Like the original role-selection/resource-management game, Puerto Rico, Agricola makes all choices exclusive: each work place is only available to one player.
Hmm. Well, that's only partly true with Puerto Rico, Shannon. Most roles can be selected only once per turn, and provide their bonus power to the selecting player, but every player partakes in the basic action for the role (or, potentially every player: game circumstances can squeeze out players from acting, depending on the "state of the board": if there's not enough goods to go around, for example); and, the Prospector action can be selected more than once, depending upon the number of players in the game. I think Agricola provides the same sort of "near exclusivity" by providing more options to choose from, with some being clearly better than others; but nonetheless, the "I determine the action that everyone performs" mechanic of Puerto Rico is nearly entirely absent here.
I don't think the collectible mentality has any place in regular board games
I take your point about the collectible "giveaways" but in this particular case, I think the argument cuts both ways actually: I pre-ordered Agricola about a year ago, paid more money than I would have in the store, and shipping on top; additionally, my payment was made months ahead of actually receiving the game, so the publisher got to make interest on that paltry sum while I did not--which, admittedly, could only have amounted to a few pennies. It seems to me more like I paid a premium for a first limited edition of the game that came with the extra bits, most of which are now available to subsequent consumers at prices below what I paid for them (http://www.germangames.com/game.asp?gameID=1497). But I like the game enough that in the end, I don't feel too hard done by.
In general, though, I heartily agree with you about the relative odiousness of "collectibility".
you've got a game that's more difficult to play
I'm not sure I really agree there; the only cubes that would be in the regular game are the livestock cubes, as the other markers are round disks, are they not? I'm not sure I see how reaching for a white sheep cube in Agricola should be any harder than reaching for a pink food cube in Caylus...
Nonetheless, it's a great game
On that point, I think we're in hearty agreement. I ranked it a nine along with: Civilization, Diplomacy, Indonesia, Magic: The Gathering (the game, not the collectibility aspect), and Puerto Rico. I think it's status of BGG#1 is slightly inflated perhaps, but only slightly: I think it certainly deserves to be ranked in the same breath as Puerto Rico, Civ, Tigris & Euphrates, El Grande and other modern boardgame classics. If one owns only five boardgames, Agricola could probably argue its way onto one's shelf.
I'm interested why you don't want to submit Agricola to the full Appelcline treatment on RPG.net, complete with your customary wryly-captioned photos... 8)
no subject
Hmm. Well, that's only partly true with Puerto Rico, Shannon. Most roles can be selected only once per turn, and provide their bonus power to the selecting player, but every player partakes in the basic action for the role (or, potentially every player: game circumstances can squeeze out players from acting, depending on the "state of the board": if there's not enough goods to go around, for example); and, the Prospector action can be selected more than once, depending upon the number of players in the game. I think Agricola provides the same sort of "near exclusivity" by providing more options to choose from, with some being clearly better than others; but nonetheless, the "I determine the action that everyone performs" mechanic of Puerto Rico is nearly entirely absent here.
I don't think the collectible mentality has any place in regular board games
I take your point about the collectible "giveaways" but in this particular case, I think the argument cuts both ways actually: I pre-ordered Agricola about a year ago, paid more money than I would have in the store, and shipping on top; additionally, my payment was made months ahead of actually receiving the game, so the publisher got to make interest on that paltry sum while I did not--which, admittedly, could only have amounted to a few pennies. It seems to me more like I paid a premium for a first limited edition of the game that came with the extra bits, most of which are now available to subsequent consumers at prices below what I paid for them (http://www.germangames.com/game.asp?gameID=1497). But I like the game enough that in the end, I don't feel too hard done by.
In general, though, I heartily agree with you about the relative odiousness of "collectibility".
you've got a game that's more difficult to play
I'm not sure I really agree there; the only cubes that would be in the regular game are the livestock cubes, as the other markers are round disks, are they not? I'm not sure I see how reaching for a white sheep cube in Agricola should be any harder than reaching for a pink food cube in Caylus...
Nonetheless, it's a great game
On that point, I think we're in hearty agreement. I ranked it a nine along with: Civilization, Diplomacy, Indonesia, Magic: The Gathering (the game, not the collectibility aspect), and Puerto Rico. I think it's status of BGG#1 is slightly inflated perhaps, but only slightly: I think it certainly deserves to be ranked in the same breath as Puerto Rico, Civ, Tigris & Euphrates, El Grande and other modern boardgame classics. If one owns only five boardgames, Agricola could probably argue its way onto one's shelf.
I'm interested why you don't want to submit Agricola to the full Appelcline treatment on RPG.net, complete with your customary wryly-captioned photos... 8)