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The Farmer Was Replaced cover
9
Great
Gameยท

The Farmer Was Replaced

A beginner-friendly automation puzzle that teaches real programming while keeping experts hooked on optimization.

puzzleprogrammingautomationsimulation
PlatformPCPublished2024

Completion

Main Game

Playtime

~40 hours

Difficulty

Challenging

Status

Complete

Completion

100%

Playtime

~60 hours

Difficulty

Punishing

Status

Complete

Score Breakdown

Gameplay
4
Learning Curve
3
Puzzle Design
5
Progression
4
Satisfaction
5
The Good
  • Beginner-friendly introduction to real programming concepts
  • Deep optimization for leaderboard chasers
  • Clear progression from simple commands to reusable logic
  • Satisfying puzzles with immediate feedback
  • Approachable even without prior coding experience
The Bad
  • Code editor is limited compared to a real IDE
  • Requires a willingness to learn basic programming

The Farmer Was Replaced is a programming puzzle game that turns farm automation into a beginner-friendly on-ramp while still rewarding experts chasing leaderboard times.

The Good

The early hours feel approachable without coddling. You start by fumbling through move and harvest commands with a single drone on a tiny grid. Before long you are writing loops, conditionals, and functions. The game teaches each concept right before you need it, so you learn real programming ideas without a heavy-handed tutorial.

Every puzzle has clear feedback. If your harvest misses a tile, you see it. If your pathing wastes steps, the timer tells you. That tight loop makes it easy to iterate and learn, even if you have never written code before. By the end you are building a logic base and reusing utility functions that carry from puzzle to puzzle.

For experienced programmers, the depth is real. The leaderboards reward tighter loops, smarter layouts, and efficient resource management. You can spend hours shaving seconds off a sunflower run or perfecting a maze harvest script. It feels like deliberate practice wrapped in a cozy, low-stakes setting.

The Not So Good

The code editor is limited. It covers the essentials, but anyone used to a real IDE will miss better navigation and quality-of-life features. It also assumes you want to learn basic programming. If that is not your goal, the game will not click.

Verdict

If you are curious about programming, this is one of the best introductions available. If you already code, it is a smart, relaxing practice space with endless room to perfect your scripts and climb the leaderboards.

The farmer may have been replaced. You will still be thinking about crop rotations for days.