Ranch Simulator hands you a run down family homestead in a forested valley and a blueprint book, then leaves you to rebuild it board by board. You raise chickens, cattle, pigs and horses, grow crops, sell milk and eggs at the General Store, and take an axe or a rifle into the woods for deer, bears and wolves. PCGamesN called it House Flipper meets Red Dead Redemption 2, which is a fair description of a game where you can spend an hour nailing planks and the next hour dragging a deer carcass to a truck.
This guide covers everything you need: core mechanics, the best builds, equipment worth investing in, location progression, and the tips that actually make a difference.
Core Mechanics
Blueprint book building
The radial menu opens a blueprint notebook you collect from the car shop during the tutorial. Every structure is placed from that book and then built piece by piece out of planks and materials you saw yourself or buy at the Hardware Store.
Livestock feeding and breeding
Chickens, cows, pigs, goats and horses all need feed and water. Chickens cost 50 dollars and roosters cost 250 dollars at the General Store, chickens lay once a day and usually in the evening, and cows can be milked twice a day once you own a milk can.
Hunting deer bears and wolves
The base game has three wild animals. A wolf drops with a single handgun round and yields two pieces of wild meat, while bears take real firepower and will maul you if you close the distance.
Selling produce at the General Store
Eggs, milk, meat, cheese, sausages and trained horses all convert to cash at the General Store. That store is also where you buy livestock and ammunition, with handgun ammo running about 40 dollars a pack.
Vehicles and fuel
You can own a UTV, a small pickup, a large pickup and an SUV, and every one of them burns fuel. The gas station is the only place on the map that refills a vehicle or a jerry can, so plan hauling trips around it.
For a deeper dive into how these systems interact, see our Ranch Simulator: Build, Hunt, Farm combat guide.
Builds Overview
| Build | Tier | Playstyle | Key Stats |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken and egg operation | A | Versatile approach | Balanced stats |
| Cattle and dairy | A | Versatile approach | Balanced stats |
| Pig breeding | A | Versatile approach | Balanced stats |
| Horse training | A | Versatile approach | Balanced stats |
| Hunter and trapper | A | Versatile approach | Balanced stats |
For full build breakdowns with gear and stat priorities, see our Ranch Simulator: Build, Hunt, Farm builds guide. For rankings, check the tier list.
Equipment Guide
| Equipment | Why It Matters | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Axe | The first purchase at the Hardware Store, used to fell trees for the logs that feed the table saw. | Turning the forest around the homestead into free building material |
| Crowbar | The demolition tool for stripping the derelict farmhouse back to a frame you can rebuild. | Tearing out rotten walls and floors during the renovation phase |
| Table Saw | Cuts felled logs into the planks every blueprint consumes, which is what stops you paying the Hardware Store for lumber. | Building coops, barns and fences without draining your cash |
| Handgun | Found in a chest in the attic of the old farmhouse during the tutorial, and enough to kill a wolf in one shot for two wild meat. | Wolf defence and early meat income before you can afford a rifle |
| Hunting Rifle | The proper hunting weapon, added in a later update, and the sensible answer to deer at range and bears at any range. | Deer and bears, where a handgun round is not enough |
Axe: The first purchase at the Hardware Store, used to fell trees for the logs that feed the table saw.
Crowbar: The demolition tool for stripping the derelict farmhouse back to a frame you can rebuild.
Table Saw: Cuts felled logs into the planks every blueprint consumes, which is what stops you paying the Hardware Store for lumber.
Handgun: Found in a chest in the attic of the old farmhouse during the tutorial, and enough to kill a wolf in one shot for two wild meat.
Hunting Rifle: The proper hunting weapon, added in a later update, and the sensible answer to deer at range and bears at any range.
Full breakdowns in our Ranch Simulator: Build, Hunt, Farm weapons guide.
Location Progression
| Location | Level Range | Key Rewards |
|---|---|---|
| Your Homestead | Day 1 onward | Starter handgun, build space, animal pens |
| General Store | Day 1 onward | Animals, feed, ammo, all produce sales |
| Hardware Store | Day 1 onward | Axe, crowbar, table saw, planks, paint |
| Gas Station | Once you own a vehicle | Fuel, jerry can refills, wolf encounters |
| The Lake | Once you own a rifle | Bear hunting, high value meat, pelts |
Your Homestead: The derelict family ranch you inherit, complete with the attic chest that holds the tutorial handgun and the ground you will fill with coops and barns.
General Store: Livestock, feed and ammunition in, eggs, milk, meat and horses out. Chickens are 50 dollars, roosters are 250 and handgun ammo is about 40 dollars a pack.
Hardware Store: Tools, building materials and paint. The axe, crowbar and table saw all come from here, and it is the fallback when you run out of self cut planks.
Gas Station: The only refuelling point on the map for both vehicles and jerry cans. The stretch of road between here and the Hardware Store, near the bus stop, is a reliable wolf spot.
The Lake: The flat open ground by the lake, between the neighbouring ranch and the Hardware Store, is where bears turn up most consistently.
See our maps & locations guide for detailed area breakdowns and our walkthrough for the optimal progression path.
Tips That Actually Matter
- Buy the axe, crowbar and table saw from the Hardware Store before anything else, because cutting your own planks removes the biggest early cash drain.
- Collect the blueprint book from the car shop during the tutorial, since every structure in the game is placed from that notebook through the radial menu.
- Start with chickens at 50 dollars each rather than cattle. They lay once a day, usually in the evening, and pay back the outlay fastest.
- Skip the small coop and build the big one. There are five sizes from Small to Expensive, and the small coop runs out of room almost immediately.
- Add a granary once you have more than a handful of animals, because it refills feeders and troughs automatically instead of you doing laps with a bucket.
- Build a windmill for the same reason on the water side, since it keeps every water bowl topped up without manual trips.
- Buy a milk can before you buy your first cow, otherwise you cannot transport or sell the milk you are collecting twice a day.
- Keep barn doors closed and locked. Cows walk out of an open barn and finding them again costs more time than the milk was worth.
- Do not build a greenhouse expecting faster crops. Players have found it makes no difference to growth and is purely a look.
- Plan hauling routes around the gas station, because it is the single refuelling point for the UTV, both pickups and the SUV.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Buying building materials from the Hardware Store when an axe and a table saw would have produced the same planks from your own trees for free.
- Building the small coop first and having to demolish and rebuild once the flock outgrows it inside a few in game days.
- Buying cows before owning a milk can, which leaves the milk uncollectable and the investment idle.
- Leaving barn and pen doors open so livestock escape onto the road and scatter across the valley.
- Charging a bear with the tutorial handgun instead of a rifle, which usually ends with a trip back to the farmhouse and nothing to show for it.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you make money fastest in Ranch Simulator?
Chickens. At 50 dollars a bird laying roughly once a day, a big coop pays for itself quickly, and the profits then fund a barn and the higher volume milk business.
What animals can you hunt?
The base game has deer, bears and wolves. Wolves die to a single handgun shot and give two wild meat, while bears need a rifle and a safe distance.
Where do you find bears and wolves?
Bears show up most often on the flat ground by the lake between the neighbouring ranch and the Hardware Store. Wolves appear near the bus stop between the Hardware Store and the gas station, and up the mountain in the south west corner.
Can you play Ranch Simulator in co-op?
Yes, it supports online multiplayer, and splitting the work between building, livestock chores and hunting is far quicker than doing all three alone.
Do granaries and windmills actually matter?
They do once your herd grows. Granaries refill feeders and troughs on their own and windmills refill water bowls, which removes the repetitive chore loop that otherwise eats the day.
More Ranch Simulator: Build, Hunt, Farm Guides
- Ranch Simulator: Build, Hunt, Farm Best Builds
- Ranch Simulator: Build, Hunt, Farm Tier List
- Ranch Simulator: Build, Hunt, Farm Walkthrough
- Ranch Simulator: Build, Hunt, Farm Beginner's Guide
- Ranch Simulator: Build, Hunt, Farm Tips & Tricks
- Ranch Simulator: Build, Hunt, Farm Weapons Guide
- Ranch Simulator: Build, Hunt, Farm Combat Guide
- Ranch Simulator: Build, Hunt, Farm Boss Guide
- Ranch Simulator: Build, Hunt, Farm Maps & Locations
- Ranch Simulator: Build, Hunt, Farm Crafting Guide
- Ranch Simulator: Build, Hunt, Farm Classes & Characters
Similar Games
If you enjoy Ranch Simulator: Build, Hunt, Farm, check out these related guides:
- Stardew Valley Guide: simulation game with similar mechanics
- Satisfactory Guide: simulation game with similar mechanics
- The Sims 4 Guide: simulation game with similar mechanics
