Farm Fables is an extremely charming time management game brimming with rich graphics and an abundance of adorable farm animals for you to tend to. Travel through the seasons from summer to winter as you tackle some seriously challenging levels that require you to plant wheat, feed your chickens, and produce quality farm products to sell.

It's been a long and tiring week, and the last thing I wanted to try was a game that was going to raise my blood pressure. So, gazing at those limpid eyes of the warm and woolly sheep from the game Farm Fables, I thought perhaps I'd found something that could provide me with some quiet relaxation time as I watched the Olympics this weekend. Yeah... fat chance of that happening right?

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You know I can't help obsess with getting the best score. I am a highly competitive person, and I tend to be a bit bull-doggish when it comes to winning, even if it's just me competing against the clock. Silly me. I thought I would sit here at home, drink a cold beer, and relax by planting some crops and feeding some sheep. And honestly there was nothing to stop me from doing that... except that silly little countdown letting me know how much time I had left in order to get my gold star for the level.

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Why?! Why can't I just let that stupid thing go past that mark? I would have a much more enjoyable and relaxing time if I just nonchalantly meandered my way through the levels, stopping to appreciate the beautifully textured plants and animals that adorned my screen.

But nope... instead I was furiously clicking to plant, water, and harvest my crops in order to get my prize... sigh. So much for low blood pressure. It's probably overrated anyhow.

Farm Fables is quite an addicting little game, although it's a bit light on storyline. There's really not much going on except another distraught red-head who inherits a farm and who is in financial distress. Only with your help can she turn things around and make this farm a profitable business.... you've heard it all before. I never knew how many gingers got into farming until I started playing these farm games... it's apparently a requirement. Good thing I never felt the desire to participate in back-breaking work my whole life.

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Anyhow, if there's any one defining feature of Farm Fables, I'd have to say it was the graphics. They were very unique, brilliantly colorful, and beautifully textured. The sheep were little fuzz balls that puttered around the screen practically oozing cuteness and the crops had great detail and wonderful movement that let you easily imagine them gently bending in the breeze. It was a nice change from your normal farm time management games and it was extremely well done and fun to experience. Gameplay? Nothing new here. If you've played other time management games in this genre, you'll have no trouble forging your way through this game. You click to plant crops, click to water them, and then click to harvest.

Once crops are harvested, you can decide to sell them or put them through another process in order to make more money or achieve the goal level. For example, wheat can be made into flour, and then flour can be made into bread. Flour and eggs from your chickens can make pasta and corn can be turned into corn oil if you have the right equipment.

Nothing will travel with you from level to level, so you can focus on the goals of that particular level and not worry about the impact it will have later in the game. If you need to sell your chickens to make that last extra $100, then go for it... or if you're like me, you will want to hang on to them because you love them and you've named each and every one of them... sorry, I have a special place in my heart for chickens... I had a very affectionate one as a pet growing up... hey, I never claimed to be normal.

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Moving on. Music... the music made me laugh out loud a few times, it was somewhat bizarre and yet extremely endearing at the same time. It was a jaunty little piano tune that reminded me of old rag-time music as it bounced along from level to level. It never got annoying for some reason, and I had really thought that it would quickly grow old and melt my eardrums. Somehow it actually fit in with the fresh green environment of your farm, and I even found myself tapping my foot along with it at times. Hmmmm maybe that's just me getting old or something but I liked it.

Overall, Farm Fables was a nice little breath of fresh air in the stodgy old farm time management game genre. It was charming and pretty to look at, and I had a hard time taking a break from it, which to me is what really makes a great game. If I don't want to stop playing, the developers did something right and they really hit this one on the head without too much fanfare or fuss. If you're a fan of farm type games, be sure to check out Farm Fables... and try... you just try to not want to get a gold star every time... it's impossible!