The 5 Best Facebook Games

The amazing popularity of Facebook has lead to some big changes in the video game world. Some of the most popular games in the world right now are not on your PlayStations or X-boxes, but are simple social games delivered through the Facebook interface.

It is hard to tell if it is Facebook driving the social gaming scene or if the popularity of social gaming is driving Facebook towards world domination, but one thing is for sure: Social games have turned in to cultural phenomenons.

FarmVille

The most famous of all Facebook games, FarmVille has reached a penetration into the main stream that is unheard of. The game is so wildly popular that you can now buy FarmVille branded ice cream and get special game codes when buying an icee at 7-eleven.

The game itself is probably well know to everybody by now, but is essentially the most popular of a whole set of farming simulations. Borrowing more than a little from the first farm game on Facebook, Farm Town, FarmVille has managed to capture and enslave millions of players with simple play mechanics and constant updates. One of the key reasons why FarmVille has risen to the top of the gaming world is the amount of resources creators Zynga pour into keeping the game fresh. Addicted farmers are faced every week with new challenges, game objectives, decorations to buy etc.

Cafe World

Another copy cat game from Zynga, Cafe World is a near identical clone of Resteurant City. The Game sets the3 player up as manager of their own cafe where the goal is to keep customers satisfied through lavish decorating and cooking progressively more impressive meals.

Cafe World is struggling to keep up with the popularity of other and newer games on Facebook. The game concept is not easily updated and gamers are starting to look for more varied game experiences. In short, Cafe world breaks down to preparing and serving dishes, and little else. As soon as players get tiered of the cooking aspect of the game there is very little to keep them coming back. Zynga recently introduced outdoor decorations to the game in an attempt to broaden the game. If this move will be successful remains to be seen.

My Empire

There are several city management games on Facebook. They all follow the same basic outline. Players build residential buildings inter spaced with leisure or commercial buildings to sustain the population. A resent entry into the world of city games, My Empire has several twists that makes it a stand out in the genre.

First of all, the game has high quality visuals that are always important when building cities in these kinds of games. A major reason for players to keep returning to their cities is to watch them grow bigger and more beautiful. My Empire fills this aspect very well.

Another strong point of the game is the setting in Roman times. The ancient setting not only is visually appealing, it is also very recognizable for most gamers.

Finally, My Empire has introduced strategic battles and army management to the game. This is a quantum leap forward from any other city game on Facebook. Although the simulation is very simple, it adds another level of involvement to be able to train an army and take it into battle against the barbarians.

Bejewled Blitz

Bejewled is a puzzle game that can be found on virtually every single computer platform in the World. The game play for all the different games in the family revolves around swapping gems and creating chain reactions of matching colored game items.

The great appeal og Bejewled Blitz is the super fast and intense gameplay. The nature of the internet and Facebook in particular is fast paced and does not invite long and complex tasks. This is where Bejewled Blitz shines. Each game last for just one minute in which gamers have to scramble to get as high a score as possible. Adding score multipliers, power ups and speed bonuses proves highly addictive. Despite a single game lasting for just one minute, it is easy to spend several hours chasing one of your friend's high scores.

Mafia Wars

One of the first Facebook games to make it big is still one of the most played. Mafia Wars is a mostly text based adventure game that is set to a Mafia theme. Players play the role of an up and coming street thug that completes missions and gets into fights as they climb the ranks of the gangster world.

Mafia Wars pioneered what is now known as social gaming by integrating your friends list into the game. Players can recruit their real life friends to join their gang. A large gang has a huge advantage when it comes to fighting other gangsters and other players in the game. The fact that any player in the game can attack another player is a crucial dynamic of the game. Informal rules of engagement have developed around the game and emotions run high when a virtual gangster imposes on your own virtual representation.