This guy thinks so.

There it is: Zynga’s dirty technique for making its $500 million. It ropes players into the game with the promise that absolutely anyone can play. It will even float you coins the first time you run out, not unlike the casino that gives a high-roller luxury accommodations in anticipation of making back the house’s stake. It dangles the prospect of a bigger, prettier, better farm; as the game loads, you’re faced with idyllic images of well-off farms, not unlike the glossy ads for high-end residences. But it’s nearly impossible to get some of those goods without ponying up a buck or two here and there. When Zynga’s got a user base of 61 million digital farmers, it’s easy enough to make ends meet, to say the least.

The argument seems to be:  it sucks your time, it gets your friends hooked too, it’s stupid.  Like TV, reading blogs, talking on the phone, etc. I do recommend reading the article though because its a fine case study in how to try and substitute a logical argument in place of “Why do people have tastes that are so different from mine?”  (Full disclosure:  some people very close to me play Zynga games.  I think Zynga games are really stupid.)

Ten Gallon Greeting:  GeekPress.