Facebook on Thursday announced a slew of new gaming features meant to trump the newly launched Google+ gaming platform.

Among the sites features is a new Game Ticker which turns the right-side of the Facebook Chat column into a newsfeed which shows your friends game activity as you play games on the platform. The column not only shows which games your friends are playing, it actually displays their gaming achievements and high scores, allowing for more competition and the discovery of new games for Facebook players.

The Game Ticker is also meant to add a social element which means clicking on the ticker will take you to the game your friends are playing so you can play along. Users can also choose to ignore certain story streams from gaming friends just like they can on their standard profile newsfeed.

Facebook also announced that gamers on their platform can now expand the gaming screen, adding some much needed and often requested real estate when playing action based games. The expanded screen also means Farmville fans will be able to watch more of their crops at one time without the need to constantly scroll around the gaming screen. read more

If you took away the lush farmland of Zynga’s FarmVille and replaced it with a desert in the middle of nowhere you would have Happy Oasis a middle east version of the popular game that has already attracted more than 100,000 active social gamers.

Developed by Aranim Games the product offers Arabic and English versions and asks players to create their own “Oasis” in the desert.

The game is not only a “build up your land” setup, it also attempts to bring modern day struggles to the masses, for example both men and women can drive cars in the game, a current major issue of contention in Saudi Arabia.

Company CEO Suleiman Bakhit told Mashable that his company is better equipped than most to deal with social issues in the Middle East, noting:

“There are serious cultural issues that are extremely sensitive … most western companies won’t know how to deal with these issues.”

The game started as a comic book in which Bakhit chronicled a beating he received near his Minnesota university following the 9/11 attacks. In his comic books, also published under the Aranim company name he speaks about social issues in the area, features Arab heroes and attempts to teach school age children important lessons about tolerance. read more

Zynga may have cornered the market on selling corn, lima beans and other farm based produce but there’s one crop you won’t find on Farmville, marijuana and now Ecko|Code is planning to change that fact.

A new game, titled Weeds Social Club launched on Monday in “closed beta” and the game allows users to build a weed growing and selling empire.

The game is based on the hit Showtime TV series Weeds and plans to fully launch in August 2011.

The premise is simple, cultivate and grow enough marijuana to save your home from foreclosure, a premise fans of the Showtime show will understand the moment they begin playing. The game shows players how to grow marijuana, while a time time clock will show growing cycles and selling responsibilities for the players virtual pot.

Along the way players must avoid police, ensure that organized crime agencies don’t end their run, even pay taxes among other responsibilities to showcase a “legitimate” organization to authorities. read more

Zynga, makers of Farmville, Mafia Wars and FrontierVille have proven once again why they are the world’s largest social gaming company, announcing record signups for their newest Facebook game Cityville.

Cityville, the first game from Zynga to receive a global roll out attracted more than 290,000 people in the first day of wide release, that numbers compared to their previous record of 116,000 players in one day set by FrontierVille just several short months ago.

As the name would suggest, CityVille places players in charge of building and growing their own cities. The game also marks the first time in which friends can “franchise” businesses on their friends game board, allowing for more “social” interaction among players.

The franchise option is apparently so popular that within the first 24 hours nearly 25% of all players had franchised a business on their friends game boars.

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