First Breakout Hit of 2013 in Gaming App is *Ruzzle*

First Breakout Hit of 2013 in Gaming App is *Ruzzle*

A word game app not developed by Zynga has topped the most-downloaded iPhone apps chart and looks like the first breakout hit of 2013.

Ruzzle, which was created by the Stockholm-based MAG Interactive, has topped AppData's chart of the top iOS apps and racked up 11 million users so far. According to MAG Interactive's Twitter stream, the growth has really picked up in the past few weeks.

MAG also notes on its site that "over 12 million players" have downloaded the app.

What's driving the growth is unclear. Ruzzle has been out since March 2012. As the Wall Street Journal's Digits blog notes, the game is "strikingly similar" to Zynga's Scramble With Friends, which came out almost exactly a year ago. Both games are a variation on Boggle, which challenge users to find words within a jumbled grid within a set amount of time. In the case of Ruzzle, the time limit is two minutes. Like Zynga's games, you can invite your Facebook friends to play with you.

According to AppData's chart, Scramble With Friends is not among the top 15 most-downloaded iOS apps. Ruzzle is also number five on AppData's list of Android apps. Scramble With Friends didn't crack the top 15 of that list, either.