A
social network game is a type of
online game that is played through
social networks, and typically features
multiplayer and gameplay mechanics. Social network games are most often implemented as
browser games, but can also be implemented on other platforms such as mobile devices. The first
cross-platform "Facebook-to-Mobile" social network game was developed in 2011 by a
Finnish company
Star Arcade. Social network games are amongst the most popular games played in the world, with several products with tens of millions of players.
(Lil) Green Patch,
Happy Farm,
Farm Town,
YoVille and
Mob Wars were some of the first successful games of this genre.
FarmVille,
Mafia Wars,
FrontierVille,
CityVille,
Gardens of Time,
Kantai Collection and
The Sims Social are more recent examples of popular social network games.