Games can be both a welcome and an annoying diversion on Facebook, the world's most popular online social network. This year, Facebook crossed a big milestone — reaching 1 billion active users. Game companies such as "FarmVille" creator Zynga Inc. and Rovio Entertainment Ltd. of "Angry Birds" fame seek to tap into that vast base of users to gain more players for their games.
This week, Facebook Inc. issued a list of the 25 top-rated games that launched on Facebook in 2012. The company says the rankings are based on user ratings and engagement with the games. It's the same methodology that Facebook uses to rank apps in its App Center.
Some of the games are played on Facebook's website, while others are only on Apple Inc.'s iOS or Google Inc.'s Android devices using Facebook's app.
Here's the list:
1. "SongPop" (by FreshPlanet, on Facebook.com, iOS and Android)
2. "Dragon City" (by Social Point, on Facebook.com)
3. "Bike Race" (by Top Free Games, on iOS)
4. "Subway Surfers" (by Kiloo, on iOS and Android)
5. "Angry Birds Friends (by Rovio, on Facebook.com)
6. "FarmVille 2" (by Zynga, on Facebook.com)
7. "Scramble with Friends" (by Zynga, on iOS)
8. "Clash of Clans" (by Supercell, on iOS)
9. "Marvel: Avengers Alliance" (by Playdom, on Facebook.com)
10. "Draw Something" (by Zynga, on iOS and Android)
11. "Hay Day" (by Supercell, on iOS)
12. "Baseball Heroes" (by Syntasia, on Facebook.com)
13. "ChefVille" (by Zynga, on Facebook.com)
14. "CSR Racing" (by NaturalMotion Games, on iOS)
15. "Candy Crush Saga" (by King.com, on Facebook.com and iOS)
16. "Matching With Friends" (by Zynga, on Facebook.com)
17. "Legend Online" (by Oasis Games, on Facebook.com)
18. "Jurassic Park Builder" (by Ludia, on Facebook.com)
19. "Dungeon Rampage" (by Rebel Entertainment, on Facebook.com)
20. "Pockie Ninja II Social" (by NGames Ltd., on Facebook.com)
21. "Jetpack Joyride" (by Halfbrick, on Facebook.com)
22. "Social Empires" (by Social Point, on Facebook.com and iOS)
23. "Bil ve Fethet" (by Peak Games, on Facebook.com)
24. "Ruby Blast Adventures" (by Zynga, on Facebook.com and iOS)
25. "Pyramid Solitaire Saga" (by King.com, on Facebook.com)
