As of Oct. 31, Farm Town had 18,591,852 active users on Facebook.

Farm Town is a nice place. It's always sunny there and no real catastrophes occur — except for the big Farm Town blackout back in June.

I first heard about it through Facebook friends asking if I could get on Farm Town. It was a major panic. A problem had developed between the creators' server and Facebook. Farm Town really was gone for a while.

I suggested we get in touch with Willie Nelson and Neil Young to get a Farm Town Aid concert together.

Fortunately extensions were enacted on everyone's farms so no one lost any of their crops by the time the game was available again.

Why is Farm Town fun? I don't know. I like it better than some of the more cut throat game applications like Mafia Wars and Vampires. It's nice to be able to create your own little world in your own little way and not have to worry about others messing with it. It's great to be able to change things up whenever you want, too. Where else can you put in a lake, and move it around as many times as you like? You can do the same with buildings or trees. If you want to be artistic with it you have that option as well. Some of Elvis Presley's fans have even made their farms monuments to the King of Rock and Roll.

But be warned. Behind the peaceful, easy-going appearance of Farm Town, there lurks a community of some very serious people marching their little avatars up to the Market Place or hanging out at the Inn — that STILL doesn't have it's liquor license by the way. I'm getting really frustrated about that.

You can joke with Mafia Wars players and Vampire enthusiasts, but if you poke a little fun at Farm Town with the wrong person you might end up on the wrong end of a real pitch fork.

So with more than 18 million involved in what a friend of mine refers to as Farm Cult, it's a good idea to know who you're dealing with before you go messing with their virtual world.

Visit www.farmtownguide.com. It is a Web site full of hints, cheats, tips and news for all the virtual farmers out there. Another good site for tips, hints, and strategy for farm-towners is www.farm-town.com. Both sites also have valuable information for anyone wanting to get started in Farm Cult ... I mean Farm Town, LOL.



Steve Gillespie is managing editor of The Meridian Star. Email him at

sgillespie@themeridianstar.com.