The Fall and Rise of a Zynga Addict

Hi, K.

...and I am a former social network gaming addict.

I suppose I could blame Facebook and Zynga for starting my addiction. I just got into Facebook to network with my friends from the present and past when one of my old high school classmates asked me to join her mafia. Intrigued and hoping she had a real mafia who could help me with a few loose ends, I clicked on the invite and found myself suddenly leading a mafia family of 20-they were other Facebook friends who invited me to join their mafia earlier but I was not paying attention at the time. Unfortunately, I was not sharing pasta dinners in a seedy Italian restaurant among people like Sammy the Squid or Tommy the Tiger. This was just Mafia Wars; one of Zynga's most popular social networking games. Compared to my usual video games, Mafia Wars simply did not look like my cup of tea. The graphics were minimal. The gameplay was laughably simple. And the "social" aspect was pretty much increasing my family's numbers by getting other players to join. But I had to admit the instant gratification and simple gameplay did appeal to me. With one click of a button I was gaining experience, leveling up, buying new equipment, and beating up other people. It felt like playing a MMORPG like World of Warcraft without the overpowered computer, monthly subscription fees, or stigma of being a socially awkward gamer shut in at home.

I was hooked.

The Addiction Spreads

Mafia Wars was supposed to be my only social networking. I would only play until my energy and stamina depleted before going off with my regular life. Once time passed and the energy and stamina recharged, I would play a little more. It was a simple cycle that allowed me to easily ignore all the other overly cute and addicting games Zynga offered. I guess Zynga heard about my isolationist principles and decided to do something about it.

It began cross promoting its games.

I noticed small icons above my game screen and the news announcements. If I play five missions once a day on Vampire Wars I would receive a small bonus in Mafia Wars. Vampire Wars was pretty much a Mafia Wars clone with a Twilight vampire twist, so trying that game was easy enough. But then I noticed that Vampire Wars required me to appeal to my Facebook friends who also played Vampire Wars to give me items so I could progress through the missions-damned Chupacabra teeth. Diverting a few extra minutes to play Vampire Wars to improve my Mafia Wars game felt reasonable so I did not mind playing. Heck, I even liked customizing my avatar into a cute vampire to win approval among my coven.

Then I saw Zynga Poker getting promoted on Mafia Wars. All I had to do was gain a few levels in the poker game and I would gain a neat in-game weapon-Pocket Rockets. I am a terrible poker player, but as long as I played I would gain experience and eventually those Pocket Rockets would be mine. I never stopped to think what level has anything to do with poker. It would take a few days and many hands to gain the levels needed-I really am a terrible poker player. Once I got the weapon, the promotion followed suit with Vampire Wars where if I won just three hands I would gain bonuses. I rarely try that out given my bad poker streak. Nevertheless, I have another Zynga game on my play list.

Now the overly cute games began to cross promote and ensnare me further into the web of Zynga. Treasure Isle offered me a Reef Shark for exploring their islands, digging up treasure, and gaining a few levels. I breezed through the islands to gain my shark, but the thrill of treasure hunting and decorating my island started to sink in. Zynga shrewdly again threw another carrot at me for playing. All I had to do each day was dig up one treasure and I would receive a stamina refill that would allow me to play Mafia Wars even longer.

Cafe World-Zynga's time management game that is pretty much FarmVille but is set in a restaurant-offered another cool in-game item if I would try out this new game for 10 levels. While I promised never to get involved with anyone's farms, this cafe turned out to be addicting as crack. The point of these cross promotions whether vampires, treasure hunting, poker, or cafes was to get me to try each Zynga game, find something that appeals to me, and get addicted to it. Given the fact I still try to gain the bonuses gleaned from each one-I hope Cafe World does not offer a daily bonus after giving me the Meat Tenderizer-they did a great job.

Hitting Rock Bottom for $10

No matter how addicted to these games or how many of these games I played, I promised myself I would never pay for any of these games. Each Zynga game allows players to pay real money for virtual currency for in-game items. While this is a great way to show support for the game, I would rather spend my money on real items for games like game discs or collectibles. But it was the 7-11 promotion for three of Zynga's games that pushed me to break the promise. My waistline felt bad enough buying Slurpees, Big Gulps, and chips to gain Mafia Wars items. The 2 for $2 hot dogs were the worst but gave me plenty of armor for my buck. In order to complete the Mafia Wars set and gain even more bonuses for my Mafia Wars character, I had to spend my money to redeem a game card for the virtual currency. I did not mind buying food to gain items since my human body requires food to survive even if it is 7-11 food. But this card was not edible or collectible. I could feel my soul sink as I dropped $10 for that card just to get an in-game helmet. And a Big Bad Wolf gun.

Quitting the Game

It was after I ignored my girlfriend for about 10 minutes so I could level up my Mafia Wars character that I realized enough was enough. As fun and addicting as Zynga games are, the virtual world of interactions is nothing compared to the interactions of a real person. The first step was rationalizing my way out of the games and finding my way out. Zynga Poker was easy to give up since I still suck at poker and I prefer playing Blackjack and slots at casinos anyway for real money. That game app was the first to go. I managed to accidentally ignore Vampire Wars to death by blocking the application and gift requests fellow vampire players sent to me on Facebook. Upon noticing that Treasure Isle was simply a slower and more graphical version of clicking my way to level up just like Mafia Wars, I slowly began to lose interest. The time commitments of Cafe World began to feel like a second job where I was not getting paid so I hung up my virtual apron and went outside to try out the grill. My hands finally feel clean now that I no longer play these social networking games

The only game I have not quit cold turkey was Mafia Wars. After all, I just spent $10 on that game. It would be a waste to simply delete it.