Now that www.thoughthammer.com actually has it in stock, I think it’s safe to discuss it:). Agricola was released originally at the Essen, Germany game fair. Since its German release, it has been endlessly hyped and played by those fortunate enough to either read German or work through the English paste ups (me). It has shot up to number 2 on www.boardgamegeek.com, displacing long time number 2’er Power Grid.
I would consider it to be the best Eurogame since Puerto Rico. Because it uses the Worker Placement (or Worker Drafting) mechanic, it is somewhat interactive, more interactive than let’s say Race for the Galaxy. However, it is defintely not a confrontational game like Axis and Allies. I’ve played it over 20 times now and mostly enjoyed it. The only time I didn’t enjoy it is when two people asked to be taught and even after being told it was a Worker Placement game like Caylus (which they mentioned they didn’t like) they still proceeded to have me teach it and then quit. It’s actually not much like Caylus unless you play without the cards (the family game) although at first it may seem to be. The cards are what pushes the game into greatness instead of just excellent goodness like Caylus :).
It is not really a ‘gateway game’ in other words, a game that you would use to introduce people interested in games but not gamers per se. Ticket to Ride , Carcassone, and Settlers fit that bill much better than Agricola does. However for players who enjoy strategic Eurogames such as myself, it’s awesome. The nearly infinite combination of cards means that the game will never be the same twice, yet there are truly significant decisions to be made throughout the game.
Also, I’d like to note that the designer of the game went to great pains to customize the game for the variety of players who could be playing. Agricola supports from 1-5 gamers. The cards and actions available change depending on the number of players. So unlike Power Grid which says it can be played with 2-5 but sucks with less than 4, Agricola is designed so that the game is coherent with 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. I think this is wonderful, and allows the game to be played in so many more situations than other games.
At any rate, if you like boardgames and can stand some strategy without direct confrontation, I’d strongly urge you to pick up a copy.
My copy should be at my dealer soon. He’s also offering generic plastic figures to use instead of the wood blocks or whatever (no preorder bonus for those of us who didn’t get it straight from the dealer), and I think I’m going to do that.
This is my first straight Euro. I have a couple of wooden block shuffling games (Pandemic, 1960) but I’ve been holding out for this one and the Race reprint (the theme is pretty compelling for that one) based on recommendations.
I must be shallow, because I just cannot make myself interested in games like this. The game may have awesome mechanics and clever gameplay… but… it’s about FARMING.
I guess I just prefer American games with cool themes (Days of Wonder, Fantasy Flight, etc.)
If you are lucky, your local Target may have little plastic farm animals in the dollar bin near where the shopping baskets are kept. I got about 5 bags myself.
How about European games with cool themes, then? Amun-Re is supposedly about ancient Egypt; Race for the Galaxy is all galactic settlementy; Blue Moon City is SFnal; Citadels is a fantasy city-builder; Incan Gold is about exploring ancient temples for treasure; Mission: Red Planet is steampunk Mars exploration.
Yeah, I’ve never paid for shipping, and by gum if I’m starting now. Although I also have the problem that I’m literally running out of room to put games. The nice thing about videogames is that they just fit nicely into a book or DVD shelf…
No, the ones that came with the pre-orders are wooden, I’ve seen them. They are nicer than the ones at Target. Even so, the ones at Target are certainly a lot better than just using the wooden blocks that come with the game.
Exactly! Thoughthammer’s shipping for Agricola was $8, and I already know I at least want to get the upcoming Arabian Nights reprint… Gah! Damn, that’s slipped to November. Hrm. I guess there’s still Galagctic Trucker, Pandemic, the Race for the Galaxies expansion, and Through the Ages…
I don’t have cool pictures to back it up, but have roughly about the same number of board games, and I too am running out of space. :-/ Time to buy some more shelves!
UPDATE: Thoughthammer is sold out now. www.funagain.com is still taking pre-orders although at a higher price than Thoughthammer was. www.boardsandbits.com still accepting pre-orders but are unsure if they will be able to meet all of them.
The new english language version is thoughtfully cleaned up, some rough edges smoothed out, the cards improved and refined, some added graphics to ease play and make things clearer. Nothing major, just a nicely executed edition.
