When comparing Through the Ages: A New Story of Civilization vs Agricola, the Slant community recommends Through the Ages: A New Story of Civilization for most people. In the question“What are the best board games?” Through the Ages: A New Story of Civilization is ranked 10th while Agricola is ranked 24th. The most important reason people chose Through the Ages: A New Story of Civilization is:
Managing a variety of resources and balancing which areas of their civilization to improve are key aspects of this game that players will deal with and figuring out the best way to do it leads to many important and deep strategic decisions.
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro A very strategic game
Managing a variety of resources and balancing which areas of their civilization to improve are key aspects of this game that players will deal with and figuring out the best way to do it leads to many important and deep strategic decisions.
Pro A brilliant civilization-building game
Beginning in the age of antiquity, players will spend the next 4 ages competing to build the best civilization. They can do this by building improvements and wonders, developing techs and tactics, gaining leaders, implementing political systems, and using military might. The multitude of options in each of those areas lead to players civilizations feeling unique and expansive each time you play.
Pro Easy to explain, but very difficult to master
The basic premise in Agricola is simple: players take one of their two starting people and, in turn order, use it to select an action. Once an action is selected, it can not be chosen by other players. After everyone has placed their first worker players place their second, again in turn order, followed by 3rd, 4th, and 5th, if applicable. However, the difficulty in Agricola comes from the relatively limited number of action slots available and the sheer number of things players are trying to accomplish over the 14 rounds of the game.
Pro Has expansions that can add more depth and variety to the game
Players can purchase the expansion, Farmers on the Moor, to add more gameplay options and strategic depth or they can purchase additional card packs to add variety to the minor improvement and occupation decks. This helps keep the game from getting stale and encourages multiple plays to try and experience everything this game has to offer.
Pro High player interaction for this type of game
The very limited number of actions available to take each round, combined with most resources only being available at 1 or 2 spots means that players are regularly interfering with eachother's plans and constantly being forced to reevaluate their strategy after an opponent blocks them. This leads to high amounts of player interaction and keep you very engaged in the game instead of focusing solely on your player board.
Cons
Con Too complex for new players
This game is very complex and has a steep learning curve which makes it difficult for people who are new to board gaming.
Con Very long game
Games can take as much as 2 hours for a 2p game and up to 4 or 5 hours for a 4p game.
Con Can be a very punishing game for new players
Even players who love Agricola regularly joke that its name should be Misery Farm. This is because everything that you fail to do will cost you points, yet it is very difficult to do some of everything. This means that new players have a very low chance of beating someone experienced since they won't fully now what to expect as the game goes on and how to plan for it.