Survey says, 'One third of social gamers play several times daily'

A recent survey of two thousand social gamers and consumers conducted by UK-based Econsultancy found the usual statistics such as "one fifth of consumers have played a social game" to gender breakdowns (surprise: slightly more women play than men). However, the report, titled "Social Gaming Smart Pack," found one startling number: 30 percent of social gamers claim to play several times daily. Now, we don't know exactly how many times the word "several" means, but it sure does imply more than, say, a couple.

This means that one third of social gamers log in... let's say more than twice daily. If this statistic is truly representative of the global player base, then perhaps the rampant addiction claims and stories hold more merit than we thought. Below that are the 26 percent that admit to playing social games several times weekly, which is far more manageable for most.

Econsultancy found that one fifth of social gamers have paid to play one of these games, which is even more surprising. The typical comments you find in messages boards and even right here on the Games.com Blog suggest that this number would be far lower. Perhaps the paying players aren't too keen on bringing that up in conversation? Even if these numbers aren't on the nose, one thing is certain: social games are far from seeing their twilight years.

Zynga throws out new game story ideas in another player survey

Back in June, Zynga released a fan survey that asked players to give their opinions on potential game ideas, ranging from becoming a mogul in the music business to taking to the high seas as a pirate. Either those ideas have been tossed aside for the moment, or Zynga plans on working on multiple games at once, as they're back again with another survey that seems to hint at future story ideas for games.

To be specific, we aren't told that these are potential games-in-the-making, but are rather asked which of these stories we'd be "most interested in exploring." There are just six options available, with two dealing with medieval times, the Three Musketeers and even King Arthur's round table. The others range from seeking out paranormal phenomenon and ghost-hunting to living in the forest, studying the art of kung-fu.

Some of these stories actually have a bit of intricate detail included, such as names of locations, which makes me think (ok, hope) they might be more than just the results of a brainstorming session. For instance, we're given a particular story, set in a "small coastal town of Oddwater," where we and our neighbors have supernatural powers. We'd be able to grow "magical plants and creatures," and dabble in witchcraft with spells and potions. Put two and two together, even with just this single example, and it seems as though Zynga might have already begun production on some of these ideas, or at the very least, are toying around with how gameplay could be involved, rather than just storytelling. That's all speculation of course, but my interest is definitely piqued.

If you'd like to give your opinion on any of these game ideas, make sure to take the survey before Zynga closes responses. Who knows? One of these could be the next big thing on Facebook.

If you took the survey, which of the six stories did you find the most interesting? Would you like to see any of them actually transformed into games?

Pioneer Trail: Help name the upcoming winter holiday expansion

With the holiday season quickly approaching, we've learned that Zynga will be launching yet another "expansion" into the Pioneer Trail to celebrate. It's likely that this expansion will be something along the lines of the Halloween Ghost Town event, but before they announce anything specific, the Pioneer Trail team would like you to help pick out a name for this future feature.

The team has launched a survey on the official Pioneer Trail forums, asking you one simple question: "The FrontierVille team is working on a giant holiday feature *just for you* and we need your help picking out a name. Which of the following names sounds most appealing to you?" Here are the options available to you:

Christmas Grove
Christmas Town
Holiday Haven
Holiday Hollow
Holiday Village
Winter Wonderland

Opinions aside (I personally wouldn't be able to go through something called "Christmas Town" without singing this in my head each and every day), it's actually pretty surprising to see the word "Christmas" displayed here in any of the choices. As so many games try to stay impartial when it comes to holidays (or religious beliefs therein), it will be interesting to see if a Christmas-centric name will actually be the one chosen, if fans vote that one in.

We haven't been told when the survey will end, or when this holiday feature will launch, but we can expect it will happen pretty quickly after Thanksgiving. And, regardless of its final name, you can be sure we'll be there every step of the way to guide you through.

Which of the names did you choose in this survey about Pioneer Trail's newest expansion?