35th Annual Origins Awards Finalists

[Crothian]

Agricola (Z-Man Games, Inc., Uwe Rosenberg)

I think this one is pretty obvious. It doesn't do anything really unique per se, but it does everything a board game should do incredibly well. Its got theme. Its got gameplay. Its got complexity. Its got simplicity. Its got nice pieces. It appeals to basically everyone who plays board games. Veteran players enjoy it. Casual players enjoy it. About the only people who don't are the "too cool for school" kids. Its a magnum opus of game design.

It also has some of the worst directions for how to play I've tried to read. We sat down and gave up after an hour as the rule book is a badly organized and didn't make a lot of sense. Maybe it is a game that needs to be shown by people that know how to play because the game doesn't seem to be worth it to slog through the rulebook.

 

[Mark]

It also has some of the worst directions for how to play I've tried to read. We sat down and gave up after an hour as the rule book is a badly organized and didn't make a lot of sense. Maybe it is a game that needs to be shown by people that know how to play because the game doesn't seem to be worth it to slog through the rulebook.

A friend of mine and I slogged through that ruleset and played the game. It's an okay game but does have problems as you decribe.

 

[drothgery]

Join the civilized gamers. Root for STAR WARS Saga Edition!

I'd be inclined to, but how did the SWSE core rulebook and 4e end up in the same year?

SWSE's street date was June 5, 2007. The 4e PHB's street date was June 6, 2008.

 

[Aberzanzorax]

Interesting. I do recall SWSE being out way back when. How did it manage to make it into this year?