Town Star

Overview

Before we begin, it's important to note that Townstar is a farming game that draws inspiration from Farmville, offering a competitive experience developed by the co-founders of Zynga. As the first game released by Gala Games, Town Star takes the familiar Farmville concept and expands on it by introducing intricate building interactions and resource management.

Gameplay

Townstar drops you into the game as a small-time farmer with just a handful of starter buildings—a farmer's house, builder, silo, trade depot, and a few wheat crops. You’re handed $100,000 right off the bat to start shaping your farm however you want. Whether you choose to expand quickly or take a slow and steady approach is entirely up to you.

In Casual Mode, the main goal is to build an efficient farm and stack as much cash as possible. It’s a great place to either have fun or sharpen your strategies for competitive play. But here's the catch, there is no guided tutorial to walk you through the first steps. If you’re new, you might find yourself wondering where to begin.

The key to getting off to a strong start is focusing on quick cash flow. You need to decide which buildings or crops will give you the fastest return. Some crops take longer to grow than others, so picking the right ones early on can make a big difference. Checking how long it takes to produce wheat, corn, or other crops is a must, but you also need to think ahead—how fast can your farm work? Building wells or irrigation systems helps speed things up, cutting down wait times and making production smoother.

Once you’ve got a steady income, it’s time to scale up. Expanding your farm means adding bigger, more profitable buildings like mines, animal farms, bakeries, or breweries. Every new structure comes with its own set of requirements, so planning your layout is crucial. Some buildings work well together, while others might slow each other down if placed too close.

That being said, one major drawback I found while expanding is that you can’t move buildings once they’re placed. If you make a mistake in positioning or want to reorganize your farm for better efficiency, you’re forced to destroy the building and rebuild it from scratch, which means losing cash in the process. This can be frustrating, especially when you're trying to optimize your farm layout. A future update allowing buildings to be moved instead of demolished would be a great improvement.

On top of managing your farm, Townstar keeps things interesting with competitions and events. These challenges push you to produce and sell specific items within a set timeframe, testing your efficiency and strategy. There are also daily challenges that can earn you rewards, keeping you coming back for more. However, I feel that Casual Mode could benefit from more progression-based content, like quests, daily tasks, or even seasonal objectives. Having more structured goals would help players feel a greater sense of achievement beyond just accumulating money.

At first, the game can feel a little slow, especially in casual mode, where it might take hours or even a full day before you see real progress. But once you crack the code on optimizing production and selling crops efficiently, the game starts to get much more engaging.

Visually, Townstar has a charming and relaxing art style. The animations are smooth, and the cute, colorful design makes it enjoyable to look at while you plan and build. It’s the kind of game you can leave running in the background and still feel involved as you check in to make key decisions.

Review

Townstar is a fun and addicting farming game that keeps you thinking about the best way to grow your farm and make money. The freedom to build however you want is great, and once you figure out the best strategies, the game becomes really engaging. The competitions and events add an extra challenge, which makes things more exciting. But if you're new, the lack of a tutorial can make the first few hours confusing, and figuring out what to build first feels like trial and error. The game's cute visuals and smooth animations make it enjoyable to look at, and despite the slow start, there's a real sense of satisfaction when your farm finally takes off.

That said, there are a few areas that could be improved. The biggest issue is that you can’t move buildings once you place them, so if you need to reorganize, you have to destroy and rebuild, which wastes money. This feels unnecessary, especially in a game that’s all about planning and efficiency. Also, while the casual mode is meant to be more relaxed, it lacks structured goals like quests or daily tasks, which would make progression feel more rewarding. Overall, Townstar is a solid farming game with plenty to enjoy, but it could use some improvements to make it smoother and more player-friendly.