3rd World Farmer

Experience the challenges of farming in a third world country in the thought-provoking simulation game, 3rd World Farmer. As the virtual farmer, you must navigate corrupt officials, unreliable markets, wars, diseases, and droughts that constantly threaten your farm's survival. One bad harvest or unexpected event can have disastrous consequences for your family's economic prospects in the game. As you manage your virtual farmer family, you must make difficult choices that reflect the reality of life in poorer regions of the world: pay for school fees or have children help in the fields, marry off young adults for a dowry or have them stay and help with the harvest, prioritize spending on medicine, education, or farm investments and decide whether the family can support another child. To improve your farm's productivity and expand its operations, you must plant crops, tend livestock, purchase tools and farming machinery, and construct wells and buildings. Additionally, you can invest in community projects such as roads, schools, communications, clinics, and political representation. However, these investments are often costly and might detract from your immediate needs. 3rd World Farmer is an independently developed serious game that seeks to simulate real-world mechanisms that sustain poverty in third world countries. While not precise in every detail, it covers a broad range of topics related to poverty in an effort to educate and motivate players to make positive social change. Originally created as an online flash game in 2005, 3rd World Farmer has since gained mainstream media attention, been featured in studies, and used as a teaching tool for discussing third world issues. The game is now available on Android devices, and feedback can be given through the Google Play app reviews, the 3rd World Farmer website, and social media channels like Facebook and Twitter. In playing 3rd World Farmer, players are encouraged to reflect on the challenges of farming in third world countries and to use their insight as a catalyst for positive change.