Gameplay Overview

🌱 Growing System

• Simultaneous Growth: All unlocked crops grow at the same time, each with its own growth rate and favorite seasons
• 10 Vegetables: Radish, Lettuce, Green Beans, Zucchini, Cucumbers, Tomatoes, Peppers, Carrots, Broccoli and Onions, unlocked in order with experience
• 10 Fruits: Strawberry through Watermelon, opened by the Growers Guild's Fruit Cultivation upgrade and unlocked with 50,000 to about 60 million experience
• Harvesting: Click to collect grown crops or buy an Auto Harvester for each crop
• Strategic Selling: Choose which crops to sell or stockpile with each crop's Sell or Hold button
• Reward Balance: Manual harvesting gives full experience and knowledge; auto-harvesting gives half, except for the Engineers, whose machines get full rewards

🥫 Canning System (Unlocks at Farm Tier 3)

• Recipe Processing: Turn raw crops into preserved goods worth more than their ingredients
• 42 Recipes: Simple, complex and gourmet recipes; 16 need Golden Honey, 2 jar honey alone once you buy Honey Jars, 10 Cellar recipes belong to the Preservers, and new ones unlock with canning experience
• The Kitchen: The pantry shows your crops and honey, the stove shows every batch cooking, and the recipe book shows each recipe's ingredients, value and time
• Stove Slots: Run up to 16 batches at once (upgradeable with Batch Canning)
• Automation: The Canner starts a batch every 10 seconds, using the first recipe in your sort order that your stash covers
• The Cannery: Engineers run a factory floor instead, where each machine makes the recipe you set
• Enhanced Rewards: Earn money, experience, AND knowledge from completed recipes; Canner batches give less knowledge

🐝 Bee System (Unlocks at Farm Tier 4)

• Bee Hives: Start with 2 hives and buy more with honey, up to 30
• Honey: Each hive makes a 15 lb batch every 132 days and keeps stockpiling until you collect; bees rest in winter unless you buy Winter Hardiness
• Golden Honey: Each batch has a 1% base chance to be golden; used in premium recipes
• Pollination: Every hive adds +0.5% crop yield, raised further by Meadow Magic and Flower Power
• Beekeeper Assistant: Hire him at 4 hives for 750 honey; he collects every batch as it's made and speeds up the bees
• Honey Jars: For 1,000 honey, the Kitchen jars honey and Golden Honey on their own
• Honey Recipes: Honey unlocks new canning recipes

🛡️ Guilds (Unlock at Farm Tier 5)

• Four Guilds: Growers, Preservers, Engineers and Merchants, each with its own philosophy, bonuses and trade-offs
• Guild Tokens: Before you commit, earn tokens from manual harvests (+1 each), canned goods (+1 per 5), batches of honey (+2 per batch) and auto harvests (+1 per 10)
• Sampling: Try up to two starter upgrades from each guild before you choose; unspent tokens don't carry over when you join, and a guild's currency is earned only as a member. The Merchants' starters cost money instead of tokens
• Growers Guild: Commit to earn Sigils from manual harvests and spend them on 8 guild upgrades, including Fruit Cultivation
  • Bonuses: Extra crops on manual harvests, stronger bee pollination, and with Soilbound Pact, ripe crops that harvest themselves
  • Trade-offs: Auto harvesters run 25% slower and canning pays 15% less
• Ritual Harvest: With Ritual Circles, spend 5 Sigils to harvest every ready crop at once
• Preservers Guild: Commit to earn Wax Seals from batches you start and spend them on 10 guild upgrades, including Cellar Recipes and the Pressure Canner
  • Bonuses: Jars sell for 20% more, Recipe Mastery, Prize Jars and Rush Batch
  • Trade-offs: Raw crops sell for 10% less, and Dunkin the Glutton raids the pantry
• Engineers Guild: Commit to earn Gears from auto harvests, factory floor batches and Stanley, and spend them on 10 guild upgrades, including Bulk Purchasing and Night Shift
  • Bonuses: Every crop gets a faster Auto Harvester with full rewards, batches run 30% faster, and the Kitchen becomes the Cannery
  • Trade-offs: No manual harvests or canning, crops sell for 15% less and jars for 25% less, and the bees make 25% less honey
• Tune-Up: Click Stanley the cat when he visits, and every machine runs twice as fast for a minute
• Merchants Guild: Commit to spend money on 10 guild upgrades, including Wholesale, Additives and Hostile Takeover
  • Bonuses: Crops and jars sell for 15% more, Payroll lays off or rehires every auto-buyer at once, and Ferdinand brings Hot Tips
  • Trade-off: Knowledge from harvests and canning is 15% lower
• Hot Tip: Click Ferdinand the cat when he visits, and crops and jars sell for double for a minute
• Legacy: From Farm Tier 6, end your Legacy to start the farm over and keep half your guild levels, one unlock and your special achievements; then choose a guild again. An upgrade bought up to its max always keeps at least one level
• Guild Mastery: Max out a guild for Guild Master, then keep guilds at their max through a Legacy for Rooted, Branching Out, Full Canopy and Evergreen Legacy, the final achievement

🏆 Progression Systems

• Experience Unlocking: Gain experience from harvesting to unlock crops in sequence
• Farm Expansion: Buy a larger farm for more max plots (+1 per 100 experience, up to double); crops and upgrades reset, but you keep your knowledge and leftover money
• Knowledge: Earn knowledge from harvesting and canning to buy upgrades
• Farm Tiers: Each tier adds knowledge to every harvest, starts you with more experience, and opens new systems: Canning at Tier 3, Bees at Tier 4, Guilds at Tier 5

🎃 Fall Pumpkin Rush Event (Seasonal: Sep 22 - Thanksgiving)

• Four Activity Tabs: Pumpkin Patch, Carving Barn, Farm Stand and County Fair
• Pumpkin Growing: Plant Sugar Pie, Carver and Atlantic Giant pumpkins; Prize Seeds grow Blue Ribbon pumpkins worth double
• Materials and Crafting: Harvests give Seeds, Pulp and Vines for pies, candles and carving stencils
• Carving: A stencil carves a pumpkin (+2 Candy Corn), a candle lights it (+3 Candy Corn), and both make a Jack-o'-Lantern worth triple
• Candy Corn: Event currency from sales, harvests, the Hayride and Archie; demand doubles by Halloween and holds until Thanksgiving
• County Fair Weigh-Off: Once a game year, enter an Atlantic Giant against Maggie Pickett, Earl Boone and the Vance Twins for ribbons and Candy Corn; each win gives champion seeds for heavier giants
• Event Upgrades: 16 upgrades for the Patch, Barn and Stand, from Compost Heap and Prize Seeds to the Hayride and Fortune Teller
• Automation: The Scarecrow Crew crafts supplies and finishes pumpkins for you
• Sales Achievements: Five achievements for pumpkins sold pay Candy Corn and farm rewards; the 2nd unlocks Archie's Fall Sweater, and the 5th his Warlock Costume and a permanent +5% fall crop yield
• Offline Progress: Pumpkins grow, the crew works and the Hayride pays while you're away

🎄 Christmas Tree Shop Event (Seasonal: Nov 1 - Dec 25)

• Three Activity Tabs: Tree Farm, Workshop and Shopfront
• Tree Growing: Plant and harvest Pine, Spruce and Fir trees with quality variations; harvests give Wood, Pinecones and Branches
• Crafting and Decoration: Make Ornaments, Candles and Garlands, then decorate trees to multiply their sale value
• Holiday Cheer: Event currency earned by selling decorated trees
• Event Upgrades: 15 upgrades for the Tree Farm, Workshop and Shopfront, from Fertilized Soil and the Elves' Bench to the Golden Bell Counter and Star Forge
• Automation: The Elves' Bench crafts and decorates trees at 1-20 items a second
• Achievements: Six achievements for trees sold, from 1 to 5,000, pay 50 to 8,000 Holiday Cheer, and their rewards include Archie's sweater and reindeer hat, Frost Fertilizer (+5% winter crop yield), a cocoa canning recipe and falling snow
• Offline Progress: Full support for tree growth, crafting, and passive income while away

🌷 Spring Farmer's Market Event (Seasonal: Mar 20 - Memorial Day)

• Four Activity Tabs: Flower Beds, Herb Garden, Potting Shed and Market Stall
• Flower Beds: Plant Tulips, Daffodils and Roses in six beds; each harvest gives a bunch, greenery and seeds
• Herb Garden: Mint, Basil, Chamomile and Lavender are planted once and grow a sprig every 20 to 60 days, up to 10 each, or 25 with the Trellis
• Finishes: Greenery makes a bunch Arranged (+2 Petals), a lavender sprig makes it Scented (+3 Petals), and both make a Gift Bouquet worth triple
• Potting Shed: Mint Tea, Chamomile Tea, Pesto and, with the Packet Press, Seed Packets
• Petals: Event currency from sales, harvests, the Busker and Archie; demand doubles by Mother's Day and holds until Memorial Day
• Market Day: Load the Cart, and every 60 days, or 40 with the Pony Cart, it sells everything on it for 50% more
• Event Upgrades: 19 upgrades for the Beds, Garden, Shed and Stall, from the Rain Barrel and Trellis to Silk Ribbons and the Busker
• Automation: The Gnome Crew gathers herbs, makes teas, ties bouquets and, with the Cart Loader, loads the Cart
• Achievements: Five for bunches sold pay Petals and farm rewards, the 2nd Archie's Gardener Outfit and the 5th April Showers, a permanent +5% spring crop yield; and Best Mom for 50 Gift Bouquets on Mother's Day
• Offline Progress: Flowers and herbs grow, the crew works, Market Day sells the Cart and the Busker plays while you're away

🍉 Summer Watermelon Festival Event (Seasonal: Jun 21 - Labor Day)

• Four Activity Tabs: Melon Patch, Juice Stand, Festival Grounds and Challenge Board
• Melon Patch: Sugar Babies (free, 180 days), Crimson Sweets (200 Tickets, 240 days) and the Carolina Cross (1,000 Tickets, 540 days) in six plots, up to 12 with Patch Expansion; each harvest gives seeds, splits and a Ticket
• Sweetness and Weight: Melons are measured in Brix, and one at 12.0 or more is a Sugar Melon worth double. The Carolina Cross is weighed at harvest and waits on a shelf of 12
• Juice Stand: The Ice House freezes a block of ice every 20 days; Melon Balls, Agua Fresca, Pickled Rinds and Roasted Seeds come from splits, rinds and seeds
• Finishes: Ice chills a melon (+2 Tickets), a cup of melon balls carves it (+3 Tickets), and both make a Picnic Basket worth triple
• Tickets: Event currency from sales, harvests, the Parade Route, the Carousel, Dunk Tank tips, challenge prizes and Archie; demand doubles by the Fourth of July and holds until Labor Day
• Heatwave: Chilled melons, Picnic Baskets, Snow Cones and Agua Fresca sell for 50% more while the farm has a Heatwave
• Challenge Board: Three year-long challenges at once against Maggie Pickett, Earl Boone and the Vance Twins, from five kinds: Harvest Race, Sales Sprint, Sweetest Melon, Seed Spitting and Heaviest Melon. Prizes of 100, 50 and 25 Tickets, and champion bonuses for sweeter and heavier melons
• Event Upgrades: 23 upgrades for the Patch, Stand, Grounds and Board, from Straw Mulch and the Ice House to the Carousel and Spitting Practice
• Automation: The Picnic Crew packs baskets, scoops melon balls, mixes Agua Fresca, pickles rinds and roasts seeds
• Achievements: Five for melons sold pay Tickets and farm rewards, the 5th Summer Sun, a permanent +5% summer crop yield; Record Breaker for a Carolina Cross past the world record; and a hidden one
• Offline Progress: Melons grow, the Ice House fills, the crew works and the Carousel pays while you're away; the Challenge Board waits until you're back

Upgrade Details

Per-Crop Upgrades (Growing Tab)

• Fertilizer: Increases growth rate by +5% per level for the selected crop
• Better Seeds (Knowledge): Raises the selected crop's sale price by 25% per level (50% with Heirloom Seeds)
• Additional Plot: Adds +1 crop per harvest for the selected crop, using one of your farm's plots
• Auto Harvester: Harvests the selected crop on a timer, every 50 seconds at first; click it to pause or resume
• Harvester Speed: Makes the Auto Harvester 5% faster per level

Global Upgrades

• Farmer's Almanac: Increases knowledge gain by +10% per level
• Irrigation: Provides a constant +15% growth rate bonus AND negates drought penalties ($750 + 75 Knowledge)
• Merchant: Sells every crop set to 💰 Sell once every 30 days ($1,000 + 100 Knowledge)
• Greenhouse: Removes winter and snow growth penalties for all crops (cost scales with farm size)
• Heirloom Seeds: Doubles the effect of Better Seeds (cost scales with the highest crop you've unlocked); Engineers know it as GMO Seeds

Auto-Purchaser System

• Assistant: Auto-purchases Fertilizer upgrades every 7 days using money
• Cultivator: Auto-purchases Better Seeds upgrades every 7 days using knowledge
• Surveyor: Auto-purchases Additional Plot upgrades every 7 days using money (respects limits)
• Mechanic: Auto-purchases Harvester Speed upgrades every 7 days using money

Canning Upgrades (Canning Tab)

• Quick Hands: Reduces canning time by 5% per level
• Family Recipe: Increases the sale price of canned goods by 10% per level
• Heirloom Touch: Chance to get bonus canned goods from a batch
• Batch Canning: Adds processing slots to run more recipes at once

Bee Upgrades (Bees Tab)

• Production: Busy Bees, Super Frames, Nectar Efficiency and Swift Gatherers make more honey, faster
• Golden Honey: Royal Jelly, Queen's Blessing and Golden Touch raise the Golden Honey chance
• Crop Yield: Meadow Magic and Flower Power raise the pollination bonus for your crops
• Winter Hardiness: Bees keep producing honey through the winter

Features

🌦️ Environmental Systems

• Four Dynamic Seasons: Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter - each lasting ~90 days
• Seasonal Crop Bonuses: Each vegetable grows faster in its favorite seasons
• Winter: Crops grow at 10% speed unless you own a Greenhouse
• Weather Events: Clear, Rain (+20% growth), Storm (+10%), Drought (-50%), Heatwave, Snow
  • Heatwave: -30% in Summer; in Spring and Fall, summer crops grow 10% faster and the rest 30% slower; +20% in Winter
  • Snow: Stops growth unless you own a Greenhouse

🏅 Achievements

• 65 Achievements: Across farming, wealth, progression, canning, bees, visits from Dunkin, Stanley and Ferdinand, the factory floor, Hostile Takeovers, Legacies, guild mastery and all four seasonal events
• Rewards: Money, knowledge, Holiday Cheer, Candy Corn, Petals, Tickets, Archie outfits, a cocoa recipe and permanent crop bonuses
• Permanent Bonuses: Frost Fertilizer (+5% winter crop yield), Harvest Moon (+5% fall crop yield), April Showers (+5% spring crop yield) and Summer Sun (+5% summer crop yield)

💾 Save & Progression

• Auto-Save System: Progress saves to localStorage automatically every 30 seconds
• Export/Import: Timestamped save files for backup and sharing
• Offline Progress: Crops grow and auto-harvest, bees make honey, the Merchant sells with the Merchants' Futures, and the seasonal events keep running while you're away (the farm credits up to 8 hours, or 12 with the Engineers' Night Shift)
• Background Tabs: The game catches up when you return to a hidden tab, canning included
• Backward Compatibility: Seamless migration when new features are added
• Event Persistence: Seasonal event progress saves separately and persists across farm expansions

📚 Player Experience & Accessibility

• In-Game Help: Help pages explain each system with strategy tips, and a first-harvest tutorial gets you started
• Pause Button: Pause the whole game from the header; the button glows while paused
• Event Log: A running record of harvests, sales, weather, unlocks, achievements and event activity
• Archie: Shows up now and then; click him for bonus money, plus Holiday Cheer, Candy Corn, Petals or Tickets during events, with streak multipliers and sound effects 🐕. Choose his look in Settings, including winter, fall and spring outfits earned from achievements
• Accessibility: 100+ ARIA labels, keyboard navigation with focus trapping in modals, screen reader announcements for toasts, achievements and visits, 4.5:1 contrast on tabs and header buttons, alt text on images, landmark regions and a mute control for sound effects

Roadmap

• Root Cellar: Somewhere for finished jars to rest and gain value before they sell

🎮 New Player Guide

1. Start Simple: Begin with Radish and focus on Fertilizer upgrades for faster growth
2. Use the Help System: Click the "Info" button in the header for guides on each system
3. Manual vs Auto: Manual harvesting gives full experience and knowledge; auto gives half - balance active play with idle progression
4. Plot Management: Watch plot warnings! Don't fill all plots with Additional Plots or you can't unlock new crops
5. Weather Awareness: Check the weather icon and plan around seasonal bonuses for your crops
6. Sell Strategy: Set valuable crops to Hold on their beds to stockpile them for canning, and leave cheaper ones on Sell
7. Canning Strategy: Once unlocked, balance selling raw crops vs. processing them for higher profits
8. Pick a Guild: At Farm Tier 5, sample a few upgrades, then join the Growers for farming, the Preservers for canning, the Engineers for machines that run the farm or the Merchants for trade
9. Save Management: Use the Settings panel to export saves regularly as backups

🔧 For Developers

• React + TypeScript: Modern React 19 with full TypeScript support and strict mode
• Vite Build System: Fast development and optimized production builds
• Game Clock: one GameClock steps every system once per second, in a fixed order, so React renders once per step (useGameTick subscribes)
• Catch-Up: useOfflineProgress replays time away and hidden-tab time, capped at 8 hours (MAX_OFFLINE_MS); canning catches up through utils/canningSimulation.ts
• State Management: Centralized game state with localStorage persistence and ref-based access patterns
• Component Architecture: Modular BaseTab system with reusable upgrade panels; the seasonal events share EventUpgradesPanel and utils/eventUpgrades.ts
• Error Handling: A top-level error boundary shows the error and a Retry button instead of a blank page
• Test Suite: Comprehensive tests with Vitest, Testing Library, and coverage reporting
• Build Commands:
  • npm run dev - Start development server
  • npm run build - Production build with type checking; leaves images the game never loads, like Archie's full-size originals, out of dist
  • npm run test - Run test suite in watch mode
  • npm run coverage - Generate test coverage report
  • npm run lint - Run ESLint checks
  • npm run typecheck - Type-check the app, the tests and the Vite config
  • npm run check - Type check, lint and run all tests, the same checks CI runs
• Commit checks: npm install points git at .githooks/, whose pre-commit hook runs npm run check. A failing check stops the commit. GitHub Actions runs the same checks plus a production build on every push to main and on pull requests.

Enjoy building your farming empire! 🚜🌾