Farming in the virtual world of Farmville

Once I got the hang of my computer I slowly started playing a few games on it. As I got better I upgraded from solitaire and enjoyed different types of free games on Yahoo. Then I got introduced to Facebook and the types of games that were available to the users. I started out playing a game called Scramble, but eventually after several months of needing my fix I searched around for something else. That's when I found Farmville.

Farmville is what I would loosely call a game. I'm not really competing against anyone, not even the computer, (although when my friend announced to me that she checked her neighbor list to make sure she had accumulated more money than anyone else I find myself wanting to out-earn her, but that's just my competitive nature) but I find it jolly fun.

The application is a farm. You create a person that owns the farm and then you begin building your farm with crops, trees, animals, buildings, decorations, etc. To earn money to pay for all of this you must plant and harvest crops. You are given some money in the beginning, but the rest is up to you. Also, the seeds you purchase all cost something different and earn you different amounts. I found that I actually had to use some math to figure out which crops would yield me a better return on my investment.

As your farm begins to build you start adding neighbors with others who are playing Farmville and who are on your friend list. You then can go to visit their farms, help out with pesky crows, weeds, etc. and earn experience points. As you gain in the points you move up the levels, and as you move up the levels, more stuff is available to you to purchase, plant, and gift.

The problem with the game, besides the slowness that I have encountered, is that it sucks you into its virtual world. You suddenly really believe that you are rich and that this farm is thriving under your green thumb. One night after harvesting squash on my farm we happen to have it for dinner. For a moment I believed it might have come right out of my farm it was so good!

The game is certainly addicting and lucky for me, I don't have a 9 to 5 job that keeps me from my farm. So when the "Super Berries" were introduced for a limited time and yielded a huge return I was able to plant and harvest them every 2 hours until I had a nice little cache in my purse. Now I'm working toward a house and a bigger plot of land.

Finally, something to keep me occupied while my daughters start school today.