It was Poppet’s good friend Lacey who first told her about Farm Town. Lacey herself had been living there for a little while and owned a farm he used to tell Poppet, all the time, about which crops she was planting, the animals that she owned and the house that she was living in. Farming Life sounded so exciting.
One day, not long after, a neighbour invitation arrived from Lacey. Poppet had grown a little tired of her life in the city. Feeling that she needed a change she packed her bag and made the journey to the country.
When poppet first arrived in Farm Town she moved into a little wooden house on the edge of Poppet’s Patch. She called her farm this because it really was just a patch. A 12 X 12 patch of land which, was provided free of charge, by the Mayor of Farm Town, Mr Developer. Upon arrival farmers are also given some basic tools and a little ‘start up’ cash. When Mr Developer first established Farm Town he only permitted his farmers to own one farm, reach the level of Green Wizard (34) and buy a mansion house.
No contracts are ever signed. The Mayor doesn’t consider them necessary. Farmers are issued with a simple three-tiered challenge: the first to amass coins, required for purchasing everything needed to live and prosper; the second to gain experience points (XPs). As farmers gain experience they are able to increase the size of their farm to the maximum, 24 X 24. More experience also means that they can purchase more, more seeds, more buildings and more animals from the store; the third, to increase the size of the community by inviting their friends to become neighbours. Neighbours can send each other animals, flowers and trees as daily gifts. More neighbours mean more gifts.
With these simple challenges the Mayor perpetuated a culture of wanting more. Exploiting this desire for more cleverly ensured that his farmers remained, like the guests at ‘The Hotel California’, forever ploughing, seeding and harvesting their land, (actually his land).
Recently Tom had sent a message to say that there was a ‘buzz’ of disquiet amongst the residents of the town. Farmers felt constrained by the experience level that could be achieved, the size of their farms and the amount of money that they could earn. They were bored by growing the same crops over and over again and were expressing a desire for different goods to be made available at the store. They were also asking for other ways in which they could earn extra money. Some had even expressed a desire to leave.
In order for Farm Town to continue to grow and prosper Mr Developer realised that he himself needed more. He believed that it was necessary to find new and interesting ways with which to entice his farmers to stay. So he did just that. A new Farm Town Charter was produced. This new charter increased the experience level to that of Industry Leader (level 115). Farmers were offered the option of owning more farms, first two then three, four and five depending upon the experience level and the amount of neighbours that each particular farmer had. They were also permitted to own factories, to hire friends and neighbours to work in them and to sell the produce at the market. Within a week of implementing the new charter Tom was able to report back to Mr Developer that Farm Town was once again a hive of industry. The market was packed every day with farmers and their produce, there was so much stored in the warehouses now that Tom felt he needed to expand, he needed more space.
I do hope that you didn’t mind hearing something of the history of Farm town but felt that it is important to understand that Poppet was no different from any other farmer she received her little patch of land which was the same as everyone else. I could have started telling you our little farmer’s story at this beginning, but suffice to say that she ploughed, and seeded and harvested for all she was worth in those early days. I will tell you though that Poppet actually left Farm Town for a while.
Blue and Poppet met in those early days of farm Town. They quickly became firm friends and neighbours. Every day they used to meet, harvest and plough for each other. The friends chatted as they worked about what crops they would plant next and what animals they would buy. I remember Poppet telling me about a time when Blue particularly wanted a bull for her farm. A friend had one and she really wanted one too but she wasn’t experienced enough to buy the bull from the store herself. Poppet who by this time was an experienced ‘Green Wizard’ was able to purchase anything that Farm Town had to offer. The very next day she woke early rushed excitedly to the store, purchased the bull intending to send it as a gift for her friend. She thought about how thrilled Blue would be when she woke to the sound of the bull charging around her yard. Can you imagine then how upset our little farmer was when she realised that she couldn’t gift the bull to her friend, this option wasn’t yet available. To make matters worse still she had to explain to an upset Blue why it was that she too now owned a bull. Fortunately her friend could see the funny side of the tale.
I have to tell you that Blue and Poppet were amongst the disgruntled farmers who used to talk with Tom at the market. One day, after receiving a letter from an old friend asking for help Blue left to visit her friend in the nearby farming community of Farm Ville. Poppet, disgruntled as she was continued farming. She had other friends who she regularly visited but never felt quite the same after her Blue had left. So it was that some time later when she received an invitation from her friend to visit her for a holiday she accepted. In truth Poppet stayed away for some time.
The news of the recent changes taking place in Farm Town and the new charter spread throughout the farming community. It was this news, the promise of extra farms and the fact that she realised she missed the social aspect of the town that brought our farmer home once again to Poppet’s Patch.
We are very nearly up to date with our story of Poppet but I can feel you wondering how it was that she managed to go from being a green Wizard and owning just one farm, Poppet’s Patch, to becoming the proud owner of five farms and the experience level of Industry Leader.
Well the truth of the matter is that Poppet realised that she was an extremely competitive little farmer. She made it her mission to move through the experience levels as quickly as possible, doing whatever needed to be done in order to achieve this. As I began by saying the best way to become an accomplished farmer in Farm Town is to plough, plant and harvest as much as possible. She went to the market every day, worked for as many other farmers as she could for as long as she could. Poppet never ever turned a job down, except for fishing. Very quickly she earned enough to buy the second and third, farms. Next she purchased factories. At first just a few, the dairy processing plant, the sugar refinery and the windmill.
Poppet had animals on her farm from the very beginning but now they could earn their keep too. As soon as she installed the chicken coop her hens and geese began to lay eggs. The dairy shed encouraged her cows and goats to produce milk. She sent the wheat that she harvested to the mill for flour. The Pizza restaurant was next on her list of purchases because she could send the produce from her other factories to make pizzas. A short time later Poppet was able to buy her fourth and fifth farms and many other factories, she was building a little farming empire.
Poppet’s day now consisted of inviting friends to harvest her crops, trees and flowers. She then ploughed her fields and planted new crops. Took her harvest to the factories and put this into production. The last thing that she did most evenings was to invite friends to come and work in the factories. It wasn’t long before Poppet noticed that her factory production was completed with lightning speed, it was impossible to keep up. She needed to produce more harvests faster than ever before. This in turn meant more animals, more crops, more trees, more flowers and even more factories.
She suddenly realised that she was caught up in a spiral of ‘needing more’.
She put an announcement in the Farm Town News asking for help.
Did anyone know how she could get MORE?
Mr Developer was sitting at his breakfast table early that Sunday morning, eating his toast and reading the paper. He glanced down and noticed the announcement that Poppet had placed in the paper. A broad smile brightened his burley face.
And now, at last, I am going to tell you why it is that I am writing this tale of Poppet. I too was eating my toast that same Sunday morning, drinking coffee and reading the paper. I noticed the advertisement asking for help, just as Mr Developer had done. That very afternoon Poppet and I were standing outside her mansion house at Poppet’s Farm. I explained to her some of the ways in which she could have more. I remember saying that Poppet was an extremely helpful young woman; well she thanked me kindly for my help and advice and before I left asked me to share this information with you.
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