Lunchtime Poll: How well do you know your Facebook game friends?

Our guess is, "Not very well," but let's not get ahead of ourselves. A recent study reported by TechCrunch reveals that the average Facebook user has never met 7 percent of their friends on the social network in person. That's actually pretty impressive, considering how many celebrities and other folks that we follow on Twitter without so much as a "hello."

However, we have fairly good reason to believe that this is certainly not the case when it comes to the "other" Facebook user: the Facebook gamer. (Seriously, have you ever seen the comments on a game update via Facebook?) Though, we're going to let you confirm that for us in today's Lunchtime Poll:

How well do you know your Facebook game friends?
I actually know most of them personally, thank you very much.I only know a few personally, the rest I've met through games.Come to think of it, I don't know any of them "IRL," as the kids say.

Facebook slaps back at Google+ Games with new game features

What a cowinkydink! Just as Google announced that it will now offer social games through Google+, Facebook announced a number of new changes to games on its platform. Announced in a blog post last night (much like Google+ Games was), the most notable of the changes is the new game ticker feature. This provides players with a smaller News Feed off to the right side of their games that will automatically update with game-related updates as they play.

What's important about this change is that players can see what their friends are up to in other games without having to leave the game they're currently playing. (We should mention that these changes, like all changes to almost everything on the Internet, are rolling out to users slowly.) For instance, if a friend smacks you with a triple-word score in Words with Friends while you're busy playing GnomeTown, you will see that almost immediately and be able to jump into that game straight from GnomeTown.

Facebook has also given gamers more control over who sees their game-related News Feed posts down to each individual app. This is now done in the Privacy Settings under Account Settings on the home page--just like how you remove apps or alter permissions. Finally, with what might come across sounding like the Ode to Joy for Facebook gamers with 13-inch screens (like myself), Facebook is working with developers to increase the screen size of games to make more use of your screens' width.

Facebook Games changes
While I've yet to have these changes make it to my own Facebook, they already sound impressive. However, we can't help but see some glaring similarities between these changes and Google+ Games. Namely, the (100 percent) separate News Feed for games from your standard News Feed sounds quite a lot like how Google is handling how game news is fed to players. However, we'll reserve any more comparisons until we see both Google+ Games and these Facebook changes in the digital, um, flesh. With two major competitors in the social games space now, there can only be one winner: the players.

Pawn Stars: The Game on Facebook: Buy and flip your way to riches

Hit History Channel television series Pawn Stars has been transformed into a social experience, in the form of a Facebook game appropriately titled Pawn Stars: The Game. For those fans of the show, which follows the happenings of a family-run pawn shop in Las Vegas, you can now create your very own Pawn Shop, interact with the stars of the show, buy merchandise and then try to sell it for a profit.

All of the elements surrounding the television show seem to be here. Customers will enter the store in groups (limiting the length of any one play session, but more customers can be purchased for Facebook Credits), and each will have one item they'd like to sell.

Each customer has a particular price in mind for the product, and you'll be able to read some true-to-life facts about these items, including their date of creation, country of origin, expected rarity and so on, where applicable. If you've been watching the show since it launched on television in 2009, you'll likely recognize many of these items as those that have appeared on the show in the past - classic war memorabilia, sports rings, antique toys and electronics, and so on. Just like in the show, you'll be able to counter each customer's request for their sell price. That is, if a customer is trying to sell you an antique gold coin for $1500, you could counter with a price that you think is more reasonable. All transactions you take part in either add to or take away from your overall bank account.

In order to give yourself a better idea of what to offer for items, you can pay small portions of your funds to experts who can give you a better idea as to each item's real worth - or they can also let you know if the item is a fake or reproduction. At any time, you can pass on items that you'd rather not purchase, or you can offer a counter-offer to the customer. They'll likely lower their price to somewhere in the middle of the two extremes, and it will once again be up to you as to how much you'd like to offer. Customers can and will leave if they are unsatisfied with all of your offers, or you can simply send them away if you don't have enough money to purchase their goods.

Once you buy items, you'll be able to either store them as part of your collection in the game's "Stock Room," or you can try to turn the items around for a profit by selling them in your store, pricing them at whatever price you see fit (of course, you would try to make as much of a profit as possible). As you level up, you'll be able to earn enough money to purchase more item slots in your store, so you can sell more items at one time, and you'll also unlock the ability to "clean" items, or restore them, and increase their overall value.

Items will either sell or not sell over a period of time. The cheaper the item is, the less time it will take to find a potential buyer, and vice versa. This allows you to leave the game, while your shop stays open for business. If your items sell, you instantly gain a profit, but if they don't, you can lower the price of the items and try again.

In terms of social features, you can visit your friends' Pawn Shops and make their awaiting customers more happy by clicking on them. Happier customers are more willing to haggle, while those that are bored or impatient will likely hold firm at their starting asking price for their item. In your own Pawn Shop, you can also bribe (raise) customers' moods by offering them pieces of candy.

For being an entirely static title (the game is almost entirely devoid of animation), the gameplay here is actually fairly solid. While fans of the television series will undoubtedly get more out of this than those who are unfamiliar, A&E Television Networks promises that further features and enhancements will be coming in the future, hopefully to learn in those players who've never even heard of the Pawn Stars name.

Think you have what it takes to be the ultimate Pawn Star?

Crosswords' creator made a social game with just an idea and passion

Alright, maybe he had a little bit of cash, but PuzzleSocial founder and Crosswords creator Jeb Balise tells us that he has no previous experience making social games. So, how did Balise go from not knowing the first thing about social games to becoming the CEO of his own social game company with its first game out of the gate? (Hey, Mark Pincus did it.)

A deep love for crossword puzzles, and an idea--a pretty good one, at that. (A recent MBA graduate from Fordham University, Balise has a thing for business, too.) The PuzzleSocial CEO tells us that he's a tournament-level crossword puzzle solver, having competed in the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament for several years. "For the record, compared to most of the people that go to that tournament, I'm average," Balise humbly admits.

It was thanks to his time competing that Balise came up with PuzzleSocial. "[I found that] once you add the social nature of certain games such as multiplayer, they can spread so quickly and people can have a lot of fun playing together," Balise says. "That was a remarkable sort of thing that happened that I was only able to catch on because I was playing the [crosswords]."
Gallery: Crosswords on Facebook
The Fordham graduate soon realized that the world's crossword puzzles were made by a surprisingly small amount of people. That was about 14 months ago, and soon after Balise reached out to professional crossword puzzle constructors behind the puzzles readers of Newsweek, The Onion's A.V. Club and over 200 other newspapers and online news outlets worldwide enjoy. "Once I put two and two together that, 'Hey, we could all get together and put these great crosswords on the most powerful distribution platform ever to exist,' you know, we could make some cool things happen," Balise tell us.

PuzzleSocial CEO Jeb BaliseOf course, not knowing much about game development, the PuzzleSocial founder had to seek out those that did. Balise calls it a lucky break that he found the game developers that he did. The first designer he hired to work on Crosswords has moved into his New York City office. Today, Balise and his team of about 10 developers are working with 50 of the most syndicated crossword puzzle creators in the world. "I haven't taken a day off in 14 months, and I've enjoyed every single second of it."

Now that Crosswords is available to the public, it's initially drawn a crowd reminiscent of the average social gamer: middle-aged to older folks (that likely have experience with crosswords). However, we're told that this is just the beginning. When asked about plans for future growth, Balise says he plans to make its puzzles appeal to younger crowds both through social features like real-time Doubles Play and Celebrity Crosswords chock-full of current events and topics you'd find on TMZ.

"The typical way, just as you said, is that you're solving a crossword puzzle in the paper. How many times have we experience someone looking over someone's shoulder and chiming in with an answer? In this case, you don't have to do that," Balise says. "We want to prove to the world that crosswords are for all ages."

As for the future beyond Crosswords, the PuzzleSocial founder unsurprisingly has little he can talk about. What we do know is that PuzzleSocial has plans to launch two more social games and two mobile games in 2012. However, Balise promises that his company's mission to promote education through social will permeate throughout. "The philosophy behind what we're building lends itself to other games that can be built both in the puzzle world and beyond."

Have you tried Crosswords for Facebook yet? Do you think PuzzleSocial's approach will help it carve out a niche on Facebook?

Zynga looks forward to 2012 with better feedback from users

Zynga has had a rocky road when it comes to player feedback across its mighty catalog of Facebook games. Sure, the vast majority of players enjoy games like FarmVille and Pioneer Trail, but what about those vocal users that have legitimate concerns about games and are more than willing to offer their feedback? Does Zynga actually listen to them? Perhaps. According to the Economic Times, Zynga's Bill Jackson (creative director behind CastleVille) says that this particular game has undergone changes due to feedback from players.

"These are not games that we just play. These are games that we make with our players," Jackson says, and he explained that the reduced rate of Beastie appearance has been made due to players stating that they appeared too often. Jackson goes on to say that "Once we [Zynga] launch the game, we are asking players the same thing: 'how can we make it more fun for you?"

While changes in CastleVille are one thing, it does leave a few remaining questions in other games in the Zynga network, as users routinely complain of too many goals or catering orders in Cafe World or of loading and rollback issues in Pioneer Trail. Is this an issue of the company not listening to users, or are there simply not enough staff members on-hand to deal with these technical problems? Whatever the case, Jackson says that managing all of the feedback and information from players is a "challenge," but that the company is preparing for a better 2012 by "creating a platform" (says the Economic Times) where players can play whenever they want. Could this be the Zynga Direct program revealed in October? If not, does this signal more games coming to more platforms (mobile, for instance)? And what does all of this have to do with actually changing games based on user responses?

It's an interesting time to be a social gamer in the Zynga network, as games like Pioneer Trail are bleeding players (that one has lost half a million players in a month, according to AppData) and even the former staples like Mafia Wars seem to be struggling. Whether feedback is really focused on or not, 2012 will be an interesting year for Zynga, and for players as well.

Google+ Games shows its colors with new game discovery features

The seemingly endless tit for tat battle between Google+ and Facebook may finally be over. Well, at least where games are concerned. The search giant of the same name (minus the "+") issued an update to Google+ Games that includes three new ways for players to discover which games to play next. The lists are "Top Games"," "New Games" and "Staff Picks."

They're pretty much self-explanatory, but the key takeaway here is that features like these take full advantage of the fact that Google+ Games is its own tucked-away section of the social network. Therefore, Google has opted to take more of an app store approach that you'd find at Apple's App Store or the Android Market than Facebook's highly ad-driven and social approach.

Each list appears on the left hand sidebar of the Google+ Games home page, and clicking on each opens a new page. While the way each list is populated is entirely different, they each look identical. Each page features a number of game icons in a grid layout, and mousing over each reveals a description of the game and the option to play. If a player wants to find the newest games on Google+, the guy or gal can simply click on "New Games" and instantly find brand new games to play.

Well, brand new in theory: The majority of social games on Google+ are already available on Facebook, save for exclusive releases like The Godfather: Five Families and GT Racing: Motor Academy. As the platform matures, game discovery features like these could be the selling point for Google+ Games. Your move, Facebook.

Do you think these features could pique your interest in gaming on Google+ once it brings in more games? How do you think Facebook will respond ?

New Playfish GM Aaron Loeb: '[Social games are] just not going away'

The next console developer to join the ranks of the Facebook game regime, Aaron Loeb--formally of Planet Moon Studios, now of Playfish--said to Gamasutra, "People might look at the Facebook games right now and say, 'I can't imagine that's what people will be doing 20 years from now, ergo this will never last and it's a bubble.'" Loeb, now the general manager of Playfish in San Francisco, claims to have never been on the traditional developers to roll their eyes in response to the social gaming movement.

In fact, Loeb said, "It's just not going away," he says. "In fact it's only going to get stronger and better, and games are always at the forefront of how new technologies expand. We have no idea how huge this stuff can get, and it's going to be unbelievably important to the growth of companies, and to the growth of the industry." In other words, advanced social gaming is bound to expand into more devices and become simply commonplace.

Loeb went on in the interview to explain his strengths honed in his days of console development and how he plans to apply them to new position. Team building is his game, and he's bringing it to Playfish. More important is how confident he claims to have been in social game development while working with consoles. Most traditional developers we hear are crying foul. Perhaps time for lashing out at social games is nearly over, and now the movement boons? Let's hope, because it's about time.

How do you think Loeb will fare at Playfish? Do you think the time for the movement to, well, move forward is here?

Zynga vs. Astro Ape: CEO Chieh Huang says, 'we build a better product'

Astro Ape is beating its chest right out of the gate. The studio's CEO, Chieh Huang (pictured center), is already making claims that it builds a better product than the compeition, namely Zynga, Pocketgamer.biz reports. Astro Ape makes mobile social games like Dessert Heroes and Office Heroes, which Huang claims enjoy 70 percent retention, meaning 70 percent of its players are regular customers. Unlike Facebook, the mobile space has yet to find one dominant creator, so Astro Ape just might have a chance at becoming that company.

However, with Zynga laser-focused on mobile thanks to Newtoy and its improvements to Mafia Wars and FarmVile for iPhone, that window of opportunity is quite small. Astro Ape about to release Monsterz Revenge, its third game, doing the same thing it has always done: launch games with polish. That's exactly how the studio plans to defeat Zynga:

    It sounds like a basic concept, but I think it's getting lost a bit today in social gaming. Our users come into our apps because they want to play our games, not because we spam them with invites, requests and other offers. Monsterz Revenge is really a convergence of this new stream of talent that we've brought in, and the lessons we learned from Office Heroes and Dessert Heroes. It's definitely our best title to date.

Those sure sound like fighting words, but we'll see soon enough if Astro Ape has the oomph to back them up. Until then, mobile is fair game, so jump right in.

[Image Credit: NY Post]

Have tried either of Astro Ape's current games? Do you think this studio has a shot against Zynga and the other big developers?

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?

Farmerama's Bigpoint knows how badly Zynga wants out of Facebook

"Oh they desperately want to," Bigpoint chief games officer Philip Resiberger told GamesIndustry.biz. "They have plans, they've had plans for the last two years. Everyone wants to reduce their dependence on Facebook I think." That's what everyone has said, but even the FarmVille maker's upcoming Project Z is tied rather intrinsically to Facebook, so what gives?

"Eventually it will come, but as some attempts have shown in the past, it's not as easy to understand the world outside Facebook because it's a totally different world," Reisberger elaborated during an interview with GI.biz "That's why Bigpoint is in a very good position: we're not just the ones developing, we've mastered, to a certain degree, the distribution."

But Bigpoint's (known best for Facebook-less social games like Farmerama and Skyrama) Resiberger goes on to compliment Zynga on its innovations in social games. Of course, it's safe to take Reisberger's earlier comments with a grain of salt: He works with a company that creates social games outside of Facebook--crazy, we know. And that company is doing quite well for itself, with 250 million registered players on Bigpoint, according to Reisberger.

It makes you wonder, however, is Zynga really drawing in new players, or are meteoric launches like CastleVille more thanks to its existing players than new ones? Most would go with the former, at least for the time being. Will Project Z and zTags finally help the CityVille creator bring in new players from throughout the web? Stay tuned for 2012.

Do you think Zynga relies too much on its existing player base for successful games? Would you rather play social games on Facebook or elsewhere?

Digital Chocolate's Galaxy Life on Facebook has quite a deceiving title

When you hear the words "Galaxy Life," what do you think? We don't know about you, but that sure sounds like living out life across the galaxy. No one ever said anything about epic intergalactic battles against friends and "the sinister dark forces." Nevertheless, that's what you'll be up to in Digital Chocolate's new strategy game game for Facebook and web, Galaxy Life.

The San Mateo, Calif.-based social game developer, best known for games like Millionaire City and Zombie Lane, launched the game simultaneously on Facebook and its own website in an effort to increase its reach. Galaxy Life lets players become leader of a colony of aliens called Starlings that look to create a peaceful planet amidst sinister (and ambiguous) dark forces. Players will vie for dominance over the new found territory amongst friends, or frenemies, both known and anonymous.

Of course, you'll do so by creating daunting armies and stalwart defensive structures with which to attack opposing colonies and defend your own. Players can also create alliances with fellow players--yup, this sounds like a strategy game, all right. Galaxy Life sounds like more of the same on paper, but its Facebook-connected social features are optional. If you decide to play on Digital Chocolate's website, you can build a network of friends without Facebook.
Galaxy Life in Action
"We've created a groundbreaking sci-fi game with great competitive and cooperative elements, along with fantastic characters," Digital Chocolate president Marc Metis said in a release. "Galaxy Life takes the best elements of the strategy and space genres to create an immersive game that players can engage with across different platforms."

At first glance, Galaxy Life has a ton of character, with smooth animations, fun tunes and sounds, and adorable artwork. However, the play hook doesn't seem all too different from games like Kabam's Edgeworld or Kixeye's War Commander. That said, this could change in due time. But give it a shot: This cartoon-like take on the genre could be your cup of tea.

Triple Town, 'Civilization of match-3 games', goes Kindle to Facebook

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.

Click here to play Triple Town on Facebook now >

Have you ever played any other game that reminded you of Triple Town?