In the same way Andy Murray tournament finals arrive in a bunch after a long barren period so do game reports on Agricola. I had been looking forward to being the first person to report on Agricola - All creatures Big and Small when what d'you know, Mr Morrison of Bristolshire, pips me to the posting.
My purchase was was never in doubt though. A two player version of a game I love, cheap, with rave reviews was always going to lighten my pocket. Paul agreed to play straight away after my 'reveal' and the rules were quickly digested. With our experience of the classic version, we found the game to play nice and quick save for our occasional moments of AP while we snuffled around for a good strategy. Early on I decided to get a few special buildings and an even spread of livestock. Paul went into sheep farming like a Welshmen with a fetish and in the end ran out of time (Which does come round quickly) before he could get any moo cows.
In the end my strategy bore out as I won 46 to 37
It had ended quite quickly and so we set it up again for a return match. This time Paul went to all livestock in a big way and romped to victory 53.5 to 35. The play time was much quicker and found we had a big enough window for yet another round, the decider! By now we were playing very rapidly and the strategies were much tighter as reflected in the final scoring. It was so close, a draw, and Paul winning by going second, that we did a recount. In the tally I noticed that I had a stall all covered in cows. A one point increase to me and 2 - 1 on the night.
Not Chris' house, but close enough.
We managed to squeeze in a very quick game of Nile before we made a dash for Paul's train.
Overall we both loved this version of Agricola. Andrew is right in the fact you can't do that much to influence each others game as such, but it is a game of subtlety and the order of which you place you workers is key.
I would probably agree to play anything after your 'reveal' as well. Ho ho.
ReplyDeleteI should have said that I showed him my penis. If you get my meaning.
ReplyDeleteIt's probably best we don't make this a meme...
ReplyDeleteIn terms of influencing each other's game you can keep picking up the animals you know your opponent is after. But, of course, only if you're in a situation where doing so doesn't spoil your own plans...
ReplyDeleteI'm intrigued by this - you certainly couldn't rack up three games of 'Gric in an evening. I do love Agricola though, and it's the one game I feel I've only scratched the surface of (played lots of the family vers, a handful of games using the E deck, and none at all with the Interactive and Complex decks).
ReplyDeleteIt's a game I love introducing to kids, who always seem to click with it despite the complexity, because it's visually so appealing, and scooping a good haul of resources is so tactile. And it's very immersive - you're not gaming the game in the way that you can sometimes feel - you're trying to feed your family, extend the hut etc.
Does Great and Small retain those charms, would you say? Or is it slightly more an adult thing . . ?
That depends whether or not Chris shows you his penis.
ReplyDeleteAnybody who feels they need to see my Johnson may do so but, as I'm sure my wife will testify, it's not worth the time.
ReplyDeleteI think this version very much retains that charm. In essence it is just a worker placement game but you still get a nice feeling like when you receive a text or you get to open a new can of tennis balls as you take a stack of 6 wood or 6 sheep and a reed off the board.
Gentlemen, please! This is GNN Towers, some two-bit peep show in Rio de Janiero.
ReplyDeleteTo answer Joe's query, I'd say in all honesty it does not have that same immersive feeling. But the meeples look like little animals so that's nice.
ReplyDelete