SimFarm

SimFarm was developed by Maxis as a spinoff of SimCity, and allowed the player to simulate the running of a farm. It was released in 1993 for PC Dos, and was released a year later for Macintosh. It has become a classic, and began the subsequent development of the farm simulation subgenre, although Maxis did not make any sequel to the game in the way they have for SimCity.

Released: 1993
Platforms: FM Towns MS-DOS Windows macOS
Genres: Business simulation Simulation Strategy
Developers: Maxis
Publishers: Mindscape
Modes: Single-player
Perspective: Bird view / Isometric
Themes: Business
Country: United States
Age ratings: ESRB E

About

SimFarm: SimCity's Country Cousin is a video game in which players build and manage a virtual farm. It was developed by Maxis and released in 1993 as a spin-off of SimCity. The game included a teacher's guide to teaching with SimFarm with blackline masters to be photocopied for the class and a user manual. In 1996, SimFarm and several other Maxis simulation games were rereleased under the Maxis Collector Series, with greater compatibility with Windows 95 and differing box art, including the addition of Classics beneath the title.

›Story

Mirroring duties on a real farm, 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.

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 an airport to 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 and is expanded at the beginning of each game year if the player has made enough money in the previous year.

Keywords

retro
chicken
management
farming
pig
farming simulator

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

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.

Reception

Computer Gaming World in 1993 approved of the game's graphics and documentation. The magazine concluded that "it's not perfect, but learning how to SimFarm is a lot of fun". Despite giving an overall fun rating of 74%, PC Games expressed disdain for the game's monotony, further stating, "On the packaging they advertise it as 'Sim City's Country Cousin', and you should not expect anything more from this program."