Simulating duties on a real
farm in the
contiguous United States,
SimFarm puts players in charge of building up the land, placing the buildings, buying and selling
livestock and planting
crops. A
weather and
season system are in place as well, presenting the same kind of challenges found in a real-world farm. As with
SimCity, there are
disasters that can wreak havoc on the player's farm.
Tornadoes,
droughts,
pests, and
dust storms are some of the events that can disrupt farm crops and
harvests. There are four types of livestock in
SimFarm, all of which have specific food requirements, need water, and breed new livestock. Animals' value can be increased by making a barn available for their use.
SimFarm also has a small town included in its simulation. This town is reminiscent of
SimCity in its form and function. The player may interact with the town occasionally by suggesting new tile types and joining competitions with livestock (such as sending in a prize pig to potentially earn a blue ribbon and a cash prize). Suggesting that an airport be built in the town will usually cause its construction, thus unlocking the ability to buy and use a
crop duster. The homestead in
SimFarm is where the player lives; it is expanded at the beginning of each game year if the player has made enough money in the previous year.
SimFarm allows the player to choose a location derived from the
region and climate of one of nine areas of the US or to design one's own climate by selecting average winds, rainfall, and temperatures. Equipment is necessary to maintain your farm and bring your crops to harvest. Structures store equipment, livestock, seeds, etc. The minimum equipment required to bring one field to harvest is one tractor, one planter, one plow, one harvester, one truck, and one trailer. The crops are the main revenue-raising item in
SimFarm. All crops have specific maturity cycles, water requirements, temperature requirements, and resistance to pests, weeds, and
diseases. Each crop type must be grown in a season that meets these requirements, and managed according to its needs, in order to produce a high-value crop. ==Reception==