Inside Social Games

Parking Wars is a social game that takes the fun and excitement of parking your car and puts it in a Facebook game! Hoorah! (?)

The idea behind Parking Wars is that you are given a small parking lot and several cars that you can park at other people’s lots. You get cash for successfully parking your car, the longer it remains there, the more money you get. But if you park at a no-parking sign or some other illegal space, the person who owns the lot can ticket the car (in which case you get nothing) and then tow your car away (if they catch you in time).

There is a certain degree of customization in the game. You can change the background of your parking lot, get badges for certain accomplishments, and buy new cars as you get more money. This is also a game that requires a great deal of time and frequent, well-timed visits to prevent your car from getting ticketed and to wait until you have accumulated enough cash to “cash in” your car.

There’s an interesting tie-in to a television show called “Parking Wars” on A&E about how people get absolutely crazy when they get parking tickets. So there’s a sick joy in recreating that for your friends who park in your “yellow car only” spot.

But beyond that, watching you money accumulate is like watching cardboard get made. I checked back on my two cars and my friends hadn’t done anything malicious to them and I hadn’t accumulated enough money to sell them either. The game grows deeper (with more cars and more abilities unlocked), but I wasn’t drawn in by the initial game.

While the developers have a nice TV tie-in (but the ad for that Gene Simmons shows is creepy) and an ability to invite friends to increase the number of places you can park, the economy is pretty limited in terms of how you can earn money and the game doesn’t grab you as “action packed” or “strategic.” Let’s face it, it’s a parking game. It’s enjoyable to do bad things to your friends’ cars - but beyond that, there isn’t much to keep you on the pages for very long.

Gameplay: 4

Developers: 4

Sadism Level: 9