Thursday, June 25, 2009

Agricola: hated the first half, loved the second....


FINALLY got a chance to play a game of Agricola last night (which I choose to pronounce like Pensacola, btw). The first rules explanation was absolutely overwhelming, I must say. It was complex to the point of ridiculousness and were about ready to give up before we even started playing. And I've read the rules before! And we were playing the Family version!!! In fact, the rules explanation and game setup took about as long as the actual game (see picture above for all the friggin' pieces....). Suffice to say, my first impressions were not good.

That confused fog followed us through about the first half of the game and then, like magic, things just started to click. The wheels started turning and all of sudden I was having quite a good time making some very painful decisions. By the end, I was enthralled, trying to make room for some cattle by building fences and trying to gather enough stone to upgrade my house for some big points. Neither happened but I happily placed second by 1 point thanks to my, er, overly "active" parents making lots of babies (see my completed happy farm below).


I like this game. A lot. I'd love to play it again, and then again, and then maybe the expert version with the cards. Will I buy it? Probably not. I really don't think my group will have the patience to learn it. I'd love it if we could get into it but I just don't see it happening. This made the rules of Age of Steam seem like kid's play and my group would barely sit through that. I think I need to find more patient friends....

12 comments:

  1. oh me!! wait if you didn't buy it... how you playing it ;)

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  2. University board games night... Bunch of us math geeks gettin' board game crazy!

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  3. Now that you've played both Agricola and Le Havre - which do you prefer? I think most people who have played both played Agricola first and like Le Havre more.

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  4. Haven't got Le Havre yet. It is on my must buy list. I expect within three weeks I will be fawning over it on this here website thingy....

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  5. Weird... I always thought it was a pretty straightforward game. Nothing like beasts such as Twilight Imperium were I never remember what the hell is going on. It does get a bit complex and less balanced when adding the cards: Someone can get a vastly superior draw. I find Agricola less complex (and less fun) than Caylus...

    Have to get Le Havre now.

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  6. Yep, Caylus is brilliant. Just takes a LONG time with my friends cuz they over-think everything.

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  7. Agricola is a prime example of a rulebook making the game seem much more complex than it actually is. Give it a few plays with the cards before you dismiss it!

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  8. Oh, I don't plan to dismiss it. I just plan to spend my money wisely and buy the game that my friends DON'T have so we can play both!

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