Fields of Arle

2 player only worker placement game. Took us a good 2.5 hours our first play to digest all the rules, but played again the very next night under 2 hours. Lots of options to gain victory points, straightforward game mechanics but players may take time on their turn deciding what to do next as they formulate their strategy.

This is a very relaxing game as it does not restrict you much in choices you can make. It is also not as punishing as Agricola, so if you like Uwe games and want a relaxing experience, this isna game for you.

This is my favorite building-with-resources sort of game. It plays great both solitaire or two-player, but with a slightly different feel each way. (The expansion adds a third player but there is a LOT of game here before you need to add it.) This is an open sandbox of a game of building a village and producing goods. There are MANY options to try, and much of the joy is trying something different each game. Most options are always available, with only a subset of the buildings being random each game. Some parts (draining peat bogs and expanding the dikes) will happen pretty much every game, but how and when that happens can vary.

For contrast, I very much dislike Agricola. In this one, there is no "growing your family", you have the same number of workers throughout. In the two player-game, actions can be blocked, but there are actions that allow you to use a blocked action! (No more inability to use your own oven!) And most importantly, Agricola forces players to do a little of everything. Fields of Arle allows you to focus on doing one or two things well. In fact, trying to do everything will only hinder your score.

If you like games of resource gathering, conversion, and building, this has fast become my favorite.

A great Uwe Rosenberg game for 2 players. A much more intense head-to-head game, with classic themes and mechanisms from his previous games, but intensified. His best game yet!

Fields of Arle seems fairly simple on the surface and is easy to get into considering the number of things to do but there is a lot of depth for those who play often enough. Excellent for solitaire or with a friend. Tea and Trade is essential as it really adds a lot more variety with no bloat.