Christmas Comes Twice

Today, phase 2 of Bryan Swaps his Magic Cards for New Board Games went into effect. There will soon be another box of games UPSing their way from Florida up to Michigan. Admittedly, most of them are expansions (4 for Carcassonne, 1 for Ticket to Ride, 1 for TransAmerica) but still, it's nice to splurge on toys and be guilt free. I will be mailing another small batch of cards (about $50 worth) to them on Monday. That will be earmarked for Pandemic once it's back in stock.

In other news of great importance, I got Agricola in the mail yesterday and got a chance to learn how to play (the single player, family version.) It is a game about being a farming family in the 17th century (everyone's dream) and it seems to be worth the hype thus far. I like the wooden components, though I can see the appeal to 'pimping' your copy with little wooden cows and sheep. It's a worker placement game where you need to figure out the best use of your limited resources each turn. There are also 6 harvest stages (14 stages total) where you need to feed your family, so there is a constant need to keep up on your food supply.

Lots of little boards and bits and pieces. Lots of little baggies too!

The rulebook is awfully intimidating upon first read, but sitting down and actually playing through the game as I read made things pretty easy. The game was originally German, so the translation of the rulebook seems a little bit off in places. There are a shitpot of rules discussions and clarifications on the web (thanks BoardGameGeek!) and a quick look through these cleared some things up. No doubt once I start playing with the occupation cards, minor improvement cards and more players, more questions will arise. At this point, the game is full of potential and I'm looking forward to playing with my wife tonight.