What would it be like to live on a farm? If you think it would be easy, think again! Learn how complicated life on the farm really is by reading The Farming Game rules.
The Farming Game was invented by a farmer while he was sitting on his tractor working on the farm. The farmer and his wife were struggling to keep their farm up and running, so they came up with the idea to create a farming board game.
Thankfully, The Farming Game was a huge success and sold several hundred thousand copies! This success allowed them to keep their farm up and running and also provided families with a fun game to play!
This The Farming Game rules guide will cover the following:
- What is The Farming Game?
- What you’ll need to play The Farming Game
- The Farming Game rules
- How to win The Farming Game
- FAQs
- Similar game guides
Find out how to play The Farming Game by reading more below!
What is The Farming Game?
The Farming Game is a family game based on the real life of farming, where you move around the board, purchasing farming equipment and harvesting crops. To win the game, you must have your farmer collect $250,000 and have them quit their job in town.
Number of players: 2-6
Ages: 10+
Difficulty: Easy
Length of play: 120min
Category: Board, economic, farming, roll and move
Similar to: Monopoly, Farm-Opoly, Farming Game Kids
Main Objective: Be the first player to have your farmer collect $250,000 and quit their job in town.
Why We Love It: We love that the game was invented by an actual farmer who wanted to make people aware of how complicated farm life really is!
What You’ll Need to Play The Farming Game
Everything you need to play The Farming Game can be found in the box:
The following components are found inside each game:
- Play money ($100, $500, $1,000, $5,000, $10,000)
- Bank Notes
- 6 Colored pawns
- 2 Six-sided dice (you will only use one every time you roll)
- Vinyl Stamps (Hay, Grain, Livestock, Fruit, and Machinery)
- Option to Buy, Farmer’s Fate, and Operating Expense cards
- Instruction booklet
- Game board
The Farming Game Rules
Game Setup
- Separate the money by denomination either on the table or in the inserts of the game board. Designate a player to be the banker or keep money within reach of all players to grab their own money when needed.
- Provide each player with a 10-acre hay stamp and a 10-acre grain stamp. These were inherited from “Grandpa”. The stamps get placed on the board in their “farm”.
- Each player receives $5,000 cash, a $5,000 bank loan/note, and two Option to Buy cards. Players also have a $50,000 credit line from the bank that they can use during the game.
- Choose a farm building on the game board and pick up the matching colored pawn and place it on the starting space “Christmas Vacation”.
You are now ready to start playing The Farming Game!
How to Play The Farming Game
- Determine who goes first by rolling a die. The player who rolled the highest goes first!
- The first player rolls the die and moves that number of spaces along the board. Perform the action that is printed on the space you land on (unless you decide to harvest, which you may do first.). An action can consist of picking up a card, gaining money, or losing money.
- If you land on a space that is in a “harvest” area, you have the option of harvesting that crop.
Purchasing Property and Equipment
The only time you can purchase property and equipment is during the Winter season. You must pay the bank a 20% down payment of the listed price on the Option to Buy card.
If you happen to run out of money, you have two options:
- You can borrow money from a neighbor at a rate that is negotiable for both players.
- You can borrow money from the bank based on your line of credit
If you have no cash, unpaid bills, and used up all of your bank credit, you are Bankrupt!
Bankruptcy Auction
When a player goes bankrupt, all players that are not bankrupt hold a Bankruptcy Auction. Each non-bankrupt player rolls a die, and the player who rolled the highest becomes the auctioneer.
The auctioneer chooses which property the bankrupt player should sell to the other players. Bidding starts at 50% of the asset’s value and goes to the highest bidder.
The auction lasts until all of the bankrupt player’s banknotes and unpaid bills are paid in full, and they have at least $5,000 in cash.
Harvesting Crops
On the board, you will notice a colored banner above certain spaces which lists the ideal harvest time for that particular crop that is labeled. To harvest a crop, your pawn must be located in that crop’s harvest section on the game board.
Then, the player rolls a die and refers to the Harvest Rate Chart. Line up the number of your die result with the number of acres you have for that crop, and it will provide you an amount of money to collect for harvesting.
However, before you obtain this money from harvesting, you must first pay some bills. Draw the top card of the Operating Expense deck, pay the bill it lists, then you may collect the rest of the money. You can subtract the bill you must pay from the amount you are receiving from harvest.
Option to Buy Cards
To use an Option to Buy card, you must be able to pay the amount listed on the card by using cash or both cash and bank financing. The only time you can use these cards is during the Winter season and while your pawn is on the Christmas Vacation space and the Spring Planting space.
When the player makes a purchase using this card, they pay the bank and take the acreage or machinery that was purchased and place it in their farm on the board. The Option to Buy card then gets placed back under the deck of the remaining Option to Buy cards.
Option to Buy cards may be purchased by another player if they both can agree on a fair price.
Famer’s Fate Cards
When landing on a space that instructs you to pick up a Farmer’s Fate card, pick up the top card of the deck and perform what it says. However, if you are on a harvest space, harvest first before picking up the fate card!
Doubling Harvest
When you land on a space that says to double a harvest, turn the desired stamp sideways so you know to collect double when it is time to harvest! When the new year starts, turn the stamp back to its original position.
Cutting Harvests In Half
When you must cut a harvest check in half, you must take the reduction from the money you would have received based on the harvest rate chart before drawing an Operating Expense card.
How to Win The Farming Game
In order to win the game, you must be the first farmer to collect $250,000 and quit their job in town.
Video Tutorial for The Farming Game
Frequently Asked Questions
Are there any alternative ways to play The Farming Game?
Yes, the rules state you can set a timer and whoever has the most money collected when the timer goes off wins the game.
How old is The Farming Game?
The Farming Game was created back in 1979!
Can The Farming Game be played with only 2 players?
Yes, however, it’s more fun to play with additional players!
Other Similar Games to The Farming Game (Our Guides)
If you enjoyed reading this guide on The Farming Game, check out these similar game guides (if we have covered them):
- Monopoly rules
- Farm-Opoly rules (coming soon)
- The Game of Life rules
- Agricola rules (coming soon)
- Catan board game rules
- Catan Junior rules
- Life on the Farm rules (coming soon)
- Herd Mentality rules (coming soon)
