I joined a Mafia

For the last 9 months I've been getting a request twice a week to play an online game. It's an application through Facebook called Mafia Wars. I'm reading a book right now about the reason Facebook is so successful and they say it's because of the applications. When I first got Facebook I was hesetant to "install" any application. When I had a PC that was the cardinal sin that would give you a virus that no medication could fix. Eventually I let my guard down and understood that is was just a Facebook thing, not an install to my machine. Still, every week a request to join someones mafia.

Finally 2 weeks ago I caved. I went on there to see what the deal was. I spentsome time learning the layout and how to play and then I played the game. This took 10 minutes. After initial frustration I learned the beauty of this game. I can't play it for more that 5 minutes because that's how it's built. Sure I can play 3-4 times during my day, but that's it. I started timing my games and it was on average 2 minutes online for each session.

It's a simple little game about accumulating money and getting more skill points. This is done through a series of missions and fights. There is no skill required, no hand eye coordination, it's just managing your profile for a few minutes. I know I keep mentioning the time thing, because to me that's what makes the game beautiful and accessible. You're not getting into something that's a giant time suck. Instead, this is something that will be a fun distraction for a few minutes and leave you wanting more.

You may not be a fan of the game, this kind of thing isn't everyone's cup of tea. But if you'd enjoy a few minutes online while sitting at your computer then this is for you.

If you don't want to play but have a facebook, join my MAFIA! All you have to do is join, then turn off the notifications so you don't get the messages "so and so just gifted you an untraceable cellphone." Then you're helping people and making me quite happy.