Since Windows 3.x Solitaire is a constantcompanion of Microsoft’s operating systems. Originally made as a programming exercise by Wes Cherry in 1989 and called Klondike, this digital variation of the card game Patience caused many paid working hours being wasted. Solitaire was a casual game before the term even existed and certainly one of the most played games on earth.

GameDuell turned it with Solitaire Harmony in a cross-platform social game for iOS, Android, Facebook and a web game on their own web platform. GameDuell is Germanys most visited internet-games site and ranks #2 of the Top Developers from Germany on AppStats and with a brought catalog of cross-platform games GameDuell is pushing into the cross-platform market. One of those games is Solitaire Harmony.

Title: Solitaire Harmony
Developer GameDuell
Genre: Puzzle
Languages: English
Platform(s): Facebook, Web, iOS, Android
Active users (Facebook): 9,000 DAU; 50 .000 MAU

How to play:

Solitaire Harmony is played as the standard Solitaire game known from windows. A standard 52 card set with no jokers, is laid out as 7 stacks of overlapping cards, called tableau.

From Right to left the number of card decrees from 7 down to one. Only the top card is visible. The remaining 24 cards are combined in a pile, often refereed as the talon.

Now the Player has to build the 4 foundation piles (one for each suit) from Ace to King (lowest to highest), by moving cards on the tableau. The tableau have to be build from highest to lowest in alternate colures and empty pile can be filled with kings. Cards from the Talon can be pulled in packs of three where all three cards are viable, but only the card on top can be placed in on the tableau. A score is given rating the draws a player needs, also a time bonus is added if he solves the game in less than five minutes. Those scores have different meanings on all of the three Platforms.

On their own game portal GameDuell offers real opponents and real prizes. The players set their stake before the game and in the after the game the scores are compared. Winner takes is all. That is enough insensitive for a player to play the web version of the game, but since waging with real money is prohibited on Facebook and in the Apple App Store, other rewards are needed – changing the framework, but not the core game play.

Competition has still made into the Facebook version, but not for real money. The player plays for a ‘Harmony Cash’ Jackpot, player with the highest scores wins. Harmony Cash can buy new live and helps the player to upgrade his castle. If not bought with Harmony Cash, the player hast to wait 14 minutes for a new life and until he levels up to upgrade his castle. This can be quite annoying, because the limit of hearts that can be stored is very low with only two. But on the other hand it makes it quit tempting to buy a bit Harmony Cash. Some players will be scared of other will buy and some will just have the patience. Or maybe change to the mobile version.

The framework of the game is quite similar to the Facebook version. The player also upgrades his castle by winning games of solitaire. Different is, that he doesn’t earn Harmony Cash but Crowns and there are now lives limiting the amount of plays. Also added are powers that can be bought to enhance winning chances. First this powers have to be unlocked for a certain amount and then and then the player pays a small fee each round he uses them, making crowns very valuable. They can be earned by winning games, leveling up, bought or earned by participating in promotions as signing up for a page or buying something. This kid of promotion is also used in the Facebook version, but only as an occasional offer. Here this option is always available to the player.

We had the pleasure to talk to GameDuell ask some questions about their experiences in developing cross-platform games ant the HTML 5 version of Solitaire Harmony.

Social Games Observer: Why is the mobile version of Solitaire Harmony not linked to the Facebook version?

GameDuell: Solitaire Harmony was the first game we offered on basically every possible platform. For us it was at the beginning more important to offer a perfect cross-platform experience, as we for example know that retention rates are higher for such games, than integrating every possible social feature that we had on the list. As of today people can play the Solitaire Harmony on Facebook, our own social site, iOS, Android and since a few weeks it also runs with HTML5 which makes it possible to open the game in almost any mobile web browser.[...] We tried to bring a lot of improvements with this new version of the game – one of them is the login via Facebook. Additionally the game play was improved, graphics got polished and animations look smoother. ince we believe that HTML5 will play an important role in games development in the future, as one big advantage of this technology is that you develop a game once and run it on any device and platform, we really wanted to build a first HTML5 game now. It gives us the opportunity to gather now already first experiences and learnings to be prepared for the future when HTML5 will be ready for the masses.

SGO: What are the challenges trying to translate skill based competitive games into a social or mobile environment?

GD: The interaction between friends has to be in the center of the game. People love to beat their friend’s highscore, be able to level up, send gifts, see how their friends do, etc.

Especially for mobile games it can be challenging to make everything totally social since users want to play everywhere – with or without internet connection – and at any time. Sometimes, they just open the game briefly to play for a minute or even less. But this one minute needs to be a perfect social experience and other challenges like the small screen on mobile devices as well as interruptions through phone calls and messages need to be handled as well.

When it comes to Android mobile devices it gets even trickier. The fragmentation is very high and currently there are over 500 different Android devices with different screens and set-ups out there. Even though it looks easy to make a game run on all of them, it isn’t.

We also learnt that even rather simple games can be considered as complex by many players. Therefore we started to create easy and simple tutorials that increase the accessibility and connect players emotionally with the game.

Also, we not only try to make the start into a game and its game play as enjoyable as possible but also try to make sure that it is visually a great experience (e.g. on Bubble Speed, that you named “Game of the week” last week, we recently spent a couple of weeks just on fine tuning and improving the graphics, which is certainly one of the reasons why the metrics improved) – people simply love it when a game looks more cute and lively.

SGO:Playing on a touch screen gives advantages and disadvantages in comparison to mouse and keyboard as an input device. What are the challenges in balancing the different platforms and their strengths and weakness, concerning skill based competitive gaming?

GD: While surely game development requires understanding of the users and creativity, most game developers also have developed strong analytics around games.  For us, the advantage of having a big community on different platforms is our ability to test and measure a lot. We have constantly A/B tests running and compare the behavior of different cohorts with similar feature sets on different devices. This helps us to understand the proper balancing and we constantly work on improving the user experience. We don’t only give them what they say they like, but also constantly observe how they enjoy our games. If we discover imbalances across platforms, we can spot them and provide solutions.

In the end all versions of Solitaire Harmony are driven by different mechanisms.  Missing is a linking between them – which goes beyond cross promotion. The r social and mobile versions with the campaign model just don’t have what it needs to keep the user playing. In the best case the social and mobile version teaches the player solitaire and gives him the confidence to compete in the web version for real money. Even thought Solitaire Harmony is available on 3 different platforms, they are three different Solitaire games – of which the web version hast the most appeal.

Latin America is one of the most rapidly developing regions in the world and home of the emerging market-stars Brazil and Mexico, considered to be two of the future’s largest economies. With a population of over 590 million people and reaching 112 million internet users (8.4% of the global number) this region also provides a lucrative market for the social games industry.

What supports these impressive results are the increased broadband penetration and constantly growing mobile penetration that on average is well over 100% and sees users spending over 24 hours online. And do you wonder what they’re doing while browsing the web?

They spend a large portion of their time on social networks:

Google’s own Eric Schmidt commented that, “We see a very fast growth and, in fact, Brazil and Argentina are two countries that are having the fastest growth in the World, so we have plans to invest heavily in the country, perhaps even double that what we are doing now”.

Until recently, the traditionally strong Orkut was the social network of preference. However, the latest research shows that Facebook has taken the crown there too.  Both platforms call for more attention to Latin America and, unlike the big western markets, they are open for developers of all sizes. What makes the region even more interesting is the fact that most people there speak Spanish or Portuguese. This means that once your game is ready, all you need to do is utilize these languages in your project in order to get maximum attention (and conversions). Sounds great!

As Developers know monetizing one’s users through credit cards in Latin America is close to impossible. On the other hand, the mobile penetration in the region is incredibly high. Just Brazil has over 207.5 million subscribers and this number is growing by the day.

About the Author
Jurgen Herzmann is Senior Carrier Relations Manager at Fortumo, a mobile payments provider that operates in over 60 countries globally, covering most of Latin America, including the biggest markets in the region such as Argentina and Brazil. It has helped many top developers on web and mobile enter this region

European mobile social gambling company AbZorba Games is opening its Blackjack and other casino titles to other partners as a white label gaming platform for just-for-fun mobile social casino games on Android and iOS.

AbZorba’s so-called AGON platform is targeted at real money casino and betting companies trying to get into just-for-fun mobile gambling, mainly to attract new audiences but also to get a piece of the increasing virtual goods revenues of freemium social casino apps. “We firmly believe the collision between virtual and real money gambling worlds is happening. Many real casino brands are behind the curve on social mobile games,” said AbZorba co-founder and CEO Andrew Hughes.
Juniper Research estimates that mobile gambling could reach a volume of $100bn by 2017, driven by social gaming and the development of mobile wallets.

AbZorba Games’ ‘Hub of Fun Casino’ includes real-time Blackjack as well as Poker and Roulette with Bingo and slots titles to follow. Casino companies could publish these games under their own brand, or advertise as affiliate partners in the existing apps. Social features include sending other players virtual drinks, private instant message chats and posting achievements on Facebook and Twitter.
According to Hughes, AbZorba is in talks with partners, including a major online betting and casino company from the UK.

Founded in September 2011 in Athens Greece (but now headquartered in Delaware, USA), AbZorba Games builds free-to-play mobile social and multiplayer casino titles for Android and iOS. Their most successful game Live Blackjack21 has 800,000 installs on Android, according to the developer.

The sound of the forest, mumbling citizens and angry but cute bears, those are familiar things to the aspiring majors in the social game Triple Town. Developer Spry Fox first released it for the Amazon Kindle in 2010. Limited due to the e-readers specifications, the game had no sound, no colors and was not social, but with an interesting core game mechanic of a ‘Match-3’ puzzle game.

With a slightly new setting and adding a social game esthetic to the presentation; it was released on Facebook and Google+ in October 2011. In January 2012 the success of Triple Town and the demand of the community led to a mobile version of the game for iOS and Android devices. Was this the foundation stone for a social cross-platform experience?

The task in Triple Town is straight forward: Build the biggest town possible. It gives the well known ‘Match-3’ mechanic the twist, which tasks the player to build structure, not destroying it, making it a slower paced high score game.

The town is build by placing object as grass, trees or bushes into a 6×6 field in which some object are already placed. The player can build new structures by matching three of the same objects next to each other, resulting in the merging of the objects in a new one. Those can then be merged in the same manner to better structures. As an example, 3 field of grass result in a bush, 3 bushes in a tree and so on. Higher complexity equals in more points are added to the score.

To spice things up, occasionally the player has to place a bear. Once placed he move around the village and may prevent the player to build the town how he planned it, by simply blocking the spot where he stands. Trapping him with objects so that he can’t move will stop him and turn him into a gravestone, which also can be matched into new structures.  Those bears bring in certain randomness and complicate the construction of the most valuable town possible. The level ends if all fields are occupied. In relation to the score achieved, coins are earned. And this is where the monetization is introduced into the game.

Coin can be used to buy aid in the shop. There the player can buy an object he wishes to place in the field, other than the random one that is given to him. This can make up for mistakes he made in planning his placements. But more important, it can buy him more play time, because the limited resources in Triple Town are his moves.

Moves can be bought in the store or regenerate over time. It is also possible to buy unlimited moves as an In-App purchase. Surprisingly friend interaction that rewards with moves or coins is missing – except achievements and the game center rankings. And more things are missing.

In comparison to the Flash version on Facebook the mobile version lacks all social implementations.
All social features as weekly ranking, sharing options for high scores and gift sending are absent in the mobile version. In the Flash version the player also moves from town to town on a campaign map, facing new challenges and presets, as smaller field or towns with no bears. On mobile only three additional levels are available for purchase. The mobile game and the Facebook version are completely separate from each other. Triple Town misses the opportunity to give the player a long time motivation. After the a few rounds, when the appeal of presentation is fading and he gets the feeling he saw everything, he will most certainly not come back for more. If they are no true puzzle fan, there little that keeps players coming back.

In conclusion Triple Town is not as greater on mobile as it is on Facebook or Google+ and no social cross-platform game. The two versions are in no relation to each other. Playing one version won’t lead the player to play the other. For the mobile version the simple game play with a sense of depth is not enough keep a player playing over a long time period – at least not in this target g

King.com is on a roll. After replacing Wooga as number 2 behind Zynga, the casual social games company now opens a new development studio in London led by Catharina Lavers Mallet who joins from EA where she was an executive producer of titles such as The Sims Social. Over time, the studio is expected to have over 40 employees.

King.com’s Facebook games like Bubble Witch Saga or Candy Crush Saga are very casual with an added social layer that make them incredibly popular, reaching currently more than 12 million daily active users (DAU).  

Getting The Sims Social producer Mallet on board could be an indicator that King is looking into deepening its casual social games portfolio. Mallet had joined Electronic Arts as part of their Playfish acquisition; prior to this, she held several executive leadership roles across several European-based corporations. “I am thrilled to be setting up a new studio for King.com. I am excited by the company’s vision to be number one in the casual social games category, and have been very impressed by the team and the original IP they have built,” said Mallet in a press statement. “I am completely addicted to their latest game, Candy Crush Saga, and am looking forward to helping further build on the company’s momentum.”

King.com, founded in 2003, produces games for multiple social and mobile platforms such as Facebook, Google+ and most recently mobile devices. Its premier destination, King.com offers over 150 exclusive games in 14 languages and enables users to play against each other for real money.

Pool Games are popular on Facebook: Geewa’s Pool Live Tour keeps going strong at more than 2 million daily active users, but other developers benefit from the trend as well. This week’s game of the week 8 Ball Pool by UK’s Miniclip impresses with a quite unique cross-platform multiplayer approach making it possible for Facebook players to compete with those on Miniclip’s web portal and Google+ users simultaneously in real-time.

Title: 8 Ball Pool
Developer Miniclip
Genre: Sports
Languages: English
Platform(s): Facebook, Google+, Web
Launch (Facebook): November 2010
Active users (Facebook): 380,000 DAU; 1,900,000 MAU

How to play

8 Ball Pool's DAU curve since launch

Other than Pool Live Tour which has a variety of modes and different levels, 8 Ball Pool is entirely focused on the essentials and controls are ridiculously easy to pick up: Players aim, apply power and shoot the cue ball with mouse controls while optionally adding spin using the arrow keys. Because gameplay always takes place in real-time, each user has very limited time to make a shot before losing a turn to the opponent.

There are duels against strangers from any platform and friends found via their in-game nickname. Facebook friends can be invited to play too, but typical features like the friends bar and gifting are missing.
A sheer endless selection of in-game achievements keeps things interesting and heats up competition. Those achievements include winning several games in a row, combination shots or beating a higher ranked player, among others. For advanced players, winning tournaments with 8, 16 or 32 opponents becomes the main route to fame.

On Facebook and Miniclip’s web portal, there is an in-game shop which allows to purchase special cues; other paid virtual items are not available. In the Google+ version both shop and tournaments are still missing.

Last year, Zynga surprisingly acquired German developer Gamedoctors, creator of successful indie iOS game ZombieSmash. The Gamedoctors team has now launched Zombie Swipeout – their first title under the Zynga brand, although it was already in development at the time of the acquisition in October 2011. Gamedoctors’ core team remained the same and still operates from Bielefeld, Germany.

“The great thing for us is that nothing big has changed, we continue working in pretty much the same way while having access to additional resources and getting a lot of support from Zynga’s other teams,” Gamedoctors’ founder and now Director Zynga Mobile Germany Matthias Hoechsmann tells us.

Zombie Swipeout, the ’spiritual successor’ to ZombieSmash, is an accessible free-to-play action title with only one game mode in which players attempt to slash (or slice, bludgeon, explode, clobber) as many floating zombies as possible while sparing Joey, the only surviving human character.
Hitting a zombie’s head grants extra points; power-ups include grenades, slow mo, and liquid nitrogen and a full armory of sharp and blunt weapons from machetes and knight swords to baseball bats — all with different perks. The scoring system is woven into gameplay with slashable coins serving as the primary way to advance.

Using different weapons consumes different amounts of energy which is refilled with the game’s virtual currency Coins. Unusually, these Coins can be earned within the game, making it theoretically possible to extend play endlessly without paying. However, this would leave players with less funds to buy advanced weaponry – so a fair amount of strategic play is required to make it to the top.

A leaderboard is the core social element with weekly tournaments against Facebook friends or other players that can be added when knowing their personal game code.
Zombie Swipeout is available now in Canada and will be soon rolled out worldwide for iPhone and iPod Touch. As with ZombieSmash, an Android version will follow.

[Editor's note: This is a guest post by Martin Frindt; Co-Founder Crowdpark, developer of social betting game Bet Tycoon and slot machine app Pet Vegas on Facebook. Martin takes a closer look at user demographics behind social gambling apps and what differentiates them from real money gamblers.]

Social casino and betting games are a hot market. Gambling operators are eyeing and buying social games developers in hopes that social gamers will convert to real money gamblers or to include a new stand-alone business with a lot of growth potential into their portfolio. Social casino and betting games – with a virtual rather than real money payout – have been bringing in high revenues. The relatively small sums paid for virtual goods add up well due to the huge reach of social games. Although there are far fewer online gamblers, their lifetime value is impressively high. When offered in tandem with real money (payout) games, social casino and betting games’ revenue potential is remarkable.
Two major factors have created much excitement regarding the potential of social casino and betting games. First, Facebook has been rumored to be in talks with gambling operators to allow real money gambling on its platform. Second, there’s a greater chance than ever that the U.S. will legalize online gambling. While these important variables are being negotiated by influential parties, gambling operators and social games developers can turn their focus to game-player data. These companies must gather and interpret data determining potential synergies between virtual and real-money payout casino gaming that are not contingent on regulations beyond their control.

Successful social games require a deep knowledge of social graphs so that they are designed to generate maximum reach. And maximum reach is the key factor for monetization. Gambling operators have demonstrated their need to seek social games expertise by investing in or purchasing social games companies. Here, we investigate the player demographics and behaviors of social casino and betting games players to elaborate on why the social casino and betting games market is heating up.

Social betting games, in which users bet on sports, politics, gossip, etc., are a very new category of social game that Crowdpark is pioneering. As the number of social games grows, social casino games are becoming increasingly popular and now include: slots, bingo, blackjack, roulette and poker on Facebook. Casino games are among the best monetizing social games. The Casual Games Association Sector Report describes casino, poker and role-playing games as, on average, monetizing the best of all social games categories with 5-10 cents expected average daily revenue per daily active user (DAU). This number compares to 3-7 cents for hidden object, adventure and tournament games and 1-5 cents for puzzle, arcade, caretaking and simulation games.

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Social games developers must be extremely responsive to their players’ behavior, especially since players expect games to be constantly evolving with new features and ways to connect and compete with friends. Both virtual and real money payout online gambling games currently offered by gambling operators tend to be single player games. Social games, on the other hand, leverage a social graph to motivate gameplay through relationships. Another difference between online gamblers and social casino and betting games players is that gamblers play online games for the chance to win big while social gamers play to show off achievements and to advance in the game, as well as for fun.

The average social network games player is a 40-year-old woman, quite closely resembling the average land-based casino user. Social casino games, however, attract a slightly older population with the average player being over 45. Virtual goods purchasers in social games are 58% female, 42% male.

Social casino apps like Crowdpark's Pet Vegas appeal primarily to women.

Of top spenders, 70% are female and 30% are male. One of the most successful slots games on Facebook has a user base that’s approximately 60% female. Women, who are more likely to play casino games, are also social games’ money makers.
Social casino and betting games offer the gambling operator not only the chance to convert players to real money gaming, but also the opportunity to reach a broader audience than their traditional games. Real money online betting is notoriously male-dominated with over 90% of players being male. Overall, social games are played mostly by women, and so social betting games can achieve higher rates of female players than their real money betting counterparts.

The prospect of converting millions of social casino and betting gamers to real money gamblers is driving social games company acquisitions despite the uncertainty of major variables such as real money gambling on Facebook and its legalization in the U.S. Nonetheless, virtual payout social casino and betting games offer an opportunity for gambling operators to diversify their offerings and widen their net.

Social is going mobile. Now that facebook is mostly dominated by a chosen few companies, new users have to be targeted. Wooga was setting foot in the mobile market with  “Diamond Dash” brand. Diamond Dash was originally released at March 2011 on Facebook and has now 19 million monthly users and marks #20 of the top Apps on Facebook. In the App Store the games is generating solid numbers as well.

According to Wooga Diamond Dash has been downloaded over 11 million times since the release in December 2011. So what makes it so appealing that millions play it on a regular basis?

At its core Diamond Dash is a ‘Match-3’ arcade puzzle game.  Your goal is to achieve points by clearing gems in an 8×7 field. Gems can only be cleared when at least 3 gems of the same type are next to each other (not diagonal).  If the player taps on such a set of gems, they vanish and new gems fill up the field from the top changing the field and leading to a new set of gems in the field.

Every game is limited by 60 second, in which a new high score has to be set. The key to do so is to chain combos.  If you swiftly clear several gems in a row you enter an overdrive mode, where not only the matching gems are cleared but also the surrounding ones, leading to more point for you. If you keep your run up, you stay longer in this boosted mode.

Another way to earn more points is clearing gems rapidly without tapping on wrong combinations.  This will fill a meter, that when fully charged, lets a burning diamond appear in the field.  Triggering it lets a meteor crush down on the field and clearing every gem in the row of the triggered diamond.  Also playing the game for a longer period will get you advantages.

You get ‘experience stars’ with every game you play. Higher scores result in a higher amount of experience. Every level increases your score bonus. With level 12 you get access to magic spells that make it easier to get higher scores.But the true reason why this game is so addicting is the social part.

To play the game you need lives. They replenish every 7 min and stack up to a maximum of 5. You can increases your number of hearts by buying them with gold you gets for every level up. Gold can also be purchased via In-App purchase.  The less costly way to be able keeping playing is to ask friends to send you lives. To do that you can connect with your Facebook account.

Diamond Dash was one of the first games that came with Facebook Connect. This allows users to log in with their Facebook accounts. This not only makes it able share their scores and achievements on Facebook, but also to play with the same profile as in the flash version on Facebook.  This is important because you get a better chance to win weekly tournament.

Both versions are synchronized and scores are loaded into the same leader board in which you can compare your scores with those of your friends. Every week it is resented and the best player of the week gets a medal as a reward and the bragging right of being the best. This Facebook integration brings a whole new dynamic into the mobile game, because you are no longer competing with strangers in the game center but with your friends.  You know who you have beaten and also who has surpassed you in the high score.

Diamond Dash is in many ways a success. It shows how cross-gaming is done right. Not only does it manages to translate a Facebook game on to the mobile platform but also adds to the whole experience of social games.  You play on the same data base and every game matters.  Even if you are not connected with your mobile device, scores are stored and the added to the database when you are connected again.
This game really shines if you connect it with your Facebook Account, a good example how social gaming is translated onto a mobile device. If more games of this kind enter the freemium mobile market, many have to reconsider their stand to social platforms.

Nexon Korea has just launched an open beta of KartRider Dash on Facebook. The announcement comes hot on the heels of Nexon’s Q1 2012 earnings report which revealed that the company has seen a 60% year-on-year revenue increase, mostly due to achieving particularly strong results in China.

KartRider Dash is based on Nexon’s original high-speed racing action KartRider, but with the added social networking features. Last year, Nexon had launched a mobile version of the franchise, KartRider Rush. On Facebook, the game allows users to play real-time kart racing with friends and other opponents selected by a match-making system.  Social features include friend invitation, sending gifts, posting game records and weekly rankings. The game balance has also been adjusted for the social platform such as the faster charge of booster gage and easier control of attack items.

KartRider Dash features various game modes including “item mode,”“speed mode,” “team mode” and “single mode.” Players will be able to meet familiar characters, tracks and karts from its original PC version along with new Facebook-only contents.

“KartRider is a great game franchise and we believe this game will provide social gamers a similar look-and-feel that the original delivered,” said Seung chan Lee, the head of the New Development Department in Nexon Korea. Lee thinks that KartRider Dash will raise the quality level of social games by offering exciting and competitive gameplay.

KartRider Dash’s performance can be tracked on our database AppStats.