Happy Farm
Happy Farm is a game played on the Chinese social networking service (SNS) Kaixin001.com. Becoming such a prevalent part of people's lives, the game has even altered the way some people greet each other. "How is your farm?" and "Did your vegetables get stolen overnight?" are commonly heard in the office as pre-work topics of discussion.
Happy Farm looks similar to Farm Town on Facebook, after which the Chinese online community host is modelled. The goal is to create a virtual farm and earn "money" from it. Players plant vegetables and other crops while milking cows or tending to sheep. Tasks such as ploughing, weeding and watering the crops regularly help to ensure a good harvest.
If farming and harvesting in due time were what the game's all about, Happy Farm might not have claimed the largest steady population of online players, which is now in the millions. But stealing – something that's prohibited in real-world situations – is a unique aspect of the game that many people find enticing.
As the rule goes, Happy Farm players are allowed to visit friends' farms and "help harvest" their crops if they failed to collect them in time, cashing in on their newly-acquired crops. "Crop-stealing," as it's called, becomes the basis of the game.
