For years I've been rallying against Facebook games. Not because I have a specific problem with the games themselves, I just took issue with the clutter those kinds of games made in my status update list. I didn't really care who leveled up in what game, or needed what kinds of items, or wanted my help to defeat killer bunnies or harvest fields of illicit Mafia substances. Over the past week, however, I finally gave in and entered the world of Facebook gaming. Now my Facebook experience will never be the same again.

The problem I'm running into as I enter into these games is that many of them are large, with a lot to do, having been developed over the years that I've been avoiding them. There's a lot to do, and figuring out where to start is a difficult task. The other big problem is that many of these games have left their heyday behind. They are now shadows of the experience they used to be, with many players who once enjoyed them no longer participating. This makes playing many of them a difficult experience, since its harder to rely on other players for the social experience the games are supposed to be.

With all of those things said, here are some tips for players who, like me, finally succumb to the lure of Facebook games, only to find themselves in over their heads and with less help to rely on.

1. Warn your friends: As I said, I spent a long time being grumpy about the flood of updates from the friends who played the game. Thankfully, it didn't take long for Facebook to add in the ability to hide messages from specific sources. When I start a new game, I send out one of the first possible status updates and include a personal message letting friends know I'm playing that game now and that they may want to hide those updates. You'll find this is also a quick way to find out who plays the game, as they will often welcome you and start sending materials your way.

2. Don't annoy your friends: Most of these games offer the ability to announce achievements or send gifts to other players. The trick is that these opportunities pop up nearly every thirty seconds. Imagine how badly you're flooding other people if you take all of these opportunities. Sure, people can hide the messages, and that takes care of status updates, but what about sending messages? I have nineteen friends who once played one of my games but have since moved on. That's nineteen people the game is constantly attempting to get me to send messages to, in hopes of getting them to return. If I sent every one of those messages, I suspect that's nineteen former friends I'd have, instead of just nineteen former players.

3. Use the in-game help: My wife has long been a part of the Facebook gaming world. It just happens that the game I decided to start with was a title she had little experience with. Although the game comes from a company whose products my wife is familiar with, she could offer me little help in getting started. I found myself relying heavily upon those question mark "help" indicators to understand how these games work. Things that probably seemed simple early in a game's development may be underexplained, as they used to be a key mechanic that isn't used as frequently anymore, so tutorials may not be available, but nearly every mechanic in most games has some sort of help.

4. Guides exist for these games too: Having been a long-time World of Warcraft player, I've come to rely on resources outside of the game to help me develop my character, select gear sets, etc. Although Facebook games are tiny when compared to the MMORPG, there are many sites designed around these games as well. After all, these are games designed around a social experience, so it only makes sense that there are wikis of information and guides to help you be the best you can be within a short period of time. A few easy Google searches should help you get on the right path or find the extra information you need in a very short period of time.

5. Decide your limitations part 1 (networking): I have a friend who has 500 Mafia Wars friends. These aren't people he knows in real life. They are just other people he's met along the way that play the game. As a result, he's amassed quite a bit of power in the game, particularly in the portions that are "social missions," requiring help from friends. This game is about the only thing he uses Facebook for, however. He's made a conscious choice to use social networking for this game. I could take advantage of his network and gain a lot of resources, but I use Facebook to actually keep up with friends. Adding 500 new people would make that a bit challenging. Even though it makes the social part of the game more difficult, I've decided to keep the focus of my Facebook page my friends, instead of getting a bunch of aid in a game that I (and many of the other players) may not be playing a month from now. Sticking with your real friends may hurt your game play, but building your game play may damage your use of social networking to actually socialize.

6. Decide your limitations part 2 (games, games, games): Many of the games offered through Facebook try to get you to play other games by offering cross-game bonuses (Zynga is one of the worst offenders with this, although I can't blame them since they've turned into one of the major online game empires through the practice). Ultimately, you have to decide what games you want to play and be content with that. It's not worth it to move over to one of their other games for one in-game bonus, especially if you have no intentions of sticking with the second game. You see, once you've kicked off an account in that other game, you've become one of that game's players, inviting the flood of messages and status updates I talked about above. Is it really worth it for that one or two bonus items? You make the call, but I'll be sticking only to the games I actually want to play.