Agricola exists to me as a restless game. It is constantly changing its place in my mind, swinging from infuriating me to making me grin with delight. This will make this review especially hard to write, but let's see how the game stands when subjected to my inspection.
Gameplay
Agricola has a simple set of game rules: deceptively simple. Don't let the friendly farmer box art and simple rules fool you: agricola is anything but a light game. Gameplay is estimated at around 30 minutes per person, which proves to be a large mouthful for an average gaming group of only 3 or 4. Playing with 5 players may as well not be an option: players will quickly loose interest after 2 and a half hours of this game, it really isn't meant for long-term play like Arkham Horror, for example, is.
But this is where the game starts to surprise me. I played this game with a group of only 3, but the time seemed to just breeze by. The game is well structured enough to allow people to be constantly thinking, being engaged, an planning ahead: there is never a moment of waiting. In this respect the game flows smoothly and captivatingly, starting off slow and gentle and then beginning to ramp up the content for an exciting finale. With an ever changing world, new options constantly arising, several things to multitask, there is never a quiet or boring moment.
The game is essentially about worker placement. You are a farmer, and on your turn you are going to move your family (basically workers) onto spots and perform actions, ranging from just collecting resources to sowing and plowing fields, building new tools to help you farm, and even to grow your house and family. You begin the game with a modest two people in your house, but every turn, another option is going to become available. At some point, you are going to have to expand if you want to get everything done. With harvests and the need for food ramping up nicely towards the end of the game however, it is important to plan ahead and not expand too quickly. The gameplay is beautifully integrated with the theme and the game flows nicely once you have a firm grasp of the rules.
Design and Theme
The theme may be intimidating to some, I would think. The game is about being a farmer in northern europe towards the end of the 17th century. Most of the theme, however, may as well be non-existent. The game is about being a farmer, and that will work for most, with the exception of the blood-thirsty war-gamer types.
I must admit, I do not like the design. Although I jumped for now when I say the game's included "animeeples," the game has the look of a cheap children's book. I can understand trying to keep the tone light, especially because the game can be so heavy, but I am more of an advocate for the Catan painted and realistic style artwork. I would also argue that the game suffers from its components. An odd statement, as you would think that I would jump for joy at its wooden painted pieces and sacred animeeples. But no: the game is too large for its own good. Although giving every player a board is alright with me, you will struggle to fit the game on even a large table. Whatever way you do it, players with still have to get up, reach over, and ask other players to pass them the cards, pieces, or place their figures. The garish and cartoony art style does't help with this either: things are often not very clear and the game feels very messy at the end of the day. The game also suffers from trying to be TOO NICE to us. The game provides 3 decks of cards, ranging from easy to intermediate to advanced, depending on your group. As well as this, the game also includes cards within this that you remove or add depending on how many people you are trying to play with. Top this all off with an alternate set of rules and a "family" version, and you have one heavy box. The game will take you over half an hour to set up, and more than that for the first time playing. I would certainly say that the game is in desperate need of some trimming.
Final Thoughts
I really like agricola, I just wish it could have been done a bit more justice. Some redesign, clean up, graphic improvements and streamlining could make this game an instant classic even with extremely young children. I can't wait for a reprint in the future, and I am eager to see how my opinions change. The game would get a 8, however the poor design and annoying kinks of the game bring it down heavily. I will have to give the game a worthy 6.5, but I would strongly recommend you get the game nonetheless.
Glory to Boardgameistan
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