Song Pop review

Song Pop is a Facebook game from FreshPlanet that challenges players to prove who has the best song-identification skills. The game is available on Facebook, Android and iOS, and all three versions are able to compete against each other through Facebook connectivity or the game’s own proprietary username system.

Song Pop is a straightforward multiple-choice quiz game. When beginning a new challenge, players choose a playlist of songs which their questions will be based on, and are then played five song clips during which they must identify either the title or the artist as quickly as possible. Points are scored if the answer was correct, with bonus points being awarded if the player was quick to respond and if they correctly answer several questions in a row. As the player scores points, they earn progress towards five “stars” in a playlist, with new songs in the playlist unlocking when each star is filled.
Once five questions have been answered, the challenge is sent to another player, at which point they answer the same questions with a twist: they can see what the other player responded and their score at the beginning of each new question. This gives a good feeling of “live” competition despite the fact that play is completely asynchronous.
When both players have had a shot at the questions, the scores are totalled and a winner is declared. The songs that were used are also shown with a link to iTunes to purchase them. The winner is also awarded with three coins, while the loser gets just one. The last player to play then has the option of starting a new round with one of three playlists.
As the game progresses, the player unlocks the ability to use “powerup” items. These may be purchased using coins, and may be used either to pick three new available playlists upon starting a new challenge, or removing two incorrect answers from the four possible responses to a question. Coins may also be spent on unlocking new playlists for greater variety, and may be purchased using mobile phone, PayPal or credit card for those too impatient to earn them themselves. Oddly, though, there is no Facebook Credits support.
Song Pop is entirely social — there is no single-player component to the game at all. If players do not have any Facebook friends playing, they may start new games with either random opponents or by typing in a specific player’s username. When sending challenges to Facebook friends, the player also has the option of sending an app request to their prospective opponent, but the game does not post to players’ Timelines.

Song Pop is a simple idea that is implemented very well. “Name That Tune”-style games are easy enough for anyone to understand, and the musical styles covered in the various playlists provide a wide variety of material suitable for all ages. International players are also catered to with a variety of specialist playlists for American, British, Spanish, French, German, Italian and Brazilian music. How well the game will monetize in the long term remains to be seen, but there is certainly plenty of content available for players to get their teeth into, and it will be a relatively simple matter for FreshPlanet to incorporate additional playlists.