Why CityVille Is Viral

In just less than three months, CityVille has attracted more than one hundred million users from all over the world. This new game from Zynga is indeed so viral that every now and then it adds more and more players who have Facebook account.

After a week CityVille has been launched in FB, I started building my virtual city. The game interface is familiar to me because it is somewhat like Sim City. While managing the growth of my city, I am also observing the different aspects of the game. For almost two months of playing, I've come to collate the factors why CityVille spreads like a wildfire.

The Viral Strategy Employed by Zynga to Spread CityVille to almost all Facebook users:

1. The Free Gifts. This feature allows a player to send free gifts to any of his/her friends who has Facebook account. Once a player sent the gifts, the recipient of the gifts will be notified through his FB wall. If the recipient is curious about the gift he may accept it and try playing CityVille.

2. Neighbors. Having more neighbors in CityVille is one of the factors for your success in the game. Your neighbors will help you complete some CityVille Goals. Some of the goals will require a player to send gifts, help a neighbor or send some tourists to neighbor's city.

3. The Goals. When you are playing CV, it is very noticeable that goals are continuous - it works like a chain. After completing one goal, another goal will pop out. Some goals will attract additional CityVille players by asking for help. When you click "Ask for Help", the message will posted on your wall that will also be visible to all your FB friends.