The Difference Between Farm Town and FarmVille on Facebook

First to Market

• "Farm Town" was the first to market when compared to its rival, "FarmVille." Zynga didn't launch "FarmVille" until mid-2009, months after "Farm Town" was released in early 2009. Although Zynga is criticized for copying "Farm Town," the "FarmVille" game does have a few things that sets it apart from its competitors in the virtual farming category.

Platforms

• "Farm Town" is only available on Myspace and Facebook. "FarmVille" is available on a wider set of platforms, including Myspace, Facebook and the company's own website in both Adobe Flash and HTML5. In addition, "FarmVille" has a native app on the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch devices.

Graphics

• The graphic engine for "FarmVille" provides images that are more crisp and clear than those of its rival. In addition to better graphics, "FarmVille" lets you create and customize an avatar, which "Farm Town" doesn't currently offer.

User Interface

• The user interface on "FarmVille" is much simpler than "Farm Town." On "Farm Town," you must click a menu, then click further down into a sub-menu and finally click the game screen to plant an item. "FarmVille" auto-detects the mouse cursor on the screen and gives you the menu that corresponds with where the cursor is located. For example, if the cursor is hovering over a patch of dirt, you'll be shown different vegetables you can plant and grow.

Game Play

• With "FarmVille," you have more variety in the game play. Each type of vegetable or plant on "FarmVille" has a different grow time. On "Farm Town," the crops are standardized, growing at the same time as other plants. This ability gives "FarmVille" players more variety.

Extra Features

• Although "FarmVille" exceeds "Farm Town" in many areas, "Farm Town" still has a few extra features that "FarmVille" doesn't. Some of those features include a marketplace where you can hire people to work on your farm and buy other items. In addition, "Farm Town" has an Inn, where users can socialize and get to know one another. The Inn differs from the Marketplace, because you can only talk to other players and not actually hire them. "FarmVille" doesn't have these features as of the date of publication.