Casual gaming and the power of Facebook

Simple pleasures can lead to big payoffs.

In an earlier post, I highlighted the growing popularity of social games such as Farmville, which has won millions of fans on Facebook. One reason Farmville has become so popular: ease of use.

Zynga, the company behind Farmville that some say is worth billions of dollars, has become a national name based on the strength of its game. It recently signed a five-year strategic relationship with Facebook.

But social gaming isn’t just about sitting in front of the computer. With the advent of smartphones, many have taken to playing casual games on the small third screen in their lives. Bejeweled 2, which retails for $2.99 in the iTunes app store, is consistently one of the top paid apps and is among the best selling apps of all time.

Yes, you can play yourself in the Classic incarnation of the game. But what makes the game so engaging is its Blitz version, which gives you one minute to capture as many jewels as possible by creating patterns of three, four, or five jewels. You can then link the game with that of your Facebook friends to compete against them.

It is the last part that makes the game so addictive. The one-minute increments make it seem as if you’re not wasting much time. Surely, you can beat your friend after one more shot. It’s the same principle that led millions of people to spend billions of quarters in video-game arcades 30 years ago. Surely, I can get the high score. It taps into our competitive nature.

It has also created a huge market, especially since one industry study indicates more adult women play video games than teenage boys.

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