Agricola

We've got Agricola, and every game has been an exercise in frustration. There is simply not enough time to do...anything. Most of the time we're just trying to get enough food to keep your head above water, and then we don't have the people to do anything else. We don't tend to play with the cards anyway as it's all just too overwhelming, with too many options, and we end up only using one or two anyway. At the end it feels like it finishes far too soon, it really needs 3-4 extra rounds to get anywhere with your animals and crops.

What are we missing? Are there variations that spread the game out more? How can we be getting it so wrong when it is raved about? We're avid boardgamers, we enjoy plenty of others (Tzolkin, 7 wonders, Carcassonne with expansions...), but Agricola is the only one that rubs us up the wrong way. Wtf?

I’m trying to decide between which one to get. I absolutely love the looks of Everdell, but I’m very intrigued by the complexity or Agricola.

Agricola is a very special game to me. It was my first "post-Catan" board game that lit up every neuron in my brain, causing me to fall in love with this hobby. I've played it countless times, with each play cementing it's status as the greatest worker placement game in existence.

The recent spat of deluxified classics, such as La Granja, have given me hope that one day this titan would receive a similar treatment. Cue my dismay , after seeing the big box "Agricola 15", none of my wishes have been fulfilled.

Giant box with the base game. 2 decks. No expansions. I didn't even need bling or miniatures. Just a complete one stop shop for this beloved classic. Instead we have a half-measure that feels bad for new players who get a big box of air, while long-time fans are faced with wasting their dollars on duplicate items just to have a box. I can't help but feel that Agricola 15 is the culmination of everything wrong with the hobby today.

Of course board game taste is subjective but I'm wondering if this one is still in rotation for anyone here. About 10 years ago it was all the rage but I rarely hear about it nowadays. Or have fans of Agricola moved on to better games that scratch the same itch?

Hello, I am looking to get a game like agricola, but which one? Original? Agricola 2nd edition? Caverna? I feel like I don't need more then one and was wondering if I could get some thoughts from players that have both, or played both. Which did you find to be the best?

Follow up question, does agricola hold up to more recent games? Is it still played over newer games that you have?

Hey! I’m trying to decide between these two great (so I’m told) games. I know mechanisms are not similar but otherwise just trying to gauge which game you good people prefer.

Which is the better overall game?

Edit: I ordered both! Now my wife will be mad. Thanks everyone!

She did a great job, and it's so much more fun to play with these great pieces than with cubes and disks.

Link to image that I got since we cant make image posts:

Ok so little story. I just joined a board games club in my local town around a month ago. It's been very fun and I've played a few board games, and I've started to get into the hobby.

However. Yesterday we were a pretty big group and a more experienced member asked me: "What games do you like? Do you like complex games?" And I said that I could try a complex game (previous experiences with "hard" games was stuff like orelans). So they whipped out Agricola. I heard legends about the game before in my short time at the club, how it's a great but hard as hell game, and I also saw them play it one time, but I didn't understand it much before. Anyways, I got the rules explained to me (we were 6 people btw) and we started drafting the cards. (PS, sorry if I get the names of the cards/actions wrong, it's in a different language than English). I didn't know what I was doing while drafting, but the local "Agricola Master" (Legends Say that when someone brings out Agricola in the store, he always arrives out of nowhere, even if he was busy) helped me a little (he wasn't playing).

And... I got my ass kicked. I arrived last, didn't even have all of my farm slots filled, didn't have a single animal, only had 4 people tokens, only had a few upgrades and jobs down, and in general had very little points. I think I drafted the wrong cards at the start and held onto some upgrades and jobs that were better earlier the game. But also I never had any good actions left on the board since I almost always went last (person on my left hoarded the Yellow piece).

Any tips or strategies to get better at the game? My objective is to eventually beat the Agricola Master in my town.

Agricola was one of the, if not the first modern boardgame that I purchased. I had played a lot with my friends and with my wife but with 3 kids now and and a larger collection it had been collecting dust for a while.

Anyhow, we played a game yesterday I was just blown away. With years of hindsight and after having played many other boardgames, Agricola is just so good. I can remember now why I used to play it so much.

Looking to get a gift for my partner and I have some questions for more experienced gamers than I. Lately we have been playing catan(sea fareres and base game), pandemic, and ticket to ride along with other smaller card games and simpler board games. We haven't played Agricola and I have only played Carcassonne as a kid (10 or so years ago) but I really enjoyed it. We regularly spend large amounts of time playing games so the length isn't a huge factor. I have heard good things about both and they both seem like they would be a good fit. Also, we generally play games just the two of us so that is a factor.

Which do you think is more of a "must have" game? Which offers more replay value?

Wow, I never thought a board game could be this intense! Played a couple of games with SO over the weekend and both won a game each. But they were pretty hard with scheming and planning. Irony is, the winner only won with a couple of points. I think there are 2 very very significant mechanics in the game:

1. You only get as many turns as you have persons on your farm.

2. You cannot play an action that someone else has played.

To me, these are the points that tighten the vice grip on your brain. Strangely the feeding mechanic doesn't bother me that much. But I suppose it is tied in with point #1 above.

After a hard day at work I thought I'll relax with a nice solo game of agricola. Made it till round 8, no farm, no fence, I just gave up. Too taxing on the mind :).

I love the game. But it toys with me. Agricola is a demanding mistress. :)

Boas. Um amigo meu tem de familia um terreno rústico indicado apenas para produção agricola. Nada que valha dinheiro mas que custa tão pouco por ano manter que vender por 4 ou 5 mil euros não vale a dor de cabeça legal e o tempo a lidar com papeis.

O plano era ai em Junho, Julho montar as tendas e passar uns quantos dias a acampar por lá. Montar umas tendas, usar um fogão a gás, apanhar o lixo e a merda e no final deixar tudo como estava.

Estávamos a ler sobre as regras de urbanização e mencionam colocar qualquer Tipo de fundações no solo. Ora tendas têm estacas...

Isto é tecnicamente permitido? Uma daquelas coisas em que os vizinhos SE possam queixar? Devemos contactar a câmara? Sendo o terreno da familia pode haver problema?

Obrigado pela ajuda.

I see Agricola is on sale for a great price on prime day, but I am still on the fence on getting it. My fear is it is an older game and there are newer games that do the same thing better. Has anyone else gotten rid of their Agricola for a newer game? What game replaced it?

I count myself amongst the many who would credit Agricola as THE origin of their love fest with this hobby. It was my introduction to worker placement. I started with the family side of the board, and eventually worked my way up to the occupations and improvements. I love everything this game has to offer, especially the feeding and need to diversify.

As a life-long learner, and find it hard to believe I have yet to encounter a game that does WP better than a game from 2008. Not for lack of trying though. I gave Viticulture a go, but found the visitor cards not only swingy, but the best strategy for winning. Barrage has come very close, but the WP aspect isn't as central to the game as Agricola's. Uwe's other designs such as Feast for Odin, Caverna, and Fields of Arle don't have the same bite and tension that Agricola has.

So I ask, is this as good as it gets, or does there exist a crunchy, tension-filled WP game out there that would satisfy the masochists of the hobby?

I can't understand how this is a product for sale. It doesn't meet all the requirements of its peers in the industry at the price point. Also, the insert is like something from an early 2000s Rio Grande game. (No offense to Rio Grande). It literally falls apart if you don't grab it by the center piece.

If this isn't the place to voice my disappointment, I don't know where it is but I need this to be written for posterity. At $149.99, this product is hot garbage. Gloomhaven is $105 for crying out loud. The board game industry has come a long way in production quality and this just feels silly and tone deaf. This product does not meet current board game standards.

Note that I am not complaining about the price. I am complaining about the quality, but it bares mentioning because it is outrageously overpriced for how underproduced it is.

This is my #1 favorite board game and it's sad that it got such an awful cash grab for its latest iteration.

/rant

I own Caverna and it is one of my top-10 games. I told myself I wouldn't need to purchase Agricola since I already own Caverna (Agricola 2.0). But when I saw Agricola Revised Edition for a ridiculously low price ($32 minus 20% off promo for using my Amex on Amazon purchases) during the Black Friday sale on Amazon, I couldn't resist.

I finally got to play some games (Solo, 2P and 4P) of Agricola during the past few weeks (lot more in the last 10 days or so). My initial plays were mostly solo to get a feel for the game. Solo was great but my multiplayer plays with my group took the game to another level. No wonder this was on the top of the charts for such a long time and still so highly regarded. One of the best game designs ever.

Man, people were not kidding about the tightness of the game. I love trying to come up with the best combos from your cards and resources to try and feed your family and gain resources. Lot of Agricola naysayers use the term "miserable" while describing the gameplay and the need to scrounge up food to feed the family. My experience with the gameplay so far has been pleasant and enjoyable. Sure, someone's going to pick the reed or the food that you've been eyeing for couple of rounds just before you get the chance. But hey, that's the game and that's what makes Agricola so great, IMO.

The occupation and minor improvement cards in Agricola make each and every game so different unlike Caverna where it's the same starting setup every time. But, I came across a variant for Caverna by a BGG user to randomize and limit the furnishing tiles which is well received and reviewed by other users. I want to try this variant the next time I play Caverna. Don't get me wrong, I love Caverna as it is currently but after having played Agricola, I want a non-static start to the game

Uwe Rosenberg is a damn genius. Not matter the theme or the nature of gameplay (sandboxy/tight), he just releases well-designed and streamlined games. Every game of his feels like an epic journey. All 4 Uwe games in my collection are fantastic - AFFO, Agricola, Caverna, and Le Havre.

In my recent review of Brass: Birmingham, I mentioned that Brass: Birmingham, Concordia, A Feast for Odin and Great Western Trail were my top tier games. I think there's a good chance Agricola might get there soon, once I get more plays under my belt.

Having loved the tight gameplay of Agricola, I might seriously consider buying Brass: Lancashire as everyone mentions that Lancashire is a lot more tighter than Birmingham.

I really like Agricola but it's too complex and would like a simpler game. Would prefer if you can specialize in one task

English translation: "They make a loneliness and they call it peace"

Some translations say "They make a desert" but I think it can lead to a different interpretation while the actual word from latin is "solitudinem" which of course refers to "solitude"(loneliness).

Update: a better translation suggested by user "bobbymoonshine" is: "They make a desolation and they call it peace".

Potrei scrivere un post lunghissimo di introduzione e in generale sull’argomento ma ritengo sia più semplice rispondere alle vostre domande, però vi do alcune tematiche che secondo me sono interessanti e vedo spesso venire fuori nelle discussioni contributi una su reddit:

• rapporto tra agricoltura e ecologia: differenze tra agricola convenzionale, integrata e biologica. Uso di fitosanitari e fertilizzazioni e ambiente, le problematiche e le prospettive per il futuro

• l’irrigazione, le varie tipologie e le problematiche idriche

• fondi europei, come e perché si prendono ed a quali condizioni (è l’unica tematica “economica” di cui mi sento di poter discutere, sono un uomo di campo non da ufficio 😄)

• le vostre domande e curiosità tecniche! Nel limite delle colture che conosco ovviamente, posso dire che ormai ho maturato una certa esperienza con orticole in generale (in particola sono molto ferrato su anguria, melone, pomodori da salsa e da palo, fragole ma anche direi zucchine, melanzane, peperone…diciamo sulle orticole le conosco un po’ tutte) e frutticole.

In generale chiedete se avete curiosità sulla coltivazione e nel limite delle mie conoscenze rispondo.

Queste sono le tematiche che mi sono venute in mente ma in generale chiedere quello che vi viene in mente.

Aggiungo che siccome quest’anno ho avuto una specie di crisi che mi ha fatto mettere in discussione anche il mio lavoro direi che questo AMA serve a me quanto a voi perché magari mi aiuta a recuperare quell’amore per il mio lavoro che avevo :)