Agricola

One of the proud traditions of Eurogames that is not shared by the big corporations like Hasbro or Milton Bradley, aside from innovative game play, is that the pieces, boards, and even boxes are all of immaculate quality. This was never so apparent to me than when I opened Agricola to see numerous boards, each essentially the same but with small details changed so they all had a unique look. They would all function the same way within the game but those small artistic changes paid back immensely by adding something a little extra special to the game. All the pieces are colorful and wooden, and rather numerous.

Agricola has one of those themes that sounds bizarre and unlikely but turns into one of the most enjoyable games you've ever played. And that theme is sixteenth century farming. Each player manages their own farm, trying to plow fields, build a better house, and expand their family, all the while trying to stockpile food each winter or suffer the consequences (starvation). Each game round consists of players taking turns placing their family members on action spaces to take those actions. Only the first player to choose an action can use it that round so you have to decide quickly if you need wood or food, for instance, and then grab it before anyone else does. Otherwise you find yourself regretting grabbing up the wood when everyone else took the food the turn before you have to feed your family.

Additionally, there are role cards to help improve your actions or your farming capabilities and since you use family members to take actions, having more family members means you can take more actions. However, it also means you have more mouths to feed. There is no direct competition and no elimination. And that's good because this game takes a little bit of set up time and likely lasts about an hour to an hour and a half. Improving your farm nets you points at the end of the game, based on everything from the quality of your house to the amount of grain or cattle you have, to the number of fields you plowed and fences you built. Some role cards and improvements also grant additional points. You don't actually starve when you are unable to feed your family but instead collect a Beggar's Card, which subtracts three points from your score at the end. The person with the best farm (highest score) wins.

A great part of the fun is building your farm as you play this. Often times there isn't a clear leader as you play so the winner isn't known until the end, and even when you lose you at least enjoyed managing and building your farm, which will likely look different from every other far. Agricola's downfall is the setup. It requires maintenance at the beginning of each round (replacing used resources) and it's certainly not as bad as some other games. It is, however, enough that there is a little slow down in between each round. We usually assigned each player a resource to restock and it goes quickly, but that's still a small speed bump in your enjoyment. The rules aren't the kindest for casual gamers, but nothing you won't adjust to after the first two plays or so. Running around $60, this isn't a small investment and I believe the most expensive board game featured on Zanmor Gaming so far. Don't let that keep you away from homesteading your own plot of land. Agricola is a true gem and well worth a spot on any board gamer's shelf.

Creationary

It seems like the perfect combination: all the party fun of Pictionary and all the building fun of LEGOs. Creationary's concept is simple enough: draw a card (of different difficulty level, one to three) and build what is pictured. The other players will then try to guess what it is. Unfortunately, in practice it seems like this game is more likely a fun exercise for LEGO's master builders than a good party game.

One small problem is that the cards only show a picture and don't name the object with text. Considering there are various boats, rowboats, ships, barges, and so on pictured, when is it appropriate to accept boat as an answer and when isn't it? This sort of thing is only likely to be a problem for serious gamers and Creationary is not that serious of a game. Letting the builder determine which answers were specific enough usually worked fine. The difficulty level also doesn't make sense all the time. Most of the level one cards were pretty easy, but some threw us for a loop, while some level three cards we found incredibly easy. Overall the difficulty levels worked.

What becomes a true problem is that few people are both quick and clever with their use of LEGO blocks. 338 pieces is a goodly amount (and a tray comes in the box for organization and storage), but often you would find yourself one or two short of creating just the right sort of structure to convey what was on your card. This could be improved by adding pieces from your personal collection, but that's a double-edged sword: more pieces means more complex structures and more build time. This game is meant to be fast and having fewer pieces you have to be more creative with helps keep the pace quick.

But ultimately it can be very difficult to build very organic shapes like animals with the blocks. The worst case I can think of is when someone actually laid blocks on the table like a mosaic, not actually connecting them, to form a picture of a rose. It worked, but didn't quite seem proper for the game. Perhaps this all comes down to personal experience with LEGOs and playing more, practicing more, is bound to improve that.

It's the best concept showcased in LEGO's recent batch of boardgames and can be played by three to eight people (recommended age seven plus), making it a unique and different party game. But it leaves me wondering if anyone other than LEGO Maniacs will truly enjoy it. If you love LEGOs and have about $30 then definitely check this out. If you love boardgames first and foremost, then this probably shouldn't be at the top of your wish list.