Plant virtual seeds, take home real fruits

Four-week contest in farming game will see players receive seasonal fruits like mangoes and oranges as reward

Being a virtual farmer has never been as rewarding. The next time you want to buy yourself a fruit basket, avoid the local supermarket. Instead, just log on to wwww.ibibo.com and play their popular virtual farming game, ibibo Farms Home-delivered fruits.

As part of its first-of-its kind contest, players will be able to grow seasonal fruits like mangoes and oranges virtually and get real fruits delivered at their doorstep daily as rewards for their efficient farming techniques. The contest will be on for four weeks, and each week will see a new fruit being added to the basket.

"In the past, we have taken real-life events and brought them into our social games. With this initiative, we are now doing the reverse — bringing events from the virtual world to real life. This step is in keeping with our philosophy of engaging with our users around locally contextual stories — the context this time being rising food prices," says Rahul Razdan, president, products and operations, ibibo web. The company has tied up with a fruit supplying company that engages in contract farming and is looking to deliver around 300 boxes of fruits to winners across the country.

Earn in-game rewards
To be a part of the contest, gamers need to start growing virtual mangoes in their ibibo Farms. They need to sow seeds, water the crops regularly and nurture them with fertilisers. As the crops grow, the farmers will also have to reap and harvest their produce on time. The more they grow, the more fruits they get as rewards. The winning farmers will get real fruits delivered to their doorstep on a daily basis. Each week, a new fruit will be added as the reward. For instance, during the first week, gamers will virtually grow mangoes and winners will receive them as gift hampers. Accordingly, second week is for apple, third for pear and the last week will see oranges being home delivered. "With rising food prices, a time may come when we will all have to become virtual farmers to enjoy these seasonal fruits. But for now, this game is a good way to enjoy some extra treats," says Tanvi Shah, 29, housewife. Happy farming.

To play the game, log on to ibibo.com