Guest column: Five reasons Facebook games are not a fad

No one questions whether sharing news or photos with friends and family is a fad, and when people get together to socialize, they often play games -- from bridge to charades to Trivial Pursuit.As one of the largest social gathering spots on the Web, Facebook is no different. Here are five reasons Facebook games are not a fad.

Facebook games are recommended by friends

Your social network is unquestionably the most trusted resource for making decisions – recommendations and word of mouth from trusted friends and family has always been the most influential factor in purchase decisions. In the past, we used to go to Google to search for something. Today, we ask our friends on Facebook and get the recommendations we need to make a decision.

Game portals have gone further and further in this direction, initially recommending games to play, then integrating user reviews. But it's hard to beat a recommendation from someone's personal network of friends and family, and this is where Facebook excels.

Facebook games provide hours of play for free

My favorite story is a friend who was at a local game store and overheard a family looking at different console games. The wife said, "No, put that down, I'm just going to play that farm game. The fact that a game like FarmVille is now seen as an alternative to paying $35-$60 for a console game should strike fear into Electronic Arts (hence their purchase of Playfish).