Ryan Langewisch
United States
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I love Agricola.
Naturally, I have looked into this expansion. The reviews have been, for the most part, overwhelmingly positive. But I remain a bit skeptical if it is for me. In an expansion, I want an increase in variety and fun without changing the base game too much or adding much length. It seems that FotM is meant to be played at "Level 2" without occupations. This does not sound like what I want at all. Rather, I would want to take the "Level 3" approach that throws all the occupations and improvements together.
My questions:
1. How much does FotM actually affect game length? Is a 50% time increase an exaggeration? I don't feel like my 2 player games going from 1 hour to 1.5 hours and definitely don't want 5 player games going from 2 hours to 3+ hours. (Assume I am talking about Level 3)
2. How is Level 3? It seems like a lot of people play on level 3, but I also read criticisms about how it is broken and too long. If it is really not going to work to mix it all together, I may opt for the Gamer's Deck.
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Tibs
United States
Baltimore
Maryland
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1. It totally adds length—10 to 15 minutes per player. Not to mention the added setup time (not all that much actually). Just bear in mind that when you first play the expansion, you won't be used to remembering all the new stuff, and it'll add more than 15 minutes per player.
I pretty much only play 2p games and it's fair to say that the game has gone from 1 hour to 1.5 hours. But it's a lot of fun. I don't have experience with 3+ games but I imagine they'd be a bit too long for me.
2. Level 3 is my preferred way, hands-down. I want to be able to use EVERYTHING, and I appreciate the added complexity. But it takes getting used to. Also, please refer to my thread for a list of cards that become broken or strange when included in complexity level 3. The top list is "do not use" and the bottom list is "works okay but is thematically strange." All cards are accompanied with an explanation.
In summary, FotM is perfectly good at complexity 3 if you're playing 2p games but it can take 1.5 hours. With more players, consider using complexity 2 instead. Gamers Deck will always work so long as you don't mind the fact that the card backs are intentionally different.
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Ryan Langewisch
United States
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Thanks, which leads me to question 3: If I knew I didn't have enough time to play with FotM, how difficult would it be to just play the base game? (Assume I have shuffled all the minor improvements into one deck)
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Tibs
United States
Baltimore
Maryland
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Not long at all. The FotM minors have a different back from the regulars, so you can selectively deal without having to flip any of them over first.
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Ryan Langewisch
United States
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Awesome thanks for the help. Looks like it's going on the Christmas list.
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Robert Zwiers
Netherlands
Overijssel
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We only play 3p and 4p games of FotM at level 3, and it take us about 1:15 to 1:30 per game, although the experience level with the cards is a factor here... That, and the fact that we seem to be a rather fast group!
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Ryan Langewisch
United States
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Roja wrote: We only play 3p and 4p games of FotM at level 3, and it take us about 1:15 to 1:30 per game, although the experience level with the cards is a factor here... That, and the fact that we seem to be a rather fast group!
Glad to know it is possible to go that fast!
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Ryan Langewisch
United States
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One more question, the level 3 rules say that each player should receive an exact split of original minor improvements and ones from the expansion. Is this necessary, or can I just shuffle all of them together and deal out 7 to each player?
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Geoff Burkman
United States
Kettering
Ohio
"Punk is not dead" by daughter, Emily
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It's far from necessary, just their recommendation. Ugoi SOP is to deal a mix of cards from any and all decks being used. For instance, we recently played an "FotM" game with the G-Deck included; each player got five base game Ocks and five G-Deckers, along with five each of base game Minors, "FotM" Minors, and G-Deckers. Boiled 'em down to 7&7 and off we went. I find that the game is very amenable to "whatever floats your boat," or perhaps that should be "whatever tills your soil."
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Ryan Langewisch
United States
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Awesome, exactly what I wanted to hear.
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Tibs
United States
Baltimore
Maryland
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I used to deal the recommended "4 FotM, 3 else" but as I obtained more decks, the FotM cards were seen over and over, while the other cards were getting more rare. Since the G-deck backs were different, I decided "screw it" and just threw everything together.
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