Farm Manager 2018 frames farming as both a production business and a management challenge. Players cultivate land, choose employees and equipment, raise livestock, and sell what the farm produces. The design links practical decisions, from preparing fields to controlling costs, with the broader aim of expanding the farm business.
Crop care involves more than planting: crops pass through growth stages, need attention such as watering during drought, and can lose quality or die if neglected. More than twenty crops can be cultivated by hand or machine, and harvests have expiration dates. Changing weather and seasons add pressure to the work. Buildings and factories also support processing, including making juice, frozen food, cheese or butter. Camera options move between a strategic view and the perspective of an employee.
The game offers a campaign, scenarios built around particular situations and tasks, and a free mode with tasks and contracts. The combination of guided introduction, defined challenges and freer management gives players several ways to approach the same agricultural business simulation.
