The 5 Best Games On Facebook

You joined Facebook, which just proves Zuckerberg’s plan is working. Whatever it is.

First, it was people tagging you.

Then poking you. (Or maybe it was vice versa. Whatevs.)

Soon after, your feed got the ‘Villes virus with people needing stuff. Rather than run away, you’re following your curiosity into the gaming wilds of Facebook. To quote a title that’s not on the ginormous social network, it’s dangerous to go alone. Take these games with you.

AdventureWorld

Somehow, Facebook became the next place Indiana Jones fans to look for their favourite archeologist. Zynga’s jungle offering has you joining a society of explorers as they look for treasure. And build structures, of course. Lots of structures.

A Good Match for: Saturday morning serial fans. The piecemeal nature of AdventureWorld‘s mechanics actually makes you feel like you’re on a grand journey, with convenient breaks in between. Instead of coming back next week after you find treasure, you only need to wait a day or so.

Not for Those Who Want: Tomb Raider. AdventureWorld may have more derring-do than CityVille or Farmville but it’s not a console-level action game but any means.

Here’s how it looks in action.

Dragon Age Legends

Launched as the first Facebook tie-ins for AAA console game, Legends brought the meaningful choice so common in BioWare’s games to the world’s largest social network. And, yes, you recruit friends to play but the twist in this Dragon Age offshoot is that you can pick exactly who you want for your questing party according to your needs.

A Good Match for: Talent scouts. Let’s say you’re playing as a warrior in DAL. If you need an accomplished mage to help you out, scroll through your friends and see who’s kicking arse. If they’re bad-ass in their own game, all that power is available to you, too.

Not for Those Who Want: To be free of energy management. Though the mechanics of Dragon Age Legends have more in common with JRPGs and tower-building games, you’re still going to be forced to stop and recharge on an intermittent basis. Not exactly the most immersive idea, but there it is.

Here’s how it looks in action.

Empires & Allies

This Zynga game finally realised a proper purpose for the virtual real estate you build on Facebook: to make that aeroplanes rain death on your frenemies. Invading your friends’ towns starts a turn-based conflict that happens on land, sea or air. Who needs crops?

A Good Match for: Advance Wars fans. Who knows when Nintendo’s going to update its classic strategy franchise? E&A‘s a good substitute — complete with storyline and boss fights — that you can play with dedicated hardware.

Not for Those Who Want: A solo experience. You still need friends to wage war against. So get ready to piss some acquaintance off and get to fighting it out.

Here’s how it looks in action.

PixelJunk Monsters Online

Q-Games crafted an incredibly sticky, punishingly difficult single-player game for the PS3 a few years back. PixelJunk Monsters Online takes the same game and migrates it to the Web, where you’re not only defending territory but expanding it as well.

A Good Match for: Alpha males and females. The social overlay for PMO turns friends into rivals and encourages you to grab at their grasslands. It’s finally your chance to be a video game boss. Make everyone proud, okay?

Not for Those Who Want: To be isolationists. All the action happens on a shared world map, which means someone will come gunning for you. Be ready.

Here’s how it looks in action.

Words with Friends

Part of what helped Facebook become a gaming powerhouse was networked word games like Words with Friends. WWF stands out because of its robust client and speedy refresh, making it so that you can hammer out rounds as quickly as you want.

A Good Match for: On-the-go types. The grid’s slightly different than other such games, but the main draw for Words with Friends is its cross-platform functionality. iOS and Android apps access the same game that lives on the web, meaning that you’ll be able to nail that triple word score on your way back from the gym.

Not for Those Who Want: To know what they’ll score. There’s a certain suspense that WWF generates by virtue of not letting you know what your word is worth until after you play it.

Here’s how it looks in action.

This list will be updated if and when we discover better games. We will only ever list 12 games, at the most.