Mafia Wars : Two-Way SMS Features

I got this from doing some surveys on Zynga Customer Service Surveys.. somehow I ended on the Zynga blog and found this article. I do copy-paste the article here.. Hopefully this is helping you to understand about the SMS features application..
If you don't find it interesting, just skip this post..

Zynga Introduces Two-Way SMS Features to Social Game Mafia Wars

Zynga has been experimenting with SMS in its petri dish of a social game, Mafia Wars, since late last year. But at that point it only let players get updates about what was happening in their games. It rolled out two-way SMS today, so players can actually make moves in the game from their phone.

The company likely thinks it can raise the average user’s engagement level by getting them playing through SMS instead of just on Facebook, and get them buying more virtual goods as a result. It may also be trying to find alternative means of regularly contacting users about game-play. Facebook removed third-party notifications at the beginning of March. Our AppData service doesn’t show the perenially popular mafia role-playing game taking any traffic dives since then, but perhaps the loss of notifications is affecting other factors we don’t measure, like average revenue per user.

Mafia Wars has hosted a number of feature tests that we’ve seen eventually rolled out to other games, like its browser toolbar. The fact that this particular app is text-based makes it especially suitable for SMS, although it’s not inconceivable that Zynga will find other uses for the medium, like letting people water their plants in FarmVille.

To start using SMS, go to the Mafia Wars app and click on the “Help” section (although some users may find it featured on the home page). To register, you enter your phone number, then Zynga send you a confirmation code and you enter that code back in the app. From that point on, you text MAFIA (623-42) and include a variety of commands. “FF” is “fight your last opponent again,” for example. You get a free virtual weapon if you sign up, with the promise of “daily bonus rewards” for continuing to play via SMS.

Source : The Zynga Blog - Inside Social Games
http://www.insidesocialgames.com/2010/04/06/zynga-introduces-two-way-sms-features-to-social-game-mafia-wars/

Mafia Wars : Where Is SMS Page?

Hello my friends,

Lots of you are eager to try the SMS mobile service in order to get the achievements.. You can earn them even if you're not USA residence..

I have discussed about how to get it few days ago, so I consider all of you understand about what I'm talking about..

Now, the problem is lots of players don't have the SMS Mobile button on their HELP section.. How to go to the SMS page then?

Don't worry, guys.. I also had the same problem.. but I can figure it out..

Here are the tricks :

• If you see one of your mafia publish their SMS achievement for registering their mobile phone number, you can click on the "Join" button.. like this one below.. Click on "Join Ade" button..

• Or, if you can not find any news feed.. you can try to copy-paste this link below on your browser..
  

http://apps.facebook.com/inthemafia/index.php?next_params=YTozOntpOjA7czozOiJzbXMiO2k6MTtzOjQ6InZpZXciO2k6MjtzOjA6IiI7fQ%3D%3D

or this one :

http://apps.facebook.com/inthemafia/track.php?next_controller=sms&next_action=view&zy_track=newsfeed&from=620157053&sendkey=14f9d693bc5fc473305b4e7c73b86f5c%24%24heF%29S.OX0YLP0if9yNJE%2AXb%21%21LzJgLVRMnQ3aj85-rD%2Cf4%2AA%21f%2ChFXuvgPXH%21f_io&ztrack_category=sms&ztrack_subcategory=dead_ringer+feed&ref=nf

If it succeed, you will arrive on this page..

Now you know it!
Go register and get those achievements!

Mafia Wars : How To Get SMS Achievements

I know that lots of people pissed with these SMS Mobile and the achievements we got from this feature..

Because it only works for players who has mobile phone numbers in USA country.

So that's it!

You just need to ask your friend who lives in USA and "borrow" their mobile phone number and enter it on your account.. like I did!

A friend of mine had this idea.. He offered me to lend his mobile phone number and I'll register it on my account.. so he sent me the 10 digit number of his mobile phone.. I went to SMS mobile page on my game and enter it..

There will be a confirmation sms sent to his mobile phone.. then he told me the 4 digit of confirmation code he received there and I entered it again on my game.

It works.. see the achievement I got!

And I got the free loot item too from signing up on mobile!

Once again, my friend is very kind to use his mobile phone number I have just used to registered to attack someone on his mobile phone.. He did it there in USA.. and I have it on my game.. another achievement!

Now, I feel so reluctant to ask him to get me the last achievement on doing 20 jobs from SMS feature.. if he has some time, he could do it for me.. but if not, he done the great job already!!!

Wooohooooo... lots of mafias wondering how did I get those 2 achievements.. (Yes, I published on my wall.. silly me...)

But now you know it, my friends...

If you have a friend that lives in USA.. please ask him/her to lend you his/her mobile phone number and do what my friend have done to me..

Happy hunting! And have a nice weekend!

PS : My greatest thanks to Edmund who kindly done this all to me.. I owe you, Edmund!

Dead Ringer!

Zynga has releases new feature of the game.. now you can play Mafia Wars from any mobile phone!

Note : United States only!

There is one special item that Zynga offering for joining Mafia Wars SMS mobile.. here you go :

DEAD RINGER

See the preview for better image :

Not bad for free item!

I wonder when this feature available for all of us??? I feel so jealous for not being able to have this weapon too..

If you can have this feature, you can start to register your mobile phone number..
Be mobile and dangerous!

PS : thanks for the screenshot and info, Chris!

New Achievements!

We have new feature now on the game!

Well actually it is not new but they enhance it.. I can see it once but now I can not!

I guess it's not applied to all country (yet)..

There are 3 new achievements you can get from this Mobile service.. by signing up using your mobile phone number, by fighting someone from Mafia Wars mobile and by doing 100 jobs in the game using your mobile phone.

I wish they can make it for all country, so we are all able to get those achievements too.. Soon? I don't know, let's just hope and pray..

PS : Thanks Mike for the info!

Mafia Wars : SMS Alert!

For some players, there is new feature on their game now.. which is SMS Mobile! You can see the text of SMS Mobile on the top right hand corner in your game. I guess perhaps soon will be applied to all players..

If you click on the SMS Mobile, you will see this one :

They say it is a Limited Time Offer! And if you're signing up, you can get 20 GodFather points 30 days after service activation.

If you click on Privacy Settings, you'll have this :

And this one for the Alerts tab :

So, it's one more feature from them beside the toolbar! Now you can get any notification via your mobile phone for any alerts.. They said that they don't charge you but surely we have to pay for the service, right???

The choice is yours!


PS : Credit to Michael!