Hello!
Each week I’ll be sending out a mail that highlights a particular game. I’ll explain how it works, how it makes money, and why it’s particularly important right now. Feel free to pass it on, to tell me to stop emailing you, or to suggest particular games or genres that you’d like to know more about.
This week’s game is Triple Town. You can play it on Facebook, iOS, Android, Google+, and (in the US) Kindle. It was developed by Spry Fox, an independent studio based in Seattle. The game currently has 30,000 daily and 170,000 monthly players.
How does it work?
Triple Town is a match-three game. You have to place randomly-generated items into the grid (see below). If you match three of the same item, those three turn into a single, slightly more valuable item (e.g. three grasses turn into a bush, three bushes turn into a tree). Occasionally bears appear on the grid – bears are bad. But if you can block them into a single space, they too will turn into a valuable item. You earn coins by placing items. The game ends when you run out of space on the board.
How does it make money?
The game is free on most platforms. But you can pay for extra coins with which to buy items, or to buy more moves – in fact, extra moves in Triple Town was the first thing I ever spent money on in a Facebook game.
Why is this game particularly interesting?
Triple Town is interesting because it was one of the very first Facebook games to be ‘published’ by a larger company. Publishing has become important on Facebook this year because there is such fierce (i.e. expensive) competition for ad spots that acquiring a large number of new users is difficult for smaller studios. Therefore some – like Spry Fox – have chosen to partner with a big player (in return for a share of net revenue) in order to reach many more users than they could otherwise afford. So in January this year Disney Playdom took over the responsibility for marketing the game, including cross-promotion with other Disney titles.
Enjoy the game, and let me know what you think of it!
Todd
P.S. If you’d like me to send you the previous Game of the Week emails – on Amazing Alex, Candy Crush Saga, Living Classics, and Plants vs. Zombies, just let me know.