Prairie Ramblings

Life On the Farm – The Board Game

By Tracy Sayler

Want a winter pastime/gift idea that enables you to experience life on the farm, right at the kitchen table?  Then try Life on the Farm®, a board game developed by a brother and sister that is based on their experiences growing up on a farm.

Keith Gohl is a third generation family farmer from Pierz, Minn, a small town east of Little Falls.  Gohl came up with the idea for a board game about his “life on the farm” after spending a late evening with his city cousins.  After listening to Keith recall stories about farming, a comment was made that life on the farm sounds like it would be a lot of fun—if it was just a game.

That sparked the idea for a board game.  Keith asked his sister Ev to design the game, and their families spent the next two and a half years playing and refining it. They entered the prototype of their board game in an inventor’s contest—and won first place.

They started selling it in 1988 and sold about 5,000 games, mostly by word of mouth.  In 1996, they redesigned the game for broader market appeal.  Now, sales are approaching 100,000.  The games are sold in small “mom and pop” retail stores, by phone (1-800-937-3864) and through the Internet www.werfun.com . The game has even caught the eye of national toy retailers. It’s being test marketed by www.kbtoys.com and www.toysrus.com   this Christmas season.

Here’s how the game is played: You start off with $10,000 and no cattle. During the game, when you land on a “cattle auction” square, you may buy as many cows as you wish at $500 each. If you don’t have enough money to pay a bill, you must sell your cattle back to the bank at $300 each until that bill is paid (Notice that you’re selling for $200 less than what you paid for them— how typical). Each time you pass the barn you collect a milk check that is determined by how many cows you own. Of course, more cattle means your milk check is bigger — but so are your expenses. 

The game emulates real-life dairy farm experiences, including machinery repairs, feed costs, insurance, taxes, setbacks and mishaps (like a cow accidentally being shot by a hunter).  The first player to build a herd from 0 to 60 cows, and recover his or her original investment, retires (wins the game).

There’s a link on the game’s website for player feedback. “I bought Life on the Farm for my 21 year old,” writes Ethel. “To my surprise he and his friends started to play it instead of poker. They have a riot taking cows away from each other.”

Ev says Life on the Farm isn’t about running other players out of business, however. It’s about managing money and making the most out of what happens to you—  what life is really about on a family farm.

She says the game teaches money management skills, and is even used in some classrooms. “There’s more than just farmers buying this game,” says Ev.  “There’s also a lot of customers who have connections of some type, who get it for nostalgia.”