#FACEBOOK ZUMA BLITZ FULL#

It'll be interesting to see how the title fares against Zynga's lasting favourite Texas Hold 'Em Poker, which boasts more than 32 million monthly active users.

#FACEBOOK ZUMA BLITZ FULL#

I've played for barely an hour, but already it's clear the Popcap formula of taking reasonably well-known gaming genres, boosting them with lovely presentation and adding in a deeper scoring mechanic, is in full swing. I also love the fact that the score has been recorded by the Seattle Symphony Orchestra – surely a musical first for a Facebook game soundtrack?

Players are able to share items, and can easily compare scores with friends so there are co-op and competitive elements. There are also a range of differently designed decks to unlock or purchase, ranging from the aquatically themed 'Captain's Wheel' to an Eiffel Tower option with Gallic flourishes. Players can pay for extra boosts, for silver or for energy, which depletes as you play more rounds – a standard set of Facebook gaming systems. Monetisation is pretty subtle, but don't be fooled, it's there alright. The timer element adds a sense of frenetic action, and the streamlined card selecting process (you can just click on cards and they'll zoom up to the foundation area, or shake if they're unplayable) is slick and satisfying.

The boosts and timer additions, which could easily have been intrusive, seem perfectly judged and carefully balanced to allow proper tactical play to develop. Solitaire Blitz is, as you'd expect, ridiculously compelling. Popcap accutaely understands the psychology of the casual gamer – trinkets, and the ability to share those trinkets – is the life force of the social game. If players manage to create a sequence of similar cards across the foundation slots (like having all royals) they get a score boost, giving the game a sort of fruit machine dynamic.Īt the end of a round, successful players are given a range of cute little items that convert into silver which can then be used to buy new boosts and other goodies. Interestingly, this isn't the only arcade technique the designers have employed. Clearing a feeder line adds extra seconds to the clock, like reaching a check point in an arcade racing game. The whole thing works on a timer – the quicker you complete the round, the higher your score.

At the start of a round, players can choose from a selection of boost options, allowing you to, say, start with a joker, or to place a mine under one of the feeder piles, which explodes all the cards when you reach it.Īlso, the foundation slots can sometimes be locked, so you need to uncover a card with a key symbol on it, in order to open up and start that stack. And this being a Popcap title, there are lots of little extras.

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