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Thursday, July 8, 2010

Introduction to Lovely Farm on Facebook

Lovely Farm is one of the many Farming Simulation Games available on Facebook. It is fairly straightforward, although there evidently are plans to expand it by adding Quests and Awards. It is not as well-established at this point in time as Farmville, but it has rather detailed graphics that lend it a fairytale quality. Created in Russia, a Farm in Lovely Farm would not be out of place as an illustration in a 19th century book of fairytales or folktales.

Unlike Fantasy Kingdoms, however, which places your Character at the top of the social scale with a Market that sells Castles and Towers, Lovely Farms is at the opposite end, with Forest Huts suitable for simple peasant farmers. Some luxury items are sold, however, including Caviar, but the landscape and buildings are very much the realm of peasants and woodcutters.

Crops are beautifully conceived and are large and lustrous. While realistic, their appearance is idealised to some extent as are the Crops in any farming simulation game. Carrots and Onions are perfectly formed and brilliantly coloured. They go through a number of different phases during their growth period. Whenever you access any Crop with your cursor, you will see its growth as a percentage figure. 100% obviously indicates that the Crop is ready for harvest.

Animals can be a little more fanciful than the Crops. Apart from ordinary Animals such as Cows, Pigs and Sheep, there is a Category of 'Seasonal' Animals as Limited Editions that could be found only in the world of fantasy. These include a FlutterGoat, a PorkyBee, a FlyingCow, a FancyPig and a Lady Cow.

As in Farmville and Fantasy Kingdoms, Crops are time-limited and will wither if you do not harvest them. Unlike most other Farming Simulation games on Facebook, you have the option to water any Crop once during its growing period. Watering a Crop will give you +1 XP although it is not mandatory. A failure to water your Crop before it ripens will not cause it to wither before its time.

You will otain the XP for any Crop that you plant at the time of planting as well as +1 XP in addition for the Crop when you harvest it successfully. This game offers more strategical choices than many of the farming simulation games on Facebook, as there are a number of Crops with similar time periods and similar XP but with different Prices. Once you become established and price is not an issue, you may choose the more expensive Crop, but when you first begin the game and have little income, you may wish to earn the highest amount of experience with the least amount of expense.

For example, Onion Seeds cost 16 Coins, take 10 Hours to mature, yield 31 Coins and give 2 XP. Strawberries cost 21 Coins, likewise take 10 Hours to mature, yield 38 Coins and give 2 XP. It may be in your interest to choose Onions instead of Strawberries at the outset if your income is limited.

Experience really is your primary aim at the start, apart from keeping your Farm solvent. You cannot expect to make a large profit until your Levels increase. You therefore should choose Crops that give the greatest amount of XP in the shortest amount of time.

Compare Carrots with Red Onions, for example. A Carrot takes three days to mature and gives 5 XP. Red Onions take four days to mature and give 5 XP as well. You essentially will waste a day by planting Red Onions once Carrots have been unlocked.

There are a few Crops that give 2 XP in 10 Hours but Cabbages give 2 XP in only 8 Hours. It therefore is better to plant Cabbages than Onions or Strawberries in terms of maximising Experience.

If you can access the game frequently at the start, you may wish to plant the fastest growing Crops such as White Radish, a Crop that takes only 4 Hours to mature. In Lovely Farm, XP Gains are related to the amount of time that the Crop requires to grow. Maize takes 6 Hours to mature and gives 1 XP. White Radishes take only 4 Hours to grow and likewise give 1 XP. If you can access the game frequently, you can obtain more XP Gains by growing White Radishes than Maize as you will be able to plant and harvest six plantings of White Radish in a 24-hour period as opposed to only four plantings of Maize.

At Level 13, you will unlock the Raspberry, the fastest growing Crop, maturing in only 2 Hours. Remember that a Crop that matures in 2 Hours will wither before another two hours has expired. You therefore need to maintain an almost constant watch on your Farm if you decide to grow Raspberries and reap the maximum XP and profit from your efforts. Water the Raspberries in order to gain +2 XP from each Crop even before you harvest it. Harvesting the Raspberries will give you another point of XP unless your Neighbours have fertilised the Crop, which will boost the XP Gain from the harvest to +2 XP.

Money probably will be an issue even when you have reached Level 13 so you run the risk of losing all of your hard-won Coins if you allow a field filled with ANY Crop to wither. Raspberry Seeds cost 27 Coins and each harvested Raspberry gives 39 Coins. White Radish Seeds cost only 15 Coins and yield 27 Coins, the price of a Raspberry Seed. Cabbages cost 19 Coins and yield 35 Coins, almost the same amount as a Raspberry at harvest.

Greed and impatience are your worst enemies in any Facebook Farming Simulation game. It is far better to plant a Crop that you KNOW you will be able to harvest safely before its term of grace expires than to attempt to earn XP quickly but risk losing all your money when your Crops wither on the field before you can harvest them!

There is an old adage to the effect that 'All things come to those who wait'. It certainly is true where Farming Simulation Games are concerned. It is when you cannot exercise patience that you will be tempted to spend REAL money on virtual expansions or items that can boost your XP rather than allowing your careful and regular farming labours to work for you.

If you wish to increase your Levels quickly and opt to plant Raspberries, you are best served to keep the game on the screen from the time of planting to the time of Harvest, making certain that you water them before they reach 100% maturity. If you miss the grace period allowed after the Crop matures, you will waste the money that you paid for the Crops as well as being forced to pay to retill the soil. It costs 10 Coins to till any square in Lovely Farm. If an entire field filled with Raspberries withers, you will have to pay a tidy sum to remove the Withered Crops from your field without earning a single Coin for the harvest. Climbing back from a financial disaster like can be difficult. Fortunately, the game awards you a small sum of Coins on a daily basis and you can earn more coins by visiting Neighbours to chase pests from their Farms. If they have been diligent in planting Crops, you can earn extra money by fertilising three Squares and watering three Crops on each Farm. If you have good Neighbours who visit you regularly, you can earn +2 XP when harvesting the Crops they have fertilised.

Do not expect to make much profit initially. You aim must be to gain as much Experience (XP) as possible rather than to make a profit. After all, any money that you make through your Farming efforts needs to be plowed back into the soil. If you 'break even' in the first week, you will be doing well. Using the Free Gifts that Neighbours send to you will give you a small profit if they send Pigs, Ostriches, Olive and Orange Trees. The best Gift in monetary terms in the early stages is the Pig, who will give you +60 Coins every two days from the Truffles he finds.


Lovely Farm is one of the many Farming Simulation Games available on Facebook. It is fairly straightforward, although there evidently are plans to expand it by adding Quests and Awards. It is not as well-established at this point in time as Farmville, but it has rather detailed graphics that lend it a fairytale quality. A Farm in Lovely Farm would not be out of place as an illustration in a 19th century book of fairytales or folktales.

Unlike Fantasy Kingdoms, however, which places your Character at the top of the social scale with a Market that sells Castles and Towers, Lovely Farms is at the opposite end, with Forest Huts suitale for simple peasant farmers. Some luxury items are sold, however, including Caviar, but the landscape and buildings are very much the realm of peasants and woodcutters.

Crops are beautifully conceived and are large and lustrous. While realistic, their appearance is idealised to some extent as are the Crops in any farming simulation game. Carrots and Onions are perfectly formed and brilliantly coloured. Animals can be a little more fanciful. Apart from ordinary Animals such as Cows, Pigs and Sheep, there is a Category of 'Seasonal' Animals that could be found only in the world of fantasy. These include a FlutterGoat, a PorkyBee, a FlyingCow, a FancyPig and a Lady Cow.

As in Farmville and Fantasy Kingdoms, Crops are time-limited and will wither if you do not harvest them. Unlike most other Farming Simulation games on Facebook, you have the option to water any Crop once during its growing period. Watering a Crop will give you +1 XP although it is not mandatory. A failure to water your Crop before it ripens will not cause it to wither before its time.

You will otain the XP for any Crop that you plant at the time of planting. This game offers more strategical choices than many of the farming simulation games on Facebook, as there are a number of Crops with similar time periods and similar XP but with different Prices. Once you become established and price is not an issue, you may choose the more expensive Crop, but when you first begin the game and have little income, you may wish to earn the highest amount of experience with the least amount of expense.

For example, Onion Seeds cost 16 Coins, take 10 Hours to mature, yield 31 Coins and give 2 XP. Strawberries cost 21 Coins, likewise take 10 Hours to mature, yield 38 Coins and give 2 XP. It may be in your interest to choose Onions instead of Strawberries at the outset if your income is limited.

If you can access the game frequently at the start, you may wish to plant the fastest growing Crops such as White Radish, a Crop that takes only 4 Hours to mature. In Lovely Farm, XP Gains are related to the amount of time that the Crop requires to grow. Maize takes 6 Hours to mature and gives 1 XP. White Radishes take only 4 Hours to grow and likewise give 1 XP. If you can access the game frequently, you can obtain more XP Gains by growing White Radishes than Maize as you will be able to plant and harvest six plantings of White Radish in a 24-hour period as opposed to only four plantings of Maize.

Gift Strategies

In any Farming Simulation game on Facebook, the Gifts that Friends/Neighbours can send to you daily can be a great boon to you, especially at the start. In Lovely Farm, the Gift Menu includes a couple of Animals and Trees that are available at Level 1 to send as Gifts. These are the items that generate income regularly and the value is as follows:

Free Trees:

Orange Tree: +8 Coins
Olive Tree: +15 Coins

Free Animals:

Ostrich:
Egg: +30 Coins
Pig:
Truffles: +60 Coins

Unlike Crops, Fruits on Trees and Ranch Products will last indefinitely once they become ready for harvest. You therefore should not underestimate the value of these items on your Farm. Trees, Ranch Products and Decorative Items all give XP when first set on your Farm as well.

Other Free Trees and Animals are unlocked as Gifts at higher Levels. The complete List of Gift Items is given in another Post.

You are given the opportunity to send 15 Free Gifts per day to your Neighbours. As far as the Gifts with a price are concerned, there is no limit evidently to the number that can be sent. You could send both a Free Gift and a Paid Gift to the same Neighbour in any given day.

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