Math Skills with FaceBook's FarmVille Video Game
The FarmVille Game on FaceBook Offers Math Practice
Somewhere in the tropical midwest of cyberspace, there is an endless expanse of evergreen land where anyone over 14 can claim a plot of land and start their own farm.
FarmVille on Facebook
As new farmers, players get to choose their wardrobe and appearance, aiming either for an accurate representation of themselves or a fantasy representation of something sillier. Just for kicks, players can change their appearance or sex even after playing for a while.
Being a Good FarmVille Neighbor
Once their identity has been selected, players are given a quick tutorial regarding the planting and harvesting process, as well as an introductory script about the virtues of helping on their neighbor's farms. In order to get neighbors, players must either ask their friends to be neighbors, or accept the neighbor request of another player. Once players have neighbors, they can click on their neighbor's farm and, simply by showing up, help rake leaves or scare blackbirds away in order to get paid in coins and gain experience points. Each day, a player may visit all of his neighbors and randomly be asked to help on their farms. The player receives coins for helping, but the neighbor's coins are not depleted.
Sending Gifts in FarmVille
Even before his friends have become his neighbors, a player can send them gifts for free, presumably to sweeten the deal. The initial gifting options, a Cherry, Orange and Apple tree, are not created equally.
An orange tree nets a 10 coin a day cash flow. In addition to a higher profit margin, the orange tree takes less energy to grow, since it only needs to be harvested every 4 days.
Video Game Math Practice
Even before players have established neighbors or planted anything, they must learn to harvest their initial crop of eggplants and strawberries. By clicking on a fully grown plot, players can harvest and watch their coin collection grow. Clicking on an empty plot gives players the option of plowing the land, for 15 coins, and then planting it for the cost of the seeds.
Planting Return on Investment (ROI) in FarmVille
Initially, the only seeds available are strawberries, eggplant, wheat and soybeans. Strawberries cost 10 coins and after 4 hours are harvested for 35 coins, a ROI (return on investment) of 25 coins, or 6.25 coins an hour. Using the same method of calculation, it can be seen that the eggplant is worth only 1.31 coins per hour, the wheat breaks down to only 1.1 coins per hour and finally, the soybeans are worth 2 coins per hour. Clearly, the strawberries are a better investment for the player who has time to return in 4 hours to harvest.
As with the gifting, as players advance gaining experience points, they are given the option of purchasing different kinds of seeds. Each of these has a different initial investment, a different rate of return and grows for a different amount of time. A player may choose to take it easy, intuitively choosing plants for aesthetic purposes, or based upon the time he can commit to the game. Otherwise, he can choose to use mathematics in order to profit the most from every square inch of his farm.
Getting Ahead in FarmVille
Another factor that FarmVille players must consider is that sixteen trees can occupy the same amount of land as one vegetable crop. The orange tree that was determined to be the best gift a newcomer can give carries a purchase price tag of 425 coins. However, since FarmVille trees never get old and die, one square plot of orange trees can bring in 160 coins a day without further investment.
FarmVille Animals
In addition to the values and space requirements of the vegetables and tree, there are also animals to consider. Players harvest milk from cows, eggs from chickens, wool from sheep and truffles from pigs. Like the plants, each animal is ready to harvest at a different time. Chickens, like trees, can be crammed together at a rate of 16/1, with 16 chickens occupying as much space as one vegetable. Only 4 cows, however, may occupy as much space. The return rate for each animal must be calculated individually.
Formula for Calculating Farmville ROI for vegetables
H=harvest value
C=initial price
T=time (in hours)
ROI=(H-C)/T
Players can use a similar formula for comparing the value of their trees (both purchased and gifted) as well as their animals.
FarmVille may have absolutely nothing to offer on a scientific level. In fact, if an entire generation of humans were to learn farming skills from this game, humans might starve to death. However, for math skills and virtual applications of algebra, as well as estimation and strategic planning, FarmVille is more than just fun and games.
See also, Teaching Math with Online Math Games
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