Agricola: All Creatures Big and Small

Many board games list a minimum 2 players for the game, but in reality, you often a need a third or fourth person for the game to have some depth and playability. That isn’t the case for Agricola: All Creatures Big and Small.  This game, designed by board-game genius Uwe Rosenberg, is a spin-off of the classic game Agricola and is created specifically for two players.

Game play lasts about 30 minutes, with a total of 8 rounds. The box itself is compact and the components are solid. You receive wooden bits for your farm, and you guys already saw the animeeples that I use for the original Agricola game in my previous post.

The game’s objective is such — you and your opponent are farmers competing in raising sheep, pigs, cows and horses. That’s it. No more dealing with building rooms, farming or feeding your workers, such are some of the goals in Agricola. In Agricola ACBS, you are trying to build stalls, enclose pastures and upgrade your farm with special buildings that house animals.

At the beginning of the game, you receive a 2-by-3-size tableau that represents your farm. During the 8 rounds, you get exactly three actions. There’s a central board with sixteen possible actions available. You place your marker on the action spot you want to take, and that action is no longer available this round. After you and your opponent take three actions each, the round ends, the board gets replenished, and a new round starts.

The actions on the board include collecting resources to build buildings and fences, placing stables, purchasing buildings when you have enough resources for them, growing your tableau, and most importantly, collecting animals. On each building tile, you can see which resources are required to purchase it, and how many victory points it is worth. To win the game, you have to have the most victory points from the number and types of animals you have, as well as from the different buildings you have on your farm.

The game immediately begins with a sense of urgency to collect resources to house your animals. And then before you know it, eight rounds are done. I also own one of the expansion packs, Agricola: ACBS — Even More Buildings Big and Small, which offers even more special buildings to vary game play.

Overall, this game has received a lot of play. It’s a solid, quick game that’s easy to learn and travel with. Also, if you can’t make it out to Game Night, it’s a great game for couples to play at home. Just in time for Valentine’s Day if you guys are making it a low-key night!