About This Game

phpFarm is now available in Early Access.

Program your own farm, join Fred on his first contracts and help him bring order back to the chaos left behind by his missing developer.

Automate your farm with real PHP code

Write programs, let your robot Fred execute them and turn your harvest into new abilities.

The last developer has disappeared. There is no staging environment, no backup and no ticket system. All that remains is a farm, an index.php and Fred, a small robot that does exactly what you program him to do.

Write your code directly in the integrated editor. Fred executes it on the field, plants resources and harvests whatever grows there. Your harvest is converted into biomass, which you can use to unlock new PHP features, tools, seeds and larger fields.

Then you write your code again. Only better, faster and more efficient.

Unlock PHP step by step

At the beginning, you only have access to basic commands such as harvest(). Loops, custom functions, arrays, foreach and switch must be earned.

You unlock each new ability using biomass produced with the commands already available to you. By the time you finally unlock a loop, you will know exactly why you need it. After all, you have spent long enough working without one.

phpFarm uses a PHP interpreter developed specifically for the game. It allows language features to be unlocked gradually and connects your programming progress directly to the expansion of your farm.

An extensive skill tree gives you the freedom to unlock new PHP features, tools, seeds and farm upgrades step by step while choosing your own path of progression.

Varied missions, contracts, achievements, free automation and the hunt for better tick scores ensure that there are always new goals after finding your first working solution.

For beginners and experienced developers

You do not need any previous PHP experience to start playing phpFarm. New commands and programming concepts are introduced step by step and tested directly on the field.

If you already know how to program, you can develop your own solutions, skip optional assistance and optimise your code to use as few lines and ticks as possible.

Whether this is your first encounter with PHP or you have years of experience, you decide how to program your farm and how quickly you want to progress.

Errors that actually help you

Errors are part of programming. In phpFarm, they do more than simply tell you that something went wrong.

Every error message shows you the exact line and column, explains the problem clearly and suggests a possible solution. This allows you to learn while writing your code without constantly opening an external tutorial.

No cryptic messages. No unexpected T_VARIABLE. Just errors you can learn from.

Real PHP instead of a simplified imitation

Dollar signs, semicolons, curly brackets and dynamic typing. phpFarm is based on the real syntax and distinctive features of PHP.

The farm API remains clear and consistent. The game is allowed to make jokes about PHP, but never at the expense of the gameplay.

An extensive mission system

A large mission system guides you from your first harvest on a single field to a farm that manages itself completely.

The missions introduce new commands, resources and gameplay mechanics step by step. Later, you will need to complete multiple objectives within a single mission, plan your routes, grow different resources and adapt your code to larger fields.

Every programming concept is introduced exactly when you need it. Use a loop for a row, plan a route across a larger field and use arrays when a single variable is no longer enough.

Follow the trail of the missing developer

As you rebuild the farm, you will discover messages and letters left behind by the previous developer. They reveal more about the story and show what happened on the farm before he disappeared.

With every new resource and completed mission, you piece together more of the story. Some questions remain unanswered. Why is there no backup? What happened to the old system? And why was Fred the one left behind?

Your code, your solution

There is never just one correct solution in phpFarm. Use loops, conditions, functions and arrays in whichever way suits your strategy.

You can complete a mission as quickly as possible, solve it with very little code or fully automate your farm. As long as Fred reaches his goal, the solution belongs to you.

In free play, you can develop your own processes, try new strategies and gradually expand your farm to a maximum size of 8 × 8 fields.

Seven resources for your automation

Every new resource changes the requirements of your code. New seeds, larger fields and different processes ensure that you must continuously expand and improve your programs.

• Grass accompanies you through your first automation tasks.
• Radishes introduce the first new seed to your farm.
• Flowers produce more biomass and make efficient processes especially valuable.
• Tomatoes require new planting and harvesting routines.
• Aubergines put your existing field logic to the test once again.
• Bamboo continues to grow while you harvest it.
• Carrots are among the later unlocks for your farm.

The farm does not stop moving when your code finishes. Obstacles can block Fred's path, your harvest fills the container and is then processed into biomass by the press.

You can use this biomass to unlock new language features, tools, seeds and upgrades. Your farm grows alongside everything you can program with PHP.

A dedicated contract system for your farm

After making your first progress, numerous contracts will be waiting for you. Produce the required resources, plan your growing areas and develop programs that allow Fred to complete the requested deliveries reliably.

Every contract places new demands on your automation. Sometimes the correct resource matters, sometimes a larger quantity and sometimes a particularly fast or efficient solution.

Completed contracts reward your progress and give you new reasons to improve your existing programs. A working solution is often only the beginning.

Missions, contracts and achievements

Complete missions, fulfil contracts and unlock achievements for special solutions and unusual accomplishments.

Some challenges reward speed, while others reward using as little code as possible or creating particularly efficient automation. Sometimes, simply making a mistake that every PHP developer knows is enough.

Find a better solution

Every run is measured in ticks. Your program may work. But is it efficient?

Optimise your routes, avoid unnecessary commands and develop solutions that require less code and fewer ticks. There is almost always a faster, shorter or smarter approach.

Thanks to the deterministic simulation, the same script will always produce the same result under the same conditions. This allows you to compare your solutions reliably and improve them systematically.

Programming in a cosy farming world

phpFarm combines real programming challenges with a friendly and relaxing farming world. While Fred moves across the field, your plants grow, machines process your harvest and your automation gradually takes shape.

There is no pressure to find the perfect solution. Experiment, make mistakes and immediately see how your code affects the farm.

The Early Access farm will continue to grow

phpFarm is now available in Early Access and will be continuously expanded and improved.

Future updates are planned to include additional PHP features, more missions, new contracts, further automation options and additional story content.

Start your farm, program Fred and discover what the previous developer left behind.

Your code is ready. Fred is waiting for his next command.

AI Generated Content Disclosure

The developers describe how their game uses AI Generated Content like this:

Some 3D models, props and images were created with the help of generative AI tools and then edited and integrated by the developer. No AI-generated content is created during gameplay.