Beachtown Combines Sun, Sand, Surf, and Social Gaming on Facebook

Beachtown from Sydney-based developer Huey's Planet Pty Ltd is beach-themed life simulation game that's starting to see a resurgence in growth after six months of steady decline. Beachtown officially launched on Facebook in late 2010. According to our traffic tracking service AppData, Beachtown currently has 30,000 monthly active users and 4,000 daily active users. Its all-time highs, seen in February 2011, were 92,000 MAU and 6,800 DAU. Players start the game by choosing a gender for their avatar and selecting their first beach from Starfish Island, Half Moon, and Jamaica Point. Through the tutorial, players learn some basics, including keeping their beach safe from sharks (by clicking to scare them off). Actions like this use energy, which replenishes over time or can be purchased, and rewards players with beachcoins (the game's soft currency) and sun coins (experience points). Another mechanic is satisfying the wishes of the beach's inhabitants, such as wanting to go surfing. If this case, players need to purchase a surfboard which the character will then use, increasing their happiness. Fulfilling these wishes also rewards players with money and XP. Gaining enough XP levels the player up, rewarding them with clams (the game's premium currency) and item unlocks. As the game progresses, items and treasure chests wash up on the beach for players to complete collections and earn more currency. That currency can be used to purchase new activities such as scuba diving, and beach animals like dolphins. Players can also change the look of the avatar, modifying tops, bottoms, flip flops, shades, and leis. New items are purchased using clams. The appearance menus also allow players to change the basic appearance, such as skin tone and hair, of their avatars. The island has a beach house that players can enter and customize by purchasing new deco items. the exterior appearance of the beach house can be changed, as well, along with the sand and water color. Additional islands can be purchased using beachcoins. Social features kick in at level 3, at which point players can invite their friends to play the game. Once joined, friends' avatars will automatically visit the player's islands from time to time with wishes they want fulfilled. Players can also send gifts to friends and share accomplishments via viral channels. Beachtown is monetized primarily through premium decoration and customization items available for beachcoins, which can be bought with Facebook Credits. You can follow Beachtown’s progress using AppData, our traffic tracking service for social games and developers.

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Beachtown Combines Sun, Sand, Surf, and Social Gaming on Facebook

Randy Nelson

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