Heading to the Farm

I might be a little late to the farm party, but better late than never, right? In order to make up for my late arrival I have started playing both Farmville and Farm Town on Facebook. Both of these games along with many others, such as Mafia Wars and Bejeweled Blitz, have become popular casual games on the social network. Since a person could write a blog on this type of gaming alone, I will stick with the farm theme. At least for now...

Farm Town and Farmville are both based on the same premise. Players are given a small farm and it is up to them to turn a profit and expand. While both games are generally the same, there does seem to be a few slight differences between them:

For the most part, both games have the same items for purchase. There are, however, a few differences in the prices and the harvest rates. For example, Farmville offers two types of seeds that can be harvested in under one day, while Farm Town only has one. Both games offer animals for purchase and give/receive as gifts. While Farm Town offers more animals for purchase they are currently just for decoration. In Farmville animal products can be harvested and sold. Animals are expensive to buy in Farmville and yield a low harvest price. The good news is that friends can send them to you as gifts so you should never have to buy them yourself.

Sending and receiving gifts is only one part of the social aspect of these games. One of the ways that you get money and gain experience in both games is by helping out on the farms of friends. Visiting friends is a fast and easy way to gain the money and experience to expand your own farm. Again, while both games operate in similar ways there is one difference between the two games. In Farm Town you must purchase the tools needed to tend your friends' farms. Each set of tools has five uses, so in the end you will make more money than you will lose. Farmville, however, does not charge players for helping out on a friend's farm.

I know this is getting repetitive, but there really is only minor differences between the games. One of those differences might just be the breaking point for me in the long run. In Farm Town, in order to harvest your crops you must click on the correct tool and then click on the crop. One thing I have noticed is that I have to click on just the right spot making the process much longer. If I do not hit the sweet spot right away I tend to have to try several times before I hit the exact right spot. Not only do you have to find the right spot, but after finding it a menu pops up and players of the option to sell right away or store. I then have to click on another tool to plow after I harvest. Then ANOTHER tool in order to plant new seeds. After that is all done, players must still head off to market in order to sell stored items for more money than they would have gotten if they had sold them immediately. Sure, none of this is that big of a deal, but it really does seem like this process takes a lot longer than it needs to. I say this because this is not the case with Farmville. I have not had a problem finding the right spot to click on in Farmville. Furthermore, while you have the option to click on the separate tools individually you do not have to. Players are also not forced to go to separate screen to sell off their harvests.

Lastly, I personally think that the graphics in Farmville are more enjoyable. The graphics are nicer to look at for longer periods of time. More importantly, when trying to highlight a crop to see how far it has progressed, in Farm Town, the information can easily be hidden behind other items. This is not true in Farmville. Even when items are somewhat hidden I have not had a difficult time trying to click on the items or get information on the.

While I will probably continue to play both games I think it is fairly obvious that Farmville is far superior in my opinion. I find the graphics far more appealing, the interface easier to manage, better rates of harvest, and the animals are not just their for decoration. So, if you are looking for a casual game that is relaxing and just about anyone can, and probably does, play try out one or both of these games. Even if you do not stick with it at least your friends will have one more farm to tend in order to gain experience and money.

(This article was written after playing both games over the course of four days and not all items had been unlocked at the time of this post.)