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Google's social network Google+ is getting its share of "exclusive" social games, starting with Digital Chocolate's new game "Gangs of Boomtown," a tech trends site reported.

 

While "Gangs of Boomtown" is the third game Digital Chocolate is making for Google+, it is the first that will be exclusive to Google+ for 30 days, according to VentureBeat.com.

 

“'Gangs of Boomtown' marks the first exclusive game from Digital Chocolate to launch on Google+. We’re happy to see more of their engaging, high-quality games debuting on Google+. We think our users will really enjoy playing 'Boomtown,'” it quoted Punit Soni, games lead for Google+, as saying.

 

Mark Dooley, a spokesman for Digital Chocolate, said the company has been working on the title for a while.

 

The game’s Western genre is a wide open opportunity on Facebook. Digital Chocolate’s Helsinki studio, which also made Zombie Lane and Army Attack, developed Gangs of Boomtown.

 

Players start out at Boomtown, a mining town that has fallen prey to the ruthless Assassins Gang that burned the town to the ground and murdered the player's family.

 

The player has to save the sheriff by punching out some gang members and taking their loot, getting a gun and shooting the other gang members, and start repairing the town.

 

Players can share their achievements with certain game-oriented circles, but notifications are kept to a minimum, VentureBeat said.

 

"Google needs to get exclusives like this one to compete with Facebook, which has huge numbers of unique social games on its platform. To get more exclusives, Google is helping to promote exclusive games on its network. It is also charging a smaller commission — 5 percent vs. 30 percent — on virtual goods transactions on Google+ compared to Facebook," VentureBeat noted.

 

38 games

 

There are presently 38 games on Google+, including three exclusives (The Godfather: Five Families, Pirates: Tides of Fortune, and now Gangs of Boomtown) - a far cry from Facebook, which has thousands of games.

 

VentureBeat also noted that while a 30-day exclusive is not a big coup, Google+ may be counting on players likely to keep playing on the same platform.

 

"This is the sort of game that grabs the attention of players on social networks. And it’s nice to see a Western social game, since we’re overloaded with Mafia games. It should help Google score even more exclusives in the future," it said. — TJD, GMA News