I started this game a while back and forgot about it. I'm not sure why, because its sort of fun. It is nothing like Farmville. It's a tad better. The main thing being the "gears" or machines, meaning that you can create your own production system. Each gear has cute little animations as they work, by the way. Well, players start by planting clover, feeding it to cows to make them create milk. Then, putting the milk in a cheese machine and finally selling for a profit - or, storing it to be further processed into cheese pasta using a pasta machine.
Not all of the machines cost coins alone. Like most social games, you need to "build" it. You request parts from friends, then add them to the correct machine. Some machines only cost coins and friend supplied parts. The killer is that other require Ranch Cash (RC) to complete. That fact kills it for me. I don't mind spending money on a game I enjoy, but if the game is "free-to-play", I don't think the game should force a purchase on me.
That leads to me two points. 1) I've found that the truly dedicated (visit any of the fan-based groups) don't mind paying. Heck, I like the game so I partook in the newbie sale ($5 for 50 RC and a few other bonuses). I was hoping that would get me through a few mission related quests - but more on that later.
My other point is 2) They have a very nice loyalty program. Long into the game every single day and get rewarded. Like most other social games, they give out graduating rewards. Unlike other games, they give out alot of RC. Every week of continuous log ins, you get a RC reward which starts a 1RC a week, then tops off at 10RC a week. So, if you are not me (impatient), you may be able to save up a nice chuck on RC for big gear purchases and requirements, RC-only decorations or land expansion sales.
Now, the quests that I mentioned earlier Quests are fun and casual. New quests stick around for about 2 weeks waiting for you to accept them. Once accepted, I think, the counter starts over and you get another 2 weeks to complete them. I'm not 100% on that, though. There are also classic quests, that give players a second chance to complete them. Those are there, ready to be activated when ready.
The quests included a bunch of a growing, organizing and crafting of course. I was running 2 Halloween missions, 2 classic missions and a new Grandma's Burger mission at the same time. I'm not sure why I took on so much. I guess I'm used to FarmVille and Pioneer Trail piling on the tasks at one time and I felt a little weird having wiggle room.
There are only 2 things I really hated about this mission series. I touched on number one already. You have to make RC purchases to complete certain tasks. Either it is buying a decoration or tree flat out or buying a part or two to complete a gear. I could live with that since you are rewarded with RC upon leveling up and logging in everyday.
The other thing is a guessing mission. I'm not sure what to call them. But you are presented with a 6 or more objects and you have to click on. If you get it right, you pass that part of the mission. If not, you have to wait anywhere from 3 to 12( twelve!) hours to guess again - if you don't want to pay 2-10RC for another try! Screw that! Its annoying, but since you have such a generous time period to complete the mission, its not horrible. Plus, depending on the mission, you can start pre-planting or stocking up on supplies for the next task. So, I guess that not terrible either.
Family Farm is your standard farming game in all of its plant and harvest glory. However, I do love the fact that I can store the harvest and process it however I choose. Now, that I've accumulated a nice little stash of coins and various produce (from gifts and grown on the farm). I find myself just growing and stashing until I get a mission that needs or buy a new gear that uses it so that I can increase my profit and experience gain.
So, if you want to try this game, you have tons of options. Apparently the engine is everywhere. There's the actual Family Farm game that is almost identical (same quests, gears, etc) in a few different languages. Then there seems to games that use the FF engine, but its a different game (Country Life on facebook and Tap Ranch on Android, for example) I don't know the deal with those, though.
Happy Farming!
