Zhang used to find it difficult to get out of bed around 8 am, but now she sets her alarm clock before 7 am so that she can log on to the site and harvest her crops that ripened overnight. She has even adjusted her schedule according to the game's vegetable growth cycle. Shortly after being invited to play the game, Zhang found herself helplessly enthralled in the game. Addicted to the game, she spends multiple hours each day in managing her farm and keeping an eye on others' crops. One player, nicknamed Zhang Yuan, works at an advertisement agency. 'Crop-stealing,' as it's called, becomes the basis of the game. But stealing вЂ“ something that's prohibited in real-world situations вЂ“ is a unique aspect of the game that many people find enticing.ДЄs the rule goes, Happy Farm players are allowed to visit friends' farms and 'help harvest' their crops if they failed to collect them in time, cashing in on their newly-acquired crops. If farming and harvesting in due time were what the game's all about, Happy Farm might not have claimed the largest steady population of online players, which is now in the millions. Tasks such as ploughing, weeding and watering the crops regularly help to ensure a good harvest. Players plant vegetables and other crops while milking cows or tending to sheep. The goal is to create a virtual farm and earn 'money' from it. Happy Farm looks similar to Farm Town on Facebook, after which the Chinese online community host is modelled. 'How is your farm?' and 'Did your vegetables get stolen overnight?' are now commonly heard in the office as pre-work topics of discussion. Becoming such a prevalent part of people's lives, the game has even altered the way some people greet each other.

Happy Farm, a game played on the Chinese social networking service (SNS), is evolving from a pastime activity to a phenomenon.

Game happy farm