Gaming on your social networks is fun for several reasons. Engaging with your friends is always a good time, plus you’re enjoying games you like with the people you like. Just make sure you’re conscientious and polite when picking gaming partners.
1 Choose Your Games Wisely
What kinds of games do you enjoy playing? There are classic Facebook favorites, of course, not to mention a number of cell phone-friendly games that get lots of play:
- FarmVille
- Cafe World
- SongPop
- Draw Something
However, there are also specialty games that you can easily share throughout different platforms. If you’re looking for excitement and thrill, try Jackpot City or a similar game. If you like brain teasers, give Words with Friends a try. If you prefer a wide-reaching social networking game, consider World of Warcraft or a different MMO or MMORPG.
2 Create Gamer-Friendly Contact Lists
Once you’ve picked your games, it’s time to create some contact lists. Just because some of your friends want to play the most popular social networking games doesn’t mean they’ll all share that taste. Make contact lists for your FarmVille and Cafe World buddies, either in your email folders or right on your Facebook. Similarly, keep your poker pals separate and include a special list for your WOW partners. That way, you won’t get one group mixed up with another group. You’ll know what friends will harvest your crops and which ones have a spell to vanquish pesky orcs.
3 Send Smart Invitations
When you’re sending invitations to your gaming friends, you have to think first and act smart. Think about all the times you’ve received unsolicited invitations to games in which you’re not at all interested. With Facebook, it’s FarmVille; for some people, getting an invitation is a huge pet peeve. Way back in the days of MySpace, people reacted similarly to Mafia Wars invites. It’s a good idea to send out a little call-to-arms first. Create a status or a tweet asking if anyone wants to play a given game with you. If they say no, nix any future invites.
4 Always Be Considerate
In much the same vein, consideration is essential in the gaming world. Sometimes it’s not enough to refrain from sending gaming invitations to uninterested friends. That’s why contact lists are so important. However, when signing up, especially with social app games, keep making good decisions. Don’t let a game access your entire contact list, relegate each game to the list of interested buddies you created before. Make sure that your games don’t update all over your platform either. That way, your friends who hate a certain game won’t know when it’s time to feed the pigs or season the fries.
5 Enjoy and Keep Interacting
Playing games really is a lot of fun, and they’re a great way to stay connected with people who enjoy the same things you do. If you’re smart about it, you’ll not only have gaming partners, you’ll also keep the friends who don’t like social network gaming. This can keep old friends connected in a battle of friendly competition. There is a social game for every interest so it should not be hard to find a common one between friends!
