‘Draw Something’ App Downloaded 20 Million Times in First Five Weeks

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OMGPOP

OMGPOP’s new game Draw Something is only five weeks old and it’s already been downloaded 20 million times. Right now it’s the number one free app for Android and the number one paid and free app for iOS.

As Business Insider notes, that’s not too far behind Instagram’s 27 million users, an amazing feat for an app that’s been around for barely more than a month. At this rate, we’re looking at Words With Friends levels of popularity — not a surprise considering Draw Something is fun for a lot of the same reasons that game is.

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While Words With Friends “drew inspiration” from Scrabble; Draw Something apes another game most people are familiar with: Pictionary. Both Zynga and OMGPOP’s game let you match up against an opponent, either a personal contact or a random user.

What makes Draw Something special is how it utilizes the touchscreen to create a game that is both ridiculously easy to learn and strangely engrossing. As I figured out recently, carefully outlining and coloring in a picture of a sheriff or a taco can make you feel like you’re back in kindergarten — that is, until the frustration kicks in and you realize how difficult drawing really is.

If your artistic skills are good enough that your opponent can guess what you’ve created, then you’re rewarded with gold coins, which later can be exchanged for extras like more colors. Coins can also be bought with real-life cash, which is why the game is earning OMGPOP a healthy profit.

CEO Dan Porter told Business Insider that the company is earning six figures every day, making in five weeks what the rest of OMGPOP’s games made in one year. Those 20 million users — 12 million of which are active — have created one billion drawings.

Now, when one of your friends inevitably invites you to play, you’ll know what you are getting into.

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