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Zynga, Hasbro Team Up For Line Of Board Games
Hasbro and Zynga are teaming up to adapt several Zynga games to the board-game space. Two of them seem like natural fits, while the other pair is slightly bizarre.
CityVille Monopoly is different from the typical "Monopoly [insert proper noun here] Edition" reskins that are released all the time. In this version, players compete to build skyscrapers. The first player to build four of 'em wins. Hungry Hungry Herd adds FarmVille-inspired animals to the noisiest game in the universe. The menagerie include a pig, horse, sheep, and cow, all of which are vaguely shaped like hippos.
Things take a turn for the strange in the next two games. Hasbro is releasing a board-game version of Zynga's Words with Friends, which is essentially a Scrabble clone. Hasbro owns the rights to Scrabble. Then there's the upcoming board-game adaptation of Draw Something, which is essentially a Pictionary clone. Hasbro owns the rights to Pictionary. Of course, brand recognition is a powerful thing, and Hasbro likely sees this as a way to attract new players. They probably wish that they'd been the first to turn their mobile games into online sensations, however.
As a final turn of the knife, Hasbro has had a relationship with EA in the video gaming market for years. EA has released a series of Hasbro Family Game Night games based on some of Hasbro's most popular board games, as well as mobile versions of Pictionary and Scrabble.
Perhaps Hasbro should try to play peacemaker with Zynga and EA. They seem to be having some issues these days.
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