Ever since the Facebook gaming revolution started, companies have been salivating over the prospect of creating a social game that will engage users for five minutes or more, all while bombarding them with all-too-obvious product placement. The old Burger King games for Xbox 360 showed us how this can be a not-so-terrible experience, but the slew of Facebook advergames have been anywhere from dull to downright abysmal.
Now Trident is giving the Facebook advergame thing a go -- and I have to admit -- it's not terrible. The game, called Trident White Puzzle Smash, is a Tetris clone, where you match like-colored blocks which fall from the top of the screen and then destroy them by using White-out smashers and Color Cleaners. (Just like Trident White gets rids of color on your teeth -- get it?). The game is controlled using the arrow keys and the space bar, and as time moves on, the blocks start falling faster, until they stack up to the top of the screen, and it's game over.
Trident's Puzzle Smash includes some light social gaming elements, and I emphasize the word light. You get bonus points for adding friends to your game roster, and there's a living leaderboard at the bottom of the page. You can also post your score on your Facebook Wall for bragging rights (or in my case, to open myself up to mockery).
trident white facebook wall post
Funtank President and Co-Founder Scott Tannen says his company has worked closely with Trident White "on a number of branding initiatives" and that the game "is a true stand-alone social application that we think is really an example of 'Advergaming 2.0.'"
If Advergaming 2.0 means games that are not broken and mildly fun to play, I'd say Tannen and crew are onto something. Trident's Puzzle Smash is far from revolutionary, but once you start playing, you're likely to keep going ... until you realize you've been sucked in by an interactive ad for gum. Now pass me a piece of Trident White.
Play Trident White Puzzle Smash on Facebook >
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