Township

Township is a unique blend of city building and farming. It is a freemium simulation video game available on multiple platforms and was developed by Playrix Entertainment.

Township was first made available as an Adobe Flash application on the social-networking website Facebook. Township was released for iOS on October 24, 2013 and Google Play (Android) on November 13, 2013. On February 16, 2014 it was released on the Amazon Appstore (Kindle). Published for macOS on June 12, 2014, and available for Windows Phone June 12, 2015.

Township is free to play, though some in-game items can also be purchased for real money. A network connection is required to play.

Gameplay
Township is a city-building game which contains farming elements. Players are guided through a brief tutorial at the very beginning of the game. The player begins with a starter town and in order to develop it they should harvest crops, run processing facilities and sell goods.

The primary currency in the game is coins while the premium currency is Tcash. The player earns XP (Experience points), coins, and Tcash for performing different actions, participating in events and completing achievements. Coins are used to buy goods, factories, community buildings, decorations and XP points are used to level up. As the player accumulates XP points and levels up a wider variety of crops, factories, buildings, decorations, expansions, islands and other features are unlocked.

The player can harvest crops, process them at factories, and sell goods to develop their dream town. There are many different buildings and decorations used to decorate the town and more are added with each update. On August 6, 2016 a new type of decoration was added which was upgradable. Upgradable decorations have multiple stages and if completed the player is rewarded with the finished decoration and Tcash. Fun, charismatic townspeople tell stories and request goods at the Heliport which can be fill to earn coins. Players can explore a mine packed with resources and ancient artifacts to discover and collect, and a zoo which can be built to breed lovable animals from around the world. As the game progresses the player is able to unlock and purchase more buildings, animals and zoo shops to expand the zoo, ships to trade with distant islands offering exotic goods, and more. Both farm and Zoo land can be expanded to open new cafes, restaurants, and other community buildings to give players Townships a unique style. Players can also add and play with Facebook and Google+ friends, or make new friends in the game community.

Crops
Most of the production comes from crops. The player starts with wheat but can eventually grow many other kinds of crops. To unlock them the player should grow the town’s population and level up. Crops can be used in the following ways - it’s possible to sell crops or invest resources in processing them.

Buildings
There are a number of different buildings including the players barn, houses, factories, community buildings, farm buildings and special buildings. The barn is where all of the players crops, goods, tools, ingots, and other items are stored. Ores are the only items which are stored in the mine's warehouse rather than the barn. Community buildings increase a players population cap and houses increase the population, which unlocks more community buildings to increase the population cap further. Five different farm buildings are available in the game including a cowshed, chicken coop, sheep farm, apiary, and pig farm which all produce their own goods. Factories let players process various crops into other products which in some cases can be used to produce even more products. As the player levels up more factories become available to be built, and all types of buildings and factories can be purchased for coins. Special buildings are one of a kind buildings that offer rewards or items/features which can be used make other aspects of the game easier and faster.

Places & Events
In Township the player begin in their own little city, but they can leave and visit friends or other neighbors cities at any time. At level 8 players can participate in limited time events involving the Township Community, in which you can earn special decorations and rewards. At that level the player also unlocks the first train, at level 19 the co-op building is unlocked to form or join a co-op and participate in Regattas, at level 29 they can send ships off to islands after unlocking the port, and at level 40 they are able to repair and start their own zoo. As the player levels up more buildings, trains, islands, zoo animals, and more become available.

Co-op
The update on June 3, 2016 added a big new feature called Co-ops. By restoring the co-op building at level 19 the player can create or join a co-op to have fun with friends in the game. As a leader the player can choose the badge, invite others, and promote members to different ranks to assist in Regattas. This feature also added chat to communicate with fellow co-op members as well as the ability to exchange goods for some coins, XP and clovers.

Regatta
On July 14, 2016 a new competition-based feature in addition to co-ops was added known as Regattas. Players can go to the Pier beside the co-op building to participate in global regattas that take place every week. Regattas are races consisting of co-op members who's goals are to complete tasks to sail their co-ops yacht further than others in the competition. Each player will gain points for completing tasks which in the end will offer rewards based on the co-ops final position and how many points/buoys they accumulated.

Social Interaction
Township encourages interactions between players through the social network Facebook. Keeping in touch with other players allows the player to develop their town faster by using friends help. In July 2015 a new update was released, introducing a zoo and the ability to help load friends planes and trains.

New crops, products, buildings and activities are added with each update from Playrix.

Zoo
Another huge addition to the game known as the Zoo was added as part of the July 2015 update. The new Zoo attraction is available for the player once the player reaches level 40 and rebuilds the bus stop. Players can build a Snack Bar, a cozy Cafe, a small Movie Theater, an Ice Cream Shop, a Gift Shop and more to keep visitors entertained and happy. At these Zoo Shops players sell goods and earn popularity points to unlock even more buildings, animal enclosures, and special Zoo decorations. After buying the first 2 animals players can breed 2 more of the same animal at the Nursery to complete the collection and earn Tcash rewards. New updates bring new animals which allow further upgrades of Zoo Shops, and Zoo expansions. Players can collect many different animals from around the world, and design their Zoo with unique decorations, and pathways/roads specially created for the Zoo.

Cheating
One of the problems in-game is the cheaters. Many players cheat to get unlimited coins and cash which break the balance of the game and ruin the enjoyment of it for others. This is especially problematic in Regattas where players pay Tcash to refresh tasks to complete races faster and/or obtain higher point tasks. There has been a constant battle with these cheaters and Playrix has since upgraded their auto-blocking system to block even more cheaters from the game. Once blocked a player can no longer communicate or request items in the co-op, or interact with anyone outside of their own Township.