I've done something that I never thought I would do. I played a facebook game for the first time. Before you yell at me about how much you hate facebok try to listen to my reason why. First of all it's a brand new You Don't Know Jack game on facebook and it's free. At first I was stoked at the concept of playing my favorite trivia game for free and with little hassle(unless giving up your info to jellyvision is a no-no for you). So at first it actually looks like another great YDKJ game until I reached the breaking point. You see after 5 or so games I'm treated to a screen that says I'm out of games. Then I noticed that I had to wait 5 hours to play a new game, which seemed reasonable to me. This is after all a highly produced free to play game so the incentive to keep playing is a must if devs wish to gain profit. So I waited and played another wonderful game(actually I kind of suck at YDKJ as I came in last place for a second time). Than I expected the same screen and the same delayed time until another juicy game. Unfortunately that wasn't the case, instead the time until I could play was 24 hours. This is where I questioned my desire to keep playing. There is nothing wrong with asking for money for a free product, but I'm still annoyed by it. Now I'm in a moral dilemma of whether or not I should actually pay to play a facebook game. Think about that for a second guys. PAY TO PLAY A DAMN FACEBOOK GAME? The only people that actually do that are soap opera moms, right? I never thought that I'd be at this crossroads between an action that I despise and a game that I love. Have any of you been in a similar situation or in the same one that I'm in? In any case, I don't know what to do at the moment. The last time I started playing that game I rushed over to my wallet and started punching in my credit card info. I had to stop myself before I took such drastic measures as paying for a facebook game. I'll report back and let you guys know what I've decided. In the mean time I'll keep patiently waiting for my 24 hours to expire. And again, and again, and again.

I would say...no

You are going down a dark road if you decided to pay to play any facebook game that asks for money. They are designed to put people in the exact predicament you are in. I swear most of those games are like crack. First hit is free so that you get hooked and if you want more you got to pay.

Facebook is just another distribution medium; there's nothing inherently wrong with putting a game on Facebook. If you like that series, it's fun, and you're pretty sure you'll play it, then I don't see why dropping some cash on it is a bad idea. Unless you're really low on funds, which is a different matter entirely.

@Giantstalker said:

Facebook is just another distribution medium; there's nothing inherently wrong with putting a game on Facebook. If you like that series, it's fun, and you're pretty sure you'll play it, then I don't see why dropping some cash on it is a bad idea.

In reading this and re-reading what I have wrote I can say this is correct. Hell I just realized that I'm a huge hypocrite by saying "DON'T PUT MONEY INTO FACEBOOK GAMES ARE YOU INSANE!" while I have fallen for valve's hat and item scheme in Team Fortress 2.

@Oscar__Explosion said:

In reading this and re-reading what I have wrote I can say this is correct. Hell I just realized that I'm a huge hypocrite by saying "DON'T PUT MONEY INTO FACEBOOK GAMES ARE YOU INSANE!" while I have fallen for valve's hat and item scheme in Team Fortress 2.

I take offense, good sir! Why, you're comparing base, muddy peasantry to the noble pasttime of Hattery! Even as a joke this is in poor taste!

:adjusts monocles:

The problem with facebook games is you don't just pay once. You really have to keep paying in again and again to get the benefit.

I'd approach it like this. Try to evaluate how much enjoyment you've had with the game so far. Mobile app level? XBLA game? Indie PC game? Put that much money in and see what happens. I think you will find you are quickly underwhelmed. At that point just walk away, don't spend any more money!

If the game gives you enjoyment as a result from you paying for it who cares go for it, forget that its a game that's on Facebook it's kind of irrelevance if you end up getting a good experience out of it if at least for a little while.

Never spend real money of facebook games. You'll get hook playing the games for a while. Then you will get bored doing the same thing over and over again.

@Phatmac said:

Now I'm in a moral dilemma of whether or not I should actually pay to play a facebook game. Think about that for a second guys. PAY TO PLAY A DAMN FACEBOOK GAME? The only people that actually do that are soap opera moms, right? I never thought that I'd be at this crossroads between an action that I despise and a game that I love. Have any of you been in a similar situation or in the same one that I'm in? In any case, I don't know what to do at the moment. The last time I started playing that game I rushed over to my wallet and started punching in my credit card info. I had to stop myself before I took such drastic measures as paying for a facebook game. I'll report back and let you guys know what I've decided. In the mean time I'll keep patiently waiting for my 24 hours to expire. And again, and again, and again.

You are over thinking this. If you enjoy the game and want it enough to pay for the experience, then why not do it? Who cares who else does it?

Why is paying for a facebook game so morally reprehensible if (and this is key) the game is actually good? It's not like you are considering paying money for Farmville or Mafia wars or something of that ilk.

As long as the fee is reasonable and not ongoing, I don't see what the problem is.

I suppose if it's a pay per play fee, well then you might need to think about it, just to control your spending.

The pay per play model is not inherently evil, after all Arcades were essentially that, the only difference is in today's world it's harder to resist temptation since it's so accessible.

while i'm not familiar how and what they charge for, i used to play a facebook game called mafia wars a good year or two before farmville came out.

it was kinda enjoyable at the time but would require money after a short time of play. i'm happy to say that i haven't put a dime into it and expect you to do the same. unless this is a "buy this game forever" paying a dollar here and there will just clean out your pockets

I got locked into a Facebook game(Marvel's Avengers Alliance) and let me tell you, it is a dark road. I somehow, and randomly, snapped out of it and realized I was doing something terrible.
 
Get out of it man. Get out of it and don't look back. The games will get into you. Then they will get into your bank account. Then they will get into the world. And it'll all be your fault.
 
Get out now!!