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There are titles in the great world of board games that have marked a turning point. As for the ten commandments, each of these playful pearls has remained imprinted in the stone, remaining for posterity in the tables of the law of game design.
Heroquest for example, with its very simple and intuitive mechanics, has imprinted the law of Dungeon Crawling. Puerto Rico has imprinted the law of Determinism. And there was the game that marked the law of the Placement of workers. We are talking, of course, about Agricola.
Its “Moses”, ehm… father, bears the name of Uwe Rosenberg, and he is probably one of the reasons why these types of board games are called German. He is currently one of the most prolific game designers around; he proudly made Caverna: The Cave farmers, Patchwork, Ora et Labora, A feast for Odin, Le Havre. All, or almost all, with most loved mechanics by this author: you take a token and put it on the board, thus obtaining benefits.
In recent years Rosenberg, starting from the Patchwork game, thought of the box a lot, creating titles such as Cottage Garden and Indian Summer, based on mechanics similar to the “tetris” game: this interlocking game was initially very popular, but perhaps, as time goes by, it has lost some verve, bringing the “good Uwe” back to his classic roots.
Hallertau, presented in Essen in 2021, is his return to origins: building a village in the German region of the hops fruit, using trusted labor to be placed in the right spot, at the right time. And so far, I have described Agricola in terms of brewing, ok. BUT…
A well-established, expert and clever author like Uwe Rosenberg could not fall into repetitiveness, and Hallertau is the clear demonstration. Of course, you place the workers. Indeed, whoever has the most points win. Naturally, you need to improve your village. But meanwhile large decks of cards will mark the way forward, cards that can be played literally at any time, giving temporary boosts and that sensation of never being sure you’re winning… or losing. A breath of fresh air capable of removing all the dust from the classic “Caverna” or “Agricola” that has been gripping lovers of the Teutonic designer for years. Now the doubt will be to choose between “Caverna, Agricola or Hallertau”?
One thing is certain: in all these titles, chaos reigns supreme. Prepare yourself with tons of pockets and lots and lots of patience to start Hallertau: a myriad of different resources, 11 different types of card decks, not to mention tokens, meeples and various amenities.
And it is precisely in these games that a setupper becomes fundamental. Think about of spending at least half an hour between setting up and dismantling for a game, that for two players takes place in about an hour and a half, is simply unacceptable for us, The Dicetroyers. Breaking this time down to no more than 10 minutes was our mission. First of all, the sachets will be a distant memory. The decks will each be in its own dedicated slot, as will all the resources. Each player will have his own set in a specific box, and in no time your village will be ready to harvest the best quality of hops.
As for Caverna and Agricola, the preparation of Hallertau will turn from a nightmare to the needful, simple, and immediate choice. Uwe’s games deserve the best “setuppers”, and we’re here to make them.
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