Agricola Strategy & Tactics Guide

Contents
Introduction ............................................................................................................................................................................ 2
Assumptions............................................................................................................................................................................ 2
Strategy and Tactics ................................................................................................................................................................ 2
Strategy ............................................................................................................................................................................... 2
Tactics ................................................................................................................................................................................. 3
Card Play ................................................................................................................................................................................. 3
Occupations ........................................................................................................................................................................ 4
Minor Improvements .......................................................................................................................................................... 4
Major Improvements .......................................................................................................................................................... 4
Drafting ............................................................................................................................................................................... 5
Game Phases ........................................................................................................................................................................... 5
Early Game .......................................................................................................................................................................... 5
Mid-Game ........................................................................................................................................................................... 5
End Game ............................................................................................................................................................................ 6
Player Counts .......................................................................................................................................................................... 6
2-Player ............................................................................................................................................................................... 6
3-Player ............................................................................................................................................................................... 6
4-Player ............................................................................................................................................................................... 7
5-Player ............................................................................................................................................................................... 7
Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................................................... 7
Introduction
This artefact was inspired by an awareness that I feel there are no excellent strategy posts for Agricola. There are plenty
of good ones, but most deal with beginner level tactics or are targeted towards a specific facet. Christian Boesen
communicated similar thoughts here. I feel there is a real need for something more particularly if you want to shorten
the learning curve for newer players.

I have recently moved to a new country, and can no longer cross swords with my old group. I am in the process of trying
to build up a new group of players to really challenge me. The old group and I grew into Agricola competency together;
so we learnt together and each had our opportunities to win as we improved. I have no desire to repeatedly trash people
as I try to build their capability. I want quality opposition, and I want it now!

When I first started on Agricola (all those years ago) the best strategy guide around was Complex Strategies for
Agricola by White Kong, and even back then I felt unsure of some of the recommendations. Still, it was a good place to
begin learning the trade. It does however have a number of limitations.

One of the wonderful things about Agricola is that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to playing the game. It is in no
way broken. If a good opponent knows how you will try to play the game then he/she will beat you. Predictable,
inflexible Agricola players are easy to foil. And there are many paths to victory (quite aside from the many ways to score
points).

When I am asked for recommendations on what a player should do, I almost invariably start with, Well, it depends.
So, lets roll up our sleeves and try to understand why, usually, it depends

Assumptions
This guide is intended for people who are comfortable with the rules of Agricola and have some passing awareness of
how to structure the end-to-end execution of a game. They should have played the game at least three times. I am not
going to explain the rules. I am not going to explain the cards. I am not even going to value the cards.

Strategy and Tactics

Ive seen a few commentaries on Agricola that trivialise strategy; either dismissing it as a game with only one strategy
do a little bit of everything, or limiting the strategy to the primary feeding approaches. Both these do an injustice to the
game.

From my perspective one of the brilliant aspects of Agricola is that pretty much any action could be your best action
depending on your strategy and the context of the game. Context is everything. Taking 1 food is a terrible move; unless
that 1 food is the difference between getting breeding animals up-and-running, or starving. Suddenly a traditionally bad
move become a powerful enabler.

Strategy
Strategy in Agricola takes the shape of a conceptual plan on how you are going to manage to achieve what you need to in
the different phases of the game. A good place to start are the questions; Where are my points going to come from? And
how am I going to get them? The time for this thinking is right before the first round. If you are drafting it probably needs
to take place in your first three or four card choices.

There is an element in which playing Agricola is a bit like water going downhill. Try to follow the path of least resistance.
There is a lot to be said for crafting an approach that allows you to perform actions that others are not prioritising.

Strategically you need to settle on an approach that leverages the benefits of your cards, while retaining the flexibility to
react to the opportunities on the board. Tactically you need to use your experience and judgement to take the best
action given the specific context of the game, but you should colour that decision with an awareness of the overarching
strategy. Possibly the most important dimension to strategic play in Agriocla is to structure affairs such that you
incentivise yourself to value tactical options differently to how your opponents are going to value things. This enables
you to contest their high-value options with your earlier actions, and collect your high-value options with your later
actions.
Executing strategy in Agricola is challenging because is so easy to get distracted. 6 wood is attractive, regardless of your
strategy. This is great it means you dont do all your thinking before play, with the game being an exercise in how
cleanly you can execute that strategy.

Tactics
Much of doing well in Agricola is down to basic action efficiency. Are you getting more done then you opponents?
Additional family members provide more actions, which of course means you can get more done; but it is not the only
way to get more done.

It is important to get some minor thinking ahead going so that you can take proper advantage of all the and/or and
after/and spaces.

Planning to take starting player? Make sure you have the cost and pre-requisites to get a good minor out.
Likewise, for family growth.
Planning to renovate? Line up the resources for the major improvement of your choice.
Planning to buy an oven? Line up a grain to bake at the same time.
Planning to sow? Can you sow more than one field? Can you work it so you manage to sow and bake?

Breeding animals is another major source of efficiency, and will repay your investment. Taking 2 food is not generally
regarded as a great action; but a 2 food in round 7 that allows you to avoid eating your breading pair will nett you a
further 10 food. Easily worth it.

There are similar rewards to be had with a baking strategy. If you can manage to avoid baking that first grain you can get
a good thing going when you have two grain in hand; getting the bake-and-sow combination to work for you.

Dont use your first action to do stuff that no one else can. If you are the only person who can take family growth then
hold off do it with a later action. Use your first actions to do cool stuff. Keep tabs on who might block you either on
purpose, or by accident.

Starting Player awareness is essential to good Agricola tactical play. There is a strategic element around managing your
minor improvements to make Starting Player a worthwhile move throughout the game; but aside from that the timing of
taking Starting Player is very tactical. Its not just about claiming that first spot, it is also about ensuring that each of your
subsequent family members get better spots.

Also, do always take stock of what has happened just before you play particularly if it was an occupation or minor
improvement. You can miss game changing cards just because you are so focussed on what you want to do.

The main tactical nous in Agricola, however, is your ability to value the options available to you correctly. Again, context
is the key. There is no absolute right choice. Within the context of a) what is available, b) what you are trying to achieve
in your strategy, c) what your opponents are most likely to value

The following are some loose rules of thumb on how to value the cumulative resource and animal spaces. They are by
necessity loose as they disregard card support and game context; nonetheless:

1 wood is bad, 2 wood is not quite good enough, 3 wood is good, and more is great
1 clay is bad, 2 clay is okay, 3 clay is good, and more is great
1 reed is not quite good enough, 2+ reed is good
1 stone is bad, 2 stone is okay, 3 stone is great.
1 sheep is bad, 2 sheep is okay, and 3+ sheep is good
1 boar is okay, 2+ boar is good
1 cattle is okay, 2+ cattle is great

Also, Agricola does have a tempo to it. This is more apparent in one-on-one play, but does also apply to multi-player.
You can be on the front foot, or, on the back foot depending on what your opponent is doing. Are you being forced to
react? Or are you forcing your opponent to react?
Card Play
Cards are important to Agricola. Super important. They are what make the game so variable and replayable. But you
need to think of them in terms of getting a return on investment. All cards have a cost to getting them into play. Are you
going to get your return? Should you do anything differently to ensure you get your returns?

Occupations
Occupations are expensive. They cost a full action (and usually some food) to get out. You need a very clear view on
exactly how you are going to leverage the benefits of that occupation before investing one of your valuable actions on it.
The easy occupations are those that require no further effort to leverage the benefits. The harder occupations require
follow-through in order to leverage the benefit of the occupation you need to show commitment by following up with
actions to maximise the benefit. It is useful to try to chain these actions play the occupation, and immediately follow-
up with the action that activates it.

I dont feel this article is the appropriate place to explore the relative value of the different occupations. Some are
universally regarded as great, and others are universally regarded as bad. The majority however depend on the context
of what you are trying to do.

It is also worth bearing in mind the impact your occupation will have on other players particularly through how it
influences how you play. If it directly gives you resources then it is injecting more of those resources into the game,
potentially increasing the supply to other players. On the other hand, if it incentivises you to use future actions to take a
resource then it can act as an enabler to reduce the supply available to other players.

Dont load your hand with early game occupations. You wont be able to get them all out in the first few rounds because
everyone should be contesting those spots. Do chose some mid and late game occs. They are often the easiest to
leverage the benefit from.

How many occupations should you get out? Yet again this depends on context. How good are your occupations? How
much do they support what you are trying to do? How much do you need them to activate powerful minors? In general, I
play 3-4 occupations typically 2, or even 3, in the early game, and one later. If, however, I have a weak hand of Occs I
will happily get by with only one. It is very rare for my Occs to be so poor that I dont bother with any. On the other hand,
if my minor improvements are good enough I will play a weak occupation just to satisfy prerequisites.

Minor Improvements
Minor Improvements are also important. A good selection of minor improvements is invaluable, particularly if you have a
clear idea on how you are going to pay for them. It is always useful to have one or two cheap (or even free) minors
available to support an early game starting player grab.

Having said that - some of the best cards in the game are the expensive minors; particularly those with high Occupation
prerequisites. A cluster of high Occupation prerequisite minors is awesome, as the Occupations pay for multiple minors.

Major Improvements
Major Improvements are about food. They all help you achieve some form of food efficiency. And they are about points;
lovely end game points. Assuming you have the skill to end the game with a nice, full farm and maxing out on a few
point categories then the major improvements are a reliable source of extra points. Only they may not be there for you if
you wait until the end; they are all valuable:

The fireplaces and cooking hearths are invaluable. The wonderful At any time clause equates to flexibility.
You get to cook on your own terms, without taking an action. Aside from food; once you have one of these you
threaten anyone else who dreams of roast dinner forcing them to place a greater priority on the animal
actions.
The ovens are of course important for anyone pursuing baking. The ability to take a bake action when you buy
an oven is very useful. Even if you are not actively pursuing baking it can still be useful to pick up an oven to
back some food in a tight spot (and deny any bakers out there access to one of their tools).
The well is rightly highly valued. Indeed, the well is the reason I value 3 stone so highly. 5 food is always nice;
and the 4 points can win the game for you.
The four resource majors are, in my opinion, generally undervalued. It is perfectly viable to get sufficient food
from these majors. Their face value points are useful, and their bonus points should not be underestimated.
They provide excellent end-game flexibility if you get blocked with a cord of wood on your hands.
It is rare for me to finish a game with less than 2 major improvements. I normally finish with more.

Drafting
There comes a point where you will start drafting cards in Agricola. It serves two main purposes to offset any severe
imbalance in the deal, and to afford an opportunity to build combinations. As far as Im concerned you arent really
playing Agricola unless you are drafting. Drafting is a skill and doing it well does set you up for the game. It constitutes a
significant proportion of the strategic thinking in the game laying out the rough concept of what you are going to
attempt to do.

Always do take stock of your first turn starting player order. Its not a huge factor in the game, but it is useful to
work out if you are going to have an opportunity to grab some wood before your first take of starting player.
If you draft improvements with a high Occupation prerequisite, then you want to compliment them with decent
early game occupations (and then prioritise playing them). And if you are planning to play a bunch of early
occupations it might make sense to have one or two of them give you resources directly to make up for the
actions you will be spending on Occs.
If you draft loads of improvements with a wood cost then you want to have a decent idea on where all that
wood is going to come from. Can you inject additional wood into the game? Or are you going to prioritise taking
wood? Are there any cards that you can use to incentivise yourself to take wood?
If you have the braggart then dont merely treat it as some useful late game bonus points have a plan for
where all your improvements are going to come from. Can you get stone cheaply, or are you going to have to
prioritise taking it?
Regardless of planned approach to feeding it is always useful to keep an eye out for a card that will help make
ploughing fields a bit more efficient. Burning five of your total actions on ploughing is too high.
Can you line up something for late game points? Particularly something that allows you to dodge the contest for
the typical late-game spots, or make that last persons action valuable.

The important message here is to not look at your cards in isolation, and to avoid thinking of synergies in terms of cards
that do the same stuff.

A word of caution with regard synergies. I can think of a few reasons to be cautious of chasing the ultimate combo. The
first is simply the cost. If your combination is going to consume three or four of your valuable early game occupations to
get set up then it needs to pay you back. The second is that you should not put all your eggs in one basket it becomes
too easy to block. Instead try to think of synergies in terms of cards feeding into each other.

Game Phases
There is a natural rhythm to most games of Agricola. I hasten to emphasise that it is by no means hard-and-fast, and that
there are a great variety of ways to do well. Nonetheless the basic pattern is useful as a reference point. If what you are
doing is at significant variance from the below then you should have a clear understanding of why that is the case.
Specifically what is your alternative point source? Typically, however, the below is a useful finger-on-the-pulse.

Early Game
The first two harvests! The early game actions are arguably the most important. Anything you do here should be
contributing towards your overall efficiency. By the time the second harvest comes you really want to have established
some sort of food efficiency, built a room and got your better occupations out. And by the time the first harvest comes
round you want to be well on the way towards this.

You will have eight actions in the lead up to the first harvest, and they are each valuable. Player count has a big influence
on how you do it, but you want to get at least 5 wood, 2 reed, some clay, some additional food, and hopefully play some
good cards. It makes sense to get your better, enduring benefit cards out as soon as possible in order to maximise the
benefit.

Mid-Game
The 3rd and 4th harvests. If you do not already have your third family member then sort it out, as a priority. If you dont
someone is going to cut in front of you for their fourth. If you have delayed your third family member then you need to
have achieved some action efficiency from dodging the bun-fight for building and family growth.
I feel this is an area where newer players really lose their way. There are any number of different things you can do here,
and it is easy to get side-tracked by tasty resources. This is when you really ought to take stock of where you are at - in
terms of your original strategy, and possibly make a decision to abandon it. Is it working, or not? Have you allowed
yourself to get too distracted? Are your opponents running away with the game?

There is merit in getting a field ploughed here, to reduce the pressure on the end game. At a minimum you want two
fields, and ticking one off with a late action here is useful. Do have a think about a round 11 starting player grab to go
for that family growth w/o room action. This is a great time to get a plough out for late fields and unused space
cancelling. Perhaps pick up a veggie to make the plough-and-sow worthwhile.

Also have a think about where your end game points are coming from, and what you can do to set that up.

End Game
The 5th and 6th harvests. The late game is about points. It is far too late to spend actions investing in any engines for
downstream rewards. Ideally that stuff is up and running.

Now is the time for that end-game minor that you have saved up. Starting player is by no means mandatory, but it is a
huge help to grab those lovely late game actions. And for your later family members to get a shot at decent actions. And
perhaps to get that extra family member for another action (and the points). I do like to take Starting Player in round
eleven to go for the gamble of the extra family member. I also think the Sow-and-Plough is a good enough alternative. I
certainly wouldnt use my choice first action in round twelve just to take starting player again (unless, perhaps, there are
bonus points riding on five family members). If you have not yet prioritised ploughing fields then now is the time. Get
that fourth or fifth family member. Sort out your renovations. Keep an eye on who can block you.

Sometimes a game will go so well that come round fourteen you are going to struggle to use your last folk well. This is
the time to bring out any bonus point plays that you planned.

Player Counts
Agricola varies significantly due to player count. Quite aside from the player count the relative variance in resource
supply is enough to influence what you should prioritise. What works with one player count may not work with another.
An inability to react to the changed dynamics can cost you the game.

2-Player
Direct conflict is the rule here. Its one-on-one, so any form of net-loss approach can suddenly make sense. Using an
action to hurt someone is not necessarily a waste. Resource and/or food denial approaches work.

Clay is in relatively short supply. Not by much, but enough that clay denial can be potent. And a well-timed
round 11/12 clay grab can restrict your opponent to a wooden house (leaving you with end-game flexibility of
uncontested renovations).
While there will enough reed and wood to go around; in the early game, it can make sense to attempt to deny
one or the other to restrict the room build and family growth.
Animals are in relative abundance, so it makes sense to contest them. This is not to say that baking doesnt
make sense just that you cant afford to let your opponent have all those animals. You definitely cannot afford
for them to be so confident that they can defer picking them up.
It really isnt such a big deal to be beaten to family growth. The inefficiency of prioritising being first to build and
family growth can easily offset the extra action. Dont sweat it. But, also, dont forget it.

3-Player
The reed shortage, and scope for reed denial, is a stand-out feature of the early 3-player game. Taking starting player in
rounds 1 or 3 are important here (and having a decent non-wood minor improvement in hand definitely increases your
flexibility). Being aware of this means that you should try to draft a contingency plan against reed denial but try to
avoid having to play it. In general dont invest in your contingency plan until your opponents have spent some actions in
blocking you

Reed is a real chock point in 3-player Agricola. Particularly in the first six rounds. Keep an eye out for someone
trying to lock you out of the build contest.
If you manage to secure 2 reed in round two then taking a third reed in round three can be nicely disruptive to
your opponents thinking.
 Wood is in relative over supply. Be aware of this, and dont let your opponents take too much too easily.

4-Player
I do love 4-player Agricola. Pretty much everything is tight relative to the other player counts. And, of course, the stand
out feature is the family growth queue. You really do not want to still be on two family members in the lead up to the
fourth harvest. Through the rounds 4 to 8 the starting player, build room (and stable), and family growth are the focus
points and rightly so.

Family growth in 4-player is serious business. Only one person can be first to family growth, although it isnt a
big issue if that person isnt you. One person will be last; and it is a huge problem if that person is you.
Particularly if family growth comes out late (say, in round 7). You simply cannot afford to still be on two people
in the lead up to the fourth harvest.
The importance of family growth drives the importance of building. The easiest way to book that next family
growth is to be the only person who can take it, and you do that by building first.
As such, starting player timing is a big deal. It begins to make sense to take starting player with your first action
so be sure to line up a good minor to make it worthwhile.
The corollary to this is that the bun-fight to get onto the family growth queue can result in some inefficient plays
driven by the justification that the extra man will make the investment worth it. Dont get sucked in. Dont
burn all your minors taking starting player every round. Try to come up with a plan to avoid the pecking order.
What can your cards do for you? Does an early build make sense?
Animals are in relative scarce supply particularly boar and cattle. The game will not support everyone trying to
live off roast meat. At least one player should pursue baking. Should that person be you? Do your cards support
an alternative approach to feeding?
In general, everything else is in short supply (apart from food lying around). The game will be tight, and the
scores will be lower (not as low as in a really mean 2-play game, but lower).

5-Player
Im not a huge fan of the 5-player game; the down time between turns slows the game too much for my taste, and the
additional players means the actions available to the last player truly are terrible. On the flip side the new actions are all
better than their 4-player equivalent which makes going early even more important. A cluster of good minor
improvements is important to justify taking starting player. Definitely encourage the person on your right to take starting
player a few times as well.

Starting player is so valuable first to grab those juicy 5-player cards, and second to ensure that your last family
member doesnt get lumbered with weaker actions.
The additional family growth spot changes the game. The whole family growth queue is disrupted.
Clay is at a significant over-supply in 5-player Agricola. With other traditional food supplies all squeezed it is
worth considering the Pottery.
Traditional feeding is just harder one more person contesting for the same amount of food. Alternative food
strategies therefore come into play. I do love those resource majors.
Animals are in short supply particularly sheep. There is not going to be as much off the hoof munching. What
else can you do?
Grain is in short supply. Suddenly those farming cards earn their place.

Conclusion
If you get four experienced Agricola players around a table and they all played in a fashion consistent with the strategy
and tactics outlined here you would still get significant variation in how the games unfold. This is what makes Agricola
great every game is different.

While this strategy guide should equip a less experienced player to score well; the likelihood is that experienced players
will still nudge ahead of you with points: because the depth of their experience will allow them to judge the context of
the game better, their deeper understanding of the opportunity cost of the different options means they are more likely
to get more done with their actions, they will assess the cards better, and are more likely to draft combinations that
support one another. And, possibility more importantly, they are more likely to pilot a conceptual strategy cleanly
through to the end.
The answer play more Agricola!