CrowdStar's Mighty Pirates: A treasure trove of Facebook gaming

Since Playfish's Pirates Ahoy! all but sunk a few months ago with little to no activity, swashbuckling Facebook gamers have been hankering for a fix to their rampant peg legging. Well, move over Pirates Ahoy! as CrowdStar has met the demand with Mighty Pirates. A pirate game with multiple layers through two different gameplay modes and a sprawling storyline (completed through collecting treasure maps) designed to guide players along, this just might be the answer to our inkling for island hopping.

Find out if Mighty Pirates is the game for you after the break.
Island Exploration
Mighty Pirates operates on two levels: Exploration and Battle. The former is accessed by clicking on any one of the island surrounding your vessel, which will immediately transport your avatar (who will strangely appear in his skivvies) to the island. It's from here that you will have to search under every tree, bush and piece of rock to hopefully find a piece of the treasure map and some resources along the way. But beware, skeletal pirates lurk beneath the sand, and will need to be dealt with if you want to complete the entire island. Depending on the area in which you're digging, it will expend a certain amount of Island Energy, which is only used for exploration. As for the other form of Energy, you'll be spending that by firing off a cannon ball or two.

Now, this is where the real fun begins. To access Battle Mode, all you need to do is click on any of the surrounding ships while on the home screen, but be wary of the opponent's level in comparison to your own. Once in Battle, you'll be trading blows in a turn-based style fight with the enemy. As for your options, there are only three: Fire Cannon, Put out Fire and Improve Weapon Accuracy. The amount of Crew Members you've added to your ship--the amount you can have increases with level--affects the amount of actions you can take in a single turn (they'll also be around to help in Exploration). The main goal of Battle is the destroy the opponent's ship while keeping your own from burning down die to fire damage, which becomes an interesting balance given that fire damage puts a dent into your ship's health points every turn. Winning battles rewards you with experience, coins and sometimes even a treasure map piece.

Battle Mode
While turn based battles with big explosions are certainly enjoyable, what makes warfare more interesting in Mighty Pirates is that every ship you engage in naval combat is an actual player of the game. While these battles don't occur in real time, the player will be updated upon logging in of whether they won or lost a battle. And to tack on even greater risks, you can even steal treasure map pieces from enemies by defeating them (and vise versa), which is certainly an incentive to keep your ship in tip top shape.

As you progress in the game through either Battles or Exploration, you'll gain access to improved parts for your ship such as cannons, hulls and sterns. However, you'll also need resources like Iron and Wood, which can only be found while digging for treasure on various islands. That being said, it's not wise to play to only one of the game's two primary modes. Also, leveling up will allow players to increase their Battle statistics like attack power, defense and accuracy, all of which are necessary but are open to different play styles. Though, a high accuracy rating is pretty much a must-have in battle or you'll end up making more splashes than explosions.

Might Pirates Home Screen
If you end up growing tired of a particular area, you can Set Sail once every eight hours to a new set of islands to explore and ships to battle. Though, we'd recommend at least exploring an entire map first before leaving to another region. Just remember to keep track of your Journal progress so that you move along through the game's story smoothly and you should do just fine. Just watch out for those pesky enemy pirates just waiting to thwart your progress. This brief player vs. player element combined with strategic turn-based battles and exploration make for what could be the next big pirate adventure on Facebook.

Ubisoft CEO: Smurfs & Co. gained 4.2 million players with no marketing

And now, The Smurfs & Co. is sitting pretty with over 9 million monthly players since its launch just over a month ago. During an interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot revealed, "Smurfs went from zero to 4.2 million without marketing in two weeks."

While these might not be The Sims Social numbers, it speaks volumes to the power social games with strong brands behind them have on Facebook. This is especially considering Ubisoft conducted zero advertising (the main method of growth for Facebook games these days) for The Smurfs & Co. in that time period. That's the power of The Smurfs for ya, I guess.

Guillemont continued," So it's amazing how fast, when the content is adapted, those products can grow. So it really shows that people are very interested by new content in games. So we will continue to develop and make sure the quality of the game experience is adapted to what people are looking for."

In other words, the best way to for a Facebook game to grow is the keep it current, according to Guillemont. (So, that's why Zynga updates its games incessantly!) The Ubisoft boss went on to reveal to GamesIndustry.biz just why it's in on the rapidly growing free-to-play and social games movement: "In the long term there's no reason why the casual would not overcome the hardcore business because there are more people that are interested in buying casual."

So, if you ask Guillemont, casual (and free-to-play) are the way to go, which already accounted for 40 percent of the company's revenue in 2010. And Ubisoft is certainly not alone--EA has already spent over $1 billion on Facebook and mobile games, which is looking to already be paying off. Other traditional companies are slowly dipping their feet, while a legion of originally hardcore game designers have Facebook Credits twinkling in their eyes.

Does this mean no more Assassin's Creed or Ghost Recon for the hardcore crowd? Of course not, but I'm willing to bet that it does mean far more blue creatures in white hats in a not-so-little place called Facebook.

Game Developers Choice Online Awards Audience Award: Vote for your fave Facebook game

We know, you're miffed that your favorite Facebook game didn't make the cut in the second annual Game Developers Choice Online Awards nominations. Luckily for you, the Audience Award category has finally opened up for voting from the public starting today, Sept. 8, through Sept. 22. All you need to do is head on over to the Audience Award voting page, type in what game--any online game--you think should win, and provide an email address to confirm your vote.

The second annual GDC Online, an Austin, Texas-based online game-centric offshoot of the annual GDC event that takes place annually in San Francisco, is little more than a month away, running Oct. 10-13. The GDC Online Awards will be held on the evening of Oct. 12 in the Austin Convention Center. Now that you know all of the logistics regarding the GDC Online Awards, let's talk a bit about that Audience Award.

Frankly, it can be a little daunting, that blank white box, just waiting for your answer. If you need some help framing your answer deciding on a sound candidate, take a look at the nominees that were already decided upon. If that doesn't help, take a look at this month's Top 25 Facebook Games to see what's hot.

Or, you know, just vote for what game you enjoy best--just make sure it's a Facebook game, kay? League of Legends won the Audience Award last year, and while it's a blast, we can't have that this year ... or we'll miss out on the Facebook royalty checks again. (Before the flaming starts: Jokes, people, just jokes.)

It's time to explore Adventure World, Zynga's largest Facebook game yet

Seriously, do you have a few hours to kill? Then good, because you might need it (and some Facebook Credits, in that case). Zynga has set Adventure World loose on Facebook--all 30 maps, 200 quests, over 1,000 art assets and 20,000 objects included. In this game that just so happens to be 40 times larger than previous Zynga games like FarmVille, players assume the role of an adventurer in search of the golden city of El Dorado.

You'll trek across jungles, mountains, caverns, volcanoes and finally venture into El Dorado itself, overcoming a myriad of wild beasts, lethal traps and various puzzles using your wits in search of the ultimate treasure. Developed by Zynga Boston (formerly known as Conduit Labs), Adventure World makes use of pseudo-3D, cel-shaded visuals to achieve an art style reminiscent of comic books from the '40s revolving around the golden age of exploration.

"When we joined the Zynga family a year ago, our goal was to not only create a game unlike any other in the social gaming space today, but to create a completely new genre," Zynga Boston GM Nabeel Hyatt said in a release. "We call this genre social adventure, one where players can explore, discover and team up with friends on an adventure of a lifetime."

Gallery: Adventure World on Facebook
Player navigate the world using unique tools like whips, grappling hooks and more that level individually as your character progresses. Speaking of which, there are over 10,000 different avatar variations at launch through its customization system. Based on an early look at the game, Adventure World looks to be Zynga's most ambitious project yet, with game mechanics that teach players rather than tell them how to navigate the game world.

But players will have the help of their friends to navigate Adventure World, too. Players can enlist up to 12 friends along the way to help them overcome obstacles like puzzles and traps more easily. And as players use the same friends more often, the stronger those friends become, fostering tight-knit groups of asynchronous adventurers.


Adventure World is already available in eight languages: English, French, Italian, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Turkish and Norwegian. Zynga also points out that this is the first game to feature a pygmy princess, so if that doesn't get you to click the link below, we don't know what will.

Big Fish says buh-bye to Treasure Quest on Facebook

Almost a year ago, casual game publisher Big Fish attempted to bring its games to Facebook in the form of Treasure Quest. Log into Treasure Quest, and every day, you'd be able to play snippets of some its popular casual games, such as the best-selling Mystery Case Files.

Looks like my sunny predictions about Treasure Quest way back when didn't come true (it only reached a max of 323K players per month) and Big Fish has announced that the Facebook game will be shuttered on March 15. Starting today, players will no longer be able to buy gold for the game.
treasure quest big fish closing on facebook

On an FAQ linked from the game's FB fan page, Big Fish says they decided to close Treasure Quest because it was 'not sustainable."

    "Many options were assessed and seriously considered before this final decision was made. The decision was very difficult, but as a business, it was one that we had to make."

If you've been playing this game and/or spent money on this game, the FAQ says that it will all go away, so if you have gold to spend in the game, you need to do so before the game closes.

So -- you've been officially warned. Everything you've done in the game will disappear into the ether, which brings up one of several bigger issues in the world of social gaming and digital entertainment in general. When you decide to spend money to buy virtual assets in a game, you're buying something that you don't really own. If the game closes, you run the risk of losing your property for good.

The other big question that this closure brings up is -- can established video game and casual game companies really make it big on Facebook? With Big Fish closing down Treasure Quest and Ubisoft talking about how social games don't make enough money, it seems like companies who have been making games for a long time are still searching for the magic formula that makes games like Zynga's CityVille such runaway hits.

Big Fish doesn't seem to be giving up completely on Facebook just yet. In recent weeks, its other Facebook game My Tribe has seen a jump in traffic, and the company has also maintained a Facebook page where people can go to download Drawn: The Painted Tower.

Assassin's Creed creator Ubisoft promises more social games in 2011

The company behind games like CSI: Crime City for Facebook and the Assassin's Creed franchise, Ubisoft, says that social games will be a bigger part of its strategy for 2011. The French publisher told All Things Digital that more than 15 percent of its employees in the Ubisoft San Francisco offices will be dedicated to "companion gaming." This new strategy involves the company using Facebook games to promote coinciding consoles releases. Remember the Assassin's Creed Facebook game, Project Legacy, released to promote the second game in the series?

Yeah, you're going to see a lot more of that in 2011. The third-largest independent videogames publisher hopes to turn this trend into dollars, though its previous efforts haven't caught on like competitors such as Zynga's games. And almost inversely, Ubisoft VP of Digital Publishing Chris Early said, "Digital will not kill physical. There will always be support for a certain percent."

While he is likely correct, I'm not sure that's the mindset you want when investing 15 percent of your developers into an online-only platform. "You have to look at the top 10 sellers, or rely on a friend," Early said to ATD of the issues surrounding online game sales. "There's a significant hurdle to digital." This couldn't be more true on Facebook, and it's quite a hurdle for Ubisoft to jump over. Can the company can do it with backing from iconic industry names like Assassin's Creed and Prince of Persia? Companies including Konami, EA and Disney (and Ubisoft) have tried before and failed, so here is their chance to prove it.

[Image Credit: Ubisoft]

What do you think of the potential girth of promotional Facebook games to come from Ubisoft? Do you think it will be successful using this strategy?

Knight's Story on Facebook: Treasure Isle goes medieval

Knight's Story, developed by Anute, tells two stories at once. First, it's a story of a knight who inherits a castle estate and explores the land he rules. Second, this is a retelling of the classic yarn, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." Playing this brand new social game for even a few minutes will reveal that it has been heavily influenced by games like Zynga's Treasure Isle. In Knight's Story, the first Facebook game I've ever seen created using Microsoft's Silverlight (a Flash competitor), players explore various tracks of land through a grid system in which each tile explored costs a point of Energy. Sound familiar?


The similarities don't stop there, though Anute does attempt to expand on this tried and true game style. Upon logging into the game, players can customize their knight and its mighty steed with a variety of options. But it isn't until you receive your deed to the castle estate that Knight's Story begins to brag a little. The only way to complete the deed is to sign it--literally. You must use your mouse to click and drag the feather pen as if you were truly writing your signature. It's certainly nothing new when it comes to what's capable in Flash or Silverlight, but it's possibly a first in social games. Regardless, it's entertaining touches like these that almost set Knight's Story apart from the rest of the treasure-discovery games on Facebook.

Gallery: Knight's Story


Unfortunately, the defining characteristics essentially stop there. The game drudges along, employing tactics and interactions we've already seen before, and not done in a way that is particularly engaging. While you will come across new characters along the way, it seems that their purpose doesn't go beyond a short quest such as, "Kill this boar for me, please?"

Speaking of which, the combat in Knight's Story is almost insultingly simplistic. Of course, conflicts with wildlife are settled through turn-based battles in which you have three options: Strike, Bribe and Run Away. The fact that you can already imagine how battles pan out doesn't exactly spell excitement, does it? (Bribery uses coins to convince a monster to leave, by the way.) You can imagine even the most casual of gamers being bored by pressing the sword icon repeatedly.

Knight's Story combat
At least exploration in Knight's Story has a purpose: to build your castle town into a vast kingdom. The materials you find on your travels (and receive from your friends as gifts) are used to complete the buildings you create. These buildings provide you with coins and other tools daily to help you in your travels, creating a balance of nature hikes and home improvement. Unfortunately, there isn't anything terribly exciting about building your kingdom, which will likely lead you to explore more than build.

Knight's Story doesn't do much to distance itself from games like Treasure Isle aside from its theme, but some of those differentiations are glowing. Take the music, for instance. While it does play on a loop like all social games, the tune to this game sounds fuller and better produced than most Facebook games, something we should see more of across the board. For those who adored Treasure Isle and are looking for something new, this is your bread and butter. But if you're seeking a new experience on Facebook (like myself), you likely won't find it traversing tiles and slaying inanimate boars.

Click here to try Knight's Story on Facebook Now>

Have you played Knight's Story yet? What do you think of Anute's approach to the treasure-hunting genre of Facebook games?

Clash of the Dragons on Facebook offers a simplistic take on collectible card games

If you're like me, and have a love for collectible card games (CCGs), but don't have an active group to play them with in the real world, you're likely clamoring for a card game to play digitally, at any time, whether you're with friends or not. 5th Planet Games may not have reinvented the wheel when it comes to their Facebook CCG Clash of the Dragons, but they have streamlined the battle process enough to satisfy both casual gamers and give established fans a way to scratch that itch in between real world battles.

Clash of the Dragons offers a fairly cliche story in a fantasy setting, as you travel across a map fighting monsters and other enemies of varying strengths, earning experience points and spending energy as you go. Each fight requires you to spend a certain amount of energy to even enter, which limits your gameplay sessions to a shorter duration, but once you enter into battle, they can take quite a bit of time to complete depending on how larger you or your opponent's deck happen to be.

You see, instead of having an intricate health system, your health here is determined solely by the number of cards you have in your deck, with the object being to make your opponent spend or otherwise lose all of their cards before the same can happen to you. There tend to be just two numbers on each card. In the top left is the amount of damage the card does, and on the right is the amount of defense points you're given for when your opponent fights back on their next turn.

For instance, the Lesser Lightning Bolt card does two damage, and has one defense point. After playing it, I would force my enemy to discard two cards from its hand, and would gain a single defense point on my own deck. If they then counterattacked with an attack of two points, I would only have to discard one card, instead of two.

Battle becomes slightly more complicated with the inclusion of buff and healing cards, with buffs giving you some sort of status enhancement that holds until you complete another task (for instance, you may receive a chance to score a critical hit the next time you use a weapon card, rather than magic), and healing cards allowing you to pull cards out of the discard pile (the graveyard) and put them back in your deck.

For the most part, that pretty much sums up each battle (I told you it was fairly streamlined). You'll play in turn-based combat until one of you runs out of cards, and if you happen to win, you'll receive the spoils: coins, experience points, etc. Outside of the campaign, there are two multiplayer modes to take part in. The first is straight up player-vs-player card combat, which sees you taking on another real-world player, while the other places you on the same team as other real-world players, being placed against a larger boss to combine you efforts. If you have friends that play the game, you can also play against their decks when they're not around, just to give yourself something to do.

All told, the gameplay in Clash of the Dragons, outside of each battle, is fairly limited. You can spend skill points to boost the stats of your character, and you'll unlock classes as you level up that will give you more specific advantages in battle. You'll also be able to craft new, stronger cards by using leftover cards that may not be worthwhile in your deck any longer, but it seems as though actually acquiring enough cards to craft might take some time (as card packs cost quite a few coins each, or can also be purchased with premium currency).

Will Clash of the Dragons be strong enough to battle the likes of Magic: The Gathering, even in the real world? That's highly unlikely (as it sits at just 48,000 monthly players), but if you've always been interested in the most simple mechanics associated with a collectible card game, but didn't want to be overwhelmed by a multitude of rules, this one is a pretty great place to start.

Play Clash of the Dragons on Facebook -->

Do you enjoy collectible card games? Have you ever found a digital version that is as good as playing a card game in the real world? What do you think of Clash of the Dragons?

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?

Cheech and Chong's Animated Game may not be the hit you're looking for

Regardless of the controversy, we've seen quite a few games sprout up on Facebook revolving around the growing and selling of marijuana. From Pot Farm to Weeds Social Club, there's plenty of pot to go around, but what would the genre be without the most famous stoners of them all: Cheech and Chong? With Cheech and Chong's Animated Game on Facebook, we see the duo introducing you to the ups and downs of pot farming and selling, via a sometimes unintuitive setup.

The ultimate goal of Cheech and Chong's Animated Game will be to grow enough pot to rise up to the point of owning your own medical marijuana business. Gameplay is setup via a series of jobs, similar to other text-based games like Mafia Wars. You're forever stoned, but you'll need to spend some of your "buzz," or energy to complete these Jobs. You'll earn both coins and TP (the game's experience points) for completing each job, and when you reach the end of a set of Jobs, you'll earn Premium Dispensary Jars.

In order to earn more Buzz, and keep yourself in business, you'll be able to go into your Stash, where each type of Bud has its own stats, including sell prices and the amount of Buzz you'll regain from smoking it. You're given a few buds to start the game, but will then need to grow more in your grow spot, "The Pad." The growth process takes time, depending on the type of bud you're growing, and it's, overall, a pretty slow process. You'll need to click on each pot individually to place soil inside, then click on a seed to place it in the pot, and then click on water to make sure the seed actually grows. Most everything can be sold, so if you grow more Pot than you need for your own Buzz meter, you can sell the extras for profit.

As you collect extra Dispensary Jars, you'll be able to hold more Pot in your Stash. There's the threat of police involvement if you end up "out-growing" your storage capacity, so you'll need to make sure all of your plans are in order before you start growing more product.

In terms of social features, you can visit your friends' Grow Spots, sometimes resulting in free items for you, or you can send each other free gifts (like Pot or decorations for your Grow Spots). Ultimately, the social features aren't the biggest draw here, as you'll spend the majority of your time with the game simply waiting for product to grow, or for your Buzz meter to refill automatically after you've spent it all on jobs.

Gallery: Cheech and Chong's Animated Game on Facebook


Ultimately, there's a pretty small target audience for Cheech and Chong's Animated Game on Facebook, which perhaps explains why it currently only has 20,000 monthly active users. Still, if you're into novelty, or want to take a trip down memory lane with these two characters, why not give this one a chance?

Play Cheech and Chong's Animated Game on Facebook -->

Have you tried Cheech and Chong's Animated Game? What do you think of developers creating games around marijuana on Facebook?

Cafe World Feeding the Faire Goals: Everything you need to know

Whether you are part of the majority that thinks Zynga needs to slow down on Cafe World goal and Catering Order releases, or if you're always ready and willing to take on more of a challenge, there's a new set of eight goals that has now been added to your virtual plate. The annual Street Faire is this week, requiring you to cook a variety of dishes, and ask for plenty of items from friends with the overall goal being to unlock new dishes for your cookbook in the end. Here's a guide to get you through.

Note: This is one of those goal series that requires each user to cook different dishes. That being the case, we have just listed the amount of servings you will need to serve in your own cafe, as there's no way for us to predict what each individual user will need to cook. In the end, your overall cooking time should even out with that of your fellow players, so everyone will wind up "equal" in the end.

Feeding the Faire 1

    Ask for 5 Party Favors
    Serve 25 Random Dishes
    Serve 20 Random Dishes


Again, the dishes you specifically have to cook will be different of that of your neighbors. As a particular example, my own cafe has be serving 25 Irish Stews and 20 Gem Cakes, but your own requirements will vary. Regardless of the dishes you're asked to cook, just remember to keep checking your gift box for any extra servings you can use to speed the process along.

Feeding the Faire 2

    Ask for 6 Red Plastic Cups
    Serve 30 Random Dishes
    Ask for 8 Lemon Slices


For all of these "ask for" requirements, you'll need to send out requests for help from your friends to help you along. For finishing this particular goal, you'll receive the new Sloppy Joes recipe as a reward.

Feeding the Faire 3

    Ask for 7 BBQ Sauce
    Master Sloppy Joes to Level 1
    Ask for 7 Paper Napkins


Feeding the Faire 4

    Ask for 6 Basketballs
    Serve 50 Random Rishes
    Ask for 6 High Tops


Feeding the Faire 5

    Serve 30 Random Dishes
    Ask for 8 Chicken Breasts
    Serve 30 Random Dishes


For finishing this goal, you'll receive the Breaded Chicken Sandwich.
Feeding the Faire 6

    Serve 30 Pastrami on Rye
    Ask for 6 Wristbands
    Spice 5 of your own Dishes


For this particular goal, things become a bit more complicated. It looks like you'll need to cook 30 Pastrami on Rye, that is prepared on the Sandwich Counter specifically, but whether or not this dish will be random, or will always be Pastrami on Rye remains to be seen. We'll look into things, and will let you know if it is indeed different.

Feeding the Faire 7

    Ask for 8 Pie Servers
    Serve 30 Random Dishes
    Ask for 9 Pie Tins


Finishing this goal gives you your third recipe for this goal set: Strawberry Pie. You'll need to cook all three of your rewards here in the final goal.

Feeding the Faire 8

    Master Sloppy Joes to Level 2
    Master Breaded Chicken Sandwich to Level 1
    Master Strawberry Pie to Level 1


Unfortunately, this is another of those goal series that heavily relies on asking your friends for help, rather than on tasks that you can complete on your own (like visiting your friends' cafes, or trying their daily specials). Still, if you like collecting every dish in the game, you'll need to power your way through these sooner or later to fill in the holes. Good luck!

[Via: Official Cafe World Forums]

What do you think of these Feeding the Faire Goals? What sorts of dishes were you required to cook for these goals? Do you like goals that ask each user to cook a different set of dishes, or do you wish you knew exactly what to do before the goals launched?

Put your sports smarts to the test in AccuScore's SKL on Facebook

At least one football game viewing party has ended in heated debate that results in beers thrown and tables flipped. (Just me?) Now, it's time to settle the score of "who knows the most" with SKL, a new sports trivia game for Facebook. Well, at least it sounds like it could settle scores on paper--it might just make things worse.

Sports forecasting company AccuScore's first Facebook game, SKL will have players sign in-game contracts and advance through the ranks of sports know-how in both American college football, the NFL and the English Premier League. These tests of knowledge take place in three unique mini games like Buzzer Beater, which has players answer as many stat-based questions about their favorite teams correctly.

Another game, 4Cast, sees players use in-game currency to buy cards that represent predictions in statistics beyond just winning and losing. Finally, Challenge Mode pits up to five friends against one another in a trivia race against the clock. Of course, SKL features leaderboards to track friends' progress compared to your own--it is a contest for the top spot, after all.
SKL Buzzer Beater
However, there is also a global leaderboard to consider, and players will get to make predictions on upcoming games in their football of choice. As players progress, they'll gain power-ups to help in trivia games and predictions. Think of the Predictor feature in games like Madden NFL Superstars and World Series Superstars by EA, but blown up into an entire game. For the folks who actually buy the Sports Almanacs annually, this game could be for you.

Click here to play SKL on Facebook Now >

Do you plan on putting your sports to the test in this new social game? What do you think of sports-based Facebook games, and trivia games in general?

Beekin looks to make social games that raise $1 million for nonprofits

Social game giants like Zynga and EA raise a good amount of money for disaster relief and other charities during events. But what if that in-game event never ended? That's what former lawyer and entrepreneur Michael Fox hopes to make possible with Beekin, his upcoming New York-based social games project. According to TriplePundit, Fox hopes to raise $1 million for nonprofits in the company's first year.

While no games were announced or detailed, the company hopes to bake an infrastructure for helping nonprofits meet their goals directly into each game. "They're the FarmVille of philanthropy," Beekin founder Micheal Fox told TriplePundit. While TriplePundit says that Fox's goal of $1 million raised for nonprofits within a year is reasonable, citing the $1.3 billion the social games industry made in 2010.

However, there is an issue of exposure. Even with changes to the Ticker and other enhancements to game discovery, it's more difficult than ever to gain traction on Facebook. Well, Fox and Beekin have a plan for that: Every social game created by Beekin will be supported by a four-pillar system: major brand support, celebrity endorsements, nonprofit interest and motivated players that become aware of the social ills each game is trying to correct.

We're not too keen on that last one, but Fox's primary company, Humanitainment, has access to immense celebrity resources. If hip hop icons Kanye West and Common showed their support for the company's New Life Project, then perhaps Fox can rally other celebrities and brands to get behind Beekin. The most daunting challenge facing Beekin is whether it can create social games that can spur players to pay up.

What was your favorite social game (or social game campaign) for social good so far? Do you think these types of social games have potential to make a difference?

Lunchtime Poll: Should Facebook games have content ratings?

Facebook games have always generally skewed toward an older audience than most console, mobile and handheld games. But recently more social game makers have taken that to heart, creating games that are clearly for adult audiences. While there are numerous games that we could list, two recent releases come to mind.

First, UK-based Internet security blogger Charles Conway recently pegged EA and Playfish's The Sims Social for allowing underage players to have cyber sex through the game's WooHoo feature. While The Sims has always skewed more toward older audiences, it's far from "adults only." But we'll reserve whether the two companies should further censor the game for another debate. Second is Ecko|Code's Dexter Slice of Life, which quite literally allows players to act out as Dexter--ritualistic murders and all.

Games like these have led this writer to wonder, "Is it time for Facebook games to have content ratings?" Look, there's no debate as to whether a sizable amount of Facebook game releases have been more adult in the last year. And banning them is likely out of the question for Facebook. (And, in respect of freedom of expression, this guy right here.) So, perhaps it's time to introduce an enforceable ratings system for social games. But we want to know what you, the readers, think:

Should Facebook games have enforceable content ratings?
Absolutely! This should be done at the very least.Never! That would limit game creators' rights to expression.I don't think that's enough.I don't even care about console game ratings.
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Take-Two taking the 'wait-and-see' approach with social games

So, basically, don't expect Grand Theft Auto on Facebook anytime soon. In a recent earnings call, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick announced that the company would be taking a new approach to their future gaming lineup, to remove their "dependence" on Grand Theft Auto. As reported by Edge, Zelnick has announced that the company is "focused on building new franchises. For example, you can look at what Red Dead Redemption did for us in our last fiscal year." If that means that more Red Dead Redemption games are in the works, I'm definitely all for it - but wait! Does this diversification of Take-Two's approach mean we'll see the company branching into social games? I wouldn't count on it.

Zelnick commented on social gaming juggernaut Zynga, stating that their games were far too different, when compared to the titles produced by Take-Two. "The business Zynga's in has only been around for about four years," he said. "Playing Zynga titles doesn't scratch the same itch as playing Grand Theft Auto - that's a dynamic that doesn't change in the videogame business."

Does that mean Take-Two thinks their games are better, or simply different? With other hardcore game developers already jumping into the Facebook game pool (Ubisoft and EA, as examples), it would only make sense for Take-Two to dive in as well, but it doesn't look like the company has any interest in doing so. At most, they've only confirmed that they're "keeping an eye" on other platforms, like mobile. Either way, it leaves us to wonder: if Take-Two does eventually warm up to the Facebook gaming idea, will it be too little, too late? Only time will tell.

Would you play a Grand Theft Auto Facebook game? How about a game based on Red Dead Redemption? Sound off in the comments.

THQ reorganization places major focus on social games

With just 9,000 monthly active users across its entire catalog of Facebook games (according to AppData), it's easy to say that THQ has plenty of climbing left to do to make a stand in the social space. With its upcoming MargaritaVille Online game for Facebook, it's clear that THQ has seen the light, but that light might turn into a giant beacon after the company's recent reorganization.

In a recent press release, THQ announced that the company will place its focus into four major digital areas, one of which is social gaming. In fact, the social gaming space actually comes in at number two on the four-part list (number one being an increased focus on established IP like Saints Row). In terms of social games, the company wishes to "create a critical mass of users on social media platforms such as Facebook and mobile platforms, including iOS and Android(TM), using THQ-owned or branded content, such as the upcoming fall release of Margaritaville(R) Online, based on Jimmy Buffett's popular brand."

So what does this mean for the end-user? If I had to make an educated guess, I'd wager that we'll likely see a slew of side-games released on the service in the same way as EA's Dragon Age: Legends was released; that is, games that tie-in to the console versions of THQ's new titles, offering players incentive to play the Facebook game as well. Of course, if MargaritaVille takes off, we could see plenty of other branded or at least original titles released in the future as well. If anything, it almost seems as though THQ is dedicated enough to the social gaming space to throw tons of games at the wall and see which ones stick. Either way, we'll make sure to keep track of THQ's continued social gaming efforts, and will bring you all of the news on MargaritaVille as soon as we know more.

Which THQ franchises would you like to see given social games? Would you play social games on Facebook if you were given items back in the console games as rewards? Sound off in the comments.

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.

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

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

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.