Reply: Tzolk'in: The Mayan Calendar:: General:: Re: Will I like this?

by I Eat Tables

Paul G wrote:

I seem to ask this question a lot, but this community is amazing at answering it, so I'll try it again.

I want a new worker placement game. Tzolk'in seems really cool, but my group almost never plays Agricola. Is the feeding as big a deal? The first third of any Agricola game is just panic and starvation, which is cool thematically, but a bit frustrating.

I suppose the above question could be worded as "is it a game that feels more rewarding or punishing when you play, on average?"

How fast is the play? Assuming a bit of AP among about a third of our players (our group is large).

How well does it sit 2 and 3 people? The dummy player doesn't seem obtrusive in the slightest, but I can't tell fully without playing.

Thanks a lot,
Paul

Tzolk'in is probably my favourite worker placement, ahead of Agricola. Food is mostly used as a tool for placing more workers at once, but the food days do matter. They're not too hard to prepare for - one or two actions will cover the food you need, but you need to remember they're coming.

All food days come with a benefit, though, of either points or resources, so even those 'bad' events have a good side (possibly a bigger good side than bad in fact). And you really feel like you're making progress, in general, so the game feels mostly very rewarding.

With a normal, somewhat experienced group of 4, I'd say you can play in about 90 minutes including setup. With AP, first games and the like, probably more like 2 1/2 hours.

2 and 3 are not as good as 4, but the dummy worker mechanic works really well. The game isn't really very different, just there's a few people coming around on the board. I'm very happy to play this with 2 or 3.

Hope that helps!