Agricola (1-5 players) is the granddaddy of Euro games. It was the inspiration for 17th Century Provincial Haunted Yam Farmers in the Yampions episode of Harvey Beaks. And while this game has been supplanted for many (myself included) by newer games like Caverna, it’s still an important, well-loved game and should be played. Also I’m terrible at it.
Agricola is a game about efficiency. You place your family members on action spots to build your farm. Actions do things like sowing fields with grain and veggies, building fences to hold animals, and growing/upgrading your house to hold a bigger family. Each harvest you must feed your family or suffer negative points. So finding a way to have a reliable food income is super important. Oh my, this game sounds a little too much like real life…
You’ll get a bunch of cards at the start of the game, and figuring out how to best use these to give yourself an edge is the key to winning. Cards give you bonuses to certain actions, making you more efficient. And like I said, efficiency is key.
Franz Klemens, the artist, has done some great game illustration work. But you can see this was his formative years. It’s pretty rough stuff. Yet there’s an undeniable charm to it all. The little wooden pieces are great. The colors are subtle, kinda drab but not depressing. And there’s a ton of cards, giving this game a lot of variety.
I can’t say this is my favorite Euro game, but like a classic movie it’s worth experiencing now and again. I remember back when I got into boardgaming, this felt really overwhelming to me. Now I’ve played stuff much more complex. I probably won’t play it enough to get good at it, but making a little farm with sheep and pigs and cows is still fun. Check it out!
