But this is not a game review. When you plant items and harvest them, you get paid some amount of gold depending on the crop. Planting each crop takes some defined amount of money (usually), and each crop requires some defined amount of real-world time to mature.
So, naturally, I wondered: Which plants are the best investment?
A simple spreadsheet offers the answer*. I wrote down the profit of the crop and divided that by the number of minutes it would take to grow. I did the same thing for experience points, which allow you to level up. (This list reflects the crops I currently have access to. I'll update as I go.)
| Crop | Profit | Profit/Minute | XP/Minute |
|---|---|---|---|
| Magic Asparagus | 1250 | .87 | .24 |
| Potatoes | 200 | .56 | .22 |
| Pumpkins | 160 | .89 | .36 |
| Strawberries | 120 | 1.33 | .56 |
| Carrots | 260 | .36 | .15 |
| Squash | 180 | .6 | .25 |
| Beans | 340 | .24 | .10 |
| Onions | 100 | 1.67 | .67 |
| Wheat | 20 | 4 | 1.60 |
| Corn | 5 | 6.67 | 1.33 |
Your definition of a good investment may be different than mine. Clearly the best investment is to plant and harvest corn like a madman every 45 seconds. You have fun with that. Wheat is somewhat more tolerable, with a 5-minute harvest time, but I like to set up a bunch of crops and then go do something else until they're done. Or set up a bunch overnight to have ready the next morning.
Strawberries and onions are good investments, with onions beating out strawberries for both cash and experience points. Plus, they only take an hour: That's about right for mid-day play. In the crops that take all day, Magic Asparagus is your best best, with beans not even close. Beans also give you one of the worst XP/Minute ratios. Don't plant beans.
Derive your own fun theories from the list.
*Yes, this is a programming blog. Spreadsheets are programs, too, though they're rarely treated as such.
You should please consider creating another column for total time to harvest. And when will others use my services? What services? And why can't I use some peoples services but can with others? It seems level related but I haven't figured it out yet. Thanks if you can answer any if that and good job blurbing about the best most boring and pointless games I've ever played. Level 15 and rising up here
ReplyDeleteI haven't yet added services, but I've heard some players refer to "the sweat shop" strategy, which involves lots of tailor shops. Like most of the earlier unlockables, it has a high ROI, but only if you're willing to visit your kingdom often.
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