Hay Day

Describing the functionality of a game isn't always easy, and Hay Day is just one of those cases when listing all in-game actions and options in a reasonably sized article just isn't possible. So here’s a brief description of what you can do in Hay Day.

The game’s success might be due to the fact that it combines elements of a strategy with the currently opular farming theme. As a new player, you begin with a basic level 1 farm, which you supposedly inherited from your uncle. The farm is pretty run-down, so during the first couple of levels (which happen to coincide with an extensive in-game tutorial) you’re repairing and expanding it. The tutorial introduces you to the core actions: working with crops and animals. As you level up, you unlock more plants and animals to grow and look after.

After a while, Hay Day begins to introduce some additional gameplay elements to keep you interested and alert. For instance, your neighbors will start coming to you to buy something of your farm’s production. Also, starting with level 5, you get a truck that can go to the places nearby and deliver orders. Orders can be seen on a special board, and completing them will bring you coins and additional experience points, so try to manage your production in such a way that you can process lots of orders. Such strategy will allow you to level up faster. Also, be sure to check out the ship when it appears because the ship orders are often better priced than those of the truck and they are time-limited, so you don't want to miss them.

The higher you level gets, the more in-game assets become available to you. Soon you’ll be able to construct buildings, such as bakery, dairy, popcorn pot and so on. Buildings allow you to process the raw materials that you get from crops and animals. So, for instance, you can bake a loaf of bread by gathering three units of wheat and putting them into the bakery. The further you level up, the more options you get, so it is important to know the whole production system quite well to be able to complete the orders quickly and efficiently.

Hay Day also has a social element to it. You can use Facebook to sign in and sync your account to the game so that you can interact with your neighbors (Facebook friends who play Hay Day too). You’ll need a lot of resources while playing, and all of them can be traded using a special cart that stands on your farm. You can place stuff you want to sell there, “advertise” it (make it visible to other players through a local newspaper) and someone’s bound to buy it, often in just a matter of seconds. When you reach level 24, you can build a “neighborhood house” and join a neighborhood (basically, a group of players who can chat within Hay Day). Doing that gives you some additional perks, such as the ability to participate in a weekly derby.

In a nutshell, this is the essence of Hay Day: you produce different types of farm goods and find ways to make the most out of them. This task may seem easy, but maintaining a level 40 farm with several dozens of various buildings and places is quite a challenge. Overall, you couldn't possibly want more from Hay Day in terms of functionality. It is definitely a fun game and it’ll take you a lot of time to get yourself familiarized with all of its features and possibilities.

Design 10/10

You really shouldn't expect super-realistic graphics from a game like Hay Day, and as long as you don't set your expectations too high, you should be fine with the game’s design. The animals are kind of cute, the crops are easily recognizable, so you won't have any problems telling them from one another, and the buildings are all multicolored and look quite authentic, making you feel like you really are on a “classic” farm.

Usability 10/10

The app is stable, so you shouldn't experience any bugs, crashes or freezes while you’re playing. Hay Day also takes a reasonable amount of time to load even on budget-friendly or older devices. The controls are rather convenient, and it won't take you long to get used to them. Overall, there is no reason why you should have any problems with Hay Day in terms of usability.

Cross-Platform Use 8/10

Hay Day is officially available only for phones and tablets which run on Android and iOS. There’s no way to play it on a Windows or Blackberry phone, but with some tweaking, you can have an unofficial version of Hay Day installed on your PC.

In-App Purchases

The game is free to play, but it offers in-app purchases (you can buy in-game diamonds for real-world money and use them to buy stuff or speed up production).

Conclusion

Hay Day is a good game, and it is definitely capable of getting people who think strategically hooked for a long time. It boasts a considerable amount of diversity, which means that you have to stay alert and ready to embrace new features. Also, you’ll enjoy it if a peaceful rural lifestyle seems tempting to you because Hay Day brings that experience straight to your mobile device.