I think Agricola is a great example of not every game being for everyone. There's things I love about this game, like the seeming endless replayability and the variability. On the other hand, there is a lot going on in a game of Agricola, especially when you're playing online against experienced players, and even more so in a 4-player game. Add on top of that the time constraints and... my brain goes boom!
For someone not particularly good at maths, the having to calculate every action selection move down to the very last resource is a bit overwhelming. And jostling for critical resources you need but could be taken away at each turn by a more experienced player who knows exactly what you need is also no fun. And the upkeep only gets tougher as the game progresses and your played Occupations and Minor Improvements get built, these are just more things one has to consider beyond the ever changing board state, and that's to discount completely what the other players are doing, that's a few bridges too far, really.
So far I am able to understand, there's many differing goals going on, your immediate goals of growing your family and then feeding early (much easier said than done,) and then your mid to late game goals which seem vague at best, that's assuming you remember the moves needed to make these plans come to fruition in the first place. Then on top of all of that, a new player has to become acquainted with these piles of Occupation and Improvement cards, many of which are not intuitive at all to newcomers not understanding fully their hidden synergies or non-synergies (non-'bos) they may present.
In sum, while I love this game and it makes my brain hurt in all the right ways, there's a great deal of time and patience required here. Trial and error I believe that must be invested, that it's going to dissuade most mere mortals such as myself. I can see why this game is so beloved though, however, there's a steep learning curve here that's going to barr most casual board gamers from experiencing all the riches it has to offer. Not being so good at Min-maxing myself makes playing Agricola with experienced players feel a bit like going to prison for the first time I suppose, a bit horrifying how inadequate this game makes me feel.
For someone not particularly good at maths, the having to calculate every action selection move down to the very last resource is a bit overwhelming. And jostling for critical resources you need but could be taken away at each turn by a more experienced player who knows exactly what you need is also no fun. And the upkeep only gets tougher as the game progresses and your played Occupations and Minor Improvements get built, these are just more things one has to consider beyond the ever changing board state, and that's to discount completely what the other players are doing, that's a few bridges too far, really.
So far I am able to understand, there's many differing goals going on, your immediate goals of growing your family and then feeding early (much easier said than done,) and then your mid to late game goals which seem vague at best, that's assuming you remember the moves needed to make these plans come to fruition in the first place. Then on top of all of that, a new player has to become acquainted with these piles of Occupation and Improvement cards, many of which are not intuitive at all to newcomers not understanding fully their hidden synergies or non-synergies (non-'bos) they may present.
In sum, while I love this game and it makes my brain hurt in all the right ways, there's a great deal of time and patience required here. Trial and error I believe that must be invested, that it's going to dissuade most mere mortals such as myself. I can see why this game is so beloved though, however, there's a steep learning curve here that's going to barr most casual board gamers from experiencing all the riches it has to offer. Not being so good at Min-maxing myself makes playing Agricola with experienced players feel a bit like going to prison for the first time I suppose, a bit horrifying how inadequate this game makes me feel.