After the recent iOS 4.0.9 update, many people took to Facebook to complain that the TW bonus was becoming scarcer than before. Formerly, this was the most common bonus people received. Many speculated this was a decision made by Zynga since the Hanging with Friends Coin Store opened, and it now allows coin purchases with cash. I wasn’t concerned about the why as much as determining if it is true. That’s where my site has some good value since I’ve got lots of hard core stats to use for such questions.
The 4.0.9 hit the iOS app store on 10/13. For the data I have collected below after 10/15, there’s no guarantee that the data is ALL from an iOS device with 4.0.9 installed, but you’ll see that there’s a really big change in the tw regardless. One should note this is just a small sample in the wide world of Hanging with Friends, but I think it’s big enough to make some casual observations.
Here are the details in a nice data table (or four!).
| Location | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| dw | 1.0% | 0.9% | 0.8% | 1.8% | 2.3% | 2.7% | 3.5% | 2.9% | 16.0% |
| dl | 1.3% | 0.9% | 1.6% | 4.3% | 3.4% | 3.5% | 5.4% | 4.7% | 25.1% |
| tw | 3.2% | 1.2% | 2.5% | 4.7% | 5.4% | 4.8% | 8.0% | 7.8% | 37.4% |
| tl | 0.6% | 1.3% | 1.6% | 2.9% | 3.4% | 3.2% | 3.7% | 4.8% | 21.5% |
| Total | 6.1% | 4.2% | 6.5% | 13.7% | 14.4% | 14.2% | 20.7% | 20.2% | 100.0% |
Compare the above table to what seems to be happening after the update.
| Location | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | Total | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| dw | 0.8% | 0.5% | 1.0% | 1.5% | 2.0% | 2.0% | 3.1% | 2.0% | 12.9% |
–
|
| dl | 1.9% | 2.8% | 2.1% | 4.0% | 5.8% | 4.1% | 8.2% | 5.7% | 34.6% |
+
|
| tw | 1.5% | 1.0% | 1.5% | 2.7% | 2.0% | 2.6% | 3.5% | 4.1% | 18.7% |
–
|
| tl | 1.9% | 2.1% | 2.2% | 4.3% | 4.4% | 3.5% | 6.9% | 8.5% | 33.8% |
+
|
| Total | 6.0% | 6.4% | 6.7% | 12.5% | 14.3% | 12.2% | 21.7% | 20.3% | 100.0% |
It certainly looks like TW (the highest) took a dive and DL (the lowest) took over the lead. The TL also got a boost, while DW took a dive. There doesn’t seem to be any significant change in bonus placement, however.
So is this a conspiracy to buy more coins with cash? Well let’s see how this plays out with coin accumulation.
My Word Builder/Word Generator always finds the highest points word possible for a given set of letters and bonus. If someone always picks the highest points words (never mind that you’ll probably lose because they are likely also easier to guess!), what would happen? Using the same sample I used for the above calculations, here’s how many points and coins you would earn.
| Total Top Points |
40,463
|
| Coins |
4,046.3
|
| Words Per Coin |
0.285940242
|
| Words Per 1000 Coins |
285.9402417
|
And here’s the after update.
| Total Top Points |
43,344
|
| Coins |
4,334.4
|
| Words Per Coin |
0.333379476
|
| Words Per 1000 Coins |
333.3794758
|
The upshot seems to be there’s now a 14.2% tax on coins. That is, you’ve got to play about 14.2% longer to earn 1,000 coins (or any number of coins) than before the 4.0.9 iOS update.
Conspiracy for cash? That’s for you to decide. But personally I like Zynga, and I think they’re good guys (and gals). But it is a business trying to earn a profit. If they don’t make a profit, they likely won’t keep the game going for you to play. But you can still just play longer and keep your cash.
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