Such a landmark in the boardgame world.
AGRICOLA, probably one of the most awarded and acclaimed modern board games of all time, is NOW AVAILABLE on Board Game Arena.
Published in more countries i can count on my fingers, the game from Uwe Rosenberg became an instant classic when it hit the shelves in 2007.
The 17th Century was not an easy time to be a farmer. Players begin the game with two family members and thus two actions; however, they can grow their families over the course of the game and gain actions. Just remember you have to grow more food to feed your family as it grows! Feeding your family is a special kind of challenge. Players will plant grain and vegetables while supplementing their food supply with sheep, wild boar, and cattle. Guide your family to wealth, health, and prosperity and you will win the game.
Let's dive more into the details:
Each round you get to take an action for each member of your family, initially one for each spouse, out of all of the possibilities you will find on a farm: collecting clay, wood, or stone; building fences; and so on. You might think about having kids in order to get more work accomplished, but first you need to expand your house. And what are you going to feed all the little rugrats?
The game supports many levels of complexity, mainly through the use (or non-use) of two of its main types of cards, Minor Improvements and Occupations.
Agricola is a turn-based game. There are 14 game rounds occurring in 6 stages, with a Harvest at the end of each stage (after Rounds 4, 7, 9, 11, 13, and 14).
Each player starts with two meeples (farmer and spouse) and thus can take two actions per round. There are multiple options, and as the game progresses, you will have more and more: first thing in a round, a new action card is flipped over.
Problem: Each action can be taken by only one player each round, so it is important to prioritize your moves.
Each player also starts with a hand of 7 Occupation cards (of more than 48 total) and 7 Minor Improvement cards (of more than 48 total) that he/she may use during the game if they fit in his/her strategy. Speaking of which, there are countless strategies, some depending on your card hand. Sometimes it is a good choice to stay on course, and sometimes it is better to react to your opponents' actions.
It's brilliant, rich but not complex, and a lovely game to try if you have not done so yet.
You can have a look at some games in progress as well as the complete game page right here:
https://boardgamearena.com/gamepanel?game=agricola
Agricola is one of the games we wanted to bring to BGA with the highest standard. That is why we need to thank Tisaac and vincentt, our wonderful developers who worked for months on this landmark. Of course, such an achievement with so many details required them twice the effort, especially to deliver it on time. Despite all their effort there could still be some issues, so if you find one, do not hesitate to post it in the Bug Report form.
The Board Game Arena Team would like to warmly thank Uwe Rosenberg for his autorization to have Agricola on the platform, as well as the wonderful team of LookOut Games for their help.
A last word before we let you get your hands on the game:
LookOut Games is hosting the very first AGRICOLA CHAMPIONSHIP.
It's gonna be realtime, 5 matches, 30mins to play, on the 2nd October, 5PM Berlin time.
We strongly suggest you join ONLY if you are comfortable with the game rules and after you have played a few times on BGA. If you want to take part to this tournament, click here for more details. But beware: some of the world best Agricola players will join it.
You want more?! We hear you: there will be additional decks coming... stay tuned!
That's it for today!
See you next week for another amazing release.
