Zynga launches Words with Friends on Android; ad-free version still MIA

Earlier this month, we brought you the news that Zynga / NewToy would be bringing Words with Friends, the popular iOS Scrabble-inspired word game, to Android devices soon. Well, my friends, soon is now, as the game is now available to download on more than 50 Android devices today.

While this isn't Zynga's first foray into Android gaming (see Zynga Poker, which was released in December), this does help offer a bit of hope for future Zynga games to hit the platform in the future. What's more, fans of Words with Friends on iPhone need not fret about the ability to play cross-platform, as you can play with your friends across platforms - that is, an Android player could challenge an iPhone player to a game, and vice versa.

At this time, the only version of the game available to download is free, but ad-supported. An ad-free premium version was announced earlier this month, and is still confirmed to be in the works now, but has no official release date at this time. As someone who is familiar with the game on iPhone, however, ads were never really an issue (in my humble opinion).

We'll be sure to let you know when/if Zynga announces the launch of other games for mobile platforms, and when an ad-free Words with Friends option is available on Android, so keep checking back.

FrontierVille Teddy Bear: Ring out St. Patrick's Day with this free gift

St. Patrick's Day might be over, but Zynga got to sneak in one last celebration in FrontierVille. A new gift, the Teddy Bear, is available on the Free Gifts page. This decoration really is nothing more than a stuffed bear, but the tiny green top hat makes for a cuddly way to finish off the holiday. However, we can't help but wonder why this item wasn't introduced in the thick of the St. Patrick's Day Goals.

Either way, send it around and spread that last sliver of green pride. As an added Patty's Day Bonus, players who redeem a Zynga Game Card through March 20 will receive a 20 percent discount on Horseshoes. Sometimes, it's good to be late to the party.

Have you amassed an army of Teddy Bears yet? Will you take advantage of this Horseshoe discount?

Quote of the Moment: 'Facebook gaming is a completely valid market'

    But it's a completely valid market. People in the industry are seeing Facebook as a platform like we see the PlayStation 3 or the PC as a platform. They all have a particular audience and the demographic tends to like a specific type of game more predominantly than others. By looking at it as a platform and not judging the whole thing just based on a few games or a subset of mechanics that you deem unacceptable for whatever reason, I think traditional developers are coming around to the opportunities of Facebook.

Brenda Brathwaite, another social game design convert, said this in an interview with Gamesindustry.biz concerning the growing criticism of the social games industry. Brathwaite's background is in traditional games, but she recently opened Loot Drop with veteran John Romero after seeing the opportunities Facebook had to offer. The interview came after this year's GDC, which held a panel titled "No Freakin' Respect! Social Game Developers Rant Back." Brathwaite's short, sweet and NSFW speech covered many of the same points she makes in her talk with Gamesindustry.biz. Most importantly, Brathwaite says that while there are plenty of social game developers out there with profit as their primary motive, the amount of traditional designers entering the space will change things. Brenda, we sure hope you're right.

[Image Credit: Trendr]

Do you agree with Brathwaite's optimism for the future of social games? When, or if ever, do you think we'll see these changes?

FarmVille English Countryside crops appear in FarmVille iOS Market

It's unsure whether this leak was intentional, but Zynga has revealed several of the FarmVille crops to be released with the English Countryside expansion ... through FarmVille for iOS. While it's not clear whether this was intentional, it's even more confusing that Zynga would release this information through the game's mobile app. Does this mean that EC will soon be released on iOS as well? Who knows, but what we do know is that there will be a ton of crops to master once we touch down in England. Check out the rest of the crops, some of whose images refused to load, and their prices behind the break.
FarmVille English Crops 2
FarmVille English Crops 3
FarmVille English Crops 4
Unfortunately, no timing, return or XP information is available yet. Yet this isn't even half of the crop information we've seen. If you want to see some of the future crops' Mastery signs, check out this post. Until then, this is the best sneak peek we have.

[Via FarmVille Freak]

Check out the rest of our English Countryside coverage right here.

Have you seen these leaked crops in your FarmVille iOS game? What do you think this means for how close we might be to the expansion's release?

ngmoco's We Rule boasts 12 million downloads, 3 billion minutes of playtime

In America, social gaming on the iPhone, iPad and other mobile devices has not reached its potential -- though this new We Rule infographic shows that, that might be changing soon (esp. considering the explosive growth of Android devices and tablets in general).

Ngmoco's freemium social kingdom simulation game for IOS devices celebrates its one-year anniversary this month, and to mark the occasion, has come out with some impressive sounding stats like 3 billion minutes played, 13 million downloads and 40 billion coins spent daily.

Of course, if you compare this game to Angry Birds, which has 100 million downloads, the numbers don't seem quite as epic as this infographic makes them out to be. Then again, Roxio's other hit, Cut the Rope, has somewhere in the ballpark of 6 million downloads -- so We Rule might not be number one, but just might hold the keys to a mobile social kingdom that has not yet reached its heyday.

FrontierVille Flash Mob: Win Horseshoes in this forum trivia contest

How fresh is your FrontierVille knowledge? Zynga wants to test just that in its next FrontierVille Flash Mob. This trivia competition will test your ability to regurgitate random facts about the game. (You know, like how all trivia games test useless knowledge.) However, five prizes of 50 Horseshoes are up for grabs for the most savvy pioneers. It all starts at 2 p.m. EST, so open that FrontierVille Wiki page and hop in the forums for your chance at some free Horseshoes. If you're at work, don't worry--we won't tell.

Do you plan on joining the competition?

FrontierVille April Fools Collection available for one month only

Just like the St. Patrick's Day collection in FrontierVille, which contains collectible items that can be found by completing all manner of tasks on your Homestead, from feeding animals to harvesting crops and trees, a new collection has launched that will celebrate the month of April. This new collection is called the April Fools Collection, and it asks you collect five "prank" items around your land.

Snake in a Can
Fake Vomit
Finger Trap
Dribble Glass
Itching Powder

Once you complete this collection (which, if it's anything like the St. Patrick's Day collection, you'll be doing many, many times over), you'll be able to turn it in for 200 XP and a Cactus. Even if you didn't need the Cactus, the 200 XP is nothing to scoff at, making this arguably a much more valuable collection than most of those that have come before.

It's presumable that you'll be able to turn in this collection after April itself has passed, but the items themselves will apparently only be available as drops during that time frame. Play fast and play a lot to make sure you earn as many free experience points as you can, while you can.

Check out the rest of our FrontierVille Cheats & Tips right here.

What do you think of the items in this April Fools Collection? Will you play any virtual pranks on your neighbors?