Adding 4th family member

[Cool_DJ]

I am relatively new to Agricola. I prefer playing in 'No AAS' and 'Banned List' cards removed mode. Any tips on how best to decide (in the middle game) between building 4th room and adding 4th family member versus focusing on farm development and cards.

[RicardoRix]

Imagine the rest of the game, with and without the extra member. Which is best?

[cranesflyhigh]

I will assume you are talking about regular grow with room as urgent growing is generally a very strong action. This game is a wonderful mix of efficiency and tempo, so there is no easy answer, it depends on a lot of things, but here are some questions you might want to ask yourself when deciding on the 4th grow.

1) How empty is the growth queue?
As in: are multiple people with empty rooms fighting for the space with start players? The more players with empty rooms, the more likely you are scoring better with just efficient farming.
1.1) When are you expecting to grow next?
Related: if you are expecting your grows to delay much, it is possible you should try to set up other efficiencies.
1.2) When did growth flip?
Related: early grow (round 5) generally means emptier growth Qs down the line, while late growth (round 7) with busier growth Qs.

2) Can you handle the food increase?
Generally bigger families with more actions are easier to feed, but you do need a solid feeding plan still. If your plan is to bottom feed even more or just grab single animals to throw them into your cooking hearth, then growing might not be super efficient.

3) Do you have cheaper rooms / cards that make building easier?
Cards like Carpenter's Parlor, Clay Supports, Bricklayer, Recreational Carpenter, Cottager or Swagman (these last 2 better with a combo) can make additional rooms more feasible.

I am sure, I am forgetting other considerations, but overall, the answer is: it depends. Hope these pointers help though

[Cool_DJ]

@cranesflyhigh
Thank you so much...this was very useful

[alexwjb]

Another thought: how many resources are in the game?

If wood and reed are very tight, spending the resources on new wooden rooms might be very painful and make it hard to fence.

If there are lots of cards adding resources to the game, growing is more important as you can more easily get the resources you need.

Of course you could build a clay room, then the same points apply for clay etc.