full-blown tournaments, which are coming soon. And the gameplay is surprisingly interactive, having players actually swing at pitches with clicks.
Baseball Superstars Logo
Baseball Superstars features a full-blown pitching system as well, in which players select from a variety of pitches and choose exactly where they land in or around the strike zone. There are also a number of commands you can give to base runners to attempt to steal bases. All in all, this looks like an impressively full-featured baseball game on Facebook at launch.
While much of the game has players tweaking their stadiums like most sports games on Facebook, it's the actually Quick Plays and Exhibition games that are the meat and potatoes of Baseball Superstars, and what could make this game a competitor to existing social sports games. "It builds upon our years of strategic advances in the global games market, and shows that we can adapt and offer a unique yet competitive social games experience," VP and head of Gamevil USA Kyu Lee said in a release.
Baseball Superstars gameplay
Baseball Superstars is just Gamevil's second release on Facebook after Train City, which didn't do so hot, according to AppData. Considering the hype train that is US baseball in September and October, baseball fans (the closet Facebook game-loving ones, at least) are going to be on the hunt for a new experience on Facebook.
And it looks like Gamevil will be there to meet them with a Facebook game that actually focuses on, you know, the baseball? Hey, the second time can still be a charm, too, right?
Click here to play Baseball Superstars: The League on Facebook Now >
Have you tried this new baseball Facebook game yet? What do you think of Gamevil's second entry into the Facebook game space, and what about their existing iOS games? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment.
Of course, EA Sports and Playfish have already staked their claim to the sub genre on Facebook with World Series Superstars, but already Gamevil has one thing going for it: global multiplayer. That's right, once you choose your team's name, logo and specialty between Power, Accuracy and Speed, you can jump into games immediately with anyone playing the game.
While you will certainly need Facebook friends to play in Exhibition games, those looking for a fast and easy Quick Play game, the world's digital baseball managers await you. There's also a Home Run Derby mode as well as full-blown tournaments, which are coming soon. And the gameplay is surprisingly interactive, having players actually swing at pitches with clicks.
Baseball Superstars Logo
Baseball Superstars features a full-blown pitching system as well, in which players select from a variety of pitches and choose exactly where they land in or around the strike zone. There are also a number of commands you can give to base runners to attempt to steal bases. All in all, this looks like an impressively full-featured baseball game on Facebook at launch.
While much of the game has players tweaking their stadiums like most sports games on Facebook, it's the actually Quick Plays and Exhibition games that are the meat and potatoes of Baseball Superstars, and what could make this game a competitor to existing social sports games. "It builds upon our years of strategic advances in the global games market, and shows that we can adapt and offer a unique yet competitive social games experience," VP and head of Gamevil USA Kyu Lee said in a release.
Baseball Superstars gameplay
Baseball Superstars is just Gamevil's second release on Facebook after Train City, which didn't do so hot, according to AppData. Considering the hype train that is US baseball in September and October, baseball fans (the closet Facebook game-loving ones, at least) are going to be on the hunt for a new experience on Facebook.
And it looks like Gamevil will be there to meet them with a Facebook game that actually focuses on, you know, the baseball? Hey, the second time can still be a charm, too, right?
Click here to play Baseball Superstars: The League on Facebook Now >
Have you tried this new baseball Facebook game yet? What do you think of Gamevil's second entry into the Facebook game space, and what about their existing iOS games? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment.
NHL Superstars coming to Facebook in October
Adding to its popular brand of "Superstars" titles on Facebook, Electronic Arts has announced the production of NHL Superstars for Facebook. This new game, as reported by ShackNews, comes on the heels of EA's NHL 12 on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 breaking franchise records for the biggest launch week in the franchise's history.
As for the franchise's jump onto the Facebook ice, we're told this: "NHL Superstars will bring an all-new NHL experience to millions of hockey fans by enabling players to build and manage their ultimate team of professional hockey players. With dynamic and accessible gameplay, fans can compete head-to-head in games against their Facebook friends from around the world."
While specific details are still lacking as to what we can exactly expect from NHL Superstars, we can't imagine EA / Playfish breaking the mold. We'll likely be able to collect cards that contain professional hockey players, and then trade those cards out to create the best team possible. Each player will likely have stats, and we'll be able to use those players in virtual hockey games against others for supremacy.
We don't have a specific release date for NHL Superstars, although the game is set to take to the ice sometime in October. We'll make sure to give you a complete look at the game when we know more.
Are you excited to see NHL Superstars come to Facebook? Which players will you look for to create your perfect team? Sound off in the comments.
As for the franchise's jump onto the Facebook ice, we're told this: "NHL Superstars will bring an all-new NHL experience to millions of hockey fans by enabling players to build and manage their ultimate team of professional hockey players. With dynamic and accessible gameplay, fans can compete head-to-head in games against their Facebook friends from around the world."
While specific details are still lacking as to what we can exactly expect from NHL Superstars, we can't imagine EA / Playfish breaking the mold. We'll likely be able to collect cards that contain professional hockey players, and then trade those cards out to create the best team possible. Each player will likely have stats, and we'll be able to use those players in virtual hockey games against others for supremacy.
We don't have a specific release date for NHL Superstars, although the game is set to take to the ice sometime in October. We'll make sure to give you a complete look at the game when we know more.
Are you excited to see NHL Superstars come to Facebook? Which players will you look for to create your perfect team? Sound off in the comments.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)