Cottage Garden iOS Review

Have You Reached Your Limit?

Day 54 - Limits
Designed by Uwe Rosenberg

STOP...in the name of LiMiTS! Do you feel like your life never quite reaches the limit of fun? Well this is the game to push you over that asymptote. Uwe, the designer of Agricola, has done a great job with this little card game. It reminds me a bit of Liar's Dice, but with cards and I find Limits to be much more enjoyable. I love the mechanics of the game and how the cards are utilized. No pen and paper needed to keep track of score, the limit cards double as negative point cards for the one breaking one of the defined limits (or wrongly accusing another player of doing so) and then there are positive point cards as well making score keeping easy and keeping the exact score of each player somewhat a secret. Another thing I really enjoy about the game is that you just have to shuffle once at the beginning of the game and deal out cards to everyone just once as well. Once the game is set up, cards in the discard pile are placed (not shuffled) on the bottom of the draw pile - easy as that. The limit cards are another fun aspect of the game and give the game variety and good replay value. Each limit card has each of the 5 colors on it with an assigned limit for that round (a limit could be 0 cards, 3 cards, or "X" - an infinite number) and each card is very unique and only a certain amount will be played with. Each player also chooses a color from his/her hand to place face down increasing secretly that colors limit by 1. So, the game is nice because it has some memory skill to it as well as bluffing. The game is for 2 to 6 players and the game length can be adjusted very easily. The game is brilliantly done and is a fantastic card game to add to any collection and that is How Lou Sees It.

Life on the Farm

Day 39 - Agricola
Designed by Uwe Rosenberg
(Uwe also designed Bohnanza)

Life on the farm was never easy. Waking up at the crack of dawn to feed the animals and milk the cows. In Rosenberg's Agricola player's try and establish the best farm possible in only 14 rounds. Player's accomplish this by plowing fields, sowing grain and vegetables, raising animals like cattle and sheep, building fences and stables, and expanding and renovating your home. Each action can only be taken by one person each round. Player's start with two family members and thus has two actions each round. To be able to perform more actions, one needs to expand their home to make room for a bundle of joy (who will be working out in the fields before the little one even knows how to talk).

This game is definitely one of the most overwhelming games out there. There is a lot to do and it will probably drive you a little crazy the first few times because you will never feel like you have a handle on things (of course this is only my experience and The Wife would definitely agree with that as well). Part of the stress from the game comes from the negative aspects of life if you are not prepared. Throughout the game there are 6 harvest phases when player's harvest their grain and veggies, feed their families, and breed themselves some animals. Each family member needs 2 food (exception for newborn family member, they only need 1 food) and for every food short you are, you take a begging card (which is -3 points at the end of the game). During the game, you are trying to diversify your farm, because if you are lacking certain elements, you will end up getting negative points. You also will get negative points for each unused space in your farm.

Even though there are a lot of components to the game and a lot that you are trying to do, the actual game play is very simple. I think that is one of the reasons that I like the game so much. Understanding how to play the game is fairly simple I think, but with so many goals to the game and things to work on, one can get lost in that pretty easily. Agricola does provide however a few different ways to play, and the Family Version is quite a bit simpler. I've played other versions more frequently than The Wife, who prefers the Family Version after playing the version with Occupation and Minor Improvement cards tonight.

One of the reasons I enjoy Agricola so much, is the fact that there isn't a whole lot of luck to the game. There are no dice in the game what-so-ever. You must utilize each action to its fullest and you must give up on some things to obtain more important things. The game is fantastic. Is the game frustrating to those who don't like to make important decisions each and every move? Yes (myself included, but as you get a bit more comfortable with the game you get less frustrated and instead try and determine how to make the best of what you have). The game is different each time due to how your opponents move etc, and with so many different cards to play with in different games, your strategy will change. Even with the Family Version, Agricola isn't the best game for those just being introduced to strategy games. I think Hawaii would probably be a bit of a simpler introduction to this style of game (and even Hawaii isn't that simple, Ticket to Ride or Carcassonne are probably some of the best intro games I would say).

The bottom line is that Agricola is a very fun and easily understood complex game. The game takes about a half an hour per person playing (perhaps a bit longer for the first time or playing with the cards). You can play with up to 5 people (there is even directions on how to play a solo version of the game). The game is a bit pricey, but this is understandable due to the amount of wooden components, all of the cards, and game boards. In my opinion the game is well worth it, and for people who are looking for a great game with a bit more complexity to it than say Settler's of Catan, I would definitely recommend this game and that is How Lou Sees It.

How to Farm Beans

Day 6 - Bohnanza
Designed by Uwe Rosenberg



"To Bean or Not to Bean!" What is better than farming apples, oranges, or potatoes? Farming beans! Jack will tell you that farming beans, even magical ones, can be a challenge...especially if you are competing with other bean farmers. Bohnanza is a game for 2 - 7 players. The game takes about 45 minutes to play, and the concept of the game is fairly simple making it a game that kids around 8 and up will be able to play. The concept of the game is to "plant" different kinds of beans in your limited fields (you start the game off with 2, but can expand by purchasing a 3rd bean field for 3 gold) and to harvest these fields at the best time. Each player has a hand full of cards that can not be changed from the order they are drawn in. When it comes time to take your turn, you have to plant the first bean card in your hand. This may require you to harvest a field of a different bean type prematurely giving you less than you wanted to earn on it, or maybe nothing at all. The game plays very well with 2 players and with more players. The game is geared toward 3-7 players, with the best game play coming from 4-5 players I would say. The 2 player version is really fun and has its own strategy to it, and with 3 or more players the game becomes very much so about trade. It's like Pit meets Settlers. The only way to rid yourself of cards in your hand is to trade them to others who may want them and this also allows you to obtain the beans you need to make you the wealthiest bean farmer around. The Wife and I played the 2 player version tonight, and as you can see by the scoreboard - we tied tonight with 25 gold each. Definitely a great card game and I highly recommend it to everyone and that is just How Lou Sees It.