Frontierville is a game that takes you back to the time when pioneers roamed the vast wilderness of the plains of America to search for a land they can call home. Frontierville has a game play setup much like its cousins Farmville and Cityville. This is a game where you become the master of a virtual pioneer to take care of a piece of land, help him/her build a home, farm lands, and raise livestock to develop it into a community of your own.
Collections, Rewards, and Goals
At the start of the game, you create an avatar (resembling a pioneer) which will be controlling for the rest of the game. Hard labor is rewarded in this game. So when you harvest crops, collect from your structures, or even simply pulling a rock away, you will be awarded with items and collections. You can trade collections for coins, experience points (XP), livestock, decorations, items to craft, tresses, energy and horseshoes (alternative money), depending on the kind of collection. You are also assigned some goals to finish that are necessary for the expansion of your frontier. These may include cutting trees, removing grass, collecting from your inn, harvesting crops and crazy dangerous stuff such as killing rattle snakes and bears. Eventually, when you have done quite enough in your land, you will be able to acquire a spouse and have children. You can assign them to help you in various tasks in your frontier (just like the real thing). There are also goals which will be assigned to you. These goals are geared towards helping you develop your frontier. Don’t take goals lightly; they give good rewards when you accomplish them.
Game Resources
Resources in the game come in the form of food, wood, and fruits. All of these resources yield coins, food, and horseshoes that are important in the game.
- Coins and horseshoes – Coins are used to buy the things that you need in developing your land such as purchasing crops, animals, fruit trees, etc. You can get coins by doing basic labor like harvesting your crops and feeding your animals. Horseshoes on the other hand, are rare mediums of exchange. You can only get them as rewards or via real money such as purchasing via credit card. Horseshoes can provide you with benefits that money cannot, so if you have some real money to spare you can really improve your frontier easily.
- Food and Crops – Food provides meals for your avatar to replenish spent. Food sources come from crops and sometimes in your livestock. Just like in Farmville and Cityville, your crops can wither when not harvested in the exact time. The time of harvesting the crops depends on every crop. You will know when to harvest them by checking on the time to it takes to harvest the crop. The time it takes for the crops to mature and harvest is the same as the time it takes to wither. Be really attentive with your crops! You also need to tender your crops and protect them from destructive pests. Food is your life source in this game so you really need to prioritize agriculture in the game.
- Wood – Wood is the resource you need in building basic structures such as a barn and an Inn. You can get wood by chopping up some wild trees growing on your land. You can find different trees in the game. The larger the tree the bigger the yield of wood it provides. Always spend some time chopping trees because they provide a dual benefit: gaining wood and clearing land.
- Animals – Animals are in the form of domestic livestock such as pigs and chickens. Animals start from young juveniles and must be fed when hungry to reach adulthood. When reaching adulthood they become productive and will provide you with coins and experience. You will be given free animals at the start of the game and you can also buy more in the market. They can be regularly harvested for a constant source of resources, or sold directly for a one time lump sum. Animals are a good source of resources in the game. You should protect it though, because there are wild animals (ie. Foxes) that will try to eat your animals. Remember, this IS a frontier simulation game! J
- Fruit Trees – You can also plant fruit trees to provide you with alternate food sources. You can plant fruit trees such as cherries, apples, and peaches. They start as seedlings when you purchase them from the market, and require constant watering (same as crops) to reach maturity. They provide somewhat lesser resource yield compared to crops and animals though, but the good thing about fruit trees is that they never wither and require no protection from pests (both big plusses).
Energy
Energy is the capacity to do the working/labour you need on your land. You gain 1 energy every 5 minutes. Your energy will also automatically refill when you gain a level. Other sources of energy include meals that comes from food harvested in your crops and animals or buying meals in the market. The more energy you have, the more you can perform work and level up. Faster levelling up in the game usually depends upon your energy.
Leveling up
Leveling up in this game depends on virtually everything you do. Every harvest of crops, clearing of land, and chopping of trees provides experience that becomes the gauge in your level up. Your level determines how much you have done on your frontier! Leveling up rewards you with a new refreshed energy bar and some rewards to enjoy; as well as unlocking new crops, animals, structures, etc . Visit your frontier everyday and sustain your land and you will see your level soaring high.
Frontierville is another Zynga game for Facebook. Although it’s not quite as addicting as I find FarmVille and Cityville, it is still super fun and a high-quality gaming experience. It also expands beyond farming which I think is really cool. I mean, who wouldn’t want to be the first to build that Little House on the Prairie. Awesome stuff. But would you expect any less from the good folks at Zynga.
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