Elle in Farmville: Chickens and Peppers and Squash...Oh My!

Screw it. I'll admit it...I play Farmville. You've already read about why I think people really get into games like YoVille (which I've found that I'm disinterested in), and I like this one even more. Essentially, you are a farmer (obviously) and plant crops with a certain harvest time, like 2-day squash or 4-hour blueberries. When planting or harvesting you get currency coins and XP. You can also harvest trees and collect from your livestock. Like other Facebook-based Flash games, your friends can send you gifts for your farm and vice versa. You can help out on their farms for XP. It's simple as hell and really easy to use and fun...I've found that I don't care very much about levelling up quickly. I just like having the plants grow? I had created this little heart out of hay bales even before I knew there was a whole forum devoted to FarmVille art out there!Recently, its parent company Zynga has been called out on lead-gen scams. What's that? In FarmVille, you can buy coins or FV bucks outright. For those of us used to MMOs like SL, no big deal. It's like buying Lindens. Seems FB cracked down on it and Zynga removed the option, but there used to be things like "Get 15 coins if you sign up for a subscription with so-and-so", which I thought was a ripoff since you could just go ahead and buy the currency.

Despite those issues, I still think Flash-based games like this are worth a watch...especially if they become more interactive. And you have better believe I'm keeping my eye on City of Eternals, which is still in its testing phase.