How to: Get free keys

Howdy farmers! We all know that keys are highly coveted and hard to come by. I remember the biggest mistake I made when I first started playing was using my keys willy nilly; I had no idea they were so costly. I thought I would share the small things I do when I play in order to earn free keys. Please bear in mind that all of these options are not available to beginning players, so if something below doesn't make sense to you it may mean you need to reach a higher level.

1. Trading in Ribbons earned through Prized Animals at the Prize Tent: Probably my biggest source of keys. I always have my Farm Hands (headed by Dr. Vivian and usually an Animal Trainer) working at least one of my Prized Animals at all times. You will receive 15 keys for trading in 20 Yellow Ribbons, 15 Red Ribbons, and 13 Blue Ribbons.

2. Completing Achievements: Tap your white house and then the second tab down to see what Achievements you are eligible to work toward. The one I received the most keys for was Search Party- Search all plots in the Cove 10 times. This got me 50 keys. You only get about 2-3 keys for most Achievements, but they're better than nothing! Although the Achievements may seem difficult they are actually pretty doable if you remember to keep your eye out on the Global Market. For example, I always buy any Blueberry Pancakes I spot because if you sell 100 you earn 2 keys for completing the Flipping Out Achievement.

3. Watching Ads: The Movie Projector located next to the Farm Stand allows you to watch three ads a day in exchange for three keys. Although I don't play every day I try to remember to take a few minutes to watch the ads daily.

4. Spinning the Prize Wheel: The odds aren't great that you will win keys, but there's always a chance. I would say I've earned about 20-25 keys total with all the spins I've spun, keeping in mind that I have 2 spins a day (I spent 15 keys to get an extra spin every day).

5. Using Gold Nets at the Cove: I have found that using Gold Nets at the Cove will likely get you 2-5 keys per Treasure Chest.

6. Completing Quests: Tap your Quest Book in the lower left hand corner to see what Quests you can complete.

7. Completing Events: Zynga presents events pretty regularly, and the prizes often include keys.

8. Completing orders at Marie's Order Board: this is no longer an option now that Zynga has upgraded the Order Board (big grumble!), but with the old board I completed orders consistently (focusing on the easy crops) for a chance at winning keys.

I personally have never spent any actual money on Farmville (gotta draw the line somewhere, and that's mine), which means I have never purchased keys. It's not worth it for me, although I certainly understand why others choose to buy keys. Where do you stand?


Good luck and happy farming!