Two Simple Social Games that Pack In the Fun: Combustic and The Flying Pig

There was a time a few years ago when Facebook games were truly simple. You'd log on, do one or two things, and log off. Over time, many games have grown more complex, and more game-like in the traditional sense. While this evolution is far from a bad thing, it's nice to see applications that are still fun, yet not complicated in the least. So we took a moment to look at two new ones we've come across: Combustic and The Flying Pig. The first of the two, from Sandhill Games, is a simple, Flash-based puzzle game based on a more complex web game called Ring Pass Not. Players are given a ring with eight empty tile spaces and four tiles to choose from at any given time. Each tile has two shapes and two colors imprinted upon it. The objective is to match up shapes and/or colors for every tile place within the ring. The trick is that this must be done within one minute. For every ring you complete - that is, placing all eight tiles - points are awarded based on how many matches, or mismatches, you made with zero mistakes also adding time to the clock. The ring is then cleared and you continue this process until time expires. Now, this is a bit dull in and of itself, so per the app’s name, some of the tiles’ shapes are, well, on fire. If you match a flaming shape with a similar one, it will turn it into a fiery square, which acts like a wild card, matching anything. Since you can pick up and move placed tiles at any time, this proves rather useful. Furthermore, the better a match you make, the greater the chance that it will fire off “sparks” that ignite the shapes on other titles too, as well as add a few seconds back onto the timer. Considering the nature of the game, Combustic’s social element consists of leaderboards and posting scores to one’s feed, so it’s nothing terribly extravagant. Furthermore, its simplicity may not warrant extended longevity, but it is fun enough for those that enjoy a nice puzzle game now and again. Conversely, if you are not looking to train your brain, you may want to consider a little cartoon violence. This is where our second app, The Flying Pig comes into play. Essentially, it is a game like the much older KickMania! or the French app Paf le Chien. The object is to send a portly cartoon piggy flying as far as you can by hitting it with… a truck…. Don’t worry, no pigs were actually harmed in the making of this game. Nevertheless, as the pig goes flying across a surprisingly nice looking landscape, they will bounce along until they run into some of the random objects littered about it. This is where the game becomes interesting as, for whatever reason or another, the world is filled with goats, wooden stakes, couches, and discarded bombs. You see, this is how Flying Pig differentiates itself. Granted, the premise is the same as the mentioned titles, but getting the maximum distance requires a certain finesse. With the exception of the wooden spikes, which turn you into bacon, nothing will flat out stop you. Furthermore, the spikes are low to the ground, so they’re not a big threat unless you are unlucky. On the other hand, touching a goat sends you horizontal, the couch at what seems to be a 45 degree angle, and the bomb gives you height. The idea is to play a little gamble and use these as best as possible to build up momentum (for the record, there are also random piles of dung that slow down that momentum). This momentum does more than fling your further, but actually maximizes a three-use item you get called beans (you can also pick up more during flight if you hit them). Comically enough, using the beans will propel you forward like a jet using, erhm, your backend for a few seconds, sending you safely above all hazards. The more momentum you have before using it, however, the farther it will send you. Basically, the noted gamble is to wait for the perfect opportunity to use the beans, while risking either hitting the spikes or not having much momentum left. As with Combustic, the only real social elements consist of challenging your friends directly to beat your high score. However, there is a nice chart that records all your wins and losses for each challenge made. Yes, it is simple, but the game is still amusing enough to put a smile on one’s face. All in all, the success of a social game, unfortunately, depends on more that just an amusing mechanic. With the thousands of applications on Facebook, it is difficult to make a game known to the world, even with the virility of the social graph. Nevertheless, sometimes it does pay to look at the ones that don’t have millions, or even thousands of users. Those are the ones that tend to take the chances; the ones that tend to be more creative - even if it’s just a better way to do something that's been done before.

Social Pro Daily

Two Simple Social Games that Pack In the Fun: Combustic and The Flying Pig

Christopher Mack

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Christopher Mack