Despite the huge array of SimCity-like games on Facebook, including Playdom’s Social City, Metrogames released its newest game, entitled Towner. The game currently has over 1.7 million monthly active users and this number is expected to increase over the coming days.
Just like the rest of its contemporaries, the player is granted a piece of land where he or she can build a town. In general, the game starts at purchasing a building, placing on the player’s desired location, clicking on its flooring so that the construction may begin, and clicking on the finished structure to inaugurate it. Money for construction can be earned from dues paid by tenants renting the buildings.
However unlike many city building games, Towner requires a lot of interaction with the player. If a building is ready to be inaugurated and the player fails to click on the building within a certain amount of time, the building will be condemned (like farm crops that rot if not harvested in time). In addition, rent paid from tenants will be lost if these are not claimed.
There are also two other important things to maintain in the town: quality and happiness. Quality is maintained whenever buildings are repaired, and these are repaired at regular intervals. If repair is missed, quality will go down and the next repair will be more expensive. To keep happiness among residents, in contrast, the player must have enough fire stations and buildings for jobs, entertainment, security, health, and education.
The game has one unusual feature. This is the player’s inability to lay down roads. Nevertheless, it is easy to be creative in this game since there are weird structures that the player can build including a UFO monument and the Sphinx. (Click HERE to play.)
A leader in multimedia platform, Digital Chocolate is known on Facebook as the developer of MMA Pro Fighter and Nanotowns. Recently, it released its fourth game on the social networking site, called Safari Kingdom. Diverting from the site’s gaming trends of gangsters, farms, and city-building simulations, its newest game’s theme is about wild animals within a safari setting.
A piece of land is given to the player to decorate and raise various kinds of African animals in. Similar to other zoo games on the social networking site, the player will be purchasing the animals (in eggs — even the mammals!), feed them, keep them happy, and then release them to the wild. When the animals are hungry, their growth is temporarily stopped until they are fed.
Some of the animals in the game are meerkats, red foxes, flamingoes, lions, and giraffes. These animals go through 3 growth stages: baby, teen, and adult. The player can get some coins and experience whenever an animal is released.
In addition to taking care of the animals, there are simple quests for the player to complete. These include buying decorations, picking up leaves, and caring for friends’ animals.
Although the game is new, it already has almost 19 thousand monthly active users! It also has a 4.5 rating (highest is 5.0) from 111 user reviews. Part of the reasons why it has such nice feedback is it does not keep opening a pop-up window asking players to add friends. Instead, avatars with Facebook friends’ names will appear just beyond the player’s piece of land. If the player clicks on the question mark on top of the avatar, he or she will be able to invite that Facebook friend to the game. Another reason is its beautiful graphics. The meerkat really looks nice to cuddle! (Click HERE to play.)
“Have a break. Have a Kitkat.” Who does not know this popular tagline by one of Nestle’s wide array of chocolate bars? Almost everyone knows it by heart. But have you ever pondered on what a Kitkat bar is made of and where Nestle got the ingredients?
Nestle is in hot water because of using palm oil in its Kitkat bars. There is nothing wrong with using palm oil per se. However, the problem lies in where Nestle is getting its palm oil. Because the company uses a lot of palm oil for its many products, the supplier, Sinar Mas, cleared out parts of protected Indonesian rainforest against Indonesian laws.
Rainforest are important to the survival not only of animals living there (like the endangered orangutans which have been displaced because of Sinar Mas’ actions) but also ours. Rainforests convert majority of the carbon dioxide in the world to oxygen which we can breathe.
Greenpeace International, a well known environmental activist group, brought this exact issue to Nestle’s attention through the company’s Facebook fan page. Now the page is packed with comments filled with hate and disgust. Some vowed to boycott Nestle products this Easter. Nestle had initially threatened to delete comments that used spoof versions of Kitkat and other Nestle logos (It actually erased some comments). This only made fans feel that the company was not listening.
In response to this, the company released a statement that they have stopped working with Sinar Mas and that it will start to use sustainable palm oil (palm oil that did not cause rainforest destruction) starting 2015, a whole 5 years from now.
As Ollie Orangutan commented on Nestle’s fan page, “A Kitkat lasts seconds. Extinction is forever.” So, will you be eating a Kitkat before Nestle starts using sustainable palm oil?
Tired of all those phony advertisements on Facebook that promise free new items such as laptops or an iPhone, only to find out that there will be huge expenses before you actually get one? Thankfully, Facebook has declared that it will be more vigilant on evaluating and approving advertisements from various companies.
Due to many complaints, the social networking site updated its advertising guidelines in January. The new rules indicated that misleading, deceitful, and phony ads are no longer allowed. (To view the complete advertising guidelines, click HERE.)
However, there were still several ads that do and did not follow the new ads policies. So Facebook declared March 11th of this year as the deadline for advertisers to remove fraudulent ads and for these companies to stop submitting similar ads in the future. Untrustworthy ads that had remained active after the deadline were removed and are continually being deleted from the site.
The social networking site had also warned hard-headed advertisers that if they continue to publish these fraudulent ads, Facebook will be forced to impose penalties that may include the loss of their beta tools as well as permanent loss of their advertising benefits.
Facebook users have placed a lot of trust on the social networking site and expect the site not to break it. Fortunately, users can count on the site to be alert for deceptive ads. After all, the website’s profits are generated partly from ads. If there are bad ads on the site, users will no longer click on any ads, making advertising on Facebook worthless, and eventually lessening Facebook’s income. It is a relationship that benefits both parties.
The Mattel’s New York-based Fisher-Price is known for producing infant toys and effects. Now, the company has come up with something totally different from their usual line of products: a Facebook application that will cater to mothers. The new app is called Moments to Share. This application helps moms share their children’s special moments with other Facebook users.
Moments to Share benefits both the mom and Fisher-Price. By allowing mothers to organize important details about their children, it allows the company to market their products online easier. This is because the company will be able to determine their target market through the data that mothers place in the site.
Based on the children’s ages and genders, Fisher-Price will be displaying on the application suggested products appropriate to the children. It is a win-win situation for both moms and the company.
The Moments to Share application is easy to use. It prompts the user to input children’s names, dates of birth, and genders. After that the user can start creating a timeline equipped with the children’s most treasured videos, pictures, memorable dates, and even stories. The mothers’ Facebook friends may also contribute to this precious collection.
With this application, grandparents (including other relatives and friends) can no longer complain that they do not see their grand kids growing up. (To start sharing, click HERE.)
Another brainchild of topnotch social games developer, Playfish (Electronic Arts), Hotel City has recently invaded the world of Facebook. This hotel simulation game lets players experience how it is to own and manage one’s very own hotel. To keep the hotel thriving, the player is in charge of adding rooms, room decorations (like wallpapers, chairs, tables, lamps, etc.), hiring friends as hotel staff, and building amenities (like a swimming pool, gym, and a restaurant).
The game starts out with a brief and simple tutorial, then the player is given the liberty decorate the hotel building as he or she wishes. Purchasing decorations and other hotel features help increase profits in the long run. Like other games, initially there are only a few decorating options. As the player increases his or her level, more furnishings are made available.
Like any real hotel, income is generated when customers use the rooms and hotel facilities. Guests pay more in larger rooms and rooms with more furniture. In addition, these rooms earn higher ratings; and the higher the rating, the more popular the hotel is.
Aside from waiting for customers to get a room, there are 2 other ways to earn coins: by poking a sleeping guest and by visiting friends’ hotels.
Hotel City is a combination of Playfish’s other game, Restaurant City, and the Chinese Play Crab’s Happy Hotel. Despite the fact that the game is new, it already has over 76 thousand monthly active users.
It is easy to get hooked to the game, especially with its designing freedom and startup budget. To play, click HERE.
There is another farming game on Facebook. However, this farm is not located in the plains but on an uninhabited island, a lot like Playdom’s Tiki Farm. The game is called Island Life (Click HERE to play). Currently, it has almost 400 thousand monthly active users.
Like other Facebook games, one must log onto the social networking site to play Island Life. The player then is brought to his or her island, with two coconut trees and plots readily available for plowing and planting.
Playing this game is a piece of cake for long-time virtual farmers because it is pretty basic, even for non-hardcore gamers. As one plants seeds, he or she gets points to level up. After some time, the player can harvest the crops and sell these to earn coins. Unlike the other farming games though, this game is quite lenient. Players do not have to play the game too often to check their crops if it has been watered or if there are any destructive bugs, etc.
Similar to its counterparts, Island life also offers a variety of plants and decorations to choose from. Only a few are available initially but more can be accessed as one increases his or her level. The player may also expand his or her island in the long run.
A positive feature that Island Life has is the live chat. This allows the players to reach out other players and even ask help building small huts real time. Another is its appealing interface that is more realistic than other farming games.
Island Life is a simple game perfect for those who want a little more freedom than what other Facebook games allow. After all, is it not like a chore when games dictate when the player has to log back on?
Looking for a game that lets you relax? This question may sound contradicting but there really is a very relaxing game. It is called Ocean World.
Developed by Stand Up Network, Ocean World currently has almost 260 thousand monthly active users. It is similar to other aquarium simulation games (such as Zynga’s FishVille, Crowdstar’s Happy Aquarium, and Tall Tree Game’s Fish World) where the player purchases fish, feeds the fish, allows it to mature, and then sells the fish. However, instead of taking the fish to the pet shop, the player releases it into the ocean in exchange for some coins.
Furthermore, this game has a twist. It teaches players how valuable our oceans are and how polluted it has become. Cleaning the ocean is one lesson that the game teaches. In fact, doing that earns the player coins or candies that can be spent to buy fish, corals, sea plants, mollusks, and decorations.
Unlike most fish games, the player will be raising his or her fish in a part of the ocean, instead of a tank. It is a beautiful scene with light streaming into the water and lots of different sea plants and corals to make that part of the ocean even more beautiful.
Playing this game is a very good way of distressing. In addition to the beautiful visuals is the calming background music that usually can only be heard in spas. This game is a must-try for those who need a few moments to refresh themselves. (Click HERE to play.)
One of the fastest growing games on Facebook is World at War. It is one of the top gainers this year with now over 1 million monthly active users! This is despite the fact that its developer, Treyarch, is quite unknown.
The game is patterned after Zynga’s Mafia Wars. The difference is that it involves modern militia instead of 1930s mobsters. In the game, a nuclear bomb explodes in New York City starts war. The player is a commanding officer in the armed forces of his or her chosen country. The player may choose to fight for the US (with a bonus on planes), the UK (with a bonus on ships), Germany (with a bonus on tanks), Russia (to increase loot rate), China (to create buildings faster), and Iran (to recover energy quicker). The goal of the game, of course, is to have the best army and emerge victorious.
To increase one’s level, honor, money, items, and units, the player can complete missions or fight other players. To do these successfully, he or she must use up energy as well as have alliance members (friends) and units (over land, sea, or air). His or her defense and attack points must also be high enough. Having a developed base allows the player to increase his or her defense and attack points plus gain more financial support.
Game enhancements (like indestructible units, cash, and energy refill) may be bought using Reward Points. In the beginning, each player has 10 of these. However, more may be bought by using PayPal, credit cards, Amazon Payments, and by completing surveys, installing games, etc. through Offerpal.
Though World at War’s game features may be a bit common for Facebook users, it still offers the excitement that can gain more users in the coming days. (Click HERE to play.)
Two weeks after acquiring its fellow social games developer, Offbeat Creations, Playdom announced its 5 million-dollar investment on the Argentina-based social gaming company, MetroGames. This move will strategically pave the way for the latter’s expansion of its games on Facebook.
MetroGames is not new to the social gaming industry. In fact it already has 30 games under its belt, including Music Challenge (with almost 1 million monthly active users), as well as Typing Maniac and Biotronic (both with over 1 million monthly active users). In addition, it also has promised to release many more games on Facebook this year.
Playdom is popular for its games such as Mobsters, Bloodlines, Social City, TikiFarm, TikiResort, and Sorority Life. In November 2009, Playdom received a confounding amount of $43 million from investors. Since then, the company has aggressively worked on increasing its social gaming footprint. Aside from Offbeat creations (known for its games Food Fling and Be a Tycoon), it has already acquired the game developers, Green Patch (popular for its Lil Green Patch) and Trippert Labs (known for its Fighter Jets).
Playdom is definitely trying to compete with Zynga and Playfish head on. With all these developments, it can be expected that the social gaming experience will be brought to a whole new level this year.
