Agricola Complete Guide: Worker Placement Farming Game

Agricola is a classic worker placement farming board game where players build a farmstead, grow crops, raise animals, and expand their family over 6 harvest phases across 14 rounds. Designed by Uwe Rosenberg, it is ranked among the top board games of all time and won the Deutscher Spiele Preis in 2008.

Game Components

What's in the Box

• 1 game board with action spaces
• 1 farmyard board per player (with room/field grid)
• 16 family member tokens (wooden discs)
• 58 wooden resource tokens (wood, clay, stone, grain, vegetables)
• 32 animal tokens (sheep, boar, cattle)
• 4 stables
• 16 rooms (in player colors)
• 169 occupation cards and 169 minor improvement cards
• Designed for 1-5 players (best with 3-4)
• Typical game duration 60-120 minutes

How to Play

Setup

1. Each player receives a farmyard board with 2 wooden rooms and 1 family member.
2. Place the game board in the center with action spaces.
3. Deal 7 occupation cards and 7 minor improvement cards to each player. Keep any number of each (0-7).
4. Each kept occupation costs 1 food to play during the game.

Game Structure

The game has 14 rounds grouped into 6 stages:

After rounds 4, 7, 9, 11, 13, and 14, a harvest phase occurs.

Taking a Turn

On your turn, place one family member on an unoccupied action space and immediately resolve its effect. Turns alternate until all family members are placed.

Key Action Spaces

• Build Rooms: Pay wood/clay/stone to add rooms to your farm.
• Plow Field: Create a field for planting crops.
• Sow: Plant grain or vegetables in plowed fields (1 grain yields 3, 1 veg yields 2).
• Grain/Sheep/Boar/Cattle: Take 1+ resources from accumulation spaces.
• Bake Bread: Convert grain to food (improvement determines ratio).
• Family Growth: Add a new family member (requires an empty room).
• Major/Minor Improvements: Build upgrades for your farm.
• Occupations: Play a kept occupation card.

Harvest Phase

After specific rounds, perform these steps in order:

1. Harvest Crops: Remove 1 grain/vegetable from each field (if present).
2. Feed Family: Each family member requires 2 food. If you cannot feed them:
   • Begging: Take 1 begging card per missing food — each is worth -3 points at game end.
3. Breed Animals: If you have 2+ of the same animal, gain 1 offspring (if space available).

Farmyard Management

Your farmyard has spaces for:

• Rooms: Wooden (Stage 1), Clay (after renovation), Stone (after 2nd renovation)
• Fields: For growing grain and vegetables
• Pastures: Fenced areas for animals (built with wood fences)
• Stables: Double pasture capacity

Scoring

At game end, score each category:

Key Insight: Having 0 of anything costs -1 point — you need at least a little of everything.

Strategy Tips

1. Balance Everything

• Agricola punishes zero in any category — you need fields, pastures, grain, vegetables, and animals.
• A balanced farm scores more than a specialized one.
• Aim for at least 1 of each animal and crop.

2. Food is Priority #1

• Feeding your family is mandatory — begging cards are devastating (-3 each).
• Secure a reliable food source early (baking bread, fishing, occupations).
• Always plan 2-3 rounds ahead for food needs.

3. Family Growth is Critical

• Each additional family member gives you one extra action per round AND scores 3 points.
• Build a room ASAP to enable family growth.
• The player with the most family members usually wins.

4. Occupations Are Powerful

• The right occupation can define your entire strategy.
• Some provide food, others improve farming efficiency.
• Do not play too many — each costs food and a turn.

5. Action Space Competition

• High-demand actions (build rooms, family growth, renovation) get taken first.
• Prioritize actions that no one else wants this round.
• Pay attention to turn order — earlier turns get first pick.

Game Variations

Agricola: Revised Edition (2016)

• Updated artwork and component quality
• Rebalanced action spaces and cards
• Simplified setup for family game variant
• Compatible with existing expansions

Agricola: All Creatures Big and Small

• 2-player standalone focused entirely on animal breeding
• No crops or family growth — pure animal strategy
• Shorter games (30-45 minutes)

Agricola: Farmers of the Moor

• Expansion that adds horses, fuel, and special actions
• Energy management for heating your farm
• Requires the base game

Game History

Origins

• Designed by Uwe Rosenberg (also designed Bohnanza, Le Havre, A Feast for Odin)
• Published by Lookout Games in 2007
• Rosenberg designed it as a more complex follow-up to his simpler card games

Legacy

• Won the Deutscher Spiele Preis in 2008
• Ranked #1 on BoardGameGeek for years after release
• Defined the worker placement genre
• Over 500,000 copies sold worldwide
• Inspired an entire generation of Eurogames

Statistics

• Designed for 1-5 players (best with 3-4)
• 14 rounds with 6 harvest phases
• 169 occupations + 169 minor improvements
• 16 family member tokens
• Farm categories: fields, pastures, grain, vegetables, sheep, boar, cattle
• Scoring: -1 for zero, up to 4 points per category
• Begging cards: -3 points each
• Family members: 3 points each
• Over 500,000 copies sold
• Typical game duration 60-120 minutes
• Suitable for ages 12 and up
• Designed by Uwe Rosenberg
• Published by Lookout Games

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