“Hi, my name is Kenda and I’m a Facebook game addict.”
“Hiiiiiii Kenda.”

While I’m definitely not the type of Facebook game addict that asks you to water my corn 20x a day and I won’t fill albums with photos of my mini cafe – I do love playing Facebook games. I currently have around 15 games actively running at high levels and search for new games that interest me weekly. One of my most recent is The Hunger Games Adventures from Funtactix.

Based on the top selling book series and recently released movie, The Hunger Games Adventures takes you along with Katniss, Peeta, Gale and other characters through the world of Panem as you prepare for the upcoming Hunger Games.

Let me get right to the main question most players will have:
Do you get to actually compete in the games? No.

The creators of the game have already said that they want to keep this game separate from the violent aspects of the books and film. Well boo on them. Facebook is already restricted to an age group that can definitely handle cartoon fighting – why the censoring? I can understand that you wouldn’t actually kill other players, but I see no reason why they couldn’t at least let us compete; maybe to gain xp or a higher level. But no, you won’t get that with this game. You’ll simply spend your hours making camp, digging holes and delivering items for an event that will never actually happen.

It really should have been called Panem Adventures.

I’ve managed to work my way to level 20 so far, but not without issues. I joined when it was released as a limited beta (you had to wait for an invite to play) and it was a rough beta, indeed. I’ve had to call on the help of tech support more than once because the game simply did not give me the options needed to complete a task. Example: A task required 3 nails to rebuild a house. The game’s map function is not implemented yet so I had absolutely no way to get to the area of the map which allowed me to collect those nails. In all fairness, tech support did deliver the nails to my account within a few days after I filled out an error report, but there are other problems still in the game such as items being un-clickable when needed, resources not giving up items when you activate them, etc.

Yes, this is another game that relies on energy.

I hate how many games are going this direction. Limited energy means you can only play for a few minutes at a time and, with The Hunger Games Adventures, when I say a few minutes I mean two or three. While the graphics are cute and there seem to be enough tasks to keep players active in beta, my biggest complaint is the energy usage. Most tasks require 3 – 6 actions and each action requires 2 – 3 energy. So you have to use anywhere from 6 – 18 energy just to collect an item, dig a hole, or even talk to someone. Even at level 20 I have max 34 energy so I get maybe 4 minutes of game play and then have to wait almost 3 hours for my energy to replenish (1 energy every 5 minutes).

Yes, this is another game that requires begging friends for items.

I understand the goal of facebook game developers is to gain more players via invites from existing players. I get it. But The Hunger Games Adventures won’t even allow you to ask playing friends directly; you must post a request to your wall. It may be introduced later, but right now it puts a major kink in the game. Considering there are also a very limited number of people playing this game in general – your options are extremely limited. Not only do I not wish to junk up my non-playing friends’ newsfeeds with “Hey send me some arrow heads” – I also have less than 5  friends playing in the first place. I have been able to slowly progress in spite of this, but there are definitely areas of the game you won’t get past without bugging your friend list. The only other option you have is to purchase credits and that, too, is an outrageous amount; far more expensive than any other game I play.

 The Pros

1. Several game tasks follow the original events in the game.
2. Attractive graphics and slightly realistic actions.
3. Tasks are not complicated.
4. Several game play areas and scenes.
5. Option for 10 additional energy every 8 hours.
6. Gathering from (buildable) camp items (tool bench, herbal table, well, etc) does not use energy.

The Cons

1. Tasks require too much energy
2. Can not ask players directly for help
3. No actual Hunger Games
4. Many game bugs
5. In-game items are shown before you can actually use them
6. You must follow the game schedule and can not attempt to use, build etc items until the game asks you to do so
7. No map available yet – unable to travel to areas not currently part of a task
8. Game music is constantly depressing and dark, no matter what is happening in the game
9. Trees and grass grow back several times per day in your base camp and then require upwards of 16 energy to remove each one
10. Tasks do not always produce the required item after completion
11. Tasks are extremely simple – almost to the point of being monotonous