Farming has always been a popular concept in video games. You can often see it as a side feature for many different games with genres varying from RPGs like Monster Hunter: Freedom Unite or casual management games like SpongeBob Adventures: In A Jam.

Farming in video games has been around from as early as 1996 when Amccus developed their first game in the Harvest Moon franchise and was published in Japan by Pack-In-Video. Perhaps it was the calming atmosphere that was a welcome break from everyday life in a modern city that led to the SNES title becoming a hit.

This later led to the game getting published in North America by Natsume Inc. in 1997 and in Europe by Nintendo in 1998 followed by an array of sequels and spin-offs, creating a franchise that planted seeds in the industry which eventually inspired the development of other farming games like Stardew Valley, HayDay and Farmville which obtained its own sizeable following. In the age of mobile games, many more have emerged to steal the spotlight, and among them is an adorable casual farming game My Dear Farm.

Released by the same makers as Campfire Cat Cafe and the Tsuki games (Tsuki’s Odyssey, Tsuki Adventure 1 and 2), HyperBeard Games implemented their signature cute aesthetic and comfy vibe in this relaxing title. The game’s first trailer was released as early as October 1, 2021, and was followed by a closed beta.

After several months of testing, it was officially launched on August 4, 2022. Much has changed since the beta and its initial release so we have decided that now was the perfect time to write up a beginner’s guide, especially since a big update had dropped a couple of months ago.

This My Dear Farm beginner’s guide is for all the new players who have recently discovered the game, those who are returning and need a refresher, and even those who have been playing for a while but have some questions that need answers.

The Game in a Nutshell

My Dear Farm is a casual game about growing your own farm of crops of your preference. However, much of the gameplay is concentrated on the decoration aspect rather than the farming itself. Crops will produce coins, and occasionally Gems, every few seconds. After a few harvests (usually around 4 harvests), these crops will snooze and you will need to wait a bit before you can harvest from them again.

Crops do not need to be replanted and each type of plant does not have much difference in terms of the amount of money they produce and how long it takes for them to be ready for harvest. The game is designed to be purely casual without any pressure to take care of your farm because they will always produce money for you even if you don’t water them. The main objective is to simply have a place for a player to decorate to their liking.

Customizing Your Character

Upon starting your game, the first thing you’ll be prompted to do is to customize your own character. There is only 1 body type and a few hairstyles, hair colors, and skin colors to choose from.

If you’re unhappy with the selection, you can choose whichever and just revisit the character customization by tapping your character’s profile or tapping your character and tapping the shirt icon. There are more skin tone options available, but if you want more hairstyles and hair colors, along with some nicer clothes you’ll have to buy some in the Clothes Shop.

Decorating Your Farm

Items in the game are placed in a grid system, allowing you to organize them neatly. While not all items can be flipped to show their backsides, most decorations and furniture can be flipped left and right. Crops cannot be flipped and can only be placed on your farm.

If you need more space on your farm for your crops and items, you can store some of them by pressing on the object and tapping the backpack button. If that’s not enough, you can also buy more plots of land by spending some Gems. The first expansion you’ll get will always be free. Whether you buy the square to the left or the right, Grandpa will pop in and give you money to pay for the lot.

Your character and pet will be placed at a random spot on your farm. There is unfortunately no way to move them around. However, if you place an item on the spot where they are currently positioned, it will be transferred to another space.

Furnishing Your House

Once you reach level 2, Sandy’s Store will be unlocked. She runs the House Store and sells various furniture for your home. But before she offers you her goods, she will offer to build your house for free. Place your house anywhere on your farm and she will get to work. It will take 24 hours to build. In that duration, you won’t be able to change your house’s placement, but once it’s done, you are free to move it around and even store it if you please.

The outside of the house cannot be changed at the time of writing this article, but the inside can be decorated and expanded just like your farm. The only difference is that you cannot place crops inside your house and the space is divided into rooms that are bought with Coins or Gems. Tapping your house and pressing the house icon will bring you inside the house.

Even before Sandy’s Store is unlocked and your house is built, there is a way to access your home’s interior. When you buy furniture, tap the “Place” button and the game will take you there where you can decorate freely. Note that once you leave, you’ll only be able to go back inside the same way until your house has been built on your farm.

Leveling Up

Gaining experience points in this game is not dependent on how many crops you’ve harvested, but instead on the amount of placeable items (crops, furniture, and decorations) you’ve collected. Every time you level up, more items are added to the shop selection. These new items will only appear randomly each time the shop refreshes.

Leveling up will also unlock new features and shops. You will also get an option to claim up to 3 items by using Gems or watching ads. Take note that you’ll need to watch a total of 3 ads to obtain all 3 items.

How to Get Stuff Without Ad

Collect Your Daily Reward

Every time you open up My Dear Farm, you start your session for the day with a Daily Reward. Simply tap the “Claim” button to obtain it and make sure to check again tomorrow for the next reward. But what if you miss a day? Not to worry! The game will just let you claim the reward for the next day the next time you play again. Once you’ve claimed the 7th day, the count starts again.

Finish Your Tasks

Simple tasks will pop up on the right side of your screen. These tasks will usually be actions any player takes while they are playing the game so they can be passively accomplished. Be sure to collect your reward once this small window turns yellow! You can earn a good amount of Coins and Gems from it.

Earn Coins from Various Activities

There are many ways to earn Coins in the game other than the options we presented in the previous sections:

Fill Your Farm With Crops And Harvest Them

If you’re looking for a list of crops that give the highest payout or produce money the fastest, you won’t find it here because their production is mostly random with just very little differences between their waiting times. Each crop will always produce 1-2 Coins with the occasional 1 Gem. One thing is for certain though: Trees will always produce more than your crops but not by so much. It can produce 1-3 Coins and may also give you Gems once in a while.

As we have said before, from our experience with the game, there doesn’t seem to be a significant difference in Coin and Gem production or wait time if you water the plants or not. So don’t worry too much about forgetting to care for your little ones or tediously watering each one! Keep in mind that these crops will sleep after around 4 harvests and won’t produce more after a few minutes.

The only kind of strategy you can apply to this is to simply plant as many crops as you can. Because trees produce 1-3 Coins per harvest, you might feel like they are the best choice. However, keep in mind that a single tree takes up 4 squares. If you have 4 crops in that place instead, you can produce up to 4 to 8 Coins per harvest, making them a better choice for Coin production.

Of course, as we have said before, this is a very casual game so aesthetics and your preferences should always be considered. Besides, having so many crops will also require you to click on so many things every time you harvest, making it somewhat tedious and annoying at times. For that sole reason, we recommend considering the other methods of collecting Coins in this list.

Sell Your Crops At The Farmer’s Market

Ironically, selling crops at the Farmer’s Market does not at all require you to have any crops on hand. In fact, the crops that are offered to the customers are different each time and not based on what you have on your farm. As long as you’ve hit Level 2, this mini-game will be available for you to play.

There will always be 10 customers to serve (which you can track from the number on the upper left side of the screen), and all the Coins you earn here (which is displayed on the upper right side of the screen) will be added to your wallet at the end of the game.

To play the game, you’ll need to correctly guess and pick what crop your customer wants based on the image that will slowly form in their speech bubbles. The bar at the top of the screen displays your customer’s satisfaction which is directly impacted by how long they had to wait to get their item of choice. This means the faster you identify the crop, the higher the amount of Coins you will earn.

• Green Bar, Happy Face – 12 to 15 Coins
• Yellow Bar, Unhappy Face – 9 to 11 Coins
• Red Bar, Angry Face – 6 to 8 Coins (if you correctly guessed the item)

Take note that it does not matter how long the bar is, as long as it turns a certain color, it will randomly pick a number from the range we’ve indicated above.

There are always 4 crops to choose from and there are 4 ways a customer will ask for what they want:

• Full Reveal – While it’s not something that will happen often, sometimes a customer will just straight-up show you the image of the crop they want.

• From the Top – A customer would slowly show you the full image of the crop starting from the top. This is one of the easiest to identify because the top parts of most crops are very distinct.

• From the Bottom – A customer would slowly show you the full image of the crop starting from the bottom. This can be a little trickier because some crops have similar bottom parts.

• Fade In – A customer would gradually show you the image of the crop by increasing the image’s opacity. This can be a little frustrating and may require you to take your time identifying it.

• Silhouette – A customer would show you a blacked-out silhouette of the crop before slowly revealing the details. This is probably the easiest one to identify aside from the full reveal because you can immediately compare the shape from your selection. That is unless you end up having 2 root crops with the same shape but have different colors as we did.

The game is definitely made a lot easier when the crops you’re selling are in different and distinct shapes and colors. But since you can’t really pick and choose what to sell, the best advice we can give is to not rush and take your time identifying the crop. Sure you might get a higher payout if you pick the right one fast enough, but picking the wrong one will give you no Coins at all from that customer.

The game can only be played once every 2 hours. However, if you want to play it again, you can do so by tapping the market again and choosing the option to watch an ad to play it again.

Sell Unwanted Furniture and Pets to Archie

At level 2, you will unlock the ability to sell items you no longer want to Archie, the owner of the truck that stops by at the bus stop. Keep in mind that the only items he accepts are furniture, farm decorations, plants, and pets. You cannot sell any clothes or items that are used to customize your character. You also cannot sell any item that is placed on your farm or inside your house. You need to put them in storage first.

You can sell up to 15 items (assuming they each take up only 1 square of the truck). The amount of Coins you’ll get from your items is 1/3 of the original item’s price. We recommend selling as many items as you need to before hitting the “sell” button because once you do, the truck will be gone for 12 hours. If you’re unsure of what to sell and may need more time, you can always leave the truck first. It will not leave until you actually sell something.

Exchange 1 Gem for 100 Coins

If you really need the extra Coins and have a handful of Gems you’re ready to part with, you can exchange 1 Gem for 100 Coins at the Currency Shop.

Get Pets for Gems

Pets are the only way to naturally obtain Gems for free. At level 3, you’ll get your main pet from Cesar Millar: a choice between a dog or a cat. Choose carefully because you won’t be able to change this later. Whenever your main pet gets hungry, you’ll need to spend 150 Coins to feed them. A few seconds after you do, they will give you 1 Gem. You can only feed them every two hours.

It’s not the best exchange, and it’s not something you’ll want on all occasions. It may seem like such a mean thing to say but if you really don’t want to part with your Coins, just don’t feed your main pet! They’re not like real pets that will act out, starve, or die, nor is there a mechanic in the game that will give you consequences so there’s no need to worry.

However, if you do buy more pets from the Animal Store, one thing you’ll be happy to know is that there is no option to feed them at all. They basically act as animated decorations that just stay in the spot you choose but will produce Gems just like your main pet.

Check your Mailbox for Free Items

The mailbox can provide you with some nice goodies which are mostly decorative. From our observation, while playing, every time you open your mailbox, the wait time duration for the next gift will increase. From 2 minutes, it’ll be 5, then 10, 15, 20 and so on.

We did notice that there are instances where the countdowns suddenly get shorter if you haven’t checked the mailbox in a while. On the other hand, if you watched an ad after opening your mailbox to get another item (an option that occasionally appears), the countdown tends to be twice as long.

Ads Galore and How To Take Advantage Of It

Many mobile games nowadays that are offered as free to play are unfortunately riddled with ads and this game is no exception. While watching ads is entirely optional, it’s hard not to ignore the rewards that it offers. But what can you do when you really want that cute bed but don’t want to watch another guy pretend to play another mobile game? Simple: mute and walk away.

This game is best played while you’re in the midst of an arduous task like cleaning the toilet, doing the laundry, or waiting for those 60 pages of application forms your boss asked you to photocopy. Work on your own thing while the ads play and you’ll find yourself with a cluster of Gems and Coins to spend, a heap of clothing items to prettify your character, a bunch of plants for your farm, and a large batch of furniture for your decoration needs!

Aside from what has been mentioned previously (getting extra items when leveling up, Farmer’s Market refresh, more stuff from the mailbox), where exactly do you encounter these ads? What rewards do they offer? Look no further for we’ve done our homework and listed them all below!

Shop Refresh Ads + Free Item Ads = Profit

For Furniture, Plant, and Clothing Shops, you can watch ads for two purposes: refreshing the shop selection and getting free items. The shop selection automatically refreshes every 24 hours, but if you want it to refresh immediately, all you need to do is watch an ad or pay 2 Gems. On the other hand, with free items, you’ll need to watch one ad to see what it is, and another ad to obtain it. After that, you’ll need to wait 2 hours before you can watch more ads for more free items.

However, since the shop selection refresh has no limit to how many ads you can watch for it, you can watch it after you obtain your free item so you can watch more ads for more free items. Take note that the shop selection refresh only affects the shop where you watched the ad.

If you are specifically trying to get more furniture, we do recommend going to the House Store. This is different from the Furniture Shop in the shop menu. You can access it by talking to Sandy or going inside your house and tapping the House Store icon at the lower right side of your screen.

In this store, you can claim free items once every 24 hours but you only need to watch 1 ad to obtain the item. Like the previous shops we mentioned, you can also refresh the store’s selection by watching an ad or paying 2 Gems. Doing so will refresh the free item spot, allowing you to watch another ad to obtain another free item. This is also unlimited and will help you obtain many items quickly.

Unfortunately, when it comes to the Animal Store, the only ad you can watch is the one that can refresh the item selection.

Check Every Item in the Sale Tab and Seasonal Shop

Aside from the shops we have already mentioned, there is also a Sale Tab at the very end of the shop’s menu. The Sale Tab features bundles with Coins, Gems, furniture, and/or clothes that you can buy with real-life money.

Understandably, not everyone has the funds for this so the game gives you the option to watch 1 ad to obtain 1 random item from the pack for free. These packs change every few weeks so be sure to take a look so you can get some new items for yourself! Unfortunately, unlike the other free item ads, these ads will not replenish after some time.

You can also visit Seasons Saul (found next to the Farmer’s Market), which sells seasonal items for a limited time. Each tab lets you watch 1 ad for 1 free item. This ad replenishes every 24 hours so make sure to visit him whenever you get in the game!

Get Free Gems and Coins from the Currency Shop

In the Currency Shop, you can watch ads to get Free Gems and Coins. You can earn 50 Coins per ad with a watch limit of 5 ads every 24 hours. On the other hand, you can only earn 5 Gems per ad once every 24 hours.

Complete Offers for Free Gems

Also in the Currency Shop, you’ll find a square that says “Free Gems.” This will lead to a page with a list of activities you can partake in to earn Gems outside of the game. These activities vary from taking surveys or achieving a particular feat in another game. While not an ad you can watch, we’ve added this item here since it does feature other games.

Stop Carts for Gold and Gems

While you play the game, keep an eye out for Gold or Gem carts riding down the road. Tapping them will play an ad and reward you right after. Move fast because this cart will start moving faster as it travels down the road!

Grab Balloons and Kites for Decorations

If you want some more furniture and decorations, be on the lookout on the screen for balloons and kites! Balloons are see-through and will give you a preview of the item you can obtain from them while the rewards you get from kites would be completely unknown until you open the gift box. If you do not catch it the first time it appears, wait for a few seconds and you’ll see it pass by a second time.

Shower Your Farm with Rain and Gold

Once a day, Bella Von Otoch will drop by your farm and offer to summon rain in exchange for watching an ad. The rain will not awaken any of your sleeping crops nor would it do anything particular for them, but a few Coins will start appearing on the ground.

Check Out More Games by HyperBeard for Masks

When you go to the character customization page (accessed by tapping your character then tapping the shirt icon or by tapping your character’s profile), you’ll notice an icon of a character with a pink beard. Tap that and you will be shown a list of HyperBeard’s other games.

Tap on these titles to obtain the mask shown in the lower right corner of each image. This won’t play a video ad like the others but will instead open up the app’s page. Once you get back into the game, the mask will be awarded to you regardless of whether you downloaded the game or not.

And this marks the end of our Beginner’s Guide to My Dear Farm! We hope that this article helped in giving you the gist of how the game works and what can be done to obtain more stuff for your character and your farm! Do you have any tricks about the game you’d like to share? Or maybe there’s a game you’d like us to cover? Let us know in the comment section below!