There's Always Agricola

I had some kind of mini-epiphany as Andrew and I surveyed the games cupboard on Sunday night - when did I inherit the mega-geek status I now occupy? For years I just owned Settlers of Catan, Serenissima and Robo-Rally. Then Carcassone sneaked in, then suddenly - thanks to Joe, who opened my eyes to the cornucopia of games out there - the cupboard is full. To the point where I now have to jettison games before I can buy new ones. (I did some trading today to get Taj Mahal:

)

Before I could sink further into ponderances over the rich tapestry of time, though, Andrew suggested Agricola and before you know it I was wondering if I should invest in those custom meeples...

I have games I would probably select before this; but Agricola remains a classic for me. I love the basic game and the fact you can add card decks to it to make it more intricate is obviously appealing too. It was hard to call which way this was going to go - Andrew embarked on a spree of card-playing whilst I ploughed shitloads of fields and grew more corn than I knew what to do with. Last time we'd played a 2-hander Andrew had played a lot of cards and I'd won, but his strategy was more water-tight this time, allowing him to build lots of stone houses and getting bonus points for them to boot. Both of us struggled to feed our nascent families and had to sacrifice innocent animals to the pot before they could breed, ending the game with a lot of empty pastures and carnivorous tendencies. I thought I might be in with a shout of victory, but Andrew's nifty card-play and my over-concentration of corn meant he finished in a clear first place:

Andrew 39

Sam 26

Very different game with two than 3-4 players of course, because it's easier to come up with a Plan B with your intentions are stymied by the other player. But still, a level of creativity and intrigue that's rare in gaming. Others may tickle our fancy, but Agricola remains a high water-mark of gaming.