Joel Brodie

Techcrunch has started a rumor that Google has secretly invested $100 million in Zynga (making it a total of $500 million raised) and plans to launch Google Games later this year. Details are few and far between but according to Techcrunch, Google Games will launch with Zynga's games like FarmVille as its anchors, utilize Google Checkout for micro-transactions, and tie into Google's social graph.

A Bit Lucky is a new games studio formed to create "the next generation of social games." Their first game, Lucky Train, definitely fits that bill, letting you send and build out trains between friends (and friends of friends) as you build out your county. We spoke with co-founders Frederic Descamps and Jordan Maynard about trains, the state of social games, and how much luck you need to be a gaming success on Facebook these days.

Playdom has acquired Metaplace, it's Nth purchase in the past 12 months. Seriously, they have purchased so many social game developers in the past year I've lost count. Suffice to say, they are averaging at least acquisition a month. Normally, I would question whether Playdom is purchasing the company because it is valuable or because it's there. In this case, I actually think they are buying a company of significant value.

Good news, fast growing social game developers or those that are desperately looking for an exit. It's not just Zynga or Playdom buying game developers. Viacom has acquired Social Express.

Strategy games are hot in 2010, according to Inside Social Games. Citing Appdata numbers (which are the exact same numbers as recorded by Facebook, I love Inside Social Games and Appdata, but it's just a feed of Facebook's numbers, unless I'm missing something), the most popular and fastest growing games are strategy games. Farming games? In the words of Bruno, "nicht!"

Playdom has just released Fanglies on Facebook. Fanglies can best be described as a virtual pets meets city building game for Facebook. Fanglies are essentially little bears with big heads each sporting their own outfit and distinct personality. They are both cute and ugly at the same time, making them quite…endearing.

Usually, I don't write about management changes or additions to game companies. I'm more interested in writing about games to play and the business strategies behind the industry (which is a bit of a game itself) than who got hired and who got fired. But, CrowdStar announced the hiring of four key hires of which, two I know well. So here's my shout out (details until the jump).