在众多种类的Facebook社交游戏中，农场类游戏历史最为悠久。据游戏棒了解，自今年2月起，连最热门的农场类社交游戏FarmVille的用户数量都呈现下滑趋势。然而，Plarium公司的农场类游戏Farmadia却逆势而上，月活跃用户缓慢攀升至70万3000人。

Farmandia

首先，Farmadia的游戏机制与一般农场类游戏并没有太大差别：耕地，种植，等待，收获，重复。只不过Farmadia中的各种蔬菜水果乃至花卉等各种游戏道具都更加立体，较之一般农场类游戏更具有“现实主义”色彩。在Farmadia中，玩家还可以定期收获各种动物和果树。

Building

其次，Farmadia引入了功能性建筑的概念。游戏页面中有各式各样的建筑，但“工厂”却对农场品进行加工以获得额外收入，譬如磨坊可将小麦磨成小麦粉等，这在社交游戏Country Life中也有类似的功能。另外，Farmadia玩家还可以通过饲养骆驼，水牛等珍惜动物增加收入。其中最有趣的动物非熊猫莫属。

再次，类似与目前的大部分社交游戏，虚拟货币也是Farmadia实现货币化的主要途径。在此，Plarium的虚拟货币奖励系统是造就该游戏增长的最大功臣。在该款游戏中，玩家不必笨拙地参与各种服务或广告获得虚拟货币奖励，只需定期登录游戏就可以获得一定的Diamonds奖励。这一功能为该游戏吸引了将近10万日活跃用户。

Crafts

另外，Farmadia游戏推出了“手工制作”功能，玩家可以在收获作物后，准备各种配料制作料理，譬如筹集奶酪，番茄酱，面粉，培根等制作Pizza。完成手工制作任务的玩家可以获得一定的虚拟货币奖励。值得一提的是，游戏任务还包括要求玩家收集家园中出现各种蝴蝶标本，玩家可将其拍下收藏到游戏相册中。凡是完成这类任务的玩家也将获得各种系统奖励。

最后，Farmandia也有自身的一些特色，例如玩家无需对作物进行“施肥”，取而代之的是“浇水”。另外，就游戏的社交性而言，除了排行榜和送礼功能之外，游戏中还有部分建筑物需要玩家与朋友合力打造。

总而言之，Farmadia与市面上的其他农场类游戏相比并无太大差别。该游戏中某些动物和建筑的不同风格也许吸引了一定的玩家。但就游戏邦了解，该款游戏用户呈现增长趋势的根本原因在于其向玩家提供的奖励活动。虽然奖品并不丰盛，但令玩家避免了各种烦人的广告和服务。（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译，转载请注明来源：游戏邦）

Farming games are one of the older genres of social games on Facebook, and as the declining numbers have shown with top title, FarmVille, the genre has lost steam. However, a farming game from Plarium is actually growing. The app is Farmandia, and despite sticking to many standard mechanics, its user base has slowly climbed to over 703,000 MAU.

Most players are familiar with the farm routine by now: plow land, plant crop, wait, harvest, and repeat. From vegetables, to fruit, to vibrant flowers, everything is presented in a more 3D and “realistic” style than other examples of the farming genre. Other basics present include harvesting animals and trees on a daily basis.

BuildingsAnother fairly common mechanic implemented within Farmandia is the concept of functional buildings. While most structures are mere decoration, “factories” will allow the processing of one product to another (e.g. a mill turns wheat into wheat flour) for extra profit. This is a mechanic also seen in games such as Country Life.

Additionally, players can also raise income with more exotic animals such as camels or buffalo. No the latter doesn’t produce wings, but most of these stranger choices create some form of harvestable fabric that can be processed with the above noted factories. One of particular interest is the panda, who grants the user, on a bi-daily basis, a “Surprize Chest” that can contain coins, experience, decorative gifts, or even the virtual currency, Diamonds.

Like most social games nowadays, virtual currency is still the primary monetization method and the gate for many of the game’s best items. However, it is Plarium’s virtual currency reward system that is likely one of the biggest contributors to its growth. Players don’t have to fumble around with offers and ads to earn it, but actually acquire it within the game itself. Beyond a level up reward, players actually receive Diamonds for returning to the game on a regular basis, a feature that probably contributes significantly to the title’s near 100,000 DAU.

CraftsThere is also a nice collection element inspired by games from Zynga and others, called “Crafts.” As players harvest different types of products, they collect ingredients to food products such as a pizza (cheese, ketchup, flour, and bacon are needed). Upon completion of the Craft, more virtual currency is rewarded. There is even an added photography Craft that tasks users to snap a picture of various butterfly species that randomly wander into one’s space. Though there is no actual camera tool, the cursor will contextually change itself to one when this event occurs. To add on to this, the game also has an “Awards” system with tasks to accomplish (e.g. process 15,000 farm products) that grant the same Diamond rewards.

Socially, Farmandia has the standard, visitation of friends’ farms. Of course, one doesn’t fertilize their crops, they “water” them instead. It’s an important distinction to make. The only other noticeable social play, aside from leaderboards and gifting, are the few buildings that require friends to “help” (via clicks) build, such as a tequila factory (salud!).

At its core, Farmandia really isn’t any better or worse than most other farming games currently on the market. It has a different look, with some rather outlandish animals and buildings, that some might find more appealing. But the biggest reason behind its growth is probably the rewards it grants to players, which aren’t enough to truly give anyone a significant advantage, but certainly sates the appetite and is a lot less obnoxious than jumping through offer and advertisement hoops. （Source：Inside Social Games）