After our first few forays into our new Agricola board game, we decided that it was time to play the more advanced 'regular' version which used both 'minor improvement' and 'occupation' cards. The box is very well equipped with over 100 of each of these cards, which seemed rather confusing at first. Some are marked with the number of players that they can be used for - so we immediately removed those which said '4+'. Then they are in three different levels of deck, labelled E, I and K. Slightly confusingly, these are called 'Easy', 'Interactive' and 'Complex'. It took us a while to realise that 'Interactive' is probably a mis-translation for 'Intermediate'.
So we began by using the 'Easy' set, thinking these would be the simplest to grasp. Possibly they were, but they took the game to a whole new level of complexity. On each turn, in addition to all the other actions, players can choose to place on the table in front of them one of their cards - assuming they have the resources to pay for them (if relevant) and an pre-requirements, marked on the card.
So, for instance, a simple minor improvement might enable a player to pay fewer resource to renovate his house, or get several fences for the price of one. An occupation might allow him to convert building resources to food during the harvest phase of the game, or perhaps receive extra grain when he sows, or even when another player sows.
We were a little overwhelmed with the increased possibilities of the game, but, as with the family game, decided to get started and see what happened. Here's a game in progress:
The yellowish cards are occupations, the more orangey ones are minor improvements and the redder ones are the major improvements (which are also used in the basic 'family' game).
As we played, two things became clear:
1) Not all of the cards are worth bothering with - it's best to choose just two or three of each, and play strategically
2) One's strategy through the game will depend, to some extent, on the occupations and minor improvements that one holds
So, for instance, if a player has cards enabling him to get extra grain every time he sows, and perhaps also to bake bread more often, he might well decide to focus primarily on fields and grain, to feed his family that way, and only to collect a few animals for points at the end of the game.
On the other hand, if one has cards enabling more efficient building of fences, and perhaps additional animals, then it's a good idea to concentrate on early acquisition of fenced pastures and animals, purchasing a fireplace or oven to cook them for food at harvest time.
The game took rather longer, partly because we all kept studying our cards, trying to work out what implications they had, and when - if at all - to play them. They certainly added a new element of luck to the game; some combinations of cards (such as those described above) immediately invite an obvious strategy, while others are more subtle and require more thought.
By the end, we were liking the game even more:
Even without the cards there's a lot of scope for this game. We introduced two friends to it a day or two later, and played the five-person 'family' game, and enjoyed that very much. Then we played the three-player game with cards once more, and were pleased, once again, to learn just how many different variations there are to this excellent game.
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