We may just have found our new favorite pastime: hours of laborious work in a field. At least, while we can enjoy it from our couch. Introducing... Farming Simulator 16. When Toni expressed surprise that Farming Simulator 16 was a game, he noted that many of his friends called it a living. But while it seems to make sense that the last thing a farmer would want to do when they get home is more farming, I have always found they are the game’s biggest fans. And if you want to simulate your way to farm yard glory then this is the game for you – as the franchises dedicated audiences in Poland, Germany, France, and - of course - America will attest. In Farming Simulator 16 your goal is to manage a farm. You start with a handful of essential tool available, but over time you will expand this building from the selection of 50 vehicles - including tractors and trailers. You must patiently harvest crops, preparation the field, and sow new seeds - choosing what kind of crop will be next. To help you select your crops, it is worth keeping an eye on the market prices. These tell you what is selling and for how much, with the ultimate goal of selling your goods for the most profit to further expand your farm. One advantage of having money is that you can hire farmhands help to tend to tasks while you focus on other things. But this costs money, so until you need to be multitasking, it is probably best to get your own hands dirty. Occasionally you will be given tasks that you can choose to carry out. Undertaking one of these will give you a time limit in which to reach the goal – but managing to complete the task will earn you some easy money. Farming simulator offers a few pointers here and there – but for the most part it leave it up to you to learn the ropes. This means experienced players can jump in without too many annoying tutorials, but you have never played the series before you will probably have a few questions as there is a lot going on. Fortunately there is a comprehensive 23 page instruction manual is just a few clicks away. The farm and town around it is an open-world, with graphics that manage to look good even on the small screen. Even with this detail, the game manages to keep things clear enough that you can tell when a field is ready to be harvested – even when sun goes down and you have to turn on your headlights. The gameplay is surprisingly responsive too, with the choice gyro inputs of touch controls – though we did tend to side with the more understated touch option. Farming Simulator 16 has continued to build on the franchise, with new types of crops and machinery. For example, you now have the option to cut down trees. But the biggest news for the new mobile version of the series is the inclusion of multiplayer. With your Bluetooth and Wi-Fi turned on you can connect with a nearby friend and start building your manure monopoly together – even if the ability to both wrestle with a single vehicle controls at the same time feels a little strange and regularly results in crashes. Don’t worry though, even the worst crash won’t result in you hurting your tractor (however much you want it to). Like so many sims now, Farming Simulator 16 turns what should be a taxing job into something fun, and strangely relaxing. With its mix of SimCity style management, and hands on farming, there is more here than you may expect to keep you involved.