Do You Really Need a Guide For FarmVille?

Hi. I think of myself as relatively well educated in the latest generation of social networking site games like YoVille, Vampire Wars, and even Mafia Wars. That's why when I started to see these FarmVille guides popping up all over the place I was kind of surprised.

I mean, I can see why people might need some tips to get going in games like Mafia Wars, but FarmVille? How hard is planting and growing crops...

But, I hadn't actually played the game, and I didn't really think it could be all that complicated. I figured I should give it a shot though, just so that I could say I knew what I was talking about.

And I was in for a pretty big surprise. In no time flat, I was out of money and had no crops to plant. I had to admit, there's way more to this game than I thought. I eventually managed to dig myself out of my original hole, but I still wasn't making all that much progress.

I started to think that maybe I needed to see what these guides were all about. I wasn't really expecting much, but since I hadn't done so well on my own either, I figured it was worth a shot.

So I picked up a guide called FarmVille Secrets, and was pleasantly surprised by the insights I found in it. You wouldn't think there were so many ways you could screw up a virtual farm, but believe me, there are!

I was still stumbling along at level 6 when I got the guide, after two weeks of playing regularly. Now I'm the proud owner of a plantation, and a level 26 Sultan of Soil. And I still look back at that guide from time to time.

If you're having trouble getting into the swing of things in FarmVille, this guide is not a bad investment. You can read more about it here at FarmVille Secrets Made Easy.

FarmVille Secrets for Getting Coins and Leveling Up

Here is what you need to do to level up in FarmVille and get coins on FarmVille. Good luck!

Crops

If you approach your farm like a business you know you want to get the most return on your dollar for the crops you plant. Some of this profitability will be determined by how often you play the game. If you can log in at any time of day, then strawberries and raspberries have a short harvest time and good return. Otherwise crops like pumpkins, which are ready in 8 hours, or rice (12 hours) or soybeans (1 day) are more practical.

As you level up and have more seeds available there are other crops which have a once- or twice-a-day harvest and are very profitable, like tomatoes, grapes and peas. Again the key is to plan for high-yield crops and plan around the time you'll be available for harvesting.

Animals

When you think "farm" you think crops and animals, right? But initially you need to resist the temptation to buy animals. Your quick money is made with your crops. If you spend your coins on animals, which give very little return, then you won't have the money you need to invest back in your planting.

If you are wise and make lots of "neighbors", which you help and give gifts to on a regular basis, then you will probably receive some animals as gifts. This is great! You accumulate the animals without the layout of coins

Buildings & Expansion

Here is another area where you initially have to resist the temptation to spend your hard-earned coins. It may look more like a farm once you've added a barn, but early in the game the outlay of coins doesn't bring enough return on things like buildings and tractors or a bigger farm. This isn't the kind of Farmville help you need to start with.

As you level up, however, there are a couple of buildings which will add to your efficiency. By purchasing a dairy barn and chicken coop and storing your cows and chickens there, you will be able to "collect" from several animals at once.

For example, the dairy barn will hold 20 cows at a time. Once you have a lot of cows, here's a great way to maximize your milk collection: wait until you have a cow ready to harvest and move it into the dairy barn, then take 19 other cows (preferably with a lower % ready to harvest) and move them in as well. The dairy barn will show 100% ready to harvest. Not only can you harvest all 20 at the same time, but you have shortened the harvest time for the other 19.

As the online game Farmville continues to explode in popularity, so do the numbers of people looking for Farmville help. There are lots of different ways to approach the game, but to get the most out of your game-playing experience you want to shoot for an efficiently run farm. Here are some strategic tips to help you advance quickly.

So you can see the best type of Farmville help you can get is the advice to run your farm like a business. Planning, strategizing and efficient "work" practices will have you levelling up in no time.

If you want more FarmVille Tips, on specific topics, here are your best bets:

FarmVille Crop Mastery

FarmVille Secrets

Get Coins in FarmVille

Level Up in FarmVille