Farmville meets Harvest Moon

My own secret hope is that one day soon there will be a genuine Harvest Moon game created for Facebook. Meanwhile, with the advent of the English Countryside in Farmville, one can play a game that reminds one quite a lot of Harvest Moon.

The English Countryside is a location where players who have reached Level 20 or higher in Farmville can own a second farm. In classical Harvest Moon form, you will be asked to rescue a dilapidated estate by an elderly gentleman who arrives on your land in an old-fashioned airship and who, after you help him with the repairs, will invite you to journey back home with him.

The English Countryside offers a sequence of Quests to allow players to obtain necessary buildings and animals, introducing them to new Crops and the ability to raise hybrid Animals that did not exist in the original Farmville.

Quests have become more frequent in Farmville over the past year, appearing generally to mark holiday seasons such as Christmas and Valentine's Day. They usually require the planting and harvesting of specific Crops, interactions with Neighbours/Friends to obtain specific unique items with progressively more valuable Rewards for each task in the sequence.

Zynga's Strategic Error, Pregnant Sows and False Requests

Farmville, a farming simulation game, may be one of the most popular games on Facebook and its 'sister game', Frontierville, may be considered as the closest to Harvest Moon in details by some fans of the series, but I for one believe that Zynga, the maker of both, is making some serious tactical errors with respect to its consumer base.

Obviously, Zynga's main purpose in creating these games is not to entertain us but to make some money. Nothing wrong with that BUT when playing any game threatens to drown a person's Facebook account in endless streams of postings about the game, many players (including me) become thoroughly disgusted. Furthermore, the tendency in the newer game, Frontierville, to treat every player like an absolute idiot by giving constant in-game prompts as to what action to perform next are being adopted by Farmville.

Where Farmville is concerned, I counted three prompts almost as soon as I loaded my farm to post suggestions to players' walls that they become Neighbours AND to send gifts to players who had abandoned their Farms to resume gameplay. These prompts interfered so badly with my own gameplay that ultimately two prompts collided and froze the game completely. Players who may have been able to obtain a free Blue Pony Foal from the Blue Pony who emerged from my Nursery Barn will be unable to do so as the post froze on the screen and nothing I did could persuade it to publish.

Just as well perhaps. I am growing increasingly weary of seeing my own Facebook 'wall' clogged with messages from Farmville even though I play the game less than Fantasy Kingdoms or Lovely Farm.

I am not the only player who is becoming disgusted with Farmville's endless suggestions to send Gems or Fuel or other specific Gifts to Neighbours and Friends either. What is particularly pernicious about this is the fact that much of the information is inaccurate. The game informed me that another player desperately needed a Nail for his Stable when in fact the Neighbour did not even HAVE a Stable, either in the process of being built or one that had been completed. Useless Gifts sent to a Neighbour are an annoyance and a waste of time and effort both for the sender and the recipient. As for suggestions that a Player post information to ANOTHER Player's Wall about a game... it really is not appropriate, especially if the player is some one who essentially abandoned all interest in the game.

Recently, I have noted the appearance of a Pregnant Sow generated by Farmville on players' farms. This is a cute little Pig with a rattle who simply is dropped onto a player's farm. When you click on it, it tells you that the Sow is pregnant and that it belongs to a specific player. You are asked to post information about the 'missing' Sow on the designated player's wall. This is all false information, by the way. The designated 'owner' never owned a pregnant sow and, should you click on the post once it appears on the player's wall, you will be taken to a special site where you will be asked to take surveys and interact with other advertising media. The Pregnant Sow is perilously close to a virus in my view. I find the whole business rather despicable and I do apologise for attempting to return the first one I encountered to its 'owner'. At that point, I did not realise how the programme operated and genuinely thought that the 'owner' was missing a pregnant pig.

Many players are becoming increasingly disillusioned with the volume of nonsense generated by Farmville and Frontierville, both Zynga games. Facebook account holders may not be dedicated gamers in many cases, but it is utterly wrong to suppose that they are idiots who could not find their own way out of a paper bag! There is no need for arrows and prompts telling a player what to do next in a farming simulation game. It takes much of the fun from the game. When a game clamours endlessly for a place on a player's Wall, it becomes less attractive as well. Most people have OTHER reasons for being on Facebook. It is quite possible that they would like to post genuine information about their own lives or the lives of family and friends. There is nothing wrong with the idea of playing games on Facebook and indeed I enjoy the option myself, but when it becomes burdensome and swamps everything else, I begin to consider the option of jettisoning the programme completely.

In the Interest of Fairness...

As I published a post about a particularly absurd response from one individual who worked in Customer Support at Zynga, the makers of Farmville when he demanded that I supply a screenshot of a prompt that appeared on my screen for a moment a week previously, I felt it only just to publish a very positive response from Zynga as well.

A couple of days ago, I 'lost' a White-Tailed Buck while moving him from one position to another on my farm. Unable to find him anywhere, I contacted Customer Support. This time, I received an immediate response from some one named Lola, who told me that, upon investigation, she did see that the Buck still was on my farm and that it could be hidden beneath a building.

With this information, I was inspired to do a very thorough search. I found the Buck beneath a building that was in the opposite direction from the location to which I had been moving him when he vanished.

I wrote to her to thank her and received this response:

'I am delighted to hear that you found your Buck. I do understand the love for certain animals on the farm and the concern when they go missing. Please always remember that we are here to answer any of your questions comments or concerns. Thank you for your time and hard work on the Farm.'

How very different from my earlier experience with Zynga Customer Support. In fairness, the awful representative who demanded that I essentially time-travel to obtain a screenshot of a message generated BY ZYNGA was yanked off the case ultimately and the issue settled by his superior.

I did wish to share the response to my White-Tailed Buck issue, though, as it portrays Zynga and Farmville in a positive light.

Farmville's Magical and Charming Option

I admit that I have been rather critical of Farmville and that, in comparisons with other, less commercial games on Facebook, it has shown itself to be less attractive.

Yesterday, however, I became aware of an Option that is truly magical but which, because of my own prejudices against anything ugly or aesthetically displeasing, I was not able to experience. The tale reflects very badly upon me but I will recount it nonetheless.

Within the last fortnight, I saw a posting by a Neighbour of a Lost Animal I never had encountered before. It was an 'Ugly Duckling'. I had encountered 'Party Ducks' and some other odd creatures such as the Groovy Cow but this was unlike anything else... The 'Ugly Duckling' was TRULY Ugly, with one enormous buck tooth hanging from its mouth. I did not wish to have a creature like that on my Farm and so passed up an opportunity for a magical and wonderful experience!

A friend of mine who plays Farmville DID adopt the Ugly Duckling, wondering if it would produce a Feather Harvest like the other Ducks. When it became 'Ready' yesterday, instead of an automatic Harvest, a pull-down menu appeared, offering him the chance to 'Transform' the Duck. Readers probably have guessed by now what occurs. The fact that I did not think of this when I first encountered the Ugly Duckling does not reflect well on some one who probably has read every fairytale and folktale in existence.

Yes, right before his eyes, the Ugly Duckling was transformed into a beautiful White Swan. I am kicking myself for not having adopted the Ugly creature, ashamed of my unkindness and envying my friend his acquisition of a glorious White Swan.

Farming Fanatics...

A Neighbour of mine in the wonderful game of Lovely Farm kindly allowed me to post her Facebook photo here. It is very apt I think for any one who plays Farming Simulation games, whether Farmville, Lovely Farm, Fantasy Kingdoms or Harvest Moon!
Thank you for graciously allowing me to share this!

Why Play Games on Facebook?

A question I asked myself and one that other players may ask as well is, with incredible games available for console, handheld and PCs, why would any one play games on Facebook that cannot promise the same detail or complexity? Why choose Farmville, for example, instead of Harvest Moon or Rune Factory?

The answer to this question for most people probably is that a fan of Harvest Moon or Rune Factory would not choose any Facebook game instead of Harvest Moon or Rune Factory. On the other hand, it is possible to play both types of game simultaneously. Rune Factory and Harvest Moon will wait patiently for your return, unlike Animal Crossing and most Facebook games, which operate in real time. If you neglect Animal Crossing, you will return to find that you must exercise some damage control before you can play the game with ease. In particular, you must deal with the Weeds that will have cropped up everywhere in your absence.

In Farmville and the other farming simulation games on Facebook that I have explored, there are no Weeds to clog your field, nor will any plot that you have tilled be subjected to the ravages of time and weather if you fail to plant seeds there for any length of time. You therefore can prepare your farm for planting and leave the game for whatever period you choose. This means that you can explore any number of Facebook games without committing yourself to any degree of attention unless you actually plant Crops.

When Crops are planted, they are time-specific and, if not harvested when 'ready' will wither and be wasted. It is a pity to waste Crops in any game.

One of the primary purposes of any game on Facebook is social interaction. If you use Facebook in order to interact with your Friends and Family or any one else, it becomes more fun to combine ordinary interactions with Facebook games. If you have a good friend on Facebook who is interested in farming simulation games, becoming his/her neighbour allows you to have more fun.

Neighbours are very important in a game like Farmville. You can play without having any neighbours, but you will be unable to reap the rewards of many of the bonuses and options that are available if you have Neighbours. The game really is geared towards the entire concept of social interaction as well as farming.

Having Neighbours is only the first step, however. You need to post your accomplishments on your Wall if you wish to help your Neighbours benefit from your successes. This is true of many of the Facebook games. It is a type of advertising, of course, but the games are free and there is little harm in it, apart from the possibility that Friends who have no interest in gaming may begin to believe that you are obsessed with it and do nothing else with your time.

You do not need to spend that much time on any of these games, however, in order to participate in them. That is the beauty of these Facebook games. Your investments in term of time and energy are under your control. If you log into Facebook daily, you can grow Crops that take 12 or 24 hours to mature and be confident of harvesting them before they wither. If you only log into Facebook every two days or so, there are Crops that can be planted that will not mature until two days have passed. Note that your XP gain for any Crop is linked usually to the number of hours it takes to grow. There are Crops that are equal in the time they need to mature but give different XP Gains. If you are seriously interested in increasing your Levels, you always should choose the Crops that give 2 XP instead of 1 rather than choosing the Crops that are most attractive visually.

Which brings me to another potential reason to play the farming simulation games on Facebook. I mentioned this in an earlier post actually. A player can construct a picture with his/her farm, whether in Farmville, Fantasy Kingdoms, Farm Town or Lovely Farm. You need not bother with strategies of profit if you would prefer to approach the game from an aesthetic point of view. I actually try to combine both considerations. My birth flower is the Morning Glory and I eagerly awaited the point in Farmville when the Seeds would be unlocked. Now I usually try to grow some Morning Glories on my field for the simple pleasure of gazing upon them. Some Crops definitely are more attractive than others. (Pineapples and Artichokes are among the less attractive Crops but they do give good XP and are profitable.)

I am wandering away from the point of this post I fear which is not to give tips about specific games but to explain the attraction of them in general.

The way many of these games work is by inserting random events periodically. In Farmville, one of these Events is the appearance of a 'Lost Animal'. When a Lost Animal appears on your Field, you cannot adopt it yourself, but you can post the information on your Wall to allow other players to adopt it. The Lost Animals tend to be varieties that are not offered for sale at the Market. Llamas, Black Sheep, Groovy Cows, Pink Cows and Party Ducks are some of the Lost Animals that the game generates. A player who is at a very low level can increase his/her Ranch population by adopting these Lost Animals but only if his/her Neighbours and Friends post the information on Facebook.

There are other little rewards and occurrences that can be 'shared'. When you collect products from your own Animals, you sometimes can offer them to your Neighbours, again by posting the information on your Wall. When a Special Event such as the Tuscan Wedding is in progress, these items may be ingredients that need to be collected in order to obtain special rewards. Special Events such as the Tuscan Wedding in Farmwille will not last forever. You can ignore them or participate in them. They are subsidiary to the primary purpose of the game which is to improve your Farm and your Levels of experience.

In many games on Facebook, increased Levels or other accomplishments result in Ribbons or Medals. This is one of the 'collection' option in these games. By posting the announcement of the award on your Wall, you can give your Neighbours an opportunity to obtain a bonus from it. The bonus usually is in the form of currency.

My actual guides for Farmville and Fantasy Kingdoms are posted on separate pages I created and will be published on IGN when they are more complete. For any one who wishes to explore Facebook games, however, I would imagine there are two general principles:

If you participate in the Facebook Community while playing the game, your success will be greater and you will have far more fun than if you play in isolation.

Have patience and do not rush to invest real money in any game. As in Harvest Moon, time and perseverance are your best allies in terms of increasing your own income in the game itself. Obviously, as these games are free, encouraging players to purchase currency with real money in order to obtain the best and most interesting items is one of the game's goals, but you need not be seduced by it. On the other hand, if you have a decent real income, investing $5.00 or its equivalent in the game is not entirely absurd. If you are a gamer, you can compare that sum to the price of a Console or handheld game and realise how it may be a way of supporting the creators of a good Facebook game. There are ways to purchase currency without sharing your financial details. It always it better to go through PayPal in these cases than to give any one access to your Credit Card or Debit Card information. The best players, however, are the ones who allow the game itself to generate currency for them.

Finally, these games exist to enhance your enjoyment of Facebook. Do not become a slave to any of them. As we all know, it is easy to become addicted to any good game.

Farmville on Facebook

As IGN appears to be interested in little mini-guides for Facebook games, I may create small guides for a couple of the farming simulation game. In fact, I have created a site for Fantasy Kingdoms as it is such a delightful game. Farmville is a game that appears to have wide popularity, and it has more details than I first realised, so I may write a small guide for that as well.

If any one wishes to play Farmville and be my neighbour, send me a Friend Invitation on Facebook but please add a personal message telling me that you are a fan of Harvest Moon and/or Rune Factory. I do not accept invitations from random individuals. I do not expect to know every one who wants to be added, but if we share a love of Harvest Moon or Rune Factory or even nothing more than a love of Cats, I am happy to add you.

After my initial distrust of the idea of owning a Cat in Farmville in order to be able to gather a 'harvest' from it, I now see that there is no animal slaughter in Farmville. As in Harvest Moon, Pigs find Truffles for you. You can harvest feathers from Geese without killing the poor silly creatures. My cat is only 77% 'ready' at this point, but a player left a comment on this site to the effect that you brush your Cat in order to collect. Calves likewise are brushed, although grown Cows obviously give Milk.

If I were to write a little Walkthrough for this game, my first suggestion would be to obtain a Chicken Coop as soon as possible. The options that are linked to Eggs are the most fun of all that I have experienced at this stage. Chickens who are not housed in a Coop simply yield Eggs, as far as I can see, but when Chickens are housed in a Chicken Coop, both you and your neighbours have a chance of collecting items known as Mystery Eggs. Mystery Eggs when hatched can yield rare Chickens, XP points and other rewards.

It is rather important to have at least one neighbour and if you have more neighbours or friends on Facebook who play the game as well, you will have far more fun than you would if playing alone. This is unfortunate in a way, as I always like to think that a solitary, isolated person could enjoy these games as well, but enjoyment is rather limited unless you interact with other people. One method of interaction is by sending free gifts of Ranch Animals, Trees or other items. As your income will be very limited at the beginning (why does this sound so familiar???), if you are given a Chicken or Cow or even a Pear Tree, you may be almost pathetically grateful.

As far as a Walkthrough is concerned, I do have a suggestion for other players of the game. Always till your soil even you do not have time to plant Crops or tend to them. This action can be very beneficial to your neighbours and friends.

As a player, you have the option to visit other farms. When you do, you first have an option to fertilise five plots. If no land has been tilled, you cannot perform this act. Furthermore, the NEXT option that will be given is the one that benefits you. If the farmer has a Chicken Coop, you will be given some feed and the chance to feed the farmer's Chickens. This is one method of finding Mystery Eggs. If you were not able to use all five bags of fertiliser on the farmer's field, however, the Chicken Feed never will appear. So my advice to players of Farmville is to till your land even if you do not have time to USE it.

Here is a link to my preliminary guide for Farmville:

Farmville Walkthrough and Guide

More Reviews of Facebook Games

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Reviews of Farmville, Farm Town, Fantasy Kingdoms, Castle Age, Castle and Co, Happy Aquarium and Yoville.

Having only spent a couple of days on these games, I cannot claim to be in a position to write an expert review of ANY of them, but these are my preliminary findings.

Of all the Facebook games, the Fantasy Kingdoms farming game is the most to my liking in its concept, graphics and items. As far as actual gameplay is concerned, however, it seemed that I ran out of energy sooner and with less accomplished than I did in comparable games such as Farmville and Farm Town. Unless I can obtain more 'mana' points, I will have to judge Farmville and Farm Town as better games. However, wonderful a concept or however diverse the items, if you cannot do anything in the game, it's all rather pointless. In fact, there are ways to 'earn' Mana if you can help your neighbours and if friends send you gifts. Unlike both Farmville and Farm Town, there is no limit on the number of items that a friend can send in a day. At least half if not more of these 'free gift' items are Trees that can be harvested.

I daresay Fantasy Kingdoms has not been as successful commercially yet as a game like Farmville as it appears to be a fairly new game by a smaller firm. The graphics are absolutely stunning and the concept of the game is fantasy-based with a mixture of real magical herbs, trees and crops and clever fantasy magic crops. Many of the medicinal herbs resemble their real counterparts but some of them are graphic 'puns' on the names. For example, Sunflowers when growing are beautiful sunlamps and Fish Tail Ferns appear with fish tails. There are other clever fantasy crops such as Eye of Newt that actually grows into a tall plant with an 'eye' as its flower. The game was out of service for a couple of hours at one point, but users were given 900 Mana points in compensation. A nice touch considering the fact that the game is absolutely free.

Although I initially liked Farm Town better than Farmville, I now have revised my opinion. Although you can acquire Ranch Animals in Farm Town at the very start, you cannot obtain any products from them evidently unless you build the appropriate housing for them. At the start, I was given a sheep and a pig. I did not want the pig, but was unable to sell him until I reached a specific level in the game. The best part of reaching that level was selling the useless pig! I still ike the fact that items sent as gifts in Farm Town can be traded for any item on the gift page that you have unlocked.

One of the problems with many of these games is the fact that you really cannot explore them properly unless you have 'friends' or 'neighbours'. The best exploitations are possible only when you have neighbours to visit, help and with whom to exchange gifts. I suppose that as Facebook itself is geared towards global community interactions, it makes sense that the games would focus on this goal.

Farmville became far more interesting when I raised my levels a little and obtained the ability to visit neighbours' farms and feed their chickens. There are 'Mystery Eggs' that you can obtain in this fashion. A Mystery Egg can hatch into a rare Chicken that you may not be able to afford to buy... It can hatch into XP points or other things as well, but I really was rather thrilled when one hatched into a Black Chicken.

I have not discovered precisely what it means to harvest an Animal such as a Cat and indeed was very reluctant to acquire a Cat at first because I was worried about the 'harvest' potential. As other Animals when 'harvested' continue to live happily on the farm, however, I am confident now that I won't be expected to slaughter my Cat when the 'ready' period arrives... What does one harvest from a Cat? Perhaps it is Kittens... Harvests tend to take the form of experience points so that may be the actual extent of it.

I am playing only one combat game in the form of Castle Age. Castle Age is fueled by LoTR concepts and has beautiful illustrations, but I suspect that the size of a player's army does matter and that requires that one recruit Facebook 'friends'. I rather dislike that idea. If some one wishes to participate, well and good, but I don't wish to push people into it. In Castle Age, Stamina and Energy are replenished in time...

Today, I read some FAQS about Castle Age, after making a rather negative discovery about myself and my ability to be corrupted into preying upon those weaker than myself. Many of the elements in gaming that I personally dislike are part of the Castle Age game. Although the Quests are well-written and illustrated, that is only a small part of the game. What you are supposed to do is to sally forth to duel against or raid other players, taking their money and becoming stronger by defeating them. When you are urged to go to Battle, you are shown a list of other players within a certain range of your own Level. You then can choose either to duel or invade.

A player of comparable level but with a large army probably will defeat you if you should challenge him/her. The players you can defeat in order to earn your daily allotment of points are those who are of slightly lower level with small armies or no army at all. It made me feel like a crass bully boy when I began to pick off the weaker players on the list in order to gain experience and higher levels. I did not like it very much.

The most powerful incentive the game offers is that you should increase the size of your own army by sending out invitations to your 'friends' or contacts. To me, this smacks of spamming your friends and contacts. When I explored the online FAQS for Castle Age, I discovered some one had written a strategy guide on how do ensnare the largest distribution list possible for your invitations to this game.

Whenever you are involved in a combat situation, victory usually brings money in the form of some of your opponent's cash and defeat means that your opponent bears off some of your cash as his/her spoils. The game offers a method of concealing your Cash by banking it for 10% of the total. If some one challenges and defeats you, therefore, that individual will gain $0 instead of making off with the carefully hoarded savings you had intended to use to purchase some decent armour. I then realised that the money I had 'won' from opponents probably was their life savings or a goodly portion thereof. I really was not terribly proud of myself...

Although I love edged weapons and combat has its appeal, I really do prefer games that are not competitive. The Fantasy Kingdom and Farmville games, although not as detailed or profound as any Harvest Moon or Rune Factory game, nonetheless appear to be based on the idea of helping your friends by fertilising their fields, chasing off pests and sending them gifts.

Castle and Co. is another game I have explored. It has Candyland-style graphics and obviously targets young children to some extent. The basis of the game, however, is feudalism, precursor of capitalism. You are the lord or lady of the land and you build workshops so that the peasants can labour for you. Your job is simply to cheer them on. You never dirty your own hands by tilling the soil, chopping lumber, foraging or mining. Upgrading your workshops allows more of your people to work for you. Your workshops make money for you and you plough that money back into the workshops by upgrading them. One clue that this game was created not entirely for young children is the fact that you can build an 'Aleshop'!

Happy Aquarium is somewhat similar to Fish Tycoon which I loved, but Happy Aquarium differs in that it includes many mini-games where you lead one of your fish to find treasure in a time-limited hunt or through an obstacle course.

Yoville is the final game on my list. It is somewhat similar to The Sims in that your Character must find work and socialise with other Characters in order to succeed. Your avatar can chat with other avatars in public venues or offer games of tic-tac-toe to virtual strangers, but that is subordinate to the task of visiting your neighbours and working regularly at your jobs. Here, as in many of the games, the number of neighbours that you obtain is critical to your success in life. Without neighbours, you will not be promoted at work. Rather unfair, but there it is. At first, I absolutely HATED the Yoville game. A friend of mine sent me a gift of a Silver Chest in response to my gift of the same item. I then found I could not open it without a Silver Key. Purchase of a Silver Key was beyond my means or desire... Later, I discovered that a Silver Key can be sent as a free gift by a friend or neighbour, so it is not as diabolical as it first appeared.

In all of these games, you can post special discoveries or achievements on your Wall, allowing other players to glean rewards, adopt interesting animals or obtain items... but I find it rather embarrassing to post a veritable deluge of game announcements, making it appear as though my entire life is devoted to Facebook games!

What is lacking in these farming simulation games, of course, are the solid Characters and dialogues that are so much a part of any Harvest Moon or Rune Factory game. If you invite Friends to become Neighbours, you could argue that they are the 'Characters' in these games, but most of the actions appear to be generated automatically even between neighbours.

None of these games can compare with Harvest Moon or Rune Factory but they can be addictive and they provide a clever bit of marketing strategy for all the advertisers who utilise Facebook. What they do is force you to log into Facebook for a start in order to harvest Crops that are ripe in a farming game or conceal the gold you have gained from the passage of time in a combat game. Once you have logged into Facebook, the battle for your time and attention is half-won... Yes, Facebook is a 'Community' and some of your real friends may be part of your Network there, but it still has the ability to waste hours of your time. That having been said, would any one like to sign up to enroll in Freyashawk's Army? (Just joking!)

Later: I have created a little page for a Fantasy Kingdoms mini-guide. You will find the link on the right side of this page.

Time Out for Facebook Games

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I first registered on Facebook in order to be able to view family photographs posted by a very good Harvest Moon friend. I confess I do not spend much time on Facebook, although I neglect to 'log out', causing people to believe that I am hovering there somewhere in the ethernet.

When I first arrived there, my friend sent me all sorts of invitations and virtual items. I didn't have a clue as to what was going on and sadly did not respond in any way. It was only yesterday, having seen a number of postings by different people about places like 'Farmville' and 'Farm Town' as well as some sort of Cooking game that I decided to investigate personally.

I therefore accepted the very old invitation by my Harvest Moon friend and attempted to claim the old 'gifts' she had sent... I downloaded a game bar for Farmville that does not work and cluttered up my browser with all sorts of Zynga 'apps'. So this is the world of apps that is advertised endlessly... Is it worthwhile to interact with them?

The answer, if one were to weigh REAL games like Harvest Moon, Rune Factory and The Sims, in a balance with these 'apps' would be 'No.' They are simplistic and lack any of the depth, humour or philosophy that is so much a part of the games I like to play. Incidentally, I explored a combat RPG called Castle Age at the same time, seduced by the rather lovely graphics.

I suppose, however, that these 'apps' are not intended to be compared to real games at all. They are not designed for uninterrupted concentrated gameplay. They are little time-fillers, a way to amuse and entertain oneself while one is multi-tasking on Facebook, having conversations with Facebook friends, 'creeping' on people or otherwise whiling away a lifetime online without really accomplishing anything. Places like Farmville and Farm Town give one a sense of DOING something at least, by harvesting crops and earning coins, even if there is no real depth to the experience.

All these games are free, by the way, but the entire purpose, disguised beneath cute graphics and offers designed in the spirit of universal friendship, is ADVERTISING. Furthermore, although there is no overt negative motivation on the part of the creators of these games, they are designed to give access to the players' personal information and details. I do not share my information on Facebook to any one apart from my friends, but Zynga immediately demanded access and received it as there is no alternative if you wish to gain access to the games they produce.

Basically, they ask you to promote their games by sending 'free gifts' to your friends, thereby introducing them to the game. There is nothing nefarious here, but it is marketing dressed up as gaming. You begin any game with a few assets and the ability to earn coins by playing the game, whether it is a matter of growing crops (Farmville or Farm Town) or working in a factory (Yoville) or embarking on Quests and fighting enemies (Castle Age). HOWEVER... if you are seduced by the superior goods that cost far more than you could hope to earn in the near future, you are offered an opportunity to purchase MORE 'Cash and Coins' with your REAL money, whether through PayPal or credit card transaction. Apart from this direct exchange of real currency for fake currency, there are a host of advertising offers from diverse companies, from Discover to Shoe Emporiums and Survey Groups, promising you game currency if you apply for a credit card, buy footwear or sign up to participate in surveys. Is this any worse than the adverts that clutter up the internet, forcing their way into your consciousness whenever you compose an email, perform a search or visit YouTube? I daresay it isn't and at least it is fun.

The interesting part of these games, to me, is the way they promote the entire concept of Facebook by giving you the opportunity to interact with your 'friends' on Facebook in a myriad of different settings. In other words, your friends can become your neighbours in Farmville, part of your army in Castle Age or neighbours and co-workers at the local factory in Yoville. Some of the interaction is generated by the game itself. Your 'friends' actually may not be online when they ask for assistance in raking leaves or frightening crows on their farms. It does give you the illusion that you are part of a community, however, and this may be comforting to individuals who live in real isolation or have few chances to socialise in the real world.

I never had much free time to spend on Facebook and I very much doubt if I will have time to work on my farms in Farmville or Farm Town or perform many Quests in Castle Age. I expect I have but skimmed the surface of these games and that there are more delights in store for a player who actually devotes many weeks to them. I certainly will try to visit my holdings in the Zynga universe from time to time to see how the games unfold, but I can't imagine that I will be doing so on a daily basis.

So far, of all the games I have explored, I liked Farm Town the best initially because you could plant crops and Trees and have both ranch animals and pets without being forced to use any 'real' money to invest in the enterprise. You evidently can purchase fishing locations as well in the form of ponds, rivers or beaches. If you receive a gift from a friend that you do not like, moreover, you can trade it for another one. With the fishing option, at first glance, it appeared to resemble Harvest Moon therefore more than Farmville, but in fact, I only have scratched the surface of Farmville. With respect to Farm Town, I don't like the look of my avatar much and the graphics in general are fairly simplistic, but any one who played early Harvest Moon games knows that satisfying gameplay is far more important than graphics. The incredible graphics that now grace any Harvest Moon or Rune Factory game are simply the icing on the cake.

Actually, people who are experts at Farm Town have utilised the rather simple graphics in some incredibly creative ways. One farmer created his farm in the form of a turtle and another created the figure of a dragon in his.

Although the graphics in Castle Age are lovely, they are static rather than interactive, like illustrations in a picturebook. The game really appears to be designed for multi-player action, something that never works well for me, because I really do not have the time for it. You can duel against other players or work with them to fight boss enemies... My problem with this particular game is the fact that any Quest or duel takes energy and you then have to wait for the gauges to refill. Again, though, it is a game to play while multitasking, not intended to occupy your attention fully.

I actually played a couple of computer games that are somewhat similar to these Zynga games, although they had more fully-defined goals. One was Virtual Villagers and the other was Fish Tycoon. I enjoyed both very much and. They worked in real time as do the Zynga games and of the two, I liked the Fish Tycoon best as it allowed you to create a magnificent aquarium on your desktop. Both games required some effort and concentration, however, as death was an element in each. You needed to keep your Villagers and Fish healthy and happy. The Fish Tycoon ultimately was released on the DS platform but I never had time to play that version. One of the reasons I liked the game in the first place was the fact that it could be on the desktop of my computer, giving me joy as I worked.