Social Game Reviews

There has been a substantial buzz about the social networking application foursquare and on quite a few occasions, the application has been referred to as a game. We at Social Games Reviews found this interesting (as a few of the editors are religious foursquare users) and have decided to analyse foursquare and assess its potential to be more than just a social networking app and whether its current form could be categorized as a game.

foursquare is a location based social networking application (available on numerous mobile platforms) that allows users to post blurbs about locations in and around their city and connect with their friends and fellow city dwellers. foursquare users earn “points” by checking into places in their city, posting tips about the places they have visited and by adding new places for fellow foursquare users to visit. Users who frequently visit certain locations are granted the title of Mayor for that location (which can be contested by other frequent visitors!) In addition to points, users unlock badges (akin to achievements and trophies on console platforms) that signify accomplishments in the application e.g. foursquare users can unlock the “Local” badge by visiting the same place 3 times in a week.

foursquare may effectively provide a forum for users to foster a greater sense of community. But can this sense of community and its development via the shared consciousness of foursquare users be considered a game?

In order to assess foursquare as a game, we must first decide if it is more than just play. Often times, play is seen as “a game without any goal structure.” When you get ready to play any game, you are aware of the rules, the players and goals that need to be accomplished in order to progress in the game.

What are the rules of foursquare?

The rules seem simple enough as there aren’t many.

Users can check into as many places as they want to daily but can’t check-in too frequently within a short time period (to reduce unrealistic check-ins).
Users can post freely about places they have visited (and reiterate their check-ins by opting to resend this information via their Twitter account).

Who are you playing against?

Everyone ! Anyone on your friend’s list as well as any other foursquare user near your location.

What are you playing for?

Essentially, anyone using foursquare is always competing for Mayorships of their most visited against other foursquare users.

Given that you earn points and unlock badges when using foursquare, are these quantifiers enough to justify foursquare as a game?

Stepping back from what you believe about traditional goal-oriented games, one must consider the intrinsic and extrinsic rewards for engagement in foursquare.

Intrinsically, there comes a sense of accomplishment by providing useful feedback to the community via tips for locations. The “reward” exists from helping others by leaving useful tidbits of information about a given location.

Also, there is a sense of “ownership” as you discover more about your city (and experience places that you didn’t even know about).

Extrinsically, players are rewarded points for visiting locations and checking in. You can assess your point standing by being able to compare your score against other foursquare users. Points serve their purpose as in any other gaming medium and are indicators of a player’s usage of foursquare (higher scores indicate frequent or prolonged users). This indicator appeals to the extrinsic gamer who thirsts for a high-score and feels a sense of accomplishment by achieving that high-score.

You can also achieve mayorship when you frequently visit the same location. This goal requires a foursquare user to frequently check-in to an area that they visit.

In addition to points and mayorships, players unlock badges from various undocumented events. These undocumented events are unlocked as players frequently use foursquare. This aspect of foursquare seems the most game-like, driving users to experiment with foursquare in order to achieve the most badges.

Putting it all together, does it make a game?

foursquare users can check-in, gain points, become mayors and unlock badges. On the most abstract of levels, these items sound like they are part of a game. But the overall experience feels more like an application than it does a game. The repeated task of checking-in, posting tips and vying for mayorship seems like a very shallow game mechanic, if it were one. Given that foursquare was not made or marketed as a game, the conclusion holds that although some of the features feel game-like (unlocking achievements, competing for mayorships), foursquare is more of an application than it is a game.

Your Thoughts

As a foursquare user, what do you think of the experience? Is it just an application to you, or do you think that there is enough game-like aspects in it to qualify it as a game? Leave your comments after this post.