The Farmer Was Replaced runs on Apple Silicon and Intel Macs. It is a programming game with no separate levels—just one persistent farm where you write code to control a drone. Everything you grow and harvest feeds into unlocking new technologies, and the game steps back and lets you figure out the mechanics on your own. Here is what you get in the box.
- A Python-like scripting language. Not actual Python, but close enough that loops, conditionals, and functions feel familiar.
- Persistent world with a reworked unlock tree. Resources accumulate across sessions, and every unlock reshapes what your drone can do.
- Multiple drones. Version 1.0 lets you manage more than one, so you can write routines that cooperate across the field.
- External editor support. Point VS Code or another editor at the save file and turn on File Watcher—the game picks up changes live.
- 11 supported languages. The interface ships in English, German, Japanese, Simplified Chinese, Korean, Russian, and five others.
- 50+ achievements and a refreshed soundtrack. The 1.0 release overhauled the audio, added a new music track, and brought in a full set of milestones to chase.
There is no hand-holding during tasks—no hints, no tutorials popping up. The language runs just deep enough to make you think, and the steady drip of unlocks keeps the loop tight. If you enjoy writing small scripts to solve tangible problems, the pieces here fit together without fuss.
Three games that also make you code, but not like this
There are a few programming games on macOS that scratch the same itch, but they pull in different directions. Here is how The Farmer Was Replaced sits alongside three others worth knowing.
- Human Resource Machine. That one wraps assembly-style drag-and-drop instructions inside an office satire. It is level-based and rigid—each floor has a single correct approach. The Farmer Was Replaced feels looser. You are writing real code in a text file, and the persistent farm means your solutions compound instead of resetting.
- 7 Billion Humans. Parallel worker puzzles with a visual language. Clever, but the focus is concurrency, not resource loops. The drone game leans harder into automation rhythms and gives you an unlock tree to chase, which stretches the session differently.
- Screeps. A full MMO where you program colony behaviour in actual JavaScript. Far steeper—persistent servers, other players, no pause. The Farmer Was Replaced trades that complexity for a calm, offline pace with a language gentle enough to learn as you go.
None of them do exactly what this one does: a single, quiet farm where your Python-like scripts grow alongside the tools you earn.
Start with one tile, not the whole farm
You start with a drone, a small patch of soil, and a blinking cursor. The first few hours shape whether the loop clicks or frustrates. Here is what helps.
Write the smallest thing that works first. Do not try to automate the whole field on day one. Make the drone plant three squares and harvest them. Watch it run. Then wrap that in a loop. The unlock tree gates speed, sensors, and extra drones behind real progress, and the quickest way forward is working code, not ambitious code.
Turn on File Watcher immediately. Point the game at its save folder, enable File Watcher in the settings, and open the .py file in VS Code or Sublime Text. Saving from an external editor pushes changes into the running game without a restart. The rhythm of edit-save-watch becomes second nature and cuts out menu friction.
Let the farm run while you think. The persistent world keeps ticking. If you are stuck on a logic problem, position the drone to harvest a slow crop and let it work. You return with resources banked and a fresh head. Progress does not stall just because you stepped away.
Version 1.0 rounds out the game with a few big additions and a lot of polish:
- Multiple drones you can program independently.
- A reworked unlock tree that reshapes mid-game progression.
- Over 50 achievements to hunt down.
- A complete sound overhaul plus one new music track.
- Support for 11 languages, including Russian, Korean, and Polish.
- Runs on both Apple Silicon and Intel Macs.
Questions from the stall
Does the game use real Python?
No—it uses a simple custom language that is similar to Python, so loops and conditions will feel familiar but it is its own thing.
Can I edit the code outside the game?
Yes. You can use editors like VS Code, and with File Watcher turned on the game detects external changes right away.
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