First, my Agricola cred: I have played Agricola 12 times -- 3 times solitaire. The first time I played Solitaire, I got 48 pts. The second game (with one carry over Occupation from the first game) I scored 52. I felt like I made too many mistakes the first two games and wanted to start over. I saw how beneficial it was to let spaces build up over time (especially animals and wood) and realized my approach to the game would have to be quite different to do well. As well, my first two solitaire games were my 8th and 9th playings of the game, and I felt like I was just starting to get the hang of how to use the Minor Improvement cards and Occupation cards effectively.

So tonight I sat down for Generation One (first game) in a Farming campaign, my 12th playing of Agricola (3rd solitaire). I used E deck only and amongst the cards I was dealt was the Baker and the Millstone. I look at one then the other; back to the first then returned to the second. Could it be as good as it sounded?

It was. To get the food I needed for the first Harvest, I used Day Laborer for 2 and the Fishing hole for 4. I used the rest of my actions to get set up for grain farming (2 Plow + 2 Grain + Sow). Before the second Harvest I built the Clay Oven, and then the food engine went crazy. Without even having to use a Bake Bread action, I was generating 7 food every Harvest automatically (at the cost of one Grain). This allowed me to basically go nuts on the board. I Plowed, Grained, Vegged, Sowed, Built, Renovated, and - on the last turn -- grabbed 14 Sheep, 7 Wild Boar, and 4 Cattle, finishing the game with 66 POINTS!

You could say that my play improved considerably. But - as much as I'd like to take credit for it - it seems obvious to me that I got dealt an amazing 2-card combo. I still enjoy the flow of play in Agricola, and the challenge of every game, but I was surprised to see how much easier the Solitaire game is depending on the starting cards. There are some cards that are just not great for Solitaire (for example, the Occupation card that gives you an extra Wood every time you take Wood from a space -- since Solitaire is about letting spaces build, this card is almost..."dead wood" if you'll excuse the pun.)

I'll still play the game multiplayer, but I may give up Solitaire. 66 pts in game 1? Seriously? That's 8 food for the start of next game. That's insane. 48 points was frustrating; 66 pts is barely less so. It felt too much like the cards wone, and not my play.

Thoughts?