Fishkeeping: The Plan

This month is a bit of an exception when it comes to "The Plan", partly because of the nature of an aquarium being 90% setup and 10% maintenance, and that I already have fish purchased and the tank is more or less setup.

With that in mind I have developed the following goals for this month, some of which have already been completed:

1. Setup a tropical freshwater aquarium
2. Purchase at least 10 fish
3. Not let any of the fish die barring any unforeseen complications like disease
4. Aqua-scape the aquarium in a tropical theme
5. Clean the tank at least twice
6. Document costs and inventory everything needed to run my aquarium

I anticipate that once the aquarium is setup and running smoothly, I may decide to add more goals, or modify existing ones to make it interesting. I doubt breeding will be added to the list though.

Social Network Gaming: The Plan

Now that I have learned a bit about social network gaming it's time to decide how I spend my month.

Here are my goals as follows:

1. Play at least one game in each of the following social network game genre's: 
1. Asynchronous competitive
2. Simulation
3. Casual role playing
2. Games should encorporate one of the following gameplay elements:
1. Asynhronous gameplay
2. Community
3. No victory conditions
4. Virtual currency
3. Play at least 2-4 hours a week total for 4 weeks
4. Purchase virtual currency
5. Games should be playable/managble on a mobile device (iPhone 4) if possible
6. Games will be connected to the same social network, Facebook

Based upon these goals, I have selected the following games to play over the next month:

Name: Farmville
Developer: Zynga
Genre: Simulation
Social Network Gameplay Elements: Asynchronous Gameplay, Community, No Victory Conditions, Virtual Currency

FarmVille, in my opinion, made social network gaming mainstream. Grow fruits and veggies and raise animals on your own farm. A very simple concept that earned Zynga more than just money.

Name: Mafia Wars

Developer: Zynga

Genre: Casual Role Playing

Social Network Gameplay Elements: Asynchronous Gameplay, Community, No Victory Conditions, Virtual Currency

Set in New York City, Mafia Wars allows players to be a gangster and build their own mafia. 

Name: Words With Friends

Developer: Zynga

Genre: Asynchronous Competitive

Social Network Gameplay Elements: Asynchronous Gameplay, Community

Based upon the Hasbro game Scrabble, Words With Friends allows you to duke it out with your friends old school and see who has the greater vocabulary.

Name: Bejeweled Blitz

Developer: PopCap

Genre: Asynchronous Competitive

Social Network Gameplay Elements: Asynchronous Gameplay, Community, No Victory Conditions

PopCap turned their classic puzzler into a social network smash. 60 seconds to get as many points as you can. Your goal is to get a higher score than your friends. It is like an arcade machine online.

Name: FrontierVille

Developer: Zynga

Genre: Simulation

Social Network Gameplay Elements: Asynchronous Gameplay, Community, No Victory Conditions, Virtual Currency

Built off of all the things that made FarmVille so successful, you are a frontier in the early days of America trying to make your way through the rough world. Build a shack, buy some pigs, clobber some snakes, and watch the money roll in.

Name: City of Wonder

Developer: Playdom

Genre: 

Simulation

Social Network Gameplay Elements: 

Asynchronous Gameplay, Community, No Victory Conditions, Virtual Currency

In this Age of Empires meets Civilization game, you quite literally build a civilization from the ground up.