A couple of weeks ago, I tried a tablet game called Disco Zoo in the hopes that it would fulfill my craving for a good resource management game. While that one fell short, I was thrilled to come across Farmville 2: Country Escape just a short time later. I enjoyed playing the original Farmville in its heyday on Facebook, but in the end, I was turned off by the strong social component (I know, I know, what did I expect from a game existing within social media).

I gave up on trying to advance when it became clear I could only do so by bombarding my friends and family with requests to play the game. I was excited to see I could enjoy Farmville 2: Country Escape from my tablet and chose to ignore the social aspect completely.

Farmville 2: Country Escape takes you to your grandmother’s farm, which you have inherited and decide to bring back to its glory. By growing crops and turning those into some of Grandma’s favorite recipes, you will have the farm up and running in no time. 

Farm hands from across the area will come back to help you explore the land and lend a hand wherever they can. You can also opt to play with friends and join virtual co-ops to advance through the game even more quickly.

Farmville 2: Country Escape has crystal clear graphics with beautiful scenery of farmlands and coastal areas. The animation is well done and clearly the developers had fun with their job. There are small details such as the wind blowing through and the fun little dance chickens do when they aren’t eating (which I assume is the chicken dance, it looks different with wings). 

When your cow is ready to be milked she jumps all around excitedly and the crops sparkle when they are ready. The background sounds and music are pleasant enough, but I tend to get tired of mooing very quickly and I turned them off.

In Farmville 2: Country Escape, your actions are driven by tasks given to you by the farmhands. They will present you with three steps necessary to complete the task such as - grow 3 corn, have 2 sugar and bake an apple pie. The on-screen prompts in the task window make it easy to see which equipment you need to use to accomplish the task, if you forget. 

In the beginning, you progress through tasks very quickly with many crops and livestock taking only minutes to be ready to harvest. After the first few levels, however, be prepared to wait. When you are asked to expand your farm to an adjoining plot, you will need to craft a shovel to help clear the debris. Each shovel takes 8 hours to be ready and most debris takes 2-3 shovels. So if you play around the clock you might be able to clear one piece of debris within a day.

The alternative to waiting long periods of time in Farmville 2: Country Escape is to use the in-app currency of keys to speed up the process. Keys can be earned or found through exploring new areas, but you can also purchase them through the App Store. I elected to stick to the in-app currency I found or just wait out the process. It can be frustratingly slow sometimes but you can learn to work your inventory to your advantage. Keep crafting shovels at every opportunity and storing them in the barn so you won’t have to wait 8+ hours the next time it comes up on a task.

The farmhands can help you explore some areas of the farm and turn up special goodies. You can search Grandma’s Glade to find blackberries and chives and go angling in Pappy’s Pond for some fish or mint leaves. Again, these tasks require some materials and time, so be patient, or fork over the keys if you just can’t wait.

I’m having a blast reviving grandma’s farm in Farmville 2: Country Escape – and I love that I can bring the game with me wherever I go!