Social Network Gaming: Day 10

 

City of Wonders - Day 10

Now that we are 10 days in, I have started to shift my top spot for favorite game. I would say that now that I'm getting a hang of things, City of Wonders is taking the top spot for having a greater overall depth of game play. All the Zynga games could probably be accredited to having better graphics, but City of Wonders really allows you to play the game without having to beg your friends for resources and gifts. I am finally starting to figure out the economy and hopefully will start dominating pretty soon.


FarmVille - Day 10

FarmVille

I have been farming crystals to try and level up my expertise with them although their are a specialty crop so I won't be able to plant anymore after today. I added a greenhouse which will allow me to create new plants which should be pretty cool. I am withholding the urge to cheat and google all the different plant variations. Instead I am going to try and do it on my own.





FrontierVille - Day 10



FrontierVille

What started out as my favorite game has now become the bane of my existence. If there was ever a game that could be pegged as a "social network game" it would be this one. You can't build an outhouse without getting items sent from friends, the blueprints being approved by friends, and excavation authorizations being sent by friends. Not to mention that most buildings require multiple quests to be completed in order to complete the building. Every thing you do sparks another quest which can only be completed one of two ways. The first would be to bug friends to send you the items, which for each quest could be 10 or 20 items, which all have to be sent separately. The second would be to use the golden horseshoes which cost real world dollars (or receiving 1 per level). Its so sad because the gameplay overall is pretty addicting, but I am on the 5th land expansion quest and it is killing me. This quest requires me to build a building, which in itself requires another set of quests to be completed to finish the building.

  

Mafia Wars - Day 10



 Mafia Wars

 I'm pretty much cruising along with this game. Doing older jobs to get drops to perform newer jobs. I have no idea what the intention behind the boss fights are. You spend a lot of energy and do not get a lot of experience or money from completing it.

I have purchased all of the best equipment from the store but find myself getting pummeled by people time and time again when attacking. It seems like there is no way to get above the math. You either need money or friends to be successful with the PVP aspect of this game and I have neither. You can buy special weapons and armor for real world money but it doesn't make a difference when your mob of 11 has to attack mobs of 100+ mobsters. It makes me feel pretty unsuccessful and like my time and effort is being wasted.

  

Bejeweled Blitz - Day 10


Bejeweled Blitz
Bejeweled Blitz is still pretty fun overall. In addition to the boosts there are special gemstones that you can use but I have no idea how. The game is about 30% skill and 70% luck. My standard game yields around 35,000 points but every once in a while I will get 100,000 or 200,000 points without lifting much of a finger. I am not sure how my level is involved in my points and scoring, but I will post as soon as I find out.



Words with Friends
My friends and I are starting to get a little tired of Words with Friends. We had been playing for about a month before I started this hobby which is partly why, but I think the problem is every game for the most part ends the same. People who are better win and there isn't a lot of legroom for getting ahead for improving your game. People get tired of getting  beat by the same people, and people get tired of beating the same people. Its an odd feeling, not really associated with modern day computer games. Usually games allow a lot of skill leway and the ability for luck to intervene, but Words with Friends is so basic that you can't really do that. Its nothing negative to Words with Friends, the game functions as designed but maybe it is too much like a board game for the modern casual gamer.