Zynga is responsible for one of the most addictive games on the web right now–Words With Friends–and they’re about to unveil a new one with a more simplistic premise that could appeal to younger users.
“Matching With Friends” will be rolled out in Canada and Australia this week for iPhone and iPad and will jump to other markets over the next several weeks; like its Scrabble-like counterpart, there will be a free downloadable version as well as a paid, ad-free version offered.
The gameplay is similar to “Words”, but it uses colored blocks instead of letters. It originally began as a picnic-inspired game but evolved over time; creator Paul Bettner says his games stem from the things he enjoyed a child and revolve around the social experience of entertainment.
“You know that you have a connection with someone when you are playing a game,” he said. “But you don’t have to be talking to them about something. … You have the opportunity to connect more deeply with them, but you don’t have to.”
By partnering with social media giant Facebook, Zynga brings their games into more homes and mobile devices than they ever could on their own, and have seen a huge rise in success since social games like “Farmville” spawned an enormous following. But, some say, Facebook is just as lucky to have Zynga and their ad revenue. Either way, it looks like the game developer will be around for a while, creating more forms of entertainment to keep us occupied.