LA Times gets its game on with Mahjongg and more from Arkadium

![][1] Is it about time we trade in the paper's (literally) two-dimensional crossword puzzles for the depth of Mahjongg? The Los Angeles Times seems to be headed in that direction, as the news outlet announced a partnership with New York-based social game maker [Arkadium][2]. As a result, Arkadium has already thrown the lot of its hit games on the "[Games][3]" section of the LA Times website.

The Arkadium games available on the [LA Times Games page ][3]include several of its varieties of Mahjongg (including [Mahjongg Dimensions][4]), Sparks, Monkey Gems and more. All of Arkadium's games on the LA Times are packed with Facebook and Twitter integration throughout, and the deal was made in hopes of increasing advertising revenue, according to the news organization.

"Given the ever-rising popularity of casual games, adding Arkadium's titles allows us to further engage latimes.com's users and entice previously untapped gaming enthusiasts to visit our site throughout the day," LA Times' VP for Digital Revenue Products Jennifer Collins said in a statement. "We are also creating a previously unavailable opportunity for our advertisers to reach Southern California's casual gaming audience and in the process establish another digital monetization platform."

It's interesting for a social games company to make such a move, and perhaps a terribly smart one. (This is the second of such deals Arkadium has made with a news organization; [the first was CNN][5].) When you think about it, the majority of Arkadium's games cater to the same audience that enjoys crossword puzzles and the like. However, we'll see whether those "casual" gamers will be keen on making the leap from word searches to, say, Monkey Gems.

[Via [Reuters][6]]

**Do you think Arkadium's deal with LA Times will prove successful? Which of the developer's games is your favorite? Sound off in the comments. [Add Comment.][7]**

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[1]: http://o.aolcdn.com/dims/GAME/5/168/168/100/http://www.blogcdn.com/blog.games.com/media/2011/12/crossword.jpg
[2]: http://blog.games.com/tag/arkadium
[3]: http://games.latimes.com/
[4]: http://blog.games.com/2011/06/30/mahjongg-dimensions-blast-beta/
[5]: http://blog.games.com/2011/12/08/cnn-games-arkadium/
[6]: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/12/27/idUS394495521920111227
[7]: http://blog.games.com/2011/12/27/la-times-mahjongg-arkadium/#disqus_thread
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