Farmville, the new-age-old-fashioned-online game.

NFS, Need for Speed was the first computer game I played and sure enough, it was very impressive. The game was very good and became even more realistic with every passing year. The effects were amazing and I was like, what next? Then of course, Star Wars, The flight simulator and then, I finally I lost track…and I didn’t care. I was out of this as it seemed to be too kiddish.

And then a few months ago, I bumped into Farmville in Facebook. “Quite silly” I thought, it didn’t make much sense and the graphics were like cartoon and I was like, ‘who plays this silly game?’. It is now 3 months later that I’m completely addicted, singing praise songs and eagerly waiting to see what else I can do in the farm and how many more levels I can cross and how fast.

Farmville, a farm simulation game allows users to maintain and grow like a real farmer, in a virtual world. You are given a piece of land on which you can cultivate crops of your choice by buying seeds. You are given a few coins (currency and when these crops grow, in a few hours or days, you can harvest, sell and get more coins and grow more). That’s the gist but the entire graphical presentation, the levels, the way you plough, sow, harvest and sell, you get the hang and you get addicted. But unlike the usual ‘high end graphics, this is simple, down to earth, literally and yet very addictive. Here are the top 5 reasons why I love this game:

1. The graphics effect is not high-fi but simple and soothing

2. I love gardening & greenery and this is the closest I could get because I can’t afford to buy a property with land

3. The number of choices make me go ‘WoW’, rice, wheat, berries, fruit trees, spooky trees, animals, air balloons, sheds, picket fences, wow, all so amazing.

4. Even though it is addictive, the game can be played for a maximum of a few minutes every day because once you plant and harvest, there is nothing much you can do. So, this is not making you a player geek straining your eye and hands.

5. This is one of the first games to have partnered with a virtual currency company that has integrated advertising and gaming and is helping grow a new robust virtual currency economy. One reason why I have a job now :-)