When comparing Monopoly vs Agricola, the Slant community recommends Agricola for most people. In the question“What are the best board games?” Agricola is ranked 24th while Monopoly is ranked 69th. The most important reason people chose Agricola is:
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.
Specs
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Pros
Pro Many different editions
There are many different editions of Monopoly available including Junior and Anniversary. There is also a slew of themed Monopoly games such as Disney and Star Wars.
Pro Easy enough to understand for children
Monopoly is easy enough to understand the rules of and follow the gameplay for children above the age of 8.
Pro 2 to 6 playes
Monopoly can be played with as little as two players and as many as six. This makes it a very versatile game as it can be played one on one or with small gatherings.
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 Hard to come back
An early lead almost inevitably leads to a win.
Con Potential for early player elimination
A player may become bankrupt long before the end of the game.
Con Boring and predictable, only one strategy to win
Con Variant rules
Though not a fault of the game itself, most families have their own house rules, often omitting several such as:
- Auctioning any available property not purchased by the person landing on the square.
- Only purchasing houses / hotels once the complete set of properties of matching color are owned by the player.
- Gain money on Free Parking, which makes the game take too long.
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.
