Want to grow crops, get to know characters, and face enemies in the same game? These three farming games include all of that. The main difference is how much danger you want when you leave the farm.

Pick one by the kind of play you want

  • Sun Haven: choose this if you want magic, romance, and a setting that can stop enemies from hurting your character. The fighting stays in the game.
  • Fae Farm: choose this if you want a colorful fairy-world farm, dates, and dungeon trips with creatures called Jumbles.
  • Stardew Valley: choose this if you want a farm and village with many characters, plus monster fights when you explore the Mines.

1. Sun Haven: more control over danger

Sun Haven mixes farming, decorating, relationships, magic, and fights with monsters. You can date and marry characters. The game also has bosses, so its bright art does not mean every activity is calm.

A colorful farm and settlement sit beside waterfalls in Sun Haven.
Sun Haven lets you build a farm in a fantasy world.

Sun Haven has an invincibility setting and a way to change the length of a day. Invincibility can make fights less stressful because enemies cannot hurt you, but you will still see combat. If you want farming and romance with control over that risk, start here.

2. Fae Farm: a fairy-world farm and dungeon trips

Fae Farm lets you tend a homestead, decorate, meet villagers, and go on dates. You can also explore dungeons and fight Jumbles. Those trips are a real part of the game, so this is a choice for someone who wants both farming and action.

Two characters explore a cave with small creatures in Fae Farm.
Fae Farm includes cave trips alongside work on the farm.

Start by deciding which activity interests you more: making your home and meeting people, or going into dungeons. If you want a game with no enemies, this one will not fit.

3. Stardew Valley: a village and dangerous Mines

Stardew Valley begins with an old farm. You can grow crops, raise animals, meet villagers, and build relationships. The developer lists 12 characters you can marry. The Mines add monsters and weapons to the game.

The farmer talks with Abigail in her room in Stardew Valley.
Meeting villagers is part of life in Stardew Valley.

Choose Stardew Valley if you like the idea of tending a farm and learning about a village, and you are also willing to fight monsters when you explore underground. Its Mines are a different activity from planting and talking with people.

Spring crops grow beside a farmhouse in Stardew Valley.
A spring farm in Stardew Valley.

Before you choose

  • Want an invincibility option? Start with Sun Haven. Its setting changes the danger, not the fact that combat exists.
  • Want a fairy-world farm with dungeon trips? Look at Fae Farm.
  • Want to focus on a village and visit dangerous Mines? Look at Stardew Valley.

All three games include combat. If you want to build or decorate without fighting, our cozy games list has other kinds of games to compare.