Far Out, Man!
The stoner comedy duo of the 70’s goes mobile in Cheech & Chong Bud Farm, an idle sim from LDRLY Games. Help the iconic duo grow weed and collect cash, all while avoiding nosy police and one battle axe of a nun.
Weed Town, USA
Cheech & Chong Bud Farm opens with the title characters stranded in the desolate town of Hierba Verde, California. With no in-game cash to their name, they decide to grow and sell their own weed to earn some green. But, as the game takes place in the 70’s, they must hide their business from Stadanko, a dogged police detective. Thankfully, they have help from the legally blind and rather corrupt mayor, along with a cast of colorful characters. The first business Cheech & Chong use as a front is the White Lotus Flower Shop. Every few seconds the shop earns Cash, and you tap the Cash icon to collect it. The more Cash earned, the more chances you have to get customers. Tapping the yellow button next to the business increases the number of customers and Cash intake. But you don’t want to tap endlessly.
There are goals near the top of your screen, asking you to collect a certain amount of Cash, customers, etc. Achieving those goals sometimes earns you character cards, which can help automate your businesses. For example, after completing the goal to unlock Paco, Cheech’s cousin, he’ll start collecting Cash for you. Often you’ll need other characters to automate businesses, who can be earned by completing goals or buying chests. There are two types of chests: Epic and Legendary. These cost diamonds, another in-game currency also earned through goals (and purchasable with real money). It’s not hard to get characters for free, though.
Dope Content
You’re not just collecting Cash in Cheech & Chong Bud Farm; you’re also collecting Buds. Earned through customer milestones (at 10, 20, and so on), goal achievements, and the Evidence Locker, Buds are an important resource. Want to increase how much Cash is earned and decrease the time it takes to get Cash? Use Buds to upgrade your businesses and characters. If you’re low on Buds, you always get a lot from the Evidence Locker every four hours. You can get extra Buds by watching an ad, provided by a TV in the middle of the road. Additionally, as the game is divided into episodes, more rewards are gained at the end of each one. Rapidly tap a weed plant to fill the rewards bar before the timer runs out. Increase your chances of getting more rewards by upgrading Paco or the mayor to boost your tapping power.
Cheech & Chong Bud Farm is an adults-only game if the writing’s anything to go by. Though the swearing is censored, there’s innuendos and sexual content a-plenty. Balancing out the mature themes is the hilarious cast of characters. For example, there are characters with funny names, like Wink Dinkerson and Sister Mary Elephant (the battle axe nun). Wink’s last name is often mistaken for male genitalia, and Mary is so intensely religious it’s hard to take her seriously. Then there’s simply crazy characters like Dr. Grinspoon, who may or may not be an escaped felon. Plus, in-game Cheech and Chong are reminiscent of their real-life selves. They should be, considering the duo worked on the game. The kicker here is that the game was released on 4/20, a reference to marijuana.
Bad Trip
Though an interesting concept, Cheech & Chong Bud Farm is another game unable to hide that it’s a cash grab. Even though the title characters helped make the game, LDRLY is still profiting off the likenesses of (formerly) famous people. Plus, diamonds are expensive, for both in-game currency and real-life money. If you want to open a Legendary chest, you must spend 450 diamonds! And if you want more Buds, a pound (3,000) costs 500 diamonds. Because diamonds get spent quickly and aren’t often won through goals, you then look at the diamond packs. The most expensive pack costs 100 dollars! Who would ever want to spend that kind of money on a mobile game? You’re better off pretending the in-app purchases aren’t there.
Red Eyes On The Prize
Cheech & Chong Bud Farm is a lit idle game for adults, whether they’re nostalgic for the 70’s or not. Sell weed to earn Cash and gain business, all while giving the cops the runaround. Win rewards to enhance buildings and characters, but hide your wallet, even if you get stuck.
Is it Hardcore?
Kinda...
Pretty cool to know that real-life Cheech and Chong helped bring this game to fruition. But the in-app purchases really aren’t worth buying.