Agricola - A Great, New Sensation!

“Agricola is Turn-Based Farming Fun!”

Agricola is a game that has been stirring some heads, and has developed into a more addicting game than even Dominion.

Introduction:

In Agricola, the character you play is a farmer who starts out in a wooden shack and that is pretty much it when it comes to your possessions. You are also accompanied by your lovely spouse who is just as downtrodden as you are.

The basics of play is that each of your turns you get to take only two actions. The first action is for you and the second action is for your spouse. There are many possibilities you have to do on a farm, such as collecting clay, wood, or stone, building fences, etc. You can even think about having kids in order to get more work done. To be able to have kids, though, you have to expand your home and also you have to think about what you are going to feed all the little ones.

The rules include a beginner’s version and an advanced version.

Agricola is a turn-based game. Each game consists of 14 game turns and 6 harvest phases which come after specific turns: 4, 7, 9, 11, 13, and 14. Each player begins the game with two playing tokens that represent you the farmer and your spouse. As the game progresses your options of play will grow as you expand your home, and your family. Each also starts with a 7 card hand that consist of job cards and 7 item cards. There are countless strategies, some depending on your card hand. Sometimes it’s a good to stay on the path you have started, sometimes you are better off reacting to what your opponents do.

Agricola comes with 166 Occupation cards.  These cards can be split up into three different decks: E (for Entry), I (for Interactive) and K (for Komplex).  These groups also have their segregations as some cards are meant for one or more players, some are for three or more players, and finally there are some for four or more players. Agricola also comes with 136 Minor Improvement cards that are also split amongst the E, I and K decks.  However, there are no player amount restrictions on which Minor Improvement cards can be added to the game.

The Occupation cards are cards which can be played during the game that generally allow for slight modifications to the basic rules that usually only effect the player playing them. Minor Improvements can sometimes provide Victory Points as well as either provide goods, actions, or small rule modifications.

At the beginning of each game, the players need to decide which card deck they wish to play with, though you could even mix them together.  Any Occupation cards should be removed if they are only for a certain select number of players.  Next, you deal out seven Occupations and seven Minor Improvements to each player.

About the Decks:

The E (Entry) Deck, is your basic starter deck and is the largest deck of the three. This deck is typically recommended for beginners. The special abilities and actions on these cards are pretty much to the point and are the easiest to understand.  The majority of these cards seem to work on their own and they are not reliant on other cards or other players.  There are more Occupations and Minor Improvements than in the I or K Deck.  Because of that you will see the most variability when using this deck.

The I (Interactive) Deck is pretty much what it says it is. The cards here create more interplay between players than any of the other decks.  This deck will tie many of the Actions together for the players. The I Minor Improvements offer similar interactions as well.  With the I deck, though, you do have to constantly be watching what everyone else is doing to make sure that all of the extra payoffs are happening. If you are a beginner, I would definitely not start with this deck.

The K (Komplex) Deck has more cards that are similar to those that are in the E Deck, except that these card don’t just slightly effect the rules, they drastically effect the rules.  The Minor Improvements are just as drastic. The K Deck will keep all the players on their toes and will lead to a more reactionary game as the entire feel of the game can turn on the play of a single card.

Final Thoughts:

Agricola is a extensive combination of complexity and variations, though game play really isn’t that long or time consuming. Each game is different, and this has keeps a good fresh feeling for the game.  Additionally, the ability to choose or move between the three different decks adds more possible game choices when setting up the game. The complexities added to the game by the Occupation and Minor Improvement cards really add an exciting depth to the game. The number of different starting setups, multiplied by the number of possible strategies is truly mind-boggling.

1 Comment »

1. rickerdoo says:

   January 28th, 2009

   I just purchased Agricola. It looks like a pretty good game. Lots of pieces, mostly wooden. Very well constructed game boards and cards. Rules first look intimidating. I’ve played a solo game (big plus) and it seems like a pretty smooth, game, I think it will have a great flow to the game. But it is also in very short supply. It is made by a small company and kind of hard to get. Also a little on the pricey side. But then what isn’t these days.

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