The original Agricola is a strategic worker placement game the forces concentration and sacrifice in order to create the most productive farm while making sure to feed your people.
All Creatures Big and Small follows along on the success of the original. The game play and scoring feels similar but the tension of feeding your people is replaced with the tension of breeding all four animal types.
It's lighter and faster but still captures the tension and decision making I enjoyed in original. Plus it focuses on my favorite part, the animals!
Object of the Game
Players are both farmers raising sheep, horses, cattle, and pigs. They have three workers who do the work on the farm. These workers build stalls, enclose pasture, and upgrade the farm. The stalls can become stables and players can even upgrade their home.
Each round of the game the workers carry out one action each. Each action can only be used once per round. You opponent may block you from taking an action you wanted.
At the end of the game the player who has raised the most animals and built the most valuable buildings will win the game.
Components / Set Up
The small game board is set in the middle of the table. Each player is given one of the farm boards. This should be placed in front of them with the forest at the top and the path at the bottom. They should also be given their three workers; round discs in either blue or red.
There are four special buildings including the Half-Timbered House, Shelter, and Storage Building. These are set out next to the game board. With these you can place the four stall tiles that have stables on the reverse side. There are four farm expansions that should be set to the side of the game board. The 10 feed troughs, which look like wooden stables, should also be set to the side. All of these components make up the general supply.
Each player then receives 9 yellow boarders and the remaining 8 are placed next to the game board near the "expand" action space.
There are also 22 wooden sheep, 16 pigs, 13 cows, and 14 horses. Other wooden components include 17 wood, 15 stone, and 5 reeds.
There is also a start player marker and a score pad for end of game scoring included with the components.
All the components are of high quality. I don't like how big the worker discs are and that the water troughs look more like stables. Otherwise I'm very pleased with the components. I'm very happy that the animals are all wooden meeples and not blocks.
Game Play
Players take turns choosing actions from those indicated on the game board. I'll explain each of the possible actions soon.
The Rules of Raising Animals
Animals can be kept in pastures and in buildings. Feeding troughs improve the potential for keeping animals.
Keeling Animals in Pastures
You use the borders to enclose your pastures. Each fully enclosed pasture can hold up to 2 animals per space. Each pasture can hold a single animal type. You are allowed to have pastures with unfinished borders but they cannot hold any animals. It doesn't matter if the borders are made of wood (fences) or stone (as walls). You do not need to distinguish them.
Keeping Animals in Buildings
Animals can also be kept in buildings. Buildings get built on farm spaces that do not have any building tiles on them. Buildings also make it easier to enclose pastures, as 4 borders are also depicted around each building tile.
When a building gets built adjacent to per-existing borders,
....the borders illustrated on the building to not provide any additional benefit.
....you may not return the previously built border to your supply
It is often smart to partially enclose pastures in order to later use a building to finish them and save valuable borders.
The Cottage: You may keep exactly 1 animal in the cottage as a house pet. The half-timbered special building lets you upgrade your cottage and keep additional animals.Stalls and Stables: Each stall can hold up to 3 animals of the same type. You can upgrade your stall to a stable. Each stable can hold up to 5 animals of the same type. A stall costs stone and 1 reed. Upgrading to a regular stable costs either 5 stone or 5 wood. When upgrading to a regular stable turn the stall tile over to the stable. In addition to regular stables there is also one Open stable tile in the game. It is a special kind of stable.
Special Buildings: In addition to stalls and stables, there are also special buildings. The cottage you start with counts as a special building, as do the Half-Timbered House, Storage Building, Shelter, and Open Stables. The number of animals you can keep in a special building is indicated by the number on the bottom right of the tile.
Keeping Animals with Feeding Troughs
Feeding troughs double he animal number that can be kept both in pastures as well as buildings. A feeding trough on a farm space that does not belong to a fully enclosed pasture can keep exactly one animal. You are allowed to build a maximum of one feeding trough on each occupied or unoccupied farm space. Although you can build only one feeding trough on each farm space, you are allowed to have multiple feeding troughs in pasture made up of multiple spaces.
You are also allowed to enclose a pasture around a per-existing feeding trough. In that case the feeding through remains but again has a new affect. You are allowed to upgrade a stall with a feeding trough to a stable with a feeding trough. The feeding trough remains.
Important Basic Rules
Once anything is built, it cannot be moved or removed. Animals, on the other hand, can run around. You allowed to move animals around or remove them from your farm at any time.
Determine the start player. The game is played over 8 rounds. Each round is made up of 4 phases.
1. Refill Phase
At the start of each round, refill some of the action spaces on the game board with the goods printed on them (even if there are goods left on them from the previous round). You can recognize these spaces by the refill arrow on them. Do not place any goods on action spaces without the refill arrow.
The "good 1(good 2)" graphic on the game board indicates that you add one good 1 to the action space if it is empty but add good 2 to the space if it is still occupied. Make sure you do not forget to add the yellow borders to the "expand" action space, as these borders "count" the eight rounds the game lasts.
2. Work Phase
Starting with the start player, take turns placing exactly one worker. Immediately carry out the action on the chosen action space. It is important to remember that occupied action spaces are blocked to other workers until the end of the work phase. The work phase is over once all six workers have been placed.
If you choose an action space with good on it take all the goods. You are not allowed to choose an action space without carrying out the associated action. Building materials you receive get added to your supply. Animals must be kept on your farm board. Animals you do not have room for immediately run away and are returned to the general supply. Pastures, stalls and feeding troughs help you prevent this from happening. Remember, you can always move your animals around on your farm.
Some examples of action you may take:
Start Player and 1 Wood: Take the start player marker. Also take one wood from this space and add it to your supply.
Horses and Sheep: Take all the animals from this apce and either keep them on your farm or let some (or all) run away
Millpond: Take the reed from this space and add it to your supply. Also take all the sheep from this space and either keep them on your farm or let some (or all) run away
At the end of the work phase, all workers return to their farms.
4. Breeding Phase
Animals are breed at the end of each round. If you have at least two animals of the same type, you receive another one of the same type. You at most get 1 sheep, 1 pig, 1 cow, and 1 horse per breeding phase. Even if you have 2 sheep in one pasture and 2 more on another pasture, you only get one additional sheep.
Newborn animals that you do not have room for on your farm immediately run away and are returned to the general supply.
The start player marker does not switch automatically in this game. You must choose a specific action in order to receive the start player marker.
Game End and Scoring
The game ends after 8 rounds. You can tell which round it is by the number of yellow boarders left in the general supply since one is added to the game each round. Total you points at the end of the game.
Count how many animals you have total. Each animal is worth 1 point. This is your "basic" animals score. You then score bonuses according to the table on the side of the box. Note that if you have 3 or fewer of an animal type you will lose three points. After the 13th sheep, the 11th pig, the 10th cow, or the 9th horse you score 1 extra point for each additional animal.
The total of all your bonus points is your "bonus points" score. Each farm expansion where all 3 farm spaces have been used is worth 4 points. A farm space is used if it has a building on it, a feeding trough on it or is part of a fully enclosed pasture. It is unused if it is part of a pasture with unfinished or no borders. Farm expansions that have not been fully used are worth no points. Scoring farm expansions is independent of whether your starting farm was fully used or not.
Buildings are worth the points indicated on them. Buildings are stalls, stables, and special buildings. The storage building points depend on how many building materials you have in your supply.
Winning the Game
The player with the most points is the winner. In case of a tie the player who was not the start player in round 1 is the winner.
My Thoughts
Whenever a game like All Creatures Big and Small, that shares a name or mechanisms with another popular game is published, they will inevitably be compared to each other. This can be either dangerous or advantageous to the new game. In this case I think it's a little of both.
The tension and tough choices from Agricola are revived in All Creatures. You want to do a million things each round but you may choose only thee and your opponent may block you from your best options. With its fewer choices All Creatures is more limiting and more focused. You don't need to worry about gathering food or making too many home improvements but you do need to be strategic with your limited resources and time. You goal is to raise as many animals as possible with enough space to house them.
I do miss being able to get more workers. I really wish this was an option and find myself looking for that space every turn. I understand that not having it makes the game lighter and faster, but I still wish it was a possibility.
I also find myself missing those special abilities gained from Occupation Cards and Improvements in the original Agricola. The Special Buildings do give you animals when built and bonus points. The Storage shed gives you bonus for materials at the end of the game. But there is that trill you receive from those special cards in the original that isn't there in All Creatures. It is an unfair comparison but it is something I miss.
These complaints aside All Creatures Big and Small is a beautiful, enjoyable game that scratches the Agricola itch without the time commitment. I love the artwork and the bird's eye view pictures on the game boards. Don't forget to check out the back of the boards, they haven't been forgotten.
Like Agricola the depth of play doesn't show itself in the rules but in the game play; a definite bonus in my collection. I really like that limited focus on animals and breathe a sigh of relief when I don't need to worry about feeding my people. The mechanics and game play are as solid as the original.
The rules are certainly streamlined and thus I would feel comfortable playing All Creatures with a wider audience than the original Agricola. It fits in the gateway game category but offers a depth for more experienced gamers. The only thing that may help would be a player aide. I know I praise these when games have them and wish for them when they don't. A visual showing exactly how many animals can fit in a pasture or stable would certainly be helpful to me and new players.
From playing the game and reading reviews I believe it's safe to say that this a great couples game. The rules and cuteness factor of the meeples draws people to the game. I read about many people who have enjoyed this with their significant other. Mine prefers the original but enjoys the lighter version. I think I like All Creatures a little more than he does.
Quick Stats:
Designers: Uwe Rosenberg
Artist: Klemens Franz
Players: 2
Publishers: Filosofia Edition, Hobby Japan, HomoLudicus, Lacerta, Lookout Games, Z-Man Games
Game Length: 30 minutes
Ages: 13 and up
Mechanic: Worker Placement
Photo Credits: W. Eric Martin (W Eric Martin), Tim Norris (greyelephant), Rafal Szczepkowski (cnidius)(2), W. Eric Martin (W Eric Martin), Tim Norris (greyelephant), Carmen Norris (Femelephant), Mark Schlosser (raganim), Tim Norris (greyelephant), Jason Moslander (jmoslander), Julio Riquelme (julioriquelme), Kjetil Bjornsrud (Znapperhead), Carmen Norris (Femelephant)(2), John Shepherd (MrShep), Carmen Norris (Femelephant), Rafal Szczepkowski (cnidius)
Thanks for sharing your wonderful photos!
Check out more of my reviews here:A Game Built for Two (and sometimes more) Game Reviews
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