Why I hate Mob Wars

Since I was a child I have enjoyed all sorts of games. Card Games, Scrabble, Boggle, Brain Teasers, Tetris etc. I started losing valuable sleep hours when I discovered these games could be played against real opponents all over the world, at any time of day or night. It didn’t surprise me that the Internet allowed for this type of activity, it surprised me that I preferred it over playing with my friends at home.

During the Christmas holiday in 2008 I started playing a game called Mob Wars. Similar to “the sims” Mob Wars plays even while you are not playing. Each morning I was so excited to see my mob wars character’s energy recharged, health and income increased, simply because I had gone to bed and time had passed. I hadn’t seen this before in most of the games I enjoyed – and in most games, it would remove the fun. For example, who wants to have someone else determine which cards to throw during gin rummy? or when to call or bet during poker? But with Mob Wars, it enables a player to accelerate through the many levels of the game – albeit at a slower rate than those who play 24/7.

I was learning a lot about marketing via gaming channels, which is important for my career and professional life, so I decided that playing Mob Wars and other online games was a form on online research – from an advertising perspective. Its quite amazing that online game points can be monetized and converted into cash, and, since the points cost nothing in reality the developers have a huge opportunity they have been taking advantage of. Specifically, as you proceed through levels in Mob Wars you are awarded with “favour points” that allow you to secure additional manpower, money, and even mob members. As a player, you have the option to buy favour points directly through Mob Wars, or agree to try a new project / service and earn favour points for your participation in the trial. Also, points are awarded for buying long distance cards, or other commodity based products on behalf of companies looking to grow their market base and increase product / brand trial. This aspect of the online game world fascinates me as much as the games themselves. Although I have never purchased points, I know people who have. What a revenue stream!!!

So, why do I hate mobwars? Because I can’t stop playing. Since it only requires about 5 minutes / day of my time – I find myself logging in and taking care of business first thing in the morning as though it were a real responsibility. For the last 2 days I have tried not to update my profile and “play” – so far, I am failing miserably.

The moral of the story is that I have an addictive personality and shouldn’t be playing games that don’t have a beginning, middle and an end. This is my learnings. Enjoy the game at your own risk. http://bit.ly/abJO8d