Zynga launched has launched a new mobile game, FarmVille – Harvest Swap, based on match-3 gameplay. The game is trying to garner some share of the match-3 market, and attract fans of FarmVille, which has more than 700 million downloads to its name. The new game is available on Facebook, and can also be downloaded for free through the iTunes store, Google Play and Amazon App store.
What’s the game about?
As the latest edition of FarmVille franchise, Harvest Swap features 160 levels divided into ten story-based regions. Every level depicts a specific challenge that can be completed with the help of popular FarmVille characters. As the game progresses, the board gets bigger, and the levels become more difficult. Along with the swiping move, the players will also be able to drag symbols, a feature unique to the Harvest Swap. Players will also be able to generate power-ups by matching four or more similar symbols, which will allow them to clear multiple objects on the board. Additional power-ups can also be bought through in-game purchases.
Zynga Harvest Swap is a fast-paced scenario based game, where players battle through different challenges such as dowsing fire, taking out bunnies that have taken control over the farm, extreme weather conditions, etc. Moreover, the game will include 3-D puzzles, and revolves around the fictional world of FarmVille. The puzzles must be finished in a given amount of moves, and if one fails to do so, this exhausts one life. These lives re-generate over time, but players can also obtain them through their friends on Facebook. Users will also be facilitated with cross-game connectivity, enabling them to send resources to other games of the FarmVille franchise.
Success of Harvest Swap essential for Zynga
Match-3 is a very popular category, with more than 60% of gamers involved in these types of mobile games. Moreover, most of Zynga FarmVille players are also fans of match-3 games. The launch of Bejeweled 14 years ago marked the beginning of match-3 category, which now thrives with the ongoing success of King’s Candy Crush Saga, which is currently the second highest grossing mobile game in the world.
Therefore, it’s not surprising that Zynga launched its own version of a match-3 game. Of note, the success of Harvest Swap is essential for Zynga, which was once the leading social games developer, but is presently struggling to hold on its declining user base.
