Both casino slots games and bingo sims are proving popular on Facebook, so what better time for Zynga to revive Slingo, a combination of both?

By Pete Davison From Inside Social Games

Rather than simply playing a random board as in the original game, players have a series of "worlds" to work through in Zynga Slingo, each featuring a distinctive background and a range of levels to play. Taking on levels uses an energy system, the implementation of which forms the backbone of the game's monetization strategy.

Upon beginning a level, players are presented with a bingo card and a slot machine-like device underneath. Upon clicking "Spin," five numbers are revealed, and the player must then mark any matches off on their card. Occasionally, special symbols appear on the reels — Jokers allow players to mark off any number in the column they appear in, Super Jokers allow the marking of any number on the board, explosions mark any number and the squares around it, and a "coin toss" symbol allows the player to gamble up to 50% of their score based on a 50-50 chance.

Zynga Slingo doesn't allow the player to make mistakes when marking squares, or to spin the reels before they have marked off all the available numbers, and it dims the reels when all available spaces from a particular spin have been found. This helps keep Zynga Slingo fast-paced and eliminates the frustration of the player seeing a missed number at the exact second they click the "Spin" button.

Players progress through Zynga Slingo by earning medals rather than experience levels. Each stage in a world has five medals available — three for breaking specific score milestones, one for marking off every square on the stage's unique pattern and a fifth for marking off every number on the whole board. Upon reaching certain numbers of medals, players unlock new powerups (including extra spins and items that cause certain special symbols to be more likely to appear) and upgrades to their energy limit.

Players may also unlock access to these powerups early using hard currency, and may also purchase unlimited energy packages for a day or a week at a time. Soft currency for acquiring powerups may also be purchased, and since stages often end with the necessity to purchase a couple of extra spins at 2,000 coins each to clear the board, it's easy to rip through a large amount of this in just one level. That said, soft currency is quite easy to come by through play, so players willing to put in the time to grind and not give in to temptation will be able to earn a healthy balance over time.

Click here to play Zynga Slingo on Facebook >>