Popular game company Zynga shook the mobile game industry on March 21, announcing a $210 million purchase of OMGPOP developer, the creator of the insanely popular Draw Something game. Draw Something had become a huge blockbuster, generating 35 million downloads in just seven weeks.

So what makes this game so hot that it passed Words with Friends and became the number one app? One of the main reasons may be that it's simple to play, it's entertaining and many acquaintances may already be playing - again, with 35 million downloads, you probably know at least one or two people already playing the game.

In addition, Draw Something resembles Pictionary, the 1980s hit board game beloved by everyone. With OMGPOP's Draw Something, the simple concept of Pictionary seems to be adapted to today's trends, i.e. mobile platforms, making it even more convenient and easy to use.

How to Play

Two players take turns drawing a picture clue that will prompt the other player to guess a word. If you cannot find a friend to play with, you can also choose people at random. Each player is given a choice of words to draw. The first word will be easy, and if the opponent guesses it right, each player gets a coin. The second word will be medium-difficulty, but will be worth two coins, while the third word will be difficult and worth three coins.

At the beginning of the game, players are provided each with a pencil and four colors - red, black, blue and yellow. Coins won by guessing words can be used to buy more colors to use for drawings, to buy bombs to narrow down your letter options, or to buy new words once you've seen them all. Basically, success in Draw Something depends on getting your opponent to guess your word and vice versa. There is no leaderboard - if both players are good, they both win.

Perfect Timing for OMGPOP

According to recent data from AppData, OMGPOP's timing couldn't have been better. After rocketing and generating such a huge wave of downloads, it seems that Draw Something has reached its peak on the very day of the acquisition. Now, AppData shows the popular game is no longer gaining new daily players at the incredibly fast pace it once was, but instead it seems to have stopped growing altogether.

Draw Something, Less Popular on iPad

The iPhone version of Draw Something still ranks No. 2 among iPhone downloads, and the new Angry Birds Space game did not necessarily affect the sales of OMGPOP's masterpiece. On the other hand, Draw Something's chart performance for the iPad is another story. According to the AppAnnie's Top Grossing chart of iPad applications, Draw Something peaked at Number Six on two consecutive days, March 20 and March 21, the second day marking the date Zynga announced its acquisition of OMGPOP.

After the March 21 peak, the game dropped a few spots, returning to the sixth spot on March 29, but just for the day. On March 30 it dropped out of Top Ten, landing the Number 12 spot. Based on this performance chart, the iPad version of Draw Something seems to have already peaked without even making it to the Top Five or lasting in the Top Ten for more than just a few weeks. On the iPhone, however, the game still enjoys huge success.

(reported by Alexandra Burlacu, edited by Surojit Chatterjee)