Gamertell

One of the most popular varieties of Facebook game applications at the moment is the farming simulation. What started innocently enough with Slashkey’s Farm Town exploded the second that game found fame. Now, there’s a wide variety of other farm game spin-offs. They tend to fall into two groups, ones that focus on a multiplayer experience and ones that focus on a single player experience.

To help keep things organized, Gamertell’s done some rudimentary research on the six most popular farming applications on Facebook. We give you the essential information - the basic premise, focus, maker, number of people player and cash shop information. Then, you can check out each one on your own to see which ones your friends are playing and are the best fit for you.

So, let’s get farming!

Name: FarmVille
Maker: Zynga
Average number of monthly users as of September 27, 2009: 50,813,894
Premise: A massive farming game where you create a farm by placing farmland, raising animals and planting trees. You can also own vehicles to make farming easier. As you level up, you can buy more items and do more things. Though Farm Town came first, FarmVille has proved more successful.
Focus: Farming and expanding your land, while also interacting with friends.
Cash shop: Sort-of. You can buy Farm Cash to purchase special decorations for your farms. However, you can also earn Farm Cash while playing the game by leveling up.

Name: Farm Town
Maker: Slashkey
Average number of monthly users as of September 27, 2009: 18,842,468
Premise: You are able to create a plot of land. You put down buildings, plant flowers, grow crops, visit friends’ farms, expand your territory and interact with other Farm Town users by either going to work for them or hiring them to work for you. Animals here are just a decoration. As you level up, you gain access to more decorations and crops.
Focus: Working with other Farm Town players to get the most money and experience so you can improve your own plot.
Cash shop: Sort-of. Like FarmVille, you can use real money to buy coins and FarmCash that you can use to buy items in the shop. However, you don’t have to. Every time you level up, you get one FarmCash, and coins can be earned during normal play.

Name: Barn Buddy
Average number of users as of September 27, 2009: 7,016,151
Premise: You plant and take care of crops. You can use fertilizer to improve them. You also have to handle bug infestations and deal with weeds. You’re also able to steal crops from friends who don’t own dogs.
Focus: Crop maintenance.
Cash shop: Sort-of. You can purchase credits to buy fertilizer and such.

Name: Country Story
Maker: PlayFish
Average number of users as of September 27, 2009: 6,778,917
Premise: You are a farmer who’s developing a small area. You are limited in what you can do each day, as your farmer has only so much stamina. There’s a small town you can visit, where locals will give you quests to fulfill. As you level up, you can grow new crops and plow more land. You can own dogs, chickens, cows and sheep, and the latter three provide goods you can sell. You can have your friends help if your friend points are high enough.
Focus: It’s more of a single player experience where the focus is on taking care of your farm and completing missions.
Cash shop: Yup. There are a selection of items you can only purchase with PlayFish Cash, like certain decorations or animals. You can only get these items with real cash.

Name: (Lil) Farm Life
Maker: Greenpatch Inc
Average number of users as of September 27, 2009: 3,851,406
Premise: It’s pretty much identical to the FarmVille and Farm Town experiences. You tend a small area of farmland, level up by performing tasks and so on.
Focus: Farming your area of land and working with friends to earn more money.
Cash shop: Sort-of. You can purchase additional coins, like in FarmVille and Farm Town, with cash to make the game easier. It isn’t required though.

Name: Happy Farm
Maker: Five Minutes
Average number of users as of September 27, 2009: 2,074,444
Premise: Manage a farm and complete missions to make it successful. You can send gifts to friends, among them customizable bouquets. You also need to use pesticides and weed killers on crops from time to time. There isn’t much customization available for farms, compared to the more popular applications. Originally gained popularity in China.
Focus: Single player experience where you complete set missions.
Cash shop: Nope

Name: Island Paradise
Maker: Meteor Games
Average number of users as of September 27, 2009: 1,984,495
Premise: A farming sim with a tropical approach. You’re developing a farm on an island. You can work with or steal from your friends. Also, salvage items occasionally wind up on your farm, which you can collect and eventually use to upgrade your tropical farm. Crops, animals and trees are all ones you’d expect to see on an island setting.
Focus: Developing and upgrading your deserted island.
Cash shop: Yes. Certain animals and items can only be purchased with real money.

Site [FarmVille] Site [Farm Town] Site [Country Story] Site [Barn Buddy] Site [(Lil) Farm Life] Site [Happy Farm] Site [Island Paradise]