Game of the Day: Fishdom Spooky Splash

The Game of the Day is sticking with the spooky theme as spring begins. Fishdom Spooky Splash is an under the the sea match-3 adventure. Build the aquarium of your nightmares with Fishdom - Spooky Splash, a spooktacular Match 3 game and splash into the creepy spirit! Use your skills to match three or more eerie items and remove all of the gold tiles from the board.
Click --> play Fishdom Spooky Splash

Important side note: Just by playing The Game of the Day you will be entered into a monthly drawing to win a FlipCam HD. You don't need to do anything else, just play! The more you play, the more chances you have to win. For more information on the Game of Day check out the official Game of the Day hub.

Important side note: Just by playing The Game of the Day you will be entered into a monthly drawing to win a FlipCam HD. You don't need to do anything else, just play! The more you play, the more chances you have to win. For more information on the Game of Day check out the official Game of the Day hub.

Lunchtime Poll: Facebook's big plans to cash in on your private info - do you care?

It's no secret -- if you play games on Facebook, you've signed up for a profile and agreed -- to some degree or other -- to share your private data with the world, including the powers that be at the social network.

So far, that might not seem like a big deal -- after all, signing up for Facebook has given you access some of the world's most popular free entertainment, such as games like FarmVille and the like. This weekend, however, an LA Times article warns that Facebook is now planning to cash in -- in a big way -- by getting more aggressive about selling ads against your personal data as the company prepares to go public in the not-too-distant future.

I'm not talking about standard profile items like your age or your location, but sell ads against things that you write about in updates or based on things that you 'like' on your fellow Facebookers pages.

    "For years, the privately held company founded by Mark Zuckerberg in a Harvard dorm room put little effort into ad sales, focusing instead on making its service irresistible to users. It worked. Today more than 600 million people have Facebook accounts. The average user spends seven hours a month posting photos, chatting with friends, swapping news links and sending birthday greetings to classmates.

    Now the Palo Alto company is looking to cash in on this mother lode of personal information by helping advertisers pinpoint exactly whom they want to reach. This is no idle boast. Facebook doesn't have to guess who its users are or what they like. Facebook knows, because members volunteer this information freely - and frequently - in their profiles, status updates, wall posts, messages and "likes."

    It's now tracking this activity, shooting online ads to users based on their demographics, interests, even what they say to friends on the site - sometimes within minutes of them typing a key word or phrase."

If you're familiar with internet privacy, this type of targeted advertising isn't necessarily anything new. Google, for instance, has been serving up ads based on your searches and email discussions forever. But, the LA Times says Facebook will be able to take it to the next level -- its "unique trove of consumer behavior could transform it into one of the most powerful marketing tools ever invented."

Then, there's the larger issue -- as in how many of the 600 million people on Facebook are really aware of how much info they're giving up to advertisers, as well as just how much Facebook stands to gain from selling off your personal data and interests.

So -- I throw the question to you -- does it bother you that Facebook will be selling more ads based on your private info? Or, do you see it as a necessary part of partaking in one of the world's most vibrant social networks? Take our poll below.

Facebook's data mining: How much does it bother you?
I don't mind at all, it's a trade-off for joining a social networkOn the fenceDon't like it -- it's a gross invasion of privacyDon't know much about Facebook and privacy
VoteView ResultsShare ThisPolldaddy.com

Game of the Day: Alchemy

Alchemy is a game of strategy and wit. Carefully place runes and turn the entire board to gold. You can only place runes next to pieces of the same color or shape. However, you can place a rune of any color or shape next to a grey stone. If you can't place the rune, you may discard it. But be careful, discard four runes in a row and it'll be game over! If you fill a row or column with runes, they'll all disappear, opening up the board. Similarly, a skull will let you destroy any rune on the board.

Alchemy may seem complicated at first, but once you grasp the basics, you'll be hooked on its addictive gameplay. Good luck!

Click here to play Alchemy!
alchemy game of the day     alchemy game of the day
What did you think of Alchemy? Where you able to turn lead into gold?

Game of the Day: Bubble Town

bubble town game of the dayOne shot from the chute and you'll be hooked. Bubble Town is the arcade-style puzzle game that will test your wits, not just your reflexes. Match three Borbs of the same color to knock them off. Collect the various power ups to gain an edge with special bonus abilities. But don't take too long; if the Borbs reach the Danger Zone, it'll be game over!

Join the unforgettable cast of characters for an adventure of bubble-popping proportions, just watch out for that Danger Zone. Choose to play with your Borbs grouped up in a ball or straight up. Either way, the addictive gameplay will give you hours of fun.

Click here to play Bubble Town!
bubble town game of the day     bubble town game of the day
Pro Tips:

    * Bank shots! These are crucial to your Bubble Town success. If you're trying to line up a bank shot, wait for a moment. A little cursor will appear to assist your aim making it easy to hit those two wall bank shots.
    * Look for big drops. If you see a bunch of Borbs being held up by a couple of the same color, hitting that shot should be your top priority.


Click here to play Bubble Town!

What do you think of Bubble Town?

Game of the Day: Impale

The Smurfs Village
Android owners, did you really think you could survive the blue wave for long? Capcom's Beeline Interactive announced that Smurfs' Village will launch on select Android devices for free on Sept. 28. Originally released for the iPhone and iPad in late 2010, the mobile social game skyrocketed in popularity and even resulted in one hilarious lesson in child rearing in 2011.

The game plays out much like mobile Zynga games like CityVille Hometown in that players are tasked (by Papa Smurf) to build up their very own--you guessed it--village. But this time, it's for the Smurfs to dwell in as the evil Gargamel seeks them out. During your time expanding the Smurfs' miniature empire, you'll gain access to some of the more popular Smurfs and their special abilities.

Namely, many of these blue buggers will unlock mini games for you to enjoy and find additional resources with like Greedy Smurf's Baking Game or Papa Smurf's Potion Mixing Game. Of course, players can also share their experiences with their friends on Facebook through Facebook Connect. According to Capcom, Smurfs' Village consistently ranks as a top grossing app worldwide. (We think we have an idea of how that happened back in the day.)

Most recently, Capcom and Beeline released Smurfs' Grabber to iPhone and iPad, which will soon integrate directly with Smurfs' Village. (Not to mention that Ubisoft released a full-blown Smurfs game for Facebook.) We imagine that, with the heaping gold mine that the Smurfs property has proven to be for Capcom, it won't be long before you're grabbing for goodies in Smurfs' Village with Smurfs' Grabber on Android devices, too. Until then, just focus on building your blue buddies some comfy mushroom houses.

Click here to find The Smurfs' Village on the Android Market >

Are you a fan of the recent mobile and social takes on the Smurfs in smartphones and on Facebook? Will we ever get enough of the smurfing? Sound off in the comments. 1 Comment