MayFair makes high quality and very fun games that are great for many ages. Agricola is one such game but it is really for kids about 12 and older…so MayFair made Agricola Family for ages 8 and up which was fantastic for us! Your goal is the same, build the best farm to earn the most points, but how you play is different and easier to follow. It is always on our list for Family Game nights!

Agricola Family is recommended for ages 8+ but just like any other game kids who have played games, or the seasoned gamer as we call them, around 6+ could play them. There is some reading involved but you can always help with this part as most of it is them making decisions of how they want to build their farm up.

We like to offer suggestions, do you want to do A or B or C and let them choose. Although we don’t have to do this with the Diva on this one much…and the Gentleman doesn’t need us much on any game anymore…they grow so fast…

Once again MayFair made a high quality game. The board is chipboard and is about half of a full game board…it fits the box almost perfectly and has one fold in the middle vertically. It is not a complete half split though.

The board folds in half but only half of the board makes up the second half…that sounds confusing. Basically take a game board and divide it in half and half again and remove one of those halves….it’s missing 1/4

The other 1/4 of the board is attached by 3 puzzle looking pieces to a 1/4 size board. Which one depends on how many players there…there are two pieces and 2 sides to each piece.

You can have 1-4 Players. Yes, ONE to four players. I love that about this game. The Diva LOVES this game so she will play by herself happily if no one wants to play…and she doesn’t need our help either..so she says.

The Pastures, Rooms, Starting Houses, Fields, Improvements, Substitute Markers, Rooster, Begging Markers and Food Markers are all chipboard as well and will look familiar if you have ever played Agricola. In fact the Food Markers are identical. The Pastures and Fields are as well but with information them.

The Farmers are wood and in 4 different colors, Orange, Green, Blue and Pink…she was in heaven with the Pink option. You will also recognize the Sheep, Cattle, Grain, Wood, Clay, Reed and the Boar. These are all the same wonderfully adorable wooden pieces you can find in Agricola. The only other pieces are also wood and those are the Stables and the Round Counter.

Again, all very well put together and we love the level of detail in the artwork. Even the game board has a lovely picture in the background of a farm and you can make out a bed and some furniture on the Rooms. Too cute! Ahem…very good quality pieces in a very fun game…so let’s see how to play shall we?

Objective:

Build up your Farm to earn the most points. You get points for Farmers, Rooms that are not Wood, Grain in your fields, Animals, Pastures, Fields and Stables. Keep that in mind when you choose your actions.

 

Setup:

First find the 1/4 board or Game Board Extension for how many Players there are. I’m going to go with 2 Players. The bottom left of the Extension piece will have a Farmer icon and a number. Attach this to the main board and put them in the middle of all Players.

You will want to put all the pieces around the board or in piles on one side. We put them in piles on one side so both Players can reach them. This is for all the Animals, Resources, Stables and Food Markers. You will also want the Rooms, Pastures and Fields near there as well.

Each Player picks their color and takes their Farmers and 1 Starting House tile. Put this in front of you and Place 2 Farmers in the House. The rest put to the side for later, you can’t use them just yet.

Now there are various tiles that have specific spots on the board. The Windmill on space 7, Basketmaker’s Workshop goes on 9, Pottery on 10, Joinery on 11, and Depot on 14. Don’t worry these tiles have the number on the back so you know where they go.

Now decide randomly who goes first. Dice rolling time! It’s really the best way…Give the first player the Rooster token and 2 Food and everyone else gets 3 Food markers. Put the Round Marker on space 1 and it’s time to play!

Play:

There are 14 Rounds to the game with 3 phases each. Preparation, Work and Return Home..sometimes there is a Harvest as well but that is between the Rounds.

Preparation Phase:

From the beginning of round 1 at the start of every Round put new goods on the game board wherever you see the colored arrows pointing down. There should be a number to the left of the Goods so put that many of those Goods on that space. Even if there are Goods there already, that arrow means add to the pile. If there are spaces past the current Round do NOT place anything on those yet as they are not active until you are IN or past that Round.

Work Phase:

Whoever has the Rooster is the first player but someone can take this from them by simply choosing that spot on the board on their turn. First player places one of their Farmers on a space on the board. They then get to take whatever Goods are on that space and it is the next players turn. Play continues Clockwise until all players have taken their turn.

You must carry out the action as soon as you place your Farmer (we have a once you let go he’s stuck rule) and you cannot choose a spot that someone else is already on.

Returning Home Phase:

Once all players have gone everyone takes their Farmers back into their Homes. Move the Round Counter one space forward.

Harvest:

If the Round Counter passes a cornucopia the game pauses and everyone Harvests. These are at the end of Rounds 4, 7, 9, 11, 13, and 14. There are 3 Phases to the Harvest. The Field Phase is where you take 1 grain from each of your fields and put it in your supply…or in front of you. Only one though so leave whatever is left in your field there.

The Feeding Phase is just that, feed your Farmers. You start with 2 Farmers but can get more through the game. They require 2 Food per Farmer unless you have just acquired another Farmer. This is when you put a Farmer on the space that has a Farmer icon and a plus sign with a smaller Farmer with it… In that case you need 3 Food for both Farmers…baby Farmers need half the food.

There is a Breeding Phase for animals…no dirty thoughts its a kids game…If you have two or more animals of any type, like 2 Boar or 2 Sheep, you get another of that type. You do have to have space for it or it goes free….meaning you don’t get it. Try to plan pastures to allow for more animals of the same type or get Stables. You can also put 1 animal in your Starting House.

Once all 3 (or 4 if there is a Harvest) Phases are done a new Round starts and they begin again. The spaces on the board will have various options for you to choose from.

You can add a Room, upgrade a Room, add a Farmer, build a Pasture or Field, plant Grain, gain Goods or Animals and even take the First Player Rooster. I will not explain all of them though as you kind of can see all that while playing. Just make sure you understand how to get points before you begin and you will be fine.

Winning:

The game ends after the 14th Round including the last Harvest Phase. Now add up all your points.

Each person in your house is worth 3 points, each tile in front of you is 1 point (Pastures, Clay Rooms, Field), Wood Rooms are worth 0 points, each Grain in your fields and each Animal on your Farm are worth 1 point, any in your supply are worth 0 points (except with Improvements). Stables in a Pasture are worth 1 and you will lose 3 points for every Beggar Marker so feed your people.

If you have the most points you win! Yay you! The first time playing the Diva came very close to beating her father…which was cracking me up because he barely helped her and only in the beginning. She lost by 2 points. She has since been able to beat him a couple times which makes this her absolute favorite game ever.

If there is a tie then the Player with the most Food wins but if there is still a tie..then you both win Yay!  If you really need a winner then play again…you probably will anyway.

Both of my kids love this game. It is pretty easy to set up and understand and you can play a game pretty quickly as well. Well, quick for this type of game. The box says 45 Minutes but that will vary depending on how long everyone takes on their turn. We have played shorter and longer games so it will really depend on a few things.

Agricola Family is the perfect for kids and is fun for adults and older kids as well. We don’t mind playing it over and over…and over again which makes it the perfect game for our Family Game Nights and it is a great way to introduce kids to the gaming world.

Show us your Farm! @MyGeeklings #AgricolaFamily @MayfairGames #MayfairGames

“You have to learn the rules of the game. And then you have to play better than anyone else.”
~ Albert Einstein