Agricola is a strategy board game that is a mix of worker placement and resource management set in the world of mining and farming. The goal is to control and exploit the resources of the landscape while attempting to achieve different objectives and achieve victory points.
Players are competing to build and expand their farms, accumulate wealth, hire additional workers, build and show their breeding livestock and craft tools and special goods. Development cards provide players with special abilities and objectives they must meet. In the end, players need to score the most points to claim victory.
The game starts with the players picking a character and choosing the goods they want to collect. On their turn, players will pick up tokens (either for food or resources) from the central board. Players can also use their tokens to build fences, increase their farm, hire workers or invest in their goods.
Players can also move their pieces around the board on farming tiles or through the mine to collect resources or take actions on the mines. When investing in their goods, players can attempt to sell livestock or goods to neutral markets for money. Money is important because it allows the player to pick up ever more valuable resources from the board, build bigger and better facilities or purchase upgrades that give players advantages.
Players also take on different objectives over the course of the game. These objectives can earn them different development cards and victory points. There are several different types of victory points, including farming points, excellence points, and research points. These are all points that are accumulated throughout the game and the player with the most points at the end of the game wins.
Agricola is a game that rewards strategic thinking and careful planning. Players must balance the resources they use to build the farm, pay for workers, and generate money and victory points. Even the food they produce is a valuable resource.
Agricola is a great game for strategy board game fans as there is a lot of thought and planning that goes into each move. As players progress through the game, they will be dealt new objectives and cards, giving them new options for how to best grow their farm. Players that can make the most of their resources and best manipulate the board are rewarded with the most points and ultimately, victory.
