Agricola

Today's review is of the 2007 release, Agricola. For 1-5 players, it takes 30-150 minutes.

Overview

You are a farming couple struggling to survive. Starting with a plot of land and wooden shack, your goal is to survive—no, thrive—by building the homestead through plowing and sowing, animal husbandry, home improvement/expansion, and maybe even a trade or two. If you have the most points at the end of the game (14 rounds), you win!

Agricola is a worker placement game. You start with two workers, a 3x5 homestead with two wooden shacks on it, and a common board with ten possible placement positions to start. On your turn, you place one worker on an available slot and collect the resource(s) or perform the action shown. Players proceed clockwise, placing workers until all are on the board. Then workers are removed, resources replenish (additively if none are taken in a given round), a new placement option comes out, and the next round begins (unless it's harvest time—see below). 

Placement options include (but are not limited to) collecting resources (wood, brick, reed, ore, wheat, food, etc.), obtaining animals (sheep, cattle, boar), building (fences, stables, additions to the home), growing the family, plowing fields, sowing crops, and more. You could also play occupation or minor improvement cards (which are dealt randomly at the start of the game), which can provide much-needed assistance. You could also buy a major improvement (like a stove that allows you to turn animals into food); the possibilities are many. You'll need resources of all kinds, so place wisely!

game in progress; image from here

After rounds 4, 7, 9, 11, 13, and 14, it is harvest time. Each player harvests their fields (if applicable), feeds their family (paying two food per member or taking begging card(s) if they cannot), and breeds their animals (if possible). 

At the end of round 14 there is a final harvest and then points are tallied. Highest total wins!

Review

I was excited to finally play this classic game; I wasn't disappointed. It is brutal (I couldn't feed my family one harvest and it cost me), and there is a lot going on, but there are always meaningful choices and interesting options. Replayability is high due to the 1) variability of placement cards and 2) occupation/minor improvement cards. As a new player, I felt like I was stabbing in the dark at a strategy, but I got the hang of things as the game progressed (and sense that your occupation/minor improvement cards go a long way towards dictating how you play a given game). There is a sense of urgency with only 14 rounds, making it play quickly.

A minor downside: the first player definitely has an advantage each round, and you need to spend a worker to take that mantle. Overall, though, this time-tested classic (which saw a revised version released in 2016, many expansions, and a deluxe version come out in the last year) is a winner.

Rating: A-

Masters of the Universe

Prince Adam's world is shattered as a child when Skeletor invades Eternia. Years later, Adam lives in exile on Earth, desperately seeking the sword of power that will enable him to return and fight back. When he makes his return, he is shocked at the state of his world. But he is just Adam—always weak, always the runt. Does he have the power?

I enjoyed this movie much more than I expected. It is nostalgic and the humor is good (but doesn't make sense unless you are familiar with the eighties television show). It is delightfully (and intentionally) corny in places—it doesn't hesitate to make fun of itself (and in so doing, the cartoon of old). It has a few spots of language and innuendo, which I found mystifying and out of place with the intent. But it also packs a surprisingly deep message. 

This film seems to both reflect and reject post-modern thinking. Adam learns that power is not necessarily brute force—that kindness and empathy are powerful in their own right—but at the same time, there is evil in the world that can't be cured with therapy or listening; there are Skeletors out there that need to be defeated with power. In this sense, the movie is a mix of stark eighties moralism (which featured heavily in the cartoon) and a more modern emphasis on compassion and understanding. And, surprisingly, I think they got the right mix.

Rating: B+

Daredevil: Lockdown

Continuing from last time . . .

Daredevil is still behind bars, and Elektra is still acting in his stead. But things are coming to a head in Hell's Kitchen . . . Bullseye is on the loose, seemingly everywhere and terrorizing the city. Mayor Wilson Fisk isn't happy with the new Kingpin and puts things in motion to handle the situation. And Daredevil uncovers a plot that may unleash yet another plague on the city . . .

This volume was in line with the others: solid. This is a mild ending of sorts, with Matt coming to grips with who he is and what he must do ("what's right"), even if that is a bit wishy-washy (as the standard is never defined). Still, I was intrigued by one of his conclusions: that maybe what his enemies need isn't punishment but grace and contentment. It's not fully the gospel, but it's on the path.

Rating: A-

Go Spurs Go

They did it . . . again. For the seventh time in the past 28 years, the San Antonio Spurs are headed to the NBA Finals. As a Spurs fan since the David Robinson era, I've long admired their [now retired but still influential] Coach Pop, the teamwork they embody, and attitude, even after their championship runs with Tim Duncan ended (in 2016) and they started missing the playoffs (from 2020-2025, after making them for 22 years prior). Now . . . they're back! This post celebrates a great team and season.

How were they built? Mostly through the draft (see here for more details). The depth chart above shows the roster. The players were acquired via:

• draft: Stephon Castle, Devin Vassell, Victor Wembanyana, Dylan Harper, Keldon Johnson, Carter Bryant 
• trade: De'Aaron Fox, Harrison Barnes, Jordan McLaughlin, Kelly Olynyk
• free agency: Julian Champagnie, Luke Kornet, Bismack Biyombo, Mason Plumlee, Lindy Waters III

As they did with Tim Duncan in 2002, the Spurs 'lucked out' in draft lottery positioning, enabling them to get Wemby first overall in 2023, Castle fourth overall in 2024, and Harper second overall in 2025. The first two won Rookie of the Year in their respective campaigns. But it's not all about the draft . . . free agents and trades are often necessary to round things out. The Spurs have key contributors from both spheres, but none more important than De'Aaron Fox, who came over from Sacramento via trade last season.

Who are their stars? The Big Four are Wemby (the NBA's Defensive Player of the Year and MVP runner-up), Fox, Castle, and Harper. These four players give the Spurs a formidable center and deep backcourt (which also includes Keldon Johnson, the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year). Though not at the same level, the Spurs also have solid forwards in Vassell, Champagnie, Bryant, and Barnes.

Wemby and Fox (image from here)

Castle and Harper (image from here)

What does the future hold? Who knows, of course. Game One in this year's finals is on Wednesday, and the Knicks are formidable. (Sidenote: this is also a rematch of the 1998-99 Finals.) But beyond this year, the team is young and should be competitive for years to come. Do we have another Spurs dynasty on our hands? Far too early to say. But the future is bright in San Antonio . . . go Spurs go!