First Look: Zynga’s ‘Hanging With Friends’ Now Available

Addicted to Words With Friends yet?

Zynga has added a second “With Friends” title to the franchise, unleashing Hanging With Friends to a populace already experiencing delirium tremens when separated from their smartphones for more than twenty minutes. But does the new addition have the same stickiness the popular Words With Friends offers?

Hanging With Friends is a bit less intense and intellectual, with a more graphical interface. And though you may feel like you have totally been a hangman expert since the second grade, Hanging With Friends does take a bit of getting used to. You select an avatar from an assortment of just over half a dozen, and then add games from your Facebook friends, contacts or a random opponent, just like on the original Words With Friends.

At your turn, you attempt to guess the word letter by letter, while your avatar dangles precipitously from a bunch of balloons. (Some names redacted to protect the about to be beaten in Hangman.) Then you win or lose, and either way, you create a new word from a smaller selection of letters. If you can make the word long enough, there are bonuses for triple letter or double word placements.

All in all, Hanging With Friends is fun, but it’s more whimsical and requires less skill and finesse than Words With Friends. Also: the trash talk factor is a bit lower- it’s just not as competitive. Have you given Hanging With Friends a test go? Are you enjoying it?