The Zynga Story in 10,000 words or more

Dean Takahashi of Venturebeat has written what amounts to a book about the growth story that is Zynga. Seriously, it’s 12 web pages long and my guess is that they’ll turn it into a for-pay e-book once Zynga goes public this week. In the meantime, read it for free here.

In other Zynga news, the company is planning to go public in what could be the biggest game company IPO ever. As luck would have it, or as game launch strategy and a huge marketing campaign would happen, the top 5 games on Facebook are Zynga games this week, driven by the new release of CastleVille and renewed popularity of Word with Friends.

And someone at Zynga needs to send a gift to Alec Baldwin for giving them and Word with Friends the greatest public relations gift alive on the week of going public. Here’s the SNL skit if you’re curious.

Reviews
October 2, 2013
Dice+ Review
By Matt Thrower
The first game I ever played on an iPad was a free version of Liar's Dice where you shook the device to roll the bones. At first, it was novel. After three goes, it was annoying beyond belief. This demonstrates two things: firstly there's a good reason why most board games stick to digital dice; but second, that there's still an aching desire to physically interact with something when you play a board game. Enter Dice+.It's a little rubbery cube which communicates with a range of mobile devices, including those running iOS and Android via Bluetooth, and takes the place of a physical dice. You roll it, and the number flashes on the uppermost face and is communicated to the game. It's slightly bigger than an average dice, but still rolls comfortably from the hand with a pleasingly tactile and weighty feel.It seems to work a distance from the mobile, so your numbers come up even when Dice+ rolls under the table. However, some anti-cheating technology built into the device means a small proportion of rolls don't register. Annoying, but a small price to pay to stop fraudsters from finding the six face and repeatedly dropping it directly on the table. It's charged via a port revealed when you slide up the one face, and a full charge lasts ages: about 20 rolling hours.
Walkthroughs
April 6, 2011
Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP Walkthrough
By Dan Zuccarelli
Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP is an adventure game for the iPad from developer Capybara Games. Set off on a mystical quest through two worlds, one of dream and one of reality, as you attempt to assemble three pieces of a mystical trigon. Gamezebo's Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP walkthrough will provide you with step-by-step instructions, as well as all the tips, tricks, and strategies you'll need to complete the game.