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FARMING:
Modern farming requires a strong back for the work, a strong heart for the
risks, and a good mind for the figures. The American family farm is a tough place to make a
living. Unit profits (per calf, per bushel of wheat sold, etc.) are so small that it takes huge
amounts of capital to put together a large enough farming operation (the land, equipment
and money to operate) to support a family. About half of this nation's two million farmers
or their spouses work an outside job so they can stay on the farm. They are "Weekend
Farmers", farming early mornings, nights and weekends, trying to get that next piece of
land, a tractor, a harvester; to finally farm big enough to afford to quit that darn job in
town and come home and farm full time.
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OBJECT OF THE GAME:
A boardgame is a dream machine, a vehicle to
create an alternative reality. In THE FARMING GAME®, each player starts the
game with 20 acres inherited from Grandpa. This property includes 10 acres in
hay and 10 acres in grain. The 20 acres is not a large enough farm to make a living for a family, so each game farmer must also have a part-time job in town. With
each completed trip around the gameboard you receive $5,000 from your year's
wages to plow back into the farm. The object of THE FARMING GAME" is to
build your farm large enough to be able to quit the job in town, come home to be
your own boss, and farm full time. If you can do that without going broke, you
win the game! $250,000 in total net assets are required to win THE FARMING
GAME®. The gaming track is the calendar year, with a square for each week.
Crops are harvested by the roll of the dice (about as much control as real farmers
feel they have over yields and prices received for their crops). In THE FARMING
GAME®, there is enough acreage for six players to diversify into a hay, grain, fruit,
or cattle operation. Each individual farm is capable of pasturing 20 head of cattle.
If any player wishes to run more than 20 cows, he can try to lease one of the range
units in the hills.
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TO START THE GAME:
Arrange the money and Bank Notes in the tray to
prepare the bank for use, one slot for each denomination. At the start every player inherits 20 acres from Grandpa, but has no cash. (Each player receives a 10 acre
vinyl hay stamp and a 10 acre vinyl grain stamp.) Having no cash, players must
borrow money from the bank to operate the first year. Because each new farmer
owns 20 acres, worth $40,000, and works a part-time job to bring in extra
income, the bank has extended a $50,000 line of credit. Each player receives
$5,000 in cash as a loan and a $5,000 Bank Note as a record of that loan. Debts
to the bank may be repaid at any time. Each player receives two OPTION TO
BUY CARDS, selects one of the farms in the center of the gameboard and presses the two cling vinyl acreage stamps down on his new farm. Next everyone selects
a farmer marker that matches their farm buildings' color and places their markers
on Christmas Vacation. Each player must roll the dice to see who starts the game,
highest roll starts. Play then continues in a clockwise motion. The players roll only
one die to move their marker down the gaming track. Two dice are provided with
this game, but only one is used at a time.
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TO PURCHASE PROPERTY AND EQUIPMENT:
The only time in
THE FARMING GAME" when you may purchase property is during the winter,
between and including Christmas and Spring Planting. Winter is the time to plan
and prepare for the coming crop season, and any desired purchases not made
before Spring Planting must wait until the following winter. The bank requires a
cash down payment of at least 20% of the purchase price to exercise an OPTION
TO BUY CARD in purchasing property or equipment. (For example: if you wish
to purchase 10 acres of hay worth $20,000, you must have 20%, or at least $4,000
in cash, and, if you have suffcient credit, you may borrow the balance, $16,000.)
Your bank expects you to be a good manager and have adequate cash on hand during the
game. If your bills leave you with no cash on hand you have only two options to raise
needed operating cash: (1) borrow operating money from your neighbors at whatever rate
and terms you can negotiate, or (2) borrow more money from the bank on your line of bank
credit (if you are out of cash, have used up your credit, and still owe on unpaid bills, you are
Bankrupt! See section on BANKRUPTCY). The bank will only make new loans for $5,000
of operating cash. The bank charges a 20% penalty loan fee to refinance (player receives a
$5,000 Bank Note but only $4,000 in cash).
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HARVESTING CROPS:
The color coded areas of the gaming track are the harvest
times. Crops are harvested on the first week of the harvest zone in which a player lands. If,
for example, on the next turn a low roll doesn't move the player to the next harvest zone,
he does not harvest that same crop again, and if he has landed on a square that would
negatively affect his crop, he is safe from the disaster if his crop has already been harvested.
The method of harvesting one's crops in THE FARMING GAME® is with the roll of a die.
A good farmer always harvests his crops before he does anything else, and if there are further
instructions, carries them out after harvest. If, for example, a player drew a FARMER'S
FATE CARD first before harvesting his crop, and it interrupts his harvest, tough luck, he
should have harvested his crops first. The rule in THE FARMING GAME" is "If you
snooze, you lose." After rolling the die to harvest the crop, look at the HARVEST RATE
CHART to determine how much money the crop is worth. (For example: if you own 10
acres of hay and you have rolled a 6, the harvest is worth $3,000.) Before receiving any cash
from your harvest, however, you must always pay your bills. Draw an OPERATING
EXPENSE CARD from the top of the deck, pay the bill indicated, and then return it to the
bottom of the deck. (Net income from the harvest: harvest value minus operating expense
equals income.) If your bills are larger than the harvest value, you must make up the
difference from cash on hand. Remember, always pay your bills before receiving harvest
income. The columns on the HARVEST RATE CHART are not intended to be limits. Crop
land and livestock are units of sustained production, harvesting sells the output (hay, grain,
fruit, or calves), not the land or cows themselves.
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OPTION TO BUY CARDS (O.T.B.'s):
-An OPTION TO BUY CARD is
necessary to acquire property and equipment. To exercise the option, one must be able to
pay for the purchase in cash or a combination of cash and bank financing. When instructed
to do so the squares on the board, draw new O.T. B. CARDS. Each card is yours to keep
until you exercise it or sell it to another player. O.T. B. CARDS may only be exercised
during the winter, between and including Christmas Vacation and Spring Planting of each
year. When a purchase is made, the player pays the Bank, takes the correct vinyl acreage or
machinery stamp, sticks it on his farm, and replaces the O.T B. CARD at the bottom of the
deck.
O.T B. CARDS may be sold to other players for whatever free market price a buyer and
seller can agree on. (For example: cash and /or a percentage of future crops.) The only
ownership limit in the game is that the "farm" in the valley will only handle 20 cows (eating
crop residue and pasturing after the hay is cut). If a player wants more cows, he must
exercise an OPTION TO LEASE and purchase cows to go "out on range".
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FARMERS FATE CARDS:
-When instructed to do so by the squares on the board,
draw a FARMER'S FATE CARD. WARNING: If you are in a Harvest Season, complete
your harvest BEFORE drawing your FATE CARD, otherwise, it could interrupt your
harvest! Return the card to the bottom of the deck after you have determined your fate.
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OWNING EQUIPMENT
-The assumption in THE FARMING GAME' is that
small farmers don't own a tractor or harvester and must rent that equipment until they can
afford to buy used equipment for themselves. When a player receives a bill for an equipment
expense, he pays the bill to the bank unless a neighbor owns that equipment. In this case,
payment would be made directly to the equipment owner. (For example: if the bill is "Pay
$2,000 if you don't own a tractor," and only one player has a tractor, you pay him the
$2,000. If two neighbors own tractors, those players split the payment, $1,000 each, etc.)
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THE BANK:
The banking functions may be performed by one player as Banker, or every
player may "help himself". The Bank holds the money, the Bank Notes, and the vinyl
acreage and machinery stamps. The bank requires the players to have at least 20% down in
cash to purchase property. Each player can then borrow the rest from the Bank, up to a
maximum of $50,000. (For example, to buy 5 acres of fruit valued $25,000, a player must
have at least $5,000 cash for a down payment, and may borrow the balance of $20,000 from
the Bank, taking $20,000 in Bank Notes to show his indebtedness.) The Bank also pays and
/or collects all monies, including Harvest income or expenses. The bank does not buy back
unwanted or over-leveraged property.
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DOUBLING HARVEST..
When landing on a week that says to Double your hay or
corn harvests this year turn your crop land stamp sideways as a means to remember that
those crop yields are doubled during harvest that coming year. At harvest, double the dollar
amount on the HARVEST RATE CHART for the affected acres. Note: doubling "corn"
means corn only and not wheat.
When the year is over, turn your crop stamp back upright
for normal harvests the next year. If you have already doubled your harvest and land on a
week that says it double it again, you receive four times the harvest income, and so on.
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CUTTING HARVESTS IN HALF:
When bad weather cuts a harvest
check in half, take that reduction from your harvest income as displayed on the
HARVEST RATE CHART before drawing your OPERATING EXPENSE
CARD. If, in cutting your harvest in half, $50 bills are required to make the proper change (there are none in the game), the numbers are rounded up to the nearest
hundred dollars.
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BANKRUPTCY
If a player gets in a situation that requires more cash than he
has on hand, he may borrow (providing there is room left on the credit line) from
the bank in $5,000 increments, paying a 20% refinance penalty fee for not properly managing his finances. Another option is to borrow from his neighbors at a
free market rate and terms, i.e., whatever the player can work out. If the player has
already borrowed to his maximum bank credit of $50,000 and has bills that
require more cash than he has on hand, he is bankrupt. He may then try to sell
movable assets (cattle or equipment) to neighbors at reduced prices. Creative players may work out a temporary rental of crop land or crop futures for percentages
to neighboring farmers for needed cash. If sufficient money is not raised immediately, there is a BANKRUPTCY AUCTION to raise money to pay the bankrupt
player's bills.
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BANKRUPTCY AUCTION:
All non-bankrupt players roll the die, high
roller becoming the auctioneer. The auctioneer chooses what property is to be sold
at the auction to satisfy the debt. Bidding among players starts at 50% of the
asset's value, highest bidder wins. The auction continues until all outstanding bills
and Bank Notes are paid in full and the bankrupt farmer has at least $5,000 in
cash of operating money. If the player has any productive assets left, he may continue farming.
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THE END OF THE GAME:
The goal of THE FARMING GAME" is to
quit the job in town and become a full-time farmer. This is accomplished by accumulating $250,000 in net assets. The first player to acquire $250,000 in total
assets is the winner. When one player believes he has accumulated a quarter of a
million dollars in assets, the player may call for an audit. An audit is conducted of
all players when the audit caller finishes the calendar year and reaches Christmas.
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ALTERNATIVE ENDING:
THE FARMING GAME" may also be played
to an agreed upon time limit. When the time is up, an audit is conducted and the
player with the highest value in net assets wins.
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AUDIT:
During an audit, each player counts up total cash, adds the value of
their property and equipment based on the original purchase price, and subtracts
the value of Bank Notes held. Leases have no value other than the value of the
cows themselves. Since leased land is rented, not owned, it is an expense and not
an asset. If the caller of the audit is found to have less than $250,000 in net assets, he is
assessed a cash penalty for creating a market panic. The penalty is whatever the other players
can agree up to a limit of 25% of the audit caller's total net assets. It is possible that more
than one player can have in excess of $250,000 in net assets and become a full-time farmer
and, therefore, a winner, but the player with the highest total assets is the Winner.
Congratulations!
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CREATION OF ADDITIONAL RULES:
Players of THE FARMING GAME"
may create additional "ranch rules" to customize this game to their own environment. A
new rule is created only after all of the players agree to the rule. New rules, once enacted,
cannot be changed for the remainder of the game.
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THE YAKIMA VALLEY:
The Yakima Valley is a real place in the State of
Washington, USA. The Yakima Valley has a very mild climate which enables the farmers
there to grow over 20 different crops. The Yakima Valley is most famous for the high
quality apples and cherries grown there and marketed all over the world.
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PRONUNCIATIONS:
The names are indigenous. Toppenish Tah'pen ish), Wapato (wah' pa toe), Harrah (Hair' a), Satus (Say tus), Roza (Rose' a), Yakima (Yak' im a).
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MISSING PARTS:
If your new game has a missing or damaged part, please call
1-800-222-GAME (4263)
to request replacements. If you have lost your instructions, send a stamped, self -
addressed envelope to the address on the side of the box and we will send you new
instructions at no charge.
THE FARMING GAME is a registered trademark of George Rohrbacher and The
Weekend Farmer Co., PO. Box 896, Goldendale, WA 98620. THE FARMING
GAME", as described in these instructions, the gameboard, card, vinyl acreage stamps,
"Weekend Farmer" markers, instructions and box design, all Copyright 1979 George
Rohrbacher. The Russian language version of THE FARMING GAME" is Copyright
1994, George Rohrbacher. All unauthorized copies andlor adaptations of this game are
illegal.
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Is grain acreage wheat or corn?
-Owning grain acreage allows you to harvest both crops should you be lucky
enough to get to both harvests during the same year. The same applies for fruit
acreage-you may harvest both cherries and/or apples if you own fruit.
What do you do on the Independence Day Bash and
Harvest Moon squares?
-These are cherry harvest and cattle sale oportunities. just because the calender
shows holidays, that doesn't stop farmers harvesting 7 days a week until the
crop is in. After the harvest is in, you can party as you see fit.
What about partnerships on land, cattle or
equipment?
Any partnership that would be legal and workable in real life is fine in our game.
Be creative, cut some deals that stretch your resources and allow you to tap
opportunities you might otherwise miss. For example: you might have the OTB
card to lease Toppenish Ridge (50 cow capacity) but not enough money to secure
it, try going partners with a neighbor: you can run 30 head of cows there and your
neighbor runs 20. Cut a deal.
Operating Expenses that are listed per acre (like
fertilizer), do they apply to just the crop you are
harvesting or all acres?
-Unless the bill is crop specific (example: per hay acre...), it applies to all acres
owned or shares of acreage held in partnership.
Can more than one person lease a ridge?
-The ridges with their finite cow carrying capacity are first come, first served.
Once they are leased, they are taken unless you convince the leaseholder to
go into a partnership (see above).
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THE FARMING GAME® really was invented on the seat of a tractor. It happened in a hay
field just as the sun was coming up in early July 1979. George Rohrbacher, a rancher from
Central Washington State, was driving that tractor. He and his wife Ann were struggling to
hold on to their family farm. With two droughts within three years they, and many of their
neighbors were losing that battle. George and Ann literally bet the ranch the game idea
would work and mortgaged everything that wasn't nailed down to produce the first edition
of THE FARMING GAME®. The game, which was first assembled by the handicapped at
Portland's Goodwill Industries, has now sold several hundred thousand copies. Beyond
being a fun family game, it has also been used in schools all over the world. In 1994 the
World Bank sent George to Russia to oversee the translation of THE FARMING GAME"
into Russian to assist the farm privatization effort after the breakup of the Soviet Union;
(the game is now also available in a Russian language version).
THE FARMING GAME" has sprouted new crops: a computer game and a book. It has
been adapted for computers in the Windows" format on 3-1/2" disks (for 1-4 players). THE
FARMING GAME" for computers won the 1997 Mahnke Multimedia Award given by the
Association of Educators for Communication and Technology (AECT), an international
organization.
Now available is "Zen Ranching and THE FARMING GAME", the humorous story of life
on the farm and the birth of THE FARMING GAME® by George Rohrbacher, published
in 1997. This is a story of a family effort that became larger than the sum of its parts.
Prompted by hundreds of calls and letters, George wrote much more than a "how to invent
and market a game" book, he also captured a little lively piece of country living, and a fun
inside look at life beyond the blacktop.
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For order information on the book, or games or extra parts you can call
1-800-222-GAME,
or write to:
The Weekend Farmer Co.
PO Box 896
Goldendale. WA 98620
or visit our website at
www.farmgame.com
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