Fields of Arle Board Game - Two Player Farming Strategy Game, Family Game for Kids & Adults, Ages 14+. 1-2 Players, 120 Minute Playtime, Made by Feuerland

Wow.I could leave it there for the review. Just... wow. I'm more than a little bit of a fan of worker placement games, and those like me know that there's no name quite like Uwe Rosenberg when it comes to the genre. It's been stated over and over (and over again by the game's manual) that this game is intended to be a little autobiographical, telling the story of Arle, where his father was born. Frankly, it's not just a love letter to his heritage. Fields of Arle is a love letter to worker placement games.It keeps with all the conventions of the genre, departing only slightly to bring us vehicles which we can load up with goods to exchange. It's as if Uwe sat down to play Agricola, and said "Man, I wish I could trade away these extra things," and being Uwe, set about creating that game immediately. If you've played any worker placement game whatsoever, the rules of Fields of Arle should be a pretty intuitive affair. I read through the manual, but very little of it stuck out as confusing. The only thing which didn't make immediate sense to me was the way destinations worked, and that was cleared up pretty quickly. Every rules question I encountered on my first play through was answered by the manual in the most natural of ways. "Of course that's how it works," I would say to myself. Load up wood, get back lumber. Load up bricks, get back clay. Every step of the his trademark harvest time for each season is detailed graphically on your board, making sure you don't miss a step.The main complaint to be had about the game is the limited player count: 1 - 2 players. I knew from the outset this wouldn't be a problem for me as most of my gaming is done solo anyway, but even then I can't imagine finding somebody to play this with. In a weird way, playing this game with someone is sharing an experience, strangely intimate and familiar. Since my wife is a non-gamer, I would actually be a little uncomfortable playing this game with a casual friend.You see, for me Fields of Arle is not just "thematic" in the sense that the mechanics serve the theme (which they do, so very well). Fields of Arle is the first of Rosenberg's offerings that also feels immersive. Unlike his masterpiece Agricola, you're not leading a hard life, you're leading a simple life. That simplicity echoes throughout the entire game. It might look daunting, taking up so much space on your table, with literally hundreds of little bits. The instructions make you simply say "Oh... well that makes sense."I encourage anyone to pick this up. Okay, almost anyone. This isn't a "light" board game. It's not very complex or difficult, but it does require a little investment on the part of the players to learn the game and figure out what's going on. If you've played Agricola, then this takes very little time, but if you're new to the hobby, this isn't the game you want to start with. It's a ton of fun, though.My gut tells me this is one game of his that won't be seeing reprints. It's too personal, indeed too artistic. For the first time since I entered this hobby, I saw a board game as art.

I play a lot of games with my nephew, and we love Le Havre. I bought this one looking for a great two-player strategy game, and it delivers. Like Le Havre, each player has lots of decisions to make and strategies to choose from. The food requirement is minimal in this game, but the pressure is on from the start, nonetheless. We played a few times, and we will have to play a few more times before I can make really good decisions on my turn.My nephew enjoyed the animal breeding and management aspect of the game. We played this two weeks ago, and he is still talking about the animals.This game has a lot of pieces and requires some setup time.For me, this is an interesting and challenging game but doesn't have the same fun factor as Le Havre. We will probably play Le Havre more but plan to come back to this often. We've hardly scratched the surface of this one.Update May 2016: My nephew and I have played this several more times, and it gets better each time. One thing I enjoy is that I can ship stuff each turn, unlike in LeHavre. I enjoy sending my goods to get upgraded. I can get a decent number of points by using the woolen mills and fleshing beams to get a pile of goods to improve. Whatever strategy you choose, it's another Uwe game that requires you to do a little bit of everything.My nephew enjoys the solo play, too. I liked the solo play but far prefer a head-to-head matchup.I love this game.

Really fun two player euro style worker placement game that thematically makes you feel like you are a farmer.Win or loss, you feel like you've built something in the way you wanted. Want to raise a bunch of cattle? Better clear off a lot of fields and build stables for them. Want to make and deliver goods to market? Better fill your barn with the right vehicles.The first few plays it felt like there wasn't much more than to pick a strategy and hope it works, but there is a fair amount of nuance your choices and management of all the resources can make some of your decisions rather brain burning. Player interaction is limited, but a big part of winning involves paying attention to your opponent's resources and making worker choices to slow down their engine just enough to foil their plans. Those subtle decision points are what makes this so brilliant.

Wow... What a great game. I enjoyed Agricola and Caverna.But in those games my wife and I always felt like we didnt get to experience the whole game with just the two of us playing. As well as the game would be over, just when you felt you were getting started. This game solved both of those issues for us.It is almost a 2 hour game for 2!It's nearly the size of Caverna, but designed for just two. So no components get left out!My wife loves this game and so do I. But do keep in mind, it is not fast paced. It is more of a farming simulator this time. Rather than a farming arcade game.

One of my favorite board game purchases, we have played Fields of Arle many times and will do so again. The pieces are little fiddy but it is well worth the time.

This was my first Uwe game ever and it does not disappoint. If you are wanting to try a farming simulator, this is the one to try.

A great open ended 2-player game. Whereas a lot of games have some set direction you should go to win, this game is extremely open-ended letting you do almost whatever you want. Solo is ok, but not that great.

The pinnacle of the sandbox style boardgame.