After Sid Meier announced on Thursday that a new Civilization title called Civilization Network was on its way to Facebook, it had me thinking: what other games could I play until I'm ready to take on Meier's new title next year?
To determine that, I've spent some time with several games on Facebook and narrowed that list down to the titles that are actually worth playing. If you want to have some fun on Facebook, check out these games.
Get your game on
FarmVille At first glance, FarmVille might seem like a lame game that isn't worth playing. But once you give it a few minutes, I think you'll find that it's extremely addictive.
The premise behind FarmVille is simple: build a farm that grows all kinds of fruits and vegetables. When you first start the game, you'll see a few patches of land where you can start planting. From there, you need to ensure that your farm is healthy as you continue to grow the items in your inventory. The game features simple point-and-click controls, making it accessible for any Facebook user.
FarmVille's "neighbors" feature is quite fun. Users can find other "farmers" in their friends list and grow a nice, bountiful farm together. It's a great concept that adds more value to the game. And the best part is, the more people who farm in FarmVille, the more money that will go to Sweet Seeds for Haiti, a charity that gives healthy meals to families in Haiti. Try it out.
FarmVille features some fun, farming goodness.
(Credit: Screenshot by Don Reisinger/CNET)Mafia Wars If you're as much of a fan of movies like "The Godfather" and "Goodfellas" as I am, you might have some fun with Mafia Wars.
The object of Mafia Wars is simple: become a boss of a mafia family. When you first start playing the game, you'll see several different "jobs" that you can take on. They include (pretty much) any criminal activity you can think of. That said, you won't actually engage in those activities like you would in a Grand Theft Auto game. Instead, you'll simply tell the game that you want to perform a particular job and you will. When complete, you receive more cash and credibility. Think of it as a simple role-playing game.
Like the other games in this roundup, Mafia Wars has a social element to it. Your goal is to recruit members into your own family as you fight for mafia dominance. When that social element comes in, Mafia Wars shows its value. It's a really fun game when you play with friends.
Mafia Wars asks you to perform jobs to become a mafia kingpin.
(Credit: Screenshot by Don Reisinger/CNET)If you're already possessed by the Halloween spirit, you'll shriek with delight to find that Facebook's cauldron includes a measure of worthy apps.
Check 'em out.
Halloween Apps
HalloweenBuilder is one of those apps that you're unsure of beforehand. But once you start using it, you quickly become a fan.
The basic premise of HalloweenBuilder is simple: create the jack-o-lantern of your dreams. The app offers numerous designs for the eyes, nose, mouth, and other features. From there, simply pick the designs you want and arrange them how you see fit. The app automatically does the cutting for you.
I really enjoyed HalloweenBuilder. I made a few designs, and each was quite fun.
HalloweenBuilder lets you create your own pumpkin design.
(Credit: Screenshot by Don Reisinger/CNET)Halloween Pumpkins is another app that lets you carve a virtual pumpkin. The only difference between HalloweenBuilder and Halloween Pumpkins is that the latter requires you to carve your jack-o-lantern freehand. If you like your design, you can share it with other app users.
I enjoyed the app. Although its design wasn't overly impressive and the app did a great job of highlighting my lack of artistic ability, I had fun. And comparing my designs to those that were voted most popular by the users was interesting. Halloween Pumpkins is a great app to check out when you're bored.
My unique artistic ability.
(Credit: Screenshot by Don Reisinger/CNET)
Scan your Facebook news feed with the new Android app.
(Credit: Facebook)While iPhone owners have long had a powerful Facebook app with a wide range of functionality, Google Android users have had to make do with the mobile version of the social networking site (called Facebook Lite). Not only does it offer limited features, but also it is clunky and rather difficult to navigate.
But that changed Tuesday when a new and long-awaited Facebook app hit the Android market. The free app offers many of the features that you've come to expect on the iPhone app and the full version of the site. You can scan your news feed, view your friends' walls and user information, comment on status updates, hit the "like" button, take and upload photos, add new friends and post status updates of your own. What's more, you can add a notification widget to your home screen and you even can shake to refresh your news feed.
Though we welcome the extra features, the interface and navigation appear a bit convoluted as of now. For example, it takes a lot of clicks to get to a friend's profile and list of friends. Also, you can't get Facebook chat or access to messaging for now. We assume those features will be added soon.
It's worth noting that while Facebook is listed as the developer in the Android Market, according to Facebook's official Web page for the app, it was not developed by the company. From what we hear, Google developed the app with Facebook's help.
We installed the app without incident on our T-Mobile MyTouch 3G. Check back soon for a full review.
If you're a film buff, you might be happy to know that Facebook apps are available that will help you stay up-to-date on the industry, while giving you the option to tell all your friends what movies you love. Some of the apps are better than others, but one thing is certain: if you're a real movie fan, you need to add at least some of them to your profile.
Social film going
Blu-ray Collection Blu-ray Collection provides an extremely useful way to track and share your Blu-ray collection.
Once you find what you're looking for through the app's search field, you can add it to your listing. Those movies can then be viewed by other app users. The app lists over 1,000 films. And since you can rate your listings, you can see how much you liked a movie, compared to your friends.
Blu-ray Collection keeps all your movies in one place.
(Credit: Screenshot by Don Reisinger/CNET)Flixster Movies Flixster Movies connects you with other movie fans to talk about your favorite films. The app also lets you update your Facebook status with the movies you want to see in theaters.
Flixster Movies is like having the full Flixster experience in Facebook. You can review films, take quizzes to test your knowledge, connect with other app users, and research films you're interested in. It's a full-featured product that works quite well.
Flixster Movies provides a full social movie experience.
(Credit: Screenshot by Don Reisinger/CNET)There are currently more than 10 billion photos on Facebook. With so many images, Facebook's own photo management tools just don't do the job you might expect. Realizing that, I've found some great apps that will help you get more out of your pictures. You won't be disappointed.
Facebook photo tools
Photo Album Strip Photo Album Strip is a great app. After you install it on your profile, it will allow you to change the designations for your albums to anything you want. You can also change their colors, reduce the number of picture categories, or hide those that you don't want your friends to see. It's an extremely simple app, but it works well and it's one of the more convenient apps in this roundup. It's definitely worth trying out.
Photo Album Strip gives you some ideas for photo album categories.
(Credit: Screenshot by Don Reisinger/CNET)Photo Box Photo Box is similar to Flickr. It allows you to tag your photos and share those with friends. You can also arrange them based on the topic of the photos. But perhaps the most appealing aspect of Photo Box is that it tracks how many people have viewed your images. That should give you some insight into what your friends like. Overall, Photo Box is a pretty simple app, but it's worth trying out.
Photo Box brings Flickr-like features to Facebook.
(Credit: Screenshot by Don Reisinger/CNET)
Since OpenSocial's release in 2007, a variety of applications have been developed through the program. While some of the applications are built for MySpace, and others are also available on Facebook--which has kept its distance from the Google-led platform--the majority of them unfortunately are designed for less popular social networks, such as Hi5, Orkut, and Ning.
Some OpenSocial apps, regardless, are worth trying out. From games to profile add-ons, I've found eight that I deem worth adding to a compatible social-network account.
8 OpenSocial apps
Centrl Centrl is a chat tool that enables you to communicate with friends across many social networks. It can be installed on MySpace, Orkut, Ning, Hi5, and elsewhere. Once installed, you can engage in a public chat with anyone or talk to individuals on a variety of social networks, including Facebook. The app also determines your location so you can find folks in your area.
I found Centrl chat to be simple and appealing. But considering that so many social networks have their own instant-messaging tool, don't expect Centrl to gain too much traction anytime soon.
Centrl shows you who's on across the world.
(Credit: Screenshot by Don Reisinger/CNET)MiniTweet MiniTweet is a simple OpenSocial app. The tool adds a small Twitter update box to your MySpace profile. You can pick a title and input your user name. MiniTweet then displays all your recent Twitter updates on your profile. At any time, you can view your Twitter page by clicking on your MiniTweet title. You can't update your status in the app, but it's still worth checking out.
MiniTweet displays your Twitter updates.
(Credit: Screenshot by Don Reisinger/CNET)There are hundreds of Facebook apps that provide no real benefit. How many times can you send flowers to your friends with Flowers of Friendship before it gets old? Do you really need Pieces of Flair to show off your interests in your Facebook profile? I don't think so.
That's why I thought I'd write something constructive today. Facebook might be fun, but some of its apps can really teach you something. Let's take a look at 10 apps that stimulate your brain (or are otherwise useful).
Time to learn
Books Books is a book-sharing and discovery application that will help you find titles that interest you. When you add the app to your profile, you can immediately begin adding books you've read. You can then rate the book and write reviews for your friends to see.
Books also lets you view titles your friends are reading. If you think it's something worth trying out, you can click on its link, and you'll be brought to its Amazon.com page so you can complete your purchase. Books' listing of the most popular titles is another great thing to check out. You'll find a slew of interesting reads.
Books has a listing of all the most popular books.
(Credit: Screenshot by Don Reisinger/CNET)CourseFeed CourseFeed is a unique service. The Facebook app helps you find high-school and college classmates, and connect with them through the service. You might be surprised by how many people are on there.
But where it adds considerable value is in its "learner" feature. The app makes classes from major universities available to users. You can learn computer science from Stanford University professors, or nuclear warfare from Notre Dame. It gives you access to online-learning tool BlackBoard, so you can see all the documents, quizzes, and instruction the professors provide. CourseFeed is a great learning tool.
Pick your favorite class in CourseFeed.
(Credit: Screenshot by Don Reisinger/CNET)
As anticipated from last week's Facebook company blog post, the company has rolled out a redesigned directory of applications that has been tweaked to better show off verified applications. The company has also trimmed the number of categories down to just seven from a list that had grown to 22.
Verified applications are those that have gone through Facebook's new annual verification program, which costs $375, or $175 for students. Facebook vets these apps to make sure they conform to the company's standards both in content and in API usage.
Apps that have been verified get a little green check mark next to their name, along with a large badge that goes on their description pages. With this move it also nets verified apps more exposure within the directory. They're now shown off in a new featured section that goes on top of all the other applications in each category.
While users can choose to only view verified apps in each category, one area where verified apps do not have as much importance is with Facebook's search. If you do a search for an app, it does not tell you whether it's been verified or not within the results, something that Facebook could change as an additional incentive for developers to pay up to get verified.
The new Facebook apps directory is a little more trimmed down, and highlights applications that have been verified with a little green check mark.
(Credit: CNET)
If you're a United Kingdom dweller feeling left out of U.S.-only services like BuyYourFriendADrink.com there's light at the end of the tunnel. Launching Friday is Get Them In, a new way to buy your friends food and drink items right on Facebook which can be redeemed at various U.K. pubs and retailers.
Unlike BYFAD, Get Them In is not just centered around bars, and it works in grocery stores too. Purchases of drinks and snacks are made through Facebook using PayPal, so you've got your entire list of friends available in one place. Once you've made the purchase, your friend gets a special redemption code sent to their phone which can be redeemed at the point of purchase in one of 1,500-plus participating retailers.
Coming soon is support for the U.S., Canada, and Australia, as well as an OpenSocial version for use on other social networks.
Pick out certain goods and buy them straight from Facebook to send to your friends.
(Credit: CNET Networks)It's the M&A deal of the century: FluffFriends got bought!
The virtual-pet application built on Facebook's platform, which once permitted me to display a penguin named Bill Gates on my profile and invite friends to give him a nice hug, has officially been acquired by the Social Gaming Network. A price was not disclosed.
I named him Bill Gates.
(Credit: FluffFriends)FluffFriends makes money through a virtual currency that translates to real cash, with which members purchase items to spruce up their pets. A release from the Social Gaming Network said that since January, the game makes an average of 192 percent more revenue per paid player, and members spend an average of 143 percent more per transaction.
Of note: FluffFriends was actually created by a Google engineer, Mike Sego.
Last month, the Social Gaming Network announced funding from Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos' investment firm. It was already backed by $15 million in a round led by Greylock Partners.
