The Farming Game

One morning in July 1979 just as the sun was coming up, THE FARMING GAME® was invented on the seat of a tractor. Four months later the game was in print. Today the game is a cardboard classic and the subject of the book, Zen Ranching and The Farming Game.

George and Ann Rohrbacher own and operate a 2,000 acre cattle, hay, and wheat ranch in eastern Washington State. In 1979, after two droughts within three years, the family farm was on the ropes, the Rohrbacher's decided to bet the ranch that their game would be a success. Several hundred thousand copies later, sold to fun seeking farm owners and city dwellers alike, the game is used today in many schools in the US and Canada. The World Bank had it translated into Russian to assist farm privatization after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Over the years (1979 - 1996) many people have asked when THE FARMING GAME ® would be available for computers. Many programmers have written asking if they could try their hand at creating the computer version. The Rohrbacher's never saw a proposal that interested them until Clay Stevens, a software engineer from Utah State University, made his offer. Clay had just finished a project for NASA's Kennedy Space Center, an interactive program that allows a visitor to configure and launch the space, shuttle.

The program on these disks is the first fruit of the collaboration of Clay Stevens, the programmer and George and Blake, the game designers.

INSTALLING THE FARMING GAME® on Windows 3.1

1. Insert the disk labeled "Disk 1" into the floppy drive.
2. Select [ FILE -> RUN ] from the File window in Program Manager.
3. Enter [ a:\setup ] into the command box where a:\ is the floppy disk drive.
4. Click [ OK ].
5. Choose FULL INSTALLATION .
6. The installation program will indicate when the next disk is needed.
7. The installation program will install THE FARMING GAME® in the Program Group named "THE FARMING GAME."
8. Start THE FARMING GAME® by DOUBLE clicking THE FARMING GAME® Program icon.
9. Store the disks in a safe dry place.

INSTALLING THE FARMING GAME® from Windows® 95, Windows® 98

1. Insert the disk labeled "Disk 1" the floppy drive.
2. Select [ START -> RUN ].
3. Enter [ a:\setup ] into the command line where a:\ is the floppy disk drive.
4. Click [ OK ].
5. Choose FULL INSTALLATION.
6. The installation program will indicate when the next disk is needed.
7. The installation program will install THE FARMING GAME® in "Programs/Farming Game"
8. Start THE FARMING GAME® by selecting [ START -> PROGRAMS -> FARMING GAME ].
9. Store the disks in a safe dry place.

Farming!

Modern farming requires a strong back for the work, a strong heart for the risks, and a good mind for the figures. Money and input like seed or irrigation water, flows through your fingers. The American family farm is a tough place to make a living. Unit profits (per calf sold, or bushel of wheat sold, etc.) are so small that it takes tremendous amounts of capital to get a hold of large enough means of production (land, equipment, money to operate) to pay one person's salary. About half of American farmers work an outside job so they can keep their feet on the farm. They are "Weekend Farmers", farming early mornings, nights, and weekends (a cow has never heard of time off for Christmas or vacations). The goal of the American farmer is try get that next piece of land, a better tractor, or a harvester to custom out with, to finally get big enough to be able to quit that darn JOB in the city and come home for good!

How to play!

It is recommended that these instructions be read before you begin. However, the game is easy enough to figure out "on the fly."

The Screen before rolling die consists of:

• the game board, with personalized names in each farm
• the player marker (red, blue, green, brown, purple, yellow)
• the die
• the name of the current player in the title bar at the top of the page
• repay loan button
• borrow money button
• the help button
• the end game button

The screen after rolling die consists of:

• the current players information (how much land & equipment, cash, etc)
• specialty buttons (option to buy, farmers fate, operating expense)
• a message box
• the harvest lever
• To make any available button function, simply dick the mouse on that button. For example: to roll the die, move the mouse over the die and click!

Login: After the introduction, the game board appears, and a dialog box gives you the choice to either start a new game or load a saved game.

Loading a saved game: To load a saved game, click [ LOAD SAVED GAME ]. A new window will appear listing the games that have been saved in the past. The new window will also allow you to choose the name of the game you want to load. Click on the name of the game and then click [ 0K ]. The saved game will be loaded and the program will begin.

Starting new game: To start a new game, click [ START NEW GAME ] and enter the name for each player and which PLAYER MARKER COLOR (red, blue, green, brown, purple, yellow) each player will use. Enter the name each player will use for the game.

For example: Kyra wishes to use the red marker, she would enter her name in the dialogue box and then click [ OK ] or hit the enter key. Her name now appears in the red line in the Login Color Box at the bottom of the page. Kyra then enters the name of the player who will be using the blue marker. If no player wishes the color, Kyra clicks OK with no name entered in the dialogue box or hits [ ENTER ] or clicks the NO ONE WILL USE THIS COLOR. Then Kyra is asked about the next color until all six colors have been assigned or rejected, or until four players have been entered. The game is limited to a maximum of four players and a minimum of one player.

Kyra should verify that all the names and colors of the players are correct. If she clicks [ YES ], the game will start with the names and colors as they appear in the Login Color Box at the bottom of the page. If she clicks [ NO ], the dialog sequence starts over again with: WHAT IS THE NAME OF THE PLAYER WHO WILL BE USING THE RED MARKER?

The Beginning: Each player starts with $5,000 and a $5,000 promissory note from the bank. Each player also inherits 10 acres of hay and 10 acres grain.

To Play: The player who logged in first goes first and must click on the [ DIE ] on the right-hand margin (blue) of the screen. The number on the die will change and the current player's marker will move the appropriate amount of squares starting with January. The current player's dash board will appear with seasonal information in the information box, along with the player's land, equipment, cash, and promissory information. The seasonal information is effectuated automatically. After the current player's dash board appears and the seasonal information has been read, a series of specialty buttons appear under the information box. These buttons can be used anytime they are illuminated.

Option To Buy: The current player can buy or sell at anytime by clicking [ OPTION TO BUY ]. A window appears with options to buy or sell land or equipment. Land and equipment values change throughout the game so if a price is too high or too low, try to buy or sell at some later time when the price may have changed favorably. Remember, the value might also he worse later as well.

If the player wants to buy some land or equipment, click the [ BUY ] button, then click on the picture of the type land or equipment to buy. The next window states the current value of the particular land or equipment the player has chosen to buy.

If the player is buying land, the window states the current value of that particular land and how much of it the player can buy with the cash currently on hand. The player can either buy more or less by clicking the [ UP or DOWN ] arrows to the right and left of the current amount to purchase box. If by chance the player tries to buy more than the players current balance, an alert will appear: [ YOU DON'T HAVE ENOUGH MONEY ]. The player can borrow more money and then buy the desired amount land. If the player agrees to buy that amount of the particular type of land, click [ OK ] and that amount will be added to the player's farm. Also the cash necessary to buy the land will be deducted from the player's cash account.

Buying equipment activates a window which describes the kinds of equipment available in the game. Buying better equipment will increase the amounts earned during harvest seasons. To buy equipment, click on the type of equipment wanted and a message will appear stating the current value of that piece equipment. If the player agrees to buy that piece equipment at the current price, click [ OK ]. If the player has enough cash on hand, that piece of equipment will be added to the player's farm. Also the cash necessary to buy the equipment will be deducted from the player's cash account. If the player doesn't want to buy the equipment at the current price, click [ CANCEL ]. If by chance the player tries to buy a piece of equipment that costs more money than the players account balance, an alert will state: You don't have enough money! The player can borrow more money then buy the desired piece equipment.

Selling land or equipment works similarly to buying with one exception. If the player has borrowed the $50,000 limit and has negative cash balance, the value of that player's land and equipment will be greatly diminished because of the necessity to sell quickly.

Farmers Fate: Click [ FARMERS FATE ] and the game will generate the fate for the current player's turn. The Farmers Fate information will appear in the information box on the dash board. When the Farmers Fate button is illuminated the player must press it before the turn can end.

Operating Expense: Click [ OPERATING EXPENSE ] and the game will generate operating expenses for the farm during the current turn. Players can only incur operating expenses in a harvest season and the player has the corresponding type of land. For example; if the player is in the fruit season but doesn't own fruit land then the player would not incur operating expenses. The operating expense information will appear in the information box on the dash board. When the operating expense button is illuminated it must clicked it before the player can end the turn.

Borrowing money: Click on the [ BORROW MONEY ] button at the bottom of the screen and a window will appear asking amount needed. The game will default with $1,000 to borrow. This amount can increase or decrease by clicking the [ UP or DOWN ] arrows on either side of the amount to be borrowed box or simply type the desired amount in this box. Up to $50,000 can be borrowed so be careful. To borrow the amount shown in the box click on the [ OK ] button and if that amount doesn't cause the player to go over the $50,000 limit it will be deposited into that player's "CASH BALANCE." If the player doesn't need/want to borrow the amount in the box, click on the [ CANCEL ] button to return to the game.

Repay Promissory Notes: Click the [ REPAY PROMISORY NOTES ] button at the bottom of the screen and a window will show much can repaid with the current cash on hand. In addition to the principle (the original amount of the loan) 10% interest is added to the balance of your loan. This message states exactly how much is needed to repay the loan with the interest included. The amount of the loan payment can increase or decrease by clicking the [ UP or DOWN ] arrows on either side of the amount to be repaid box. If the amount to be repaid is satisfactory, click [ OK ] and the amount to be repaid will be deducted from the promissory notes account and the amount to be repaid plus interest will be deducted from the cash account. If the player doesn't want to make a payment, click [ CANCEL ] to return to the game

Ending the turn: The turn is finished when:

• the player's marker has moved

• harvesting
• clicking the farmers fate button
• clicking the operating expense button
• borrowing money
• repaying notes
• buying or selling land and equipment

• the current player must click the [ END TURN ] button on the lower right corner of the dash board.

In the event the player has a negative cash balance, a window will appear with the amount that player has to borrow to get back to a balance of "0." If the player has already borrowed the maximum amount of $50,000, then the player will be instructed to sell some land or equipment. In order to end the turn the player must have a balance of at least $0 and not owe the bank more than $50,000.

In the event the player owes $50,000 and has a negative cash balance and doesn't own any land or equipment then the bank will repossess that player's farm and will be ordered to vacate the premises and the game. If there are more players in the game the game will continue with the remaining players who are still able to play.

Each player must follow the same procedure that the "RED" player followed and the game will proceed.

Ending the game: To end a game, click [ END GAME ] in the lower right corner of the screen. A window will appear asking to [ START A NEW GAME | EXIT | RETURN TO THE GAME ]. Click on the desired option and follow the instructions that follow.

Starting a new game: To start a new game, click the [ END GAME ] button in the lower right corner of the screen. One of the options on the window that will appear is [ START A NEW GAME ]. Clicking [ START A NEW CAME ] will open the LOGIN screen where a new game can be started or a saved game can be loaded.

Saving a game: If you want to exit and save your game, click [ END CAME ] in the lower right corner of the screen. One of the options on the window that will appear is EXIT. Click [ EXIT ]. A new window will appear asking to save your current game or exit without saving the game. Click [ EXIT & SAVE]. A new window will appear asking to name the current game. The window will also list the games that have been saved in the past. To overwrite an old game click on the name of the game and then click [ 0K ] The current game will be saved and the program will end.

Winning: Because farming is not a competition by itself we have not imposed an absolute objective except to stay in the game. However, we know that the American spirit has the need to "win" so here are some suggestions on declaring a winner.

• Play for a specified amount of time and the one who has the most: cash, or acreage of specific land types, or total acreage or livestock, or some combination of all these wins.
• Play until someone has a designated amount of money.
• Play until a designated amount of acres of land or livestock.