Fall Festival - Strategy Thread

Hi fun2farm

My understanding is as follows:

1. As per 4.2 of the 2016 game rules, multi-accounting is only allowed if the game administrators state so. As can be seen in 4.2, Farmerama allows multi-accounting as long as they are created and managed manually, but not by scripts or other software. In other words, as long as you are manually attending to each account, rather than using a bot to manage it for you, you are allowed multiple accounts in Farmerama. When they say "each game", they are referring to each game run by Bigpoint (eg. Farmerama, Skyrama, Zoomumba etc.) - not each event.

2. Given ownership of multiple accounts is permitted per 4.2, 4.1 can be interpreted thus - you may send products from one of your accounts to another (eg. by selling on the same market) as long as it is done so manually, and not by script or other software. That is, you can grow crops on one account, put them on sale at the market, and use your second manually run account to purchase those crops.

Essentially, you are allowed to use one account to support another, as long as you are not using any external/alternative methods to do so beyond what is a function of the game - Farmerama. You are allowed to do this if you are permitted by the game administrators - in this case, the game administrators of Farmerama allow it, and it is therefore a permitted action.

Yes, it is an accepted practice to sell to yourself if you have multiple farms on the same market. Accepted per the rules, that is, but whether it meets the moral standards of individual players is another matter.

It is an unlimited advantage insofar as you can exponentially grow your crops the more accounts you have. In saying that, I'd imagine it is quite challenging to get two or more accounts on the same market given how many markets there are, so the number of active players making use of this method is probably fairly low. Additionally, managing 2+ accounts takes more time than managing just the one, so the increased daily crop profit is probably negated at least somewhat by the greater time commitment to maintaining multiple accounts. Further, there is the risk of your market items being sold to other players before you can purchase with your second account, so some time and profit would be lost there. You are, of course, also limited by the fact that only a certain number of crops can be grown within a certain time period (even using all the buffs and helpers in the world, you can only do so much), and by the fact that you can only sell so much on the market in one go. There is no doubt that being able to share crops etc. between accounts is advantageous, but I feel it is not an "unlimited" advantage - it certainly has its drawbacks and limits.

 

Thank you very much for your response, squigglegiggle, and for the clarification of 'each Game'!

I can see the advantages (and disadvantages) of selling things to yourself, not a big problem there, but it kind of seems unsportsmanlike to use more than one farm during an event like THE Top 3000. That should be a level playing field to give everyone a chance to show how well they have done with their farm.
Shouldn't it be just farm against farm, and not farm against farm&farm&farm&farm, etc.?
Just my opinion......Imho, it seems more like what used to be called 'cheating'. Also in regular farming, one isn't harming or involving anyone else, but for the Top 3000 it would be.

It was great reading what SahraB said (and squigglegiggle quoted) about this year's winner - MataHari!! She should be highly commended for putting sportsmanship and fairness into the Top 3000!! A Winner all around, and one we can be happy to have as the TOP - #1!!

 

This is accurate and is also the same reply given from mods in another forum; I vaguely remember in this one also.

On a point of income it is logical.
EP hunters with a daily count of 700-800M EP cannot afford to plant carrots and wheat.

Some may be inclined to keep a premium account(s) on a secondary farm(s) filled with XXL trees and collect once a week with all the active bonuses.
Some may produce animals to send to their main farm in order to participate massively in breeding events in order to fund their main farm.
In both cases there is an additional income for the game.

In terms of the hoedown, a player with a single farm can reach the Top 1000.
It just requires some strategy and investing a lot of time on the market or paying a little more and not dealing too much with the market. Just like everything else in the game.

In terms of fairness and sportmanship, I am not sure they are applicable in the game.
One plays for free, one pays a little and one pays more. How can anyone account for this?
If fairness were to come up there are subjects that are much more detrimental than having multiple accounts.

SahraB I fully understand you, but personally I have found my position in the game and try not to bother with the rest.

 

As xristos-ale3andros mentions, it will never truly be a level playing field when some players pay for all the benefits, some pay for no benefits, and hundreds pay something in between. Some players have access to helpful buffs whilst others don't. If we truly wanted a "level playing field" we'd need dozens of different sub-categories - separate events for paying vs non-paying players, divided into groups according to level, and even then it wouldn't be fully equivalent within categories. Only when every player has access to the same range of crops, animals, trees, products, buffs and various services (with no one having access to more than anyone else), and only when every player has equal access to the game itself (same life schedules, same amount of wifi access etc.) will this event be an equal playing field. In other words, it never will be.

The aim of the event is to produce the highest EV value of farm products; you are expected to do the best you can with the resources available. Think of it like a sporting event - if you play two teams against one another for a premiership, you don't claim it is an "unfair" competition if one team has a better coach or better sponsors than the other. The expectation is that each team uses their resources to the best of their ability (within the rules), and whichever team does the best job of maximising their resources is usually the team that wins.

One could argue that, rather than farm vs farm, it is instead a case of farmer vs farmer. Take 5 farmers of level 100 and they will all have access to the same crops, animals (mostly), trees (mostly), products (mostly) and physical space available. On this basis, each farm is largely the same. And yet each farm will have a very different setup and produce a vastly different number of each crop, animal, tree, product etc. because each farmer will apply different techniques and tactics. Whilst one may focus on crops, others may focus on tree fruit, and others still may focus on products. One may use buffs whilst others use none. Some may be paying players whilst others may not spend a dime. Compare the farms and you will find them very similar; it is the farmers that differ, and the farmers that dictate what is produced by the farms. Is it therefore really farms against farms, or is it a battle of tactics?

I'd argue the latter. It isn't about the farms that are pitted against each other, but about what is done with those farms. As with my example, 5 level 100 players all have (largely) equal access to the same game items. It is how they choose to use those resources that sets them apart from each other and creates a hierarchy from "best" to "worst". The Top 3000 is not a battle of perfectly equal farms, but rather a competition of who can use their resources the best. I haven't seen the statistics from the event, but I'd wager there were many players in the Top 3000 at a lower game level than those who did not make it, and even within the Top 3000 itself, the players will not have finished in perfectly chronological order by level. It is the tactics, not the access, that is being tested. If it were access to resources that were the focus of the competition, it would certainly be unfair for some to have better access than others. But in this case, multi-account use is simply another tactic in a whole toolbelt of techniques, and it is your tactical approach that is in competition with the tactics of other players.

 

The advantage is limited by how much time you can/are willing to put into running multiple farms.

 

I must add, It is possible to go high in the Top event, with just one farm, I have done it the last two years. I do spend money, and sometimes I feel I spend too much, but to some what I spend is nothing LOL. But I have competed two years, and done well. I have done so with one farm BUTTTT!!! I have farmed way more hours than most can do (so this has been by biggest advantage), yes I wanted to do much better than I did this year, but Real Life got in my way, so farming came second, and my family life came first, but it can be done with a lot of time and effort, and the main thing as others have mentioned strategy. Now in my opinion if you don't how to use the market to your advantage, I dont think you will do well, but that is my opinion, as I find that is how I get ahead, buy, buy, buy, and sell, sell and sell some more. And again the market is very time consuming, its not like just logging in long enough to harvest and be on your way for a few hours and come back harvest, repeat. It takes time. But I am sure others have better ways of doing things and get farther, Events is also one thing that gets in my way, but I am an event Junkie, I want to do them all, I feel like Im cheating myself out of something if I dont do them LOL, but I am learning to skip quite a few, for me I skip ones that are mainly for EP, but for some farms, EP is very important, but EP to me these days mean absolutely nothing to me anymore.

When this came up about multiple farming, pushing I thought to myself, well thats a bit unfair, but as some are saying it is allowed so its fair game, we all can do it, but the main thing it all comes down to is time and strategy. But just remember those that are pushing are also gambling, because lets say you try to sell yourself, Chickens for 25CCs each and you put up 1000, well someone else can grab those just as fast as you list them, and then you loose, so I can see this way would have some disadvantages too. Lets say you try to sell yourself a big lot of something and in that few seconds it would take to buy on the other farm, you lost that stock for pennies, now I see how this would really help small farmers get ahead a bit, by selling items at the highest amount possible and a bigger farm could buy them up, helping them that way, but transferring goods, would be rather risky. I know I have left off a couple zeros on my pricing and as soon as I realized it, someone grabbed those faster than I could delete the mistake. Also as some and myself have mentioned, It would take alot of time just to get multiple farms on the same market, then if you do, think of all that time it would take to build up those farms, I mean starting a new farm is crazy slow. My daughter just started playing this game, and she gets fustrated because she cant do much as she hasnt grown her farm yet. So again there comes the biggest thing again TIME, I couldnt even begin to imagine the time it would take to get multiple farms set up like this on the same market.

And once again my Motto is Just have fun, and farm your own way!!

 

Hello f2f!
I thoroughly read your now-deleted post several times. There was lots of good information there.

This Multiple Farm and Trading Topic

I intentionally try and stay ahead of a discussion; and even to the point of disturbing our Moderators with issues whenever I cannot find a satisfactory answer for myself. If indeed I can do this then my questions are answered, the game is understood in further depth, the information can be shared openly with you and your time is saved. Maybe you will do your junking thing. (I did something recently and I simply could not get to you fast enough to recommend it because real life foolishness captured my attention. I will explain but first the matter at hand.)

To begin, I have lead ethics courses at the University level and do have a respectable understanding of the vast body of knowledge which relates to ethics in general and ethical behavior. Coldly, what you do is generally of no real concern to me until what you decide to do leads to actions which directly or indirectly begin to affect me.

Several years ago while playing this game, I needed to answer for myself what I could do and not violate the rules of this game and what I cannot do. This is what I was able to conclude then and remains the same today:

A player can do pretty much whatever it is they can do with their account as long as what is done is not done with a bot.

For me, reading this discussion has yielded me very very very very very very very very very very very very very very little useful information and far less new information.

Again, BEEPS is a for-profit enterprise. All rules of this game implemented by BEEPS are for the protection of BEEPS.

Now read the last five (5) words of the above quote and recall: Again, BEEPS is a for-profit enterprise.

hahaha If all said is true then I feel certain a massive amount of SG was used.

And I will add that ALL 3 of the farmer_broke farms finishing in Hoedown (two extremely well and one collecting boots for kicks) may have all ..... taken together .... used a total of 40 SG. (Thanks BEEPS for the freebie.)

Hi Squiggle!
My position: I will continue to freely offer to players in the EN Forum what I conclude or may assist them. I consciously choose not to violate the rules as I understand them or have tried to receive clarification regarding them.

NOR DO I WISH TO GIVE THE APPEARANCE that I have or am violating any of the game rules.

And Squiggle, one more thing just for you. I think of you more than you will ever know.
The farmer_broke farm now has Squiggle-the-Stork with 46,360 friends.
I am so happy Squiggle is now a permanent resident of the barn.

haha I sure have some tactics and will freely disclose them all to you.

And I found a broke farm on Sebe's market yesterday. (I hope I remember the name of it but never to bother our Sebe. hmmmm maybe every once in a while to maybe get her to smile.)

I encourage all to carefully consider the above statement.

And it would take time .......................... forrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr what?


For simple minds like mine:

Just don't use a bot and do what you want while you are having fun because

as the old excuse for inefficiently goes
and now questionable tactics goes

It doesn't matter what you do as long as you have fun.

(and I da buy that garbage)

Play in the big league and you will find it does matter how you do something here

 

I am honoured!

For what it's worth, I am fully in support of the multiple-farm tactic. I think if you really want to invest in making it to the top 3000, you should do anything within the rules to make sure it happens. Personally, I only view something as "unsportsmanlike" if it bends the rules to be legal on a technicality, but the multi-farm approach is fully legal and well within the rules, so I say go for it. Just my measly two cents.

I've personally never aimed for the top 3000 (I only donated enough this year to get the bonuses from the crates, but I never aimed for the broader competition, nor did I get close to reaching the threshold). However, if using multiple farms was the difference between me donating a whole lot of produce and not quite making it (losing most of my barn in the process) and donating just enough to get the bonus prizes, you can bet your best chicken I would do it.

I certainly admire your thorough understanding of the economics and other dealings in this game, broke. I definitely enjoy just plodding along making my daily donations to the various quests (although I am currently in the process of a two-month plan to use up my usually ignored buffs and build up my barn in the process), but your unique approach is fascinating!

 

Silly me! All this time I thought it was a farming game!! The point being to actually build A successful and beautiful farm - very satisfying. I will never look at farming the same way again.

I just love, love, love all the thought provoking ways and ideas of all these responses!!
A feast of thoughts and ideas to savor and slowly digest!! Thank you all for offering your time and thoughts ...and for helping me to better understand potentials, plus or minus!

Farmer_broke - we have a G&T coming up this month. It seems I owe you a yellow chicken egg farm, though you sure like to skate along the edges. I like and appreciate your last two sentences.
It would be interesting to know from where you source and determine your core values, and do they vary, and if so - why.

Happy Farming everyone - and thank you again for offering so much!!

 

Squiggle, I'm keeping my eye on those storks for sure now. Most every single day, Squigglegiggle will come to mind and I know why.

I wanted nothing to do with it for a looooooooooong time. To remain in the TOP 25 of the Hoedown competition, I find absolutely no need to engage in any multiple farming tactics. ((I believe I had a farm finish about 21 or 22 .... spooky_broke (a mentor Brookeham chickadee) ....... harvested apple trees twice a day, sold them and bought what it needed.))

I find that one must understand a few basic concepts though. You even got after me once for writing so sternly to those reading. (Squiggles, again, I do not like that approach. But people ask, then when you explain, they do not say what they understand and what they don't, you are wasting you're time going forward unless they understand something previously explained, ....
I am so so so so happy there are others now who are capable of explaining a very few basic concepts which enable players to out-think their competition in light of their time and resources and playing style.)

And now some want to entertain the concept of using multiple farms for a Hoedown. At this time, completely unnecessary in order to finish in the TOP 500.

I am currently trying it and with a specific purpose in mind. And I will be happy to disclose all of the farms which are on Market 40 at anytime.

At this time I can safely say that using this concept efficiently is more than a notion. And to make use of the style efficiently, I do not suggest one even consider actions unless one thoroughly understands this game. (The process of beginning is not quick either. I was very very lucky to already have farms on the same market and did not know it and did not care until the last 90 days or so.)

Now the pitch for BEEPS:
Come one come all. Open up hundreds of farms.
Buys hundreds of farm equipment stuff and millions of power feed and tens of millions of super grow
Remember, you can't have enough
And don't forget the crafting items and the BBs

Okay BEEPS, I did the promotion thing, now hand over the egg farm! (I just don't see it happening though. )

I have an earned phd in business. I cannot help but to recall what was mastered ....... anymore than one can forget what they know from efficiently preparing their farm to compete in the Hoedown final competition.

I have used a spreadsheet and helped other develop their own. I have not used my own in well over a year now. Spreadsheets are common it seems and I would have no problem making use of them.

BUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUtttttttt, if I begin to manipulate the market data using the phd minor in statistics then ...... ummmmm.... I do not want to be at what I would consider an unfair advantage to another player........ Even still, there are things one cannot forget. We each must decide. I do have my limits clearly set.

The above is only mentioned to you so that you can be reasonably assured that what I am doing is not shear craziness.

I really hate that your innocence is lost. There is a whole new game here for you it seems.

You are your limit.

I was not an ideal kid if there is any such beast. My Father saw to it that I thoroughly understand that one must know who they are and have a value system and do the best that one can. From him I learned to always give and choose to pay the price to stand up for whatever it is I believe in and will loose to do it. Boy Scouts of America greatly assisted me from becoming a hoodlum and thug in my adult life as I earned the rank of Eagle Scout. (A Scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent. ---------- I will never forget and admittedly do not perform so well or as well as I would like. I try.) I hope this does it.

Ohhhhhhh yeaaaaaaaaaaaah,
I sure would have liked to remind all to fill their Breeding Motels up before of the breeding event. I reviewed the gossip thread and hope I put in the correct animals in order to harvest them during the next breeding event. WHY? The cost to breed was one pf instead of the normal two.

Now I am glad I asked shooger-the-Owl a question in th e general issues thread. Maybe some read it even though it was not my intent to disturb her. Sorry to have missed many.

(All broke farms on this market did the same.)

 

Oh My!! I cant believe I didnt think of this, I usually think two steps ahead, and this didnt even enter my mind LOL, oh well, live and learn, all I was thinking was to breed some of the lower colored animals that I collect from crates and move them with the low cost breeding.

 

Sebe - that's all I did on this farm, too. The other farm went a little further than that as I had PF to spare over there.

Why did I never think of having multiple farms until I got one on the same market as my main farm? Dr. Nefarious I will never be. I would make an awful criminal - I just don't even think of gaming the system - not here or anywhere else in RL. It's just not how I operate.

And I gotta say, two farms is my max - sometimes I get tired/annoyed of fiddling around with two some days because RL keeps me pretty darn busy these days.

 

Hello xristos-ale3andros, you make most things clearer to me, and what you say takes me to the limits of my dreams. Thank you for these.

That's not possible for me, someone said I like to play with fire but for now I'm trying to control my behaviour. Thanks again for your advice..

 

xristos-ale3andros: "One plays for free, one pays little and one pays more. How can anyone account for this?"

The ones who pay more - get more - in advantages...which can make a large difference in this game. Otherwise, why should one pay more. It is optional.
That's about as fair as things get in this world.