The Farming Gamec, 10 years

Our family had one of the first versions of The Farming Game from way back when it was independently produced. GREAT game. I used to play it for hours by myself.If you haven't played The Farming Game before:* This is a great game that involves a limited amount of competition, a fair amount of luck, and a lot of strategy.* The choices you're given vary each time you play and you have to make strategy decisions based on those choices - you can't play it the same way every time.- Do you go in debt or not?- Do you buy a lot of Cows? (low start-up cost, high ongoing expense, high reward)- Should you put your money into Fruit? (high cost, high risk, high reward)- Is it even worth buying Hay? (low risk, low reward)Because your opportunities vary based on the cards you draw the answers to those questions may be different each game.* The game can take a long time and is more fun with at least three players or at least three farms in operation (see previous statement about playing by myself)* If you're playing it with kids for the first time I recommend playing it individually with them, one on one, first so that they understand the rules without a lot of competition.* As regards the competition aspect - in this game you are trying to run a successful farm - you are competing with others for options to purchase limited resources but other than that you are playing pretty independently of the others who are playing with you. The one with the most money at the end wins but that is a small part of the game. You can allow trading for resources so that each person specializes or you can make it more competitive by prohibiting trades. If you play with four or more players it will naturally be more competitive because the available acreage (the Option to Buy cards) will be spread over a larger number of farms.If you have played The Farming Game before:* This updated version is almost exactly the same as the original version, with the following differences:- Instead of the colorform type of vinyl acreage this game has puzzle pieces- Instead of uniform acreage this has 1 x and 3 x units (10/30 acres of hay or grain, 5/15 acres of fruit, 10/30 cows) that are not well marked so you have to pay more attention to the actual pieces- The OTB, Farmer's Fate, and Op Exp cards are now like playing cards not business cards (imo this is an improvement)- gameboard folds in four like more and more games today so the box takes up less space- you now buy "pregnant cows" instead of just cows. This is endlessly entertaining to the ten year old.* Other than those changes the options on the cards (UPDATE: there are two new Farmers Fates and more harvester related opex cards) and spaces are all the same as they used to be, the board is the same, the play is the same, the grid is the same. (UPDATE: the rules have changed to be more cooperative [or we never read them carefully enough] - for instance you rent a harvester from a neighbor not from the bank, you can trade OTB and borrow from other players without it being a family rule... those were the updates we noticed)This is by far my favorite game ever (UPDATE it is also now my 10yo nephew's favorite game). If you haven't played it before it is really worth trying. If you are looking to play an old favorite this is essentially the same as the original especially when it comes to the actual game play.

I played this game back when I was a kid with my friend and his dad. My friend asked me if I wanted to play “The Farming Game”? I asked him what that was and he described it as Monopoly just farming style. I noticed right away the game said on the box “warning this game can be addictive” I honestly just thought it was going to be just another game. Boy was I wrong. Now over 20 years later I found myself buying this game to share with my family of four. Once we started we couldn’t put it down. The game is so much fun. We play it once a week. You will not be disappointed with this game. Everything was in the box and ready to play. If you play by the rules your going to be using a lot of %’s so be ready to do some light math. We play more of the home rules style which it says in the rule book that if everyone is in agreement to change the rules up a bit then your free to do so. Sit back and enjoy this older long lasting game that will stand the test of time.

Love this game! Bought the originalOne 25 years ago

When a friend introduced me to The Farming Game, I was tickled to see all of the names on the board came from the area of Washington State where I raised my kids. (Too bad they don't provide a pronunciation guide! But then, it was fun teaching folks who had played the game for years how to say the town and mountain names properly.)Imagine playing monopoly where you're not aiming to own the bank; instead you're shooting for a successful planting or cattle season. It's a lot of fun, and the obstacles and issues you have to deal with in the play are very, very real for farmers in that part of the country. It's not easy to fight the weather, the bugs, the diseases, the market crashes and more and come out on top. Sometimes you win by investing in cattle, sometimes fruit, sometimes ground crops. Often you just learn why farmers say they are "land rich and dirt poor."At first glance, the rules are rather daunting, but if you just start playing, you get the swing of it quickly enough. I'd say it takes a little more thought than monopoly, but not much.My wife and I played the game recently with some friends. The male half of this couple told us he doesn't particularly like board games. But after one evening of play (he was the cattle baron in the group... risky, but he pulled it off), they ordered FOUR games to hand out to family and friends as Christmas gifts. I sent one off to my daughter and her family, too.

We have had this game for so many years When a new member joined our family Who is from Washington I knew I had to get this for her. I do not enjoy monopoly, but this game is so fun. It is all about harvesting, planting, paying your bills and Making the hard decisions on where to spend your money.

The Farming Game is just packed with unexpected twists: when you cash in on your crop/produce, you can have a varying pay-out, but then you have to draw an expense card that could have minimal or crushing impact on your pay-out. It's a truly fascinating game that educates you into the hazards of farming. The game can go on for hours, unless some player goes bankrupt. I instituted one beneficial rule change: whenever a player circles the board (year), he/she must pay 10% interest to the bank on outstanding mortgages. The game can end whenever one player calls for an audit (could be two hours in, or three, or more). Best board game ever!

For starters, one of my cousin's had brought down this game 15 or 16 years ago for christmas for all of us to play. The older version used vinyl stickers for the tokens, where as now they are cardboard puzzle pieces. It's always the luck of the draw of Expenses or the occasional Farmer's Fate. One thing I wish they would add would be a seperate token for corn, so that way it's easier to remember which harvest crop is doubled. Still always a fun family game. It's as rewarding and punishing as Monopoly, with similar rage inducing rolls of the dice.