Salutations, neighbor, and welcome to Furroughfield, the Commonwealth of Free Beasts! Ours is a budding farm town with soil ripe for planting.
In Harvest, you take on the role of a farmer, each with their own unique penchant for working the land, and choose a farmhouse with its own special round-to-round benefit. Each round, you draft sunrise cards that give you a one-time income and determine turn order for the round. Following that turn order, move your wheelbarrows around town to gather resources that you'll use to manage your fields. Plant seeds, tend the land, and harvest crops to make money and score points. Clear land to expand your farm, and construct buildings that make your land more efficient and give you endgame bonuses. By the end of harvest season, the farmer with the most points wins!
—description from the publisher
- highly refined production that blends strategy with accessibility
- a farming-themed Euro with tight, approachable rules
- some players may want more thematic variety
- high-stakes farming with accessible rules
- agricultural farming in a productive economy
- River of Gold
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- economic engine / farming mechanisms — Players balance resources and yields via a farming engine.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- "this is the completely biased unadulterated Jack's personal top 10 list of 2024"
- "it's a wonderful year to be a gamer with the partner gamer in your life"
- "Leviathan Wilds is a midweight game that doesn't take a lot to get to the table"
- "Harvest is a game that got me into gaming in the first place"
- "this year has been bonkers... I'll remember forever"
References (from this video)
- Cute theme with farm animals
- Simple to learn but enough game to keep returning
- Good at multiple player counts
- Plays solo well
- Available on BGA
- Multiple viable strategies
- Farm Building
- Farm/Town
- Cozy Pastoral
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Personal Tableau Building — Each player builds out their own farmland
- Resource management — Limited resources create difficult choices
- worker placement — Place workers on board to take actions
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- I believe that this game is the perfect board game (about Fromage)
- There's so many different strategies that you can do in this game (about Arcs)
- I freaking love civilization theme games (about Cilu)
- I love games when they're like the whole purpose is to stop you from doing what you're trying to do (about Ironwood)
- There's something beautiful and magical and cozy about this game (about Harmonies)
- I cannot get enough of this game (about River of Gold)