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Agricola: All Creatures Big and Small is a new take on Uwe Rosenberg's Agricola designed for exactly two players and focused only on the animal husbandry aspect of that game. So long plows and veggies!
In Agricola: All Creatures Big and Small, you become an animal breeder of horses, cows, sheep and pigs and try to make the most of your pastures. Players start with a 3x2 game board that can be expanded during play to give more room for players to grow and animals to run free. Sixteen possible actions are available for players to take, with each player taking three actions total in each of the eight rounds.
The player who amasses the most victory points through enclosing space with fences and acquiring the largest number and variety of animals and victory point-generating buildings will be the winner.
Four Standard Buildings and 4 special buildings are available in the base game. These buildings each provide unique special abilities during play and/or VP at game end. Balancing the tension between building infrastructure (fenced pastures and buildings) and acquiring animals (the single biggest source of end-game scoring) is the key to success!
- agriculture and animal husbandry
- two-player farmstead optimization
- thematic yet compact
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- tile placement — placing animal tiles and development components on a compact board
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- I think this game really shines with its thematic integration and the way that its mechanisms work
- it's not perhaps the most replayable but it does or at least the most variable
- the solo mode is very interesting and yeah just a very solid game by Rosenberg
- I love the the depth that this game provides and I still enjoy playing this game over 50 times now
- the player interaction is very awesome I love the simpleness of this game yet it's very reactive and hard to master
- Age of Innovation I feel not as daunting to me for someone who hasn't put in the time
References (from this video)
- Tight, elegant euro design that condenses Agricola into a fast, two-player experience
- Short playtime (eight rounds) makes it accessible and quick to teach
- Breeding and space management create meaningful, tense decision points
- Resource refill dynamics introduce strategic blocking and pressure
- Compact box with expansions and replayability potential
- Can feel repetitive or narrow after multiple plays for some groups
- Scoring bonuses and penalties add complexity that may be confusing for newcomers
- Two-player focus excludes larger groups or solo play, limiting audience
- Animal husbandry, pasture management, and compact farming
- Two-player farm setting modeled after the larger Agricola
- Instructional tone with live playthrough commentary; emphasis on breeding and building
- Lahav: The Inland Port
- Caverna
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- breeding_phase — After each round, animals breed if you have two or more of the same type, adding a strategic growth dynamic
- building_and_expansion — Players construct stalls, shelters, and expansion tiles; certain buildings grant end-game points
- pasture_and_enclosure — Borders and fenced pastures determine how many animals can be housed; pastures must be fully enclosed to be usable
- Resource management — Resources (wood, stone, reed) are gathered from action spaces and refilled per round; resource stock controls pacing
- resource_management — Resources (wood, stone, reed) are gathered from action spaces and refilled per round; resource stock controls pacing
- scoring_and_bonuses — End-game scoring uses animals, buildings, and expansion bonuses; penalties apply for under- or over- representation of animal types
- worker placement — Each player has three workers used to take actions; turn order and action selection drive economy and strategy
- worker_placement — Each player has three workers used to take actions; turn order and action selection drive economy and strategy
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- This one came out back in 2012 it's a two player only game.
- it's published by z-man games
- designed by ube rosenberg
- we are basically doing all the animal focused items that are part of the original game of agricola
- the cottage can only hold one animal
References (from this video)
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- We crushed it.
- Stardew Valley is incredible.
- The theme really comes out in Obsession.