FarmVille is a Facebook game by Zynga that has taken the site by storm. As of this writing there are over 58,500,000 active users playing the game. That's a lot of people huh?

To be honest, when I got my first gift with a request for something, I think it was one of the trees, I had no idea what it was all about. I never played the game and a friend just sent this random gift. I was like, what the heck is this and just deleted it. Then I started to watch more of my friends play and find wandering animals or get ribbons an other accomplishments that they posted. I still didn't really get it but figured what the heck and gave it a try.

So basically FarmVille is about virtual farming. You start out with 6 plowed patches, 2 with full grown crops, 2 half grown and 2 unplanted. You will have 200 coins and 5 FarmVille dollars. This is where it all begins. This is your very own little farm in the country away from real life. As you play you will expand your farm as you see fit adding different types of crops, trees, equipment to help you farm, buildings, animals and much more. It sounds so simple at first but there really is a lot to the game and it does take a little commitment if you want to succeed and level up. FarmVille can be a very relaxing game. You can play every day or just occasionally drop by, plant some seeds and harvest some fields while hangin out with your fellow farmers. I couldn't believe it but once you get started you will most likely be hooked.

If you want to level up in FarmVille it's all about the experience points. You get experience points for just about everything you do so getting points is not much of a problem. The biggest thing to remember is your level gets higher you will need more and more points to advance. In the beginning stages you will gain enough experience from just doing your basic farming such as plowing, harvesting, etc. Once you move up then you will want to plan a little more ahead. Save some money from your crops to buy decorations and other items to improve your farm. These items will get you much bigger experience boosts and you will be able to level up much quicker then with just your day to day farming.

What you plant and how much time you have to harvest is also important. Crops that take less then a day to grow will get you 1 experience point but crops that take longer will get you 2 experience points. The thing to remember is you can actually get more experience with the shorter harvests as long as you can keep up on them. Strawberries only take 4 hours to grow so you can easily get 3-4 experience points with them as long as you are able to harvest them every 4 hours. If your time is limited then go with the longer crops so you can get the most points for your time.

Adding Building is the best way to add experience points but also the most expensive. You will need a lot of money to buy these buildings but as long as you budget it right the reward is well worth it. By following some of these basic guidelines you will be well on your way to unlocking all the available items in FarmVille. If you really want to learn how to advance quickly, make more money both coins and FarmDollars, and level up quickly you should check out FarmVille Secrets. This i the best guide from top to bottom on everything that is FarmVille and its is updated regularly.

 A great way to earn a nice chunk of cash and experience is through ribbons. There are 14 categories of ribbons and each has 4 levels. The levels are represented by color in this order; Yellow, White, Red and Blue. Another great thing about ribbons is if one of your friends gets a ribbon and wants to "share the wealth" you can get some bonus cash that way. Remember to share the wealth yourself when you can as it will encourage your friends to do the same and your money can start to pile up quickly.

The 14 catagorys of ribbons are:

Local Celebrity for acquiring neighbors

Good Samaritan for doing chores for your neighbors

High Roller for earning money

A Pretty Penny for spending your money

Cream Of The Crop for harvesting crops

Knock On Wood for harvesting fruit from trees

Zoologist for collecting goods from your animals( Milk from a cow for example)

Architect for putting up buildings

Pack Rat for decorating your farm

Animal Shelter for kindness to lost animals

Green Thumb for growing a number of different crops(variety)

Tree Hugger for growing a number of different trees(variety)

Noah's Ark for collecting products from different types of animals

Not Spoiled, Gifted for getting different,unique items (gifts) from friends