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 Matching With Friends. You can play it on iOS. It was developed by the Zynga With Friends studio.
How does it work?
Matching With Friends is a turn-based board game. You take it in turns with another player (could be a Facebook friend, or someone random) to place three domino-like pieces on the board. Each piece is made up of three coloured blocks. You can place your pieces wherever there’s space. You score points according to the number of coloured blocks you can match with those already on the board. There are multipliers that boost your score, and you can use power-ups to boost it further or to disrupt your opponent’s play.
How does it make money?
There’s a free version of the game that includes ads. There’s also a paid version – $2.99 in the US. And in both versions you can buy coins, an in-game currency, which you can spend either to swap your pieces for new ones, or to purchase bombs to wreck havoc during your opponent’s turns.
Why is this game particularly interesting?
Matching With Friends is the latest in Zynga’s turn-based series (you may have played Scramble With Friends or Words With Friends already). Simple turn-based mechanics are very popular among casual games developers right now, especially for mobile games, for several reasons:
- Each time a player finishes their turn, the game can send a notification to their opponent to prompt them to play – this helps a lot with retention
- Each turn only takes about a minute – so simple turn-based games like Matching With Friends are perfect for time-poor players
- Playing against another person is different to playing against a robot – there’s a social pressure to make your next move and to complete the game, which also bolsters retention
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, Plants vs. Zombies, or Triple Town, just let me know.