Inactive Farmers

I did try to search, but the results kept bringing me to another game's forum... not sure what other games SC does :D didn't read them that closely

Meanwhile, I'm dangerously close to my 140 friend limit in game. I don't like adding people to facebook just to game with them. It hasn't gone well with other games in the past...
This only leaves me the option to cull. But I don't want to remove someone who plays when I'm away. We might both miss out on something. And I can't keep tabs on over 100 players. Of course I recognize some people as active, but there are lots of question marks.

So I'm wondering, is there any way to tell if a farm is inactive?

A few have been obviously inactive. For example, a building was purchased and sat for a good week without anyone opening the pretty package. That was an easy one to remove. Then some others who are very low level (when its fairly easy to level up), I give them a week to gain a level or make some RSS sales or something, and if there's no movement, I have to assume they quit and remove them.

This was working for a while, but now I'm really down to the minimum amount of people without REALLY getting into stalking them to figure it out. And who wants to stalk a dead farm? LOL (sorry if that's a bad joke, I have noticed the stalker complaints).


If there isn't a way to tell for sure... what is your strategy? or do you just get full and not care anymore?

I will look at their machines to see if any of them are running. I know my machines are pretty much constantly running, regardless if I am online or not. If not a single one is producing, that's a fairly obvious indication of inactivity. Also, all animals are either hungry or ready to collect from.

You can try checking to see if there is any land that has not been opened. Such as big tracts of land that were added sometime last year. On low level farms, you can try to make note of what level they are and come back to them in a a week or so to see if that has changed. Usually a player will level up whether they are trying or not early on.

I usually check to see if theres any changes with their crops that have been planted. Or if there are changes of the trees that need watering.

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Originally Posted by TroutnessEverdeen

I will look at their machines to see if any of them are running. I know my machines are pretty much constantly running, regardless if I am online or not. If not a single one is producing, that's a fairly obvious indication of inactivity. Also, all animals are either hungry or ready to collect from.

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I used to think that the machines running and animals being active was a sign of activity, but is not. I have a baby farm that I have not been able to access for a year, but if I visit my baby farm, the cows look like the have just been fed and my sugan and feed mill are running; so it is possible to have an inactive friend and their farm still showing signs of activity.

When I'm curious I do a screenshot & compare with new shot a few days later.

The easiest way for me is to check the status of their bees.

if the bees are working, then the person has been actively playing in the last 20 or so minutes

if the bees are not working, then I take a mental screen shot of the nectars, how many, any white?

if the nectars have changed the next time I look, then there has been activity.

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Originally Posted by WussyPuss

The easiest way for me is to check the status of their bees.

if the bees are working, then the person has been actively playing in the last 20 or so minutes

if the bees are not working, then I take a mental screen shot of the nectars, how many, any white?

if the nectars have changed the next time I look, then there has been activity.

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I play every day but I dont have my bees working all the time.

some very good ideas here! maybe not any single one, but I didn't think to check for bees - that's a good sign - for lower levels I also consider how long the same items have been sitting in their shop. I do border on stalking (I visit everyone like at least once every couple of hours), but that doesn't work for higher levels. They may not collect because they don't need the coin.

I was really hoping for an "Aha!" moment :D but still, some things to consider, and I very much appreciate your feedback :)

part of me wishes I could add more people, but it already takes me 10 minutes to do a single round of visiting, so 140 is optimal for me.

Well there is one person in my friend list who still has 'happy new year 2017' in their name... :D But other than that, I don't know! :saywhat:

I know I'm not a very efficient player, so there probably are times when none of my machines are running. I play every day, though!

I asked Nick, again, the other day, if they would please give us more spaces as they said they would when it was introduced.

He said he’s ‘taken note’ but it certainly wouldn’t hurt if you wanted to post on my thread...

https://forum.supercell.com/showthre...ease-please%21

But yes, some EASY way of identifying who has been inactive for a period of time would be fab. As would the game ‘skipping past’ farms who have empty RSS’s when you’re going from farm to farm via the RSS.

Ages ago someone suggested that after a period of inactive time a spiderweb could adorn the Farm. I do NOT want an ‘active’ indicator on my farm, I like to farm in peace and chat if/when I want to, however, I think if someone hasn't opened the game in 6 months, there would be no harm in letting others know that.

still on topic... sort of

what does it mean on a Thursday if people have puzzle icons next to their boat dock?

Do they get random puzzle ships? or has it been sitting there since Monday waiting for this person to load the game?

It's quite difficult to determine whether a farm is inactive. For example, I have a baby farm that I only get to infrequently. I haven't been there for probably about 2 weeks and it is still merrily ticking along as viewed through my friend list. All the machines are working apparently, the animals are all awake and cruising around, everything looks completely normal. Other abandoned farms look unused in that the animals are asleep and the machines are silent. One can really only tell whether a farm is still operating by screenshotting the suspect farm at various intervals and comparing them which is rather a lot of effort or making a note of their level and comparing that over time, as suggested above.

I like the cobweb suggestion. That would at least tell us that the farm is on hiatus. However, with regard to removing inactive friends, if they are GC friends then you are stuck with them unless you want to delete all your GC friends.

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Originally Posted by RoseRed

It's quite difficult to determine whether a farm is inactive. For example, I have a baby farm that I only get to infrequently. I haven't been there for probably about 2 weeks and it is still merrily ticking along as viewed through my friend list. All the machines are working apparently, the animals are all awake and cruising around, everything looks completely normal. Other abandoned farms look unused in that the animals are asleep and the machines are silent. One can really only tell whether a farm is still operating by screenshotting the suspect farm at various intervals and comparing them which is rather a lot of effort or making a note of their level and comparing that over time, as suggested above.

I like the cobweb suggestion. That would at least tell us that the farm is on hiatus. However, with regard to removing inactive friends, if they are GC friends then you are stuck with them unless you want to delete all your GC friends.

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You can remove single gamecenter friends if you have an older device to login to, either mobile or desktop, running ios9 or lower or mavericks or lower.

The way to tell activity level with running machines is to pay attention to which machines are running, not just whether or not they are. Regardless of whether or not the machines were last running, when the person last played, that is how they will stay until the person comes on again. For instance if 10 of 12 machines are running, and every time you look those same machines are running, in addition to the same animals being happily fed versus hungry, and the number of fields and how many are planted. If all of these things are the same every time you look, then the farm is likely inactive. On active farms, even if they try to keep everything running, and their animals happily fed, there will be times when one building is forgotten, and the animals will be in different places when waiting to be milked and fed etc. Also the crops will change (even if they are using some of their crops as decorations, they will probably not be using all their crops as decorations).

In my experience I have noticed that when an active farmer needs to take a break from the game and they are planning to return, they often put something in their farm name saying they are away, or when they'll return. (This is of course not very helpful if you do not understand the language their farm name is in).

Mostly just pay attention. If I suspect a farm is inactive, then I will try to check on it several times during the day, then if nothing changes, come back about a week or so later and see if anything has changed. (Checking the level on low level farms is a good method too, but doesn't work so well on higher level farms). You should also determine how active a farm needs to be for you to consider it an active farm. If they come on once every 2 weeks, while technically active, is that active enough for you to want to keep them in your friends list? Or if they are active every other day, is that often enough? not often enough? Once you have determined that, go ahead and remove anyone who does not meet the criteria you set.

The RSS is not a good way, as on my farm I usually fill it up, then head to bed, and don't collect the coins till I come back on the next day, so there are several hours where there are a bunch of coins waiting for me to come and get them :) There are likely a ton of other players who do not watch their RSS to pounce on the coins as soon as something is purchased, every time they sell something. I suspect there are also some users who like to fill their shop, and leave the things there for long periods of time just because they can too, even if they are otherwise actively playing.

Regarding your question about puzzle piece boats showing on Thursday, there are some players who do not play daily. Or who do not send their boats away when they are full, and wait for the full 15-17 hours the boat stays before it leaves on its own, then if they are away for more than 4 hours that would delay the boats arrival. In my experience, puzzle piece boats seem to be 2 of the first 3 or 4 boats of the week, so if someone only comes on once a day, or waits for their boats to expire, and delays their return, then the puzzle boats would show up mid week. Or the person could have been busy for a few days at the beginning of the week, and they are just now able to get their puzzle boats.

No such luck! All devices are running iOS 11 or High Sierra.

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Originally Posted by RoseRed

No such luck! All devices are running iOS 11 or High Sierra.

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A family member or friend may have an old device or one that needs charging, just laying around... it does not need to be yours:blush:

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Originally Posted by EllunaHellen

Well there is one person in my friend list who still has 'happy new year 2017' in their name... :D But other than that, I don't know! :saywhat:

I know I'm not a very efficient player, so there probably are times when none of my machines are running. I play every day, though!

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I guess I have the same friend ;) I guess he/she simply forgot to change his/her farm name as I know that he/she is still playing (rss is filled from time to time).

I still haven‘t mastered my bees yet, so please, friends, don‘t kick me because my bees are not flying around all the time :cool:

Usually I watch my friends rss. It‘s harder to tell that they stopped playing when they never sell anything though.

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Originally Posted by bender018

I guess I have the same friend ;) I guess he/she simply forgot to change his/her farm name as I know that he/she is still playing (rss is filled from time to time).

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Really! I hadn't noticed (I don't look through my friend list all that often, LOL). Thanks for telling me that, now I won't kick them out :) (or perhaps it's someone else anyway, who knows :P)

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Originally Posted by Rebecca1519

Regarding your question about puzzle piece boats showing on Thursday, there are some players who do not play daily. Or who do not send their boats away when they are full, and wait for the full 15-17 hours the boat stays before it leaves on its own, then if they are away for more than 4 hours that would delay the boats arrival. In my experience, puzzle piece boats seem to be 2 of the first 3 or 4 boats of the week, so if someone only comes on once a day, or waits for their boats to expire, and delays their return, then the puzzle boats would show up mid week. Or the person could have been busy for a few days at the beginning of the week, and they are just now able to get their puzzle boats.

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LOL bit of a novel, but I read it all. Thanks for the input :)

I am curious... why would anyone leave a boat sit for hours and hours and hours... full....

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Originally Posted by Vever

LOL bit of a novel, but I read it all. Thanks for the input :)

I am curious... why would anyone leave a boat sit for hours and hours and hours... full....

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I have done this as I contemplate a boat task :rolleyes:

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Originally Posted by WussyPuss

I have done this as I contemplate a boat task :rolleyes:

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Me too!

Also, this is not *hours*, but I will also leave it sitting there for a bit if a puzzle/booster boat event is starting. I'm not wasting 4 hours of event time!

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Originally Posted by WussyPuss

I have done this as I contemplate a boat task :rolleyes:

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this makes sense of course, but I was thinking... I do see lots of boats just sitting for hours and hours, some full, some not, some helps maybe... various states.


I also noticed boat score bonuses for time... and I'm wondering once i hit a certain point, will I just not care about how fast a boat goes? Although I suspect I'll continue working them the same way, which is fill it now, or send it away and hope the next boat is easier (which is often the case). I actually do not do any ships (sans event/derby) that require sugar, syrup, butter, cheese, etc - only finished crafts. If I MUST do a boat full of the basics, I make sure to make them myself and not rely on outside help. I'm sure everyone has better things they want to put their butter into!

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Originally Posted by Vever

this makes sense of course, but I was thinking... I do see lots of boats just sitting for hours and hours, some full, some not, some helps maybe... various states.

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For one, I expect many players don't actually know you can send boats off completely unfilled. I used to play on my mum's account and it took us a while to figure it out.

Some people may decide to get the XP/coins for the boat crates they can fill, then leave the crates they can't do unfilled.

I've seen some people say they leave the boat there, filled, ready to go, for several hours. Because it allows them to restock before the next one.

Might also be that someone loaded up their machines with needed products, flagged a few crates for help, then went to school/work/bed/elsewhere, for several hours.

When there is no event going on, I sometimes let them sit and time out simply because I don’t want them bothering me every 4 hours :smirk:

I like to leave a boat sitting for a few hours before I go to bed, that way I can send the boat I have (either full or empty) and prepare for the next one overnight, without having to worry about it showing up 5 minutes before I plan to sign off for the night.

Vever, for the average farmer the boat score bonus does not really affect much. It would be important if you wanted to get on the boat leaderboards, but at this point you would need to buy and spend a ton of diamonds to even get anywhere close to the top 200. Whether or not you will care about how fast boats leave is up to you of course, you will likely get to the point where you can either fill the boat immediately or decide to send it away immediately. It sounds like you are already playing this way though.

Other than checking the farm for a few days, I’m not really sure what to say. I would check crops, machines and the mailbox.

However, I would really make sure as best as you can that they are inactive before you delete them. I got deleted this morning from someone’s farm that I’ve been friends with for a while and it really hurt my feelings. They know my farm is active because I filled a couple of crates on their boat just two days ago with 40 bread.

I will now be extra careful before deleting a farm and only delete when I’m sure.

If nothing on their farm moves for 72 hours they are done.
sorry not sorry but i've seen those 'ill be gone for a while i have a family emergency/my kid is sick/i'm going on vacation/i have lots of work'.
last time i checked hayday is not a real farm and i find is astronomically unlikely for people to not use their phone for 'a while' or not spend their entire day on facebook or googling stuff or texting... Popping in for 10 minutes a day to load your machines is hardly a task... You spend more time on the toilet doing nothing everyday.

the end.

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Originally Posted by IrishSmurf

Other than checking the farm for a few days, I’m not really sure what to say. I would check crops, machines and the mailbox.

However, I would really make sure as best as you can that they are inactive before you delete them. I got deleted this morning from someone’s farm that I’ve been friends with for a while and it really hurt my feelings. They know my farm is active because I filled a couple of crates on their boat just two days ago with 40 bread.

I will now be extra careful before deleting a farm and only delete when I’m sure.

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Oh, I really hope that wasn’t me. If it was, please let me know!

I’m having a really hard time making spaces for a new people so we can trade or whatever. I HATE deleting people, but sometimes there’s no option and when someone is waiting to trade I don’t have a lot of time to see how active several players have been.

I have asked Nick, again, to please increase the capacity of the Friends Book as they said they would.

In the meantime, I just hope I don’t accidentally upset anyone and if I delete you and you’re active please let me know.

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Originally Posted by IrishSmurf

Other than checking the farm for a few days, I’m not really sure what to say. I would check crops, machines and the mailbox.

However, I would really make sure as best as you can that they are inactive before you delete them. I got deleted this morning from someone’s farm that I’ve been friends with for a while and it really hurt my feelings. They know my farm is active because I filled a couple of crates on their boat just two days ago with 40 bread.

I will now be extra careful before deleting a farm and only delete when I’m sure.

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I would suggest you go read my thread in Bugs. I suspect you have a GC error caused by something in Hay Day. Many of us have noticed that yesterday we lost about 50% of our GC friends. FWIW several in this thread here have disappeared from mine (including you and Smallchange).

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Originally Posted by WussyPuss

When there is no event going on, I sometimes let them sit and time out simply because I don’t want them bothering me every 4 hours :smirk:

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now this! this makes sense to me! :D

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Originally Posted by Rebecca1519

Vever, for the average farmer the boat score bonus does not really affect much.

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Mostly I'm just trying to get boat points for that 50 diamond bonus achievement.


Everyone here makes a lot of sense. I feel like I should have figured some of this out on my own, now that I see it in black and white.

I am now looking forward even more to getting that achievement and being mostly done with boats altogether. This morning they wanted cherry juice and apple jam. That was just way too many popular town items for me to give them up, so I sent it away, even though I could easily fill it. I'd rather feed the townies.

As for suspected inactive farms, I'm not really getting anywhere. A few lower level people maybe, but I have a pretty awesome list of 140, where it seems like they all post - at least something, even if it's just eggs - on a daily basis.

It would be nice if SC could have them simply drop off my friends list by themselves after X days/weeks. I'm inclined to agree with Rivaille somewhat. Maybe not 72 hours, because I might go away for a weekend, and of course I have my phone with me, but logging on just to fill ovens is optimistic. I do that once a day already - try to do it quickly, and sometimes get stuck for an hour. If I'm busy/away/whatever, best for me not to go in there at all. I have no self control! LOL


Since SC is not likely to do that, I'm also going to call for that neighbor increase. 140 is a lot for me, but I'd rather have double that, than have to delete good, strong, active players.

Rivaille, I went on holiday in Ireland once, and had no mobile data. I may have checked (or tried to) in a couple of times on the fairly dodgy wifi, but other than that I was definitely not active for a couple of days.

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Originally Posted by Vever

now this! this makes sense to me! :D



Mostly I'm just trying to get boat points for that 50 diamond bonus achievement.


Everyone here makes a lot of sense. I feel like I should have figured some of this out on my own, now that I see it in black and white.

I am now looking forward even more to getting that achievement and being mostly done with boats altogether. This morning they wanted cherry juice and apple jam. That was just way too many popular town items for me to give them up, so I sent it away, even though I could easily fill it. I'd rather feed the townies.

As for suspected inactive farms, I'm not really getting anywhere. A few lower level people maybe, but I have a pretty awesome list of 140, where it seems like they all post - at least something, even if it's just eggs - on a daily basis.

It would be nice if SC could have them simply drop off my friends list by themselves after X days/weeks. I'm inclined to agree with Rivaille somewhat. Maybe not 72 hours, because I might go away for a weekend, and of course I have my phone with me, but logging on just to fill ovens is optimistic. I do that once a day already - try to do it quickly, and sometimes get stuck for an hour. If I'm busy/away/whatever, best for me not to go in there at all. I have no self control! LOL


Since SC is not likely to do that, I'm also going to call for that neighbor increase. 140 is a lot for me, but I'd rather have double that, than have to delete good, strong, active players.

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I sometimes take weeks off, once (after husband died) took months away from the game. In our summer season, I play little. Like maybe one very quick run thru a.m./p.m., only to fill machines. I try to remember to put notice on my farm sign.

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Originally Posted by FruitDaddy

I would suggest you go read my thread in Bugs. I suspect you have a GC error caused by something in Hay Day. Many of us have noticed that yesterday we lost about 50% of our GC friends. FWIW several in this thread here have disappeared from mine (including you and Smallchange).

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Oh no :(. I just checked, mine are all still there...for now. I’m trying to move my friends across to my Friends Book to keep them safe from GC whims, but obviously that’s not an easy task!

I tried to PM you with my tag so you could friend me if you wanted to, but it said you had PM’s turned off. Please Pm/kik whatever if you’d like to add me again.

I have lost GC friends. Some there since the start of my game playing years ago.

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Originally Posted by SmallChange

Oh no :(. I just checked, mine are all still there...for now. I’m trying to move my friends across to my Friends Book to keep them safe from GC whims, but obviously that’s not an easy task!

I tried to PM you with my tag so you could friend me if you wanted to, but it said you had PM’s turned off. Please Pm/kik whatever if you’d like to add me again.

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Sadly this doesn't work. If one player can still see the other, the system seems to still think you are already friends and the add through tags won't work. I already tried this earlier with someone.

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Originally Posted by Bestajunior

I have lost GC friends. Some there since the start of my game playing years ago.

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This is sad :(

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Originally Posted by EllunaHellen

This is sad :(

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What is sadder is how few have noticed they lost friends. To me it shows they rarely if ever look at their friends tab. Or just jump to the conclusion that folks deleted them.

And what is annoying is that folks who were "friends" on both GC and FB won't show. In other words, the FB friend status appears not to override the loss of the GC friend status. Besta is a prime example of this for me as she still appears on my FB friends list but is nowhere to be found in my game after almost 4 years in that list. And even sadder for me is my baby farm is a victim too of the disappearing act although I can work around that by inviting it into my nh.

I like the cobweb idea someone mentioned. Either that, or simply an indicator that says exactly the last time someone signed into their farm.

There are some good tips in this thread, but what we really need is something that is accurate and doesn't require a guessing game.

Check their RSS to see if things they are selling keep changing or not

Take a screenshot of thier fields, check if the crop pattern gas changed a week later.

Although there are many good 'indicators' stated here, I have had several followers (who seemed to have no change/activity on their farm) re-appear and buy from my RSS, or help me after several months, or even YEARS have lapsed. Continual derby demotions and non level advancements are also something I look for in addition to what others have stated (but again, this doesn't mean they have quit the game altogether. It's really your call...)