About a year ago, some of Zynga's most dedicated players were chosen at random to become "Z.I.P.s" in Zynga's then new fan appreciation program, rewarding them with "exclusive Zynga goodies" and even early access to some of Zynga's newest games. While that setup sounded great at the time, it never really went anywhere, and the majority of Zynga's gamers were left entirely out in the cold.

Skip forward to the present and you see the Big Z bringing the Z.I.P. program back for another go, but this time, players can voluntarily sign up to be Z.I.P.s, without the need to be invited first. Once you get to the Z.I.P. Program website, you'll be able to connect to your Facebook account and will be given a hub of sorts allowing you to browse the program's features. The more active you are in the Z.I.P. program, the more reward points you'll earn, and your progress will eventually be turned into items like real world Zynga-themed goodies, in-game premium currency or even gift cards to third party online stores.

As a Z.I.P., you'll also gain access to sneak peeks of future games, and will of course be able to provide feedback on the games that you "test" prior to launch. Unfortunately, these rewards apparently sound so great that the service's website is pretty slow, and even bounces back errors as of this writing. Still, it's worth keeping this new and improved Z.I.P. program on your radar so that you can sign up as soon as you can. Good luck!