Agricola - 2012, Saturday April 7

Agricola


Publisher: Lookout Games (2007)
                Z-Man Games (2008)
Players: 1-5
Age: 12+
Time: 30-60 min





This week marked the inaugural Saturday morning game at the Monkeyden (hereafter called Monkeys in the Morning).  We will be meeting bi-weekly late on Saturday mornings to play board game after board game. The Monkeyden was lucky enough to host for our regulars, Jack and Fiorello as well as a new player, Pat (Welcome Pat!). Fiorello has been a regular gamer with me for year, from way back when I ran my game store on Long Island. Back then, it was mostly miniature games and RPG's, but board games became more prevalent in our gaming choices after he moved out to Cincinnati. I met Jack five or six years ago when we began playing in the same Mutants and Masterminds campaign (the fan favorite Graveyard Shift campaign), and while Jack is a formidable role-player, he's even better at board games.

This week, we cracked open an old favorite: Agricola from Z-man Games. At its heart, Agricola is a game of subsistence farming, but don't let that hold you back. This is a game of deep, involved strategy and usually, the only person that truly defeats you is yourself. Agricola starts out thematically with each player managing an equal plot of land. You build up your small mud hovel, plow your fields, and bring in farm animals to fenced in pastures all in hopes of making enough food for the end of year harvest to feed your family. But as the game moves on, the time before harvest grows smaller and smaller, resources become harder to get as your opponents have all managed to increase their productivity by having children, and more children means more mouths to feed.. and AAAAUUUGH! Needless to say, this farming game raises the pressure quickly and only good planning and a bit of luck can make you truly successful. Over the years since its release, Agricola has built up a steady fan base and was the game that finally toppled Puerto Rico's five year run at the top of the heap on Board Game Geek. Agricola has even begun the transition to a digital format as it is is expected to make an appearance this spring on iPads and iPhones.

This was the fourth time I've played Agricola, and I like it enough that I'm going to add it to my ever growing wall of games. I'm already a fan of any game that allows for solitaire play, and according to Fiorello, single player Agricola is as difficult as trying to beat Pandemic first try- which is good. Difficult is always good.

Unlike previous games I've played of Agricola, I had a plan from the very beginning. Usually I don't seem to build a plan until after the first harvest, and it always shows point-wise. My strategy was simple, I had the occupations and minor improvement cards that made it easy to upgrade my home all the way up to stone, and a decent food generating occupation (dancer). Beyond that, filling every spot of land was the main task... especially to the coveted 4 point mark for fields and pastures. This was mostly successful. I'd spent so much time worrying about upgrades, I forgot to get veggies at all, and this cost me points. Agricola definitely wants you to be well rounded. Still, this was my highest pointed showing and I came in only two points behind the leader, Fiorello.  I recognized my mistakes as I made them, and can only expect a better showing next time.

Methodically, Fiorello played an excellent game, planning far ahead and teaching the game at the same time, and it shows in his points. Jack seemed to really have a handle on the game compared to previous games and his very respectable 33 score is the best he has ever done- better than any of my previous games as well, in fact. And for someone that had never played the game before, Pat did fantastic. He seemed to really grasp the rules very early on, and was picking and choosing his actions with seasoned wisdom. The most important thing, is that we all had a great time.

All in all, the first Monkeys in the Morning was fun as hell! I have high hopes for the group and can't wait to see what next week brings.

~Joe