Top 25 Facebook Games - December 2011: FarmVille Strikes Back

I guess in Facebook game years, FarmVille is kind of like Obi Wan Kenobi. And boy, did Zynga's farming game come back stronger than we could possibly imagine, or what? As The Sims Social falls from its cushy number two spot after losing 7.9 million monthly players, FarmVille swoops in with a 2.8 million gain this month. CityVille lost a few million, but still clings to the top.

EA and Playfish's slugger dipped even further on December's daily players chart to fifth place with a loss of 1.1 million players. (This is what we chalk all that up to.) Of course, CastleVille--Zynga's fastest-growing game ever--makes a grand entrance into both top 25 charts. The kingdom-builder shot up to fifth place in monthly players with 20.8 million, and an impressive second place in daily players with 7.3 million. That should be the shot in the arm the company needs for its imminent public offering, no?

Not so fast, considering Mafia Wars 2 didn't even make the charts in daily players, the best measure of a game's dedicated (and paying) audience. Zynga launched Mafia Wars 2 in October. The game does, however, have 11.3 million monthly players, which ties it with Wooga's Diamond Dash. That puzzle game is nine months old.
Top 25 Facebook Games by MAU
An interesting newcomer to this lineup is Nordeus's Top Eleven, which creeps up in 25th place on the daily players charts with 950,000. Unfortunately, the rest of these charts look like business as usual, aside from Zynga's major losses including Adventure World, which hemorrhaged 4.3 million monthly players. Though, it's refreshing to see some more developers continue to thrive in the top 25 charts, like King.com with Bubble Witch Saga and 6waves Lolapps with Ravenskye City.

[Source and Image Credit: Inside Social Games]

How can The Sims Social reclaim its second place spot? What other games do you think deserve to be on this list?

Pimp Mafia Wars 2 for a chance to become an in-game character

Now that the hype for Zynga's upcoming Mafia Wars 2 has officially hit a fever pitch, the developer wants you to promote the upcoming sequel on your Facebook profile. Of course, there's something in it for you: If you choose to do it, you might be immortalized in the game as a permanent character. The contest asks you to change your profile picture to that of one the game's recently-revealed characters.

If you're interested in becoming an shill ambassador of sorts for the game, just head over to its Facebook page right here. Then, choose what character portrait you want to change your profile image to, and finally submit your email address to enter.

Remember to right-click on the image that appears to save it, then upload it to your Facebook profile. Yes, you'll have to give up your precious email, but I'd be more worried about the questions you'll get from your friends regarding your ... animated makeover.

Once you're done entering the contest, look out on the Mafia Wars 2 Facebook page for a post that reads, "Comment now for your chance to become a Mafia Wars 2 character!" Then, the rest is up to chance, it seems. Zynga hasn't given an exact time for when this News Feed post will appear, so "Liking" the fan page might help your chances of successfully entering. It's funny how companies like the big Z get you to do these things, isn't it?

Do you plan on entering this new Mafia Wars 2 contest? If you were to become a permanent character in the game, what role would you like him or her to play? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment