Agricola: Farmers of the Moor Expansion Review

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(More customer reviews)My wife, friends, and I love Agricola, so we were pretty psyched about the expansion. It serves to add a bit more complexity to the game, with additional things to manage and ways of winning. We've played with the expansion about half a dozen times, and I would recommend it for those who have played Agricola enough times to have seen most of the occupation / improvement cards, and are hankering for something new. For players new to Agricola, I would hold off on buying this expansion. The game is pretty complex as it is, and the expansion might be too much to keep track of at first. Here is a general summary of the pros and cons as I see them:
Pros: Huge additions to game play which really make the game fresh and exciting (new animals, new tiles for your farmland, new upkeep requirements, and a slew of new occupations / improvements. Adding new ways to gain points also means there are a lot of new strategies to pursue in order to win.
Cons: Added complexity could be confusing to new players. As with the original game, instructions aren't super-clear and require some learn-by-playing. Interestingly, a lot of the new major improvements don't seem to be very useful in the game (we haven't used a single one).

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Agricola: Farmers of the Moor is the first big expansion for Agricola. This expansion replaces the minor improvements and the occupations of the base game with a large set of new improvements, and adds a number of new features. Horses are introduced as a new type of animal, and your family members now cost fuel in addition to food. You can get this fuel by chopping down the forests on your farmyard, or by harvesting peat. This is not a complete game, you need Agricola to play this expansion set.

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Agricola Review

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(More customer reviews)I have been an active player of board games for at least 35 years. I've played games at all levels of complexity, ranging from tournament level Avalon-Hill bookcase games to family and party card and boardgames. For the past five or so years my favorite board game has been "The Settlers of Catan" (and its variants), that is, until I played "Agricola".
OK, first, a bit about the game...
Each player in the game (up to 5 can play) represent a farmer in 1670 AD and his spouse. About now you may be thinking, "yawn," but just wait, there is some real strategy and fun to be had here. Play progresses as players use their farmer and spouse each turn to do different things including the possibility of building a larger house, raising crops, fencing in pastures, collecting food, collecting animals, having children (that can also work each turn), etc. All the way through the game there is a real challenge when it comes to feeding your family, and improving your lot in life. You can improve your chances of success by playing occupation cards that give your players different capabilites, and by playing cards that represent a variety of differing improvements to your house, fields, etc.
The neat thing about this game is that every occupation card and every improvement card is unique, and because players are dealt only a limited number of cards at the beginning of the game, the game is never the same twice.
This game takes about twice as long to play as a round of "The Settlers of Catan", but the time flies when you play.
Many websites that rank the popularity of games are seeing this game climb rapidly to the top of those rankings.
If you enjoy a game that employs a small element of luck (the cards you are dealt), and a large degree of strategy (what to work to have your family members do each turn), then this game may be for you. So, if you have taken games like "The Settlers of Catan", "Ticket to Ride", and "Carcassone" as far as you can and you are ready for a bit larger gaming challenge then you will not be disappointed with this offering.
OK, one last experience - my wife and I were playing this game recently when our 9-yr-old daughter came up and asked, "Is that game like the 'Game of Life'?" After a moment's reflection I told her it was more like the game of "real" life. You know, working hard, scrambling to feed the family, accumulating different commodities to improve the house, etc.
When I opened my copy of the game I was impressed that the game company had the foresight to go so far as to include a bag of small reclosable plastic bags that can be used to separate the different pieces and types of cards from each other, thus helping keep the game better organized in the box and making for quicker set-up times whenever you want to play. Thanks Z-Man Games!
This game is worth far more than 5 stars!
I believe that this game will remain a favorite of mine for many years to come.
I hope this review was helpful.
Note: One last thing, it is WAY easier to learn to play this game if you can hook up with someone that already plays the game than by reading the rules on your own.

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Agricola

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Rio Grande Games Alhambra - The City Gate Review

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(More customer reviews)IMO, extensions 1 & 2 both have 4 usable additions that enhance & not change the basic game play. for more details, see my review in the Alhambra Big box.

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Rio Grande Games Alhambra City Gates Exp (RGG 054)

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Caribbean Review

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Players: 2 to 4 players
Age: 8 and up.
Length: 30 mins.
Contents: 1 game board, 6 pirate ships, 4X7 bribing cards, 4 card holders, 16 treasure chests, 35 Coins
It's been nearly 7 years since the release of Caribbean, and it's hard to believe that this gem is now just starting to pick up steam within the gaming community. Many have dubbed it one of the most underrated games of all time, really an understatement that does it no justice. The brainchild of Michail Antonow and Peter Schliemann, Caribbean is a very fun game that pits players against one another in trying to bribe as many different pirate ships to pick up and offload treasure onto their own "safe haven" ports.
The object of the game is quite simple: the player with the most accumulated treasure at the end wins. Players don't actually own their own ship, and it is through the bribing of the pirates with rum that determine who controls the movement of what ship, and by how many spaces. This is accomplished by players bidding for all 6 ships at once by comparing each others' bribing cards, the highest bidder winning the right to move the selected ship the number of spaces indicated on the card. Pirates are anything but honorable, and will do whatever it takes to get their hands on their rum. This includes the swapping of treasure between ships, and the unexpected robbery of treasure from other passing ships.
Because the game is broken down into rounds, anyone has a chance of coming from behind to hit payday by out-maneuvering and out-planning their opponents. It's also more tactical and strategic than expected, but easy enough for kids of all ages to learn and play. The game is a bit predictable, since you know what ships other players are trying to bribe, but this is augmented by the option of bluffing which adds some excitement back into play.
The components of the game are for the most part of high quality and manufactured in Germany. The artwork of the game board is quite nicely done, a colorfully laid out map with spaces marking individual movement of the ships. The bribe rack works well enough to accomodate the well-constructed durable cards. and the treasure tokens fit easily on the ships. The ships' cardboard construction, however, are somewhat flimsy and prone to falling apart with prolonged play. This is only a minor inconvenience, and can be rectified with a little Elmer's Glue.
Part of the fun in Caribbean is re-creating the real life actions of a historical period in time, such as sailing a pirate's ship through the treacherous oceans of the scaled-down world. This brings back very fond memories of a Life board game that we used to have lying around the house. I was only 5 years old at the time, and didn't really understand the rules of the game. I just loved moving the car token on the road, especially crossing the bridge over the river.
Overall, Caribbean is a very fun, solid game that isn't overly complex or too long, and the few surprises that come along with it, such as having your treasure stolen from you when you least expect it adds some tense and exciting moments throughout. It's also a great teaching tool for children as it re-inforces certain concepts which they will need later in life, such as counting and making bids. Whether you're a serious gamer or an occasional player, or you just have some time on your hands to kill, Caribbean will offer countless hours of entertainment, and is a wonderful addition to any game collection! I can easily recommend this game for family nights, social gatherings, or even just to get the kids away from the videogame console for just a few hours.



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The board shows the Caribbean in the 18th century. Six pirate ships lie in wait on the sea, ready to pillage the rich ports, or to rob the booty from other ships.The sea is divided into spaces. Each player is in possession of three safe havens, marked in his color on the board. If only two or three players are playing, the safe havens in the vacant color(s) are treated as normal sea spaces.The aim of each player is to lure the pirates to deliver treasure crates to one of his own safe havens, and not to the safe havens of the opponents.

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