The Farming Game

The Farming Game is a board game simulating the economics of running a small farm, published in 1979 and designed by George Rohrbacher, a rancher in Washington state's Yakima Valley who created the game while his own farm faced financial difficulty. Two to six players plant crops, buy equipment and livestock, and contend with unpredictable weather and market events represented by drawn cards, trying to accumulate wealth while avoiding the bankruptcy that can end a real farm. A full game runs around three hours, reflecting the slow accumulation and sudden setbacks of actual agricultural life rather than a quick abstract contest. The first production run was manufactured by workers with disabilities at Portland's Goodwill Industries, and the game was distributed by Rohrbacher's own company, the Weekend Farmer Company, drawing on real regional farming conditions from the Yakima Valley.