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	<title>Board Game: Agricola</title>
	<link>http://www.boardgamegeek.com/thing/31260</link>
	<language>en-us</language>
	<lastBuildDate></lastBuildDate>
	<pubDate></pubDate>
	<webMaster>webmaster@boardgamegeek.com (BoardGameGeek)</webMaster>
	<description>BoardGameGeek features information related to the board gaming hobby</description>	
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	<title>Thread: Re: Solo game with &quot;Ai-player&quot; variant</title>
	<description>Any updates? Is it easier or harder than the standard solo game?</description>
	<link>http://www.boardgamegeek.com/article/3654742#3654742</link>
	<pubDate>Mon, 06 Jul 2009 22:16:52 +0000</pubDate>
	<dc:creator>maaikefest</dc:creator>
	<guid>http://www.boardgamegeek.com/article/3654742#3654742</guid>
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<item>
	<title>Thread: Re: Pimp your Agricola, part 3: New Designer Player Boards</title>
	<description>Mine arrived today and it bummed me out. The boards were shrinkwrapped, but shipped in a plain brown envelope with no padding. Therefore, they were badly squished on multiple corners. I wrote them about it to see if they would replace it and I am waiting on hearing back from them.</description>
	<link>http://www.boardgamegeek.com/article/3654672#3654672</link>
	<pubDate>Mon, 06 Jul 2009 21:53:56 +0000</pubDate>
	<dc:creator>joshp</dc:creator>
	<guid>http://www.boardgamegeek.com/article/3654672#3654672</guid>
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	<title>Thread: Re: Pimp your Agricola, part 3: New Designer Player Boards</title>
	<description>This is the nicest, most unnecessary game expansion I have ever bought !&lt;br&gt;Fortuantely they just fit in the box even with an X deck, O deck, L deck, Z deck animeeples and veggie meeples, not sure where anything else will go though !&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;I particularly like winter and Mars, although the Wild West board is very good.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;As mentioned somewhere on this thread they are all double sided with spaces for resources on the flipside.  The Wild West board and Mars are especially nice for this.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Cheers&lt;br&gt;Tim&lt;br&gt;</description>
	<link>http://www.boardgamegeek.com/article/3654512#3654512</link>
	<pubDate>Mon, 06 Jul 2009 21:17:29 +0000</pubDate>
	<dc:creator>Tim Love</dc:creator>
	<guid>http://www.boardgamegeek.com/article/3654512#3654512</guid>
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	<title>Thread: Has anyone tried using some 3+ occupations in the solo game?</title>
	<description>I have played 1 2-player game so far, and the rest all solo games. I'm still only playing with the E-deck since I'm not tired of it yet :). &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;I was browsing through the 3+ cards in the E-deck today, and I saw some occupations that would be very usable in the solo game, for instance 168 vegetable trader, 147 vegetable farmer, 165 independant farmer, 152 berry picker, 209 mason, 182 charcoal maker, 156 brush maker, and many more. &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Are there specific reasons why they were left out of the 1+ deck? Has anyone tried adding them to the solo or 2-player game? </description>
	<link>http://www.boardgamegeek.com/article/3654489#3654489</link>
	<pubDate>Mon, 06 Jul 2009 21:12:06 +0000</pubDate>
	<dc:creator>maaikefest</dc:creator>
	<guid>http://www.boardgamegeek.com/article/3654489#3654489</guid>
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	<title>Thread: Re: Wife is getting the hang of it</title>
	<description>&lt;div&gt;&lt;font color=#2121A4&gt;&lt;b&gt;Mordenthral wrote:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;i&gt;On the flip side... my sister-in-law played her first game and ended with *snicker* 1 point.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Has anyone done worse without trying to score low?&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;=][=&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Um. Yes. :whistle:</description>
	<link>http://www.boardgamegeek.com/article/3654467#3654467</link>
	<pubDate>Mon, 06 Jul 2009 21:04:47 +0000</pubDate>
	<dc:creator>MisterG</dc:creator>
	<guid>http://www.boardgamegeek.com/article/3654467#3654467</guid>
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	<title>Thread: Re: Who do you like to see designing an Agricola player mat?</title>
	<description>&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.glassonion.com&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; class=&quot;postlink&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;Michael Whalen&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Jim&lt;br&gt;</description>
	<link>http://www.boardgamegeek.com/article/3654067#3654067</link>
	<pubDate>Mon, 06 Jul 2009 19:32:23 +0000</pubDate>
	<dc:creator>jimmcmahon</dc:creator>
	<guid>http://www.boardgamegeek.com/article/3654067#3654067</guid>
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	<title>Thread: Re: Canning - Minor Improvement</title>
	<description>Puts me in the mood to figure out something about salting meat and preserving foods (i.e. for Agricola). Well, something I could learn for real, too. </description>
	<link>http://www.boardgamegeek.com/article/3653881#3653881</link>
	<pubDate>Mon, 06 Jul 2009 18:47:38 +0000</pubDate>
	<dc:creator>aboveriver</dc:creator>
	<guid>http://www.boardgamegeek.com/article/3653881#3653881</guid>
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	<title>Thread: Re: Improvement &amp; Occupation Cards</title>
	<description>&lt;div&gt;&lt;font color=#2121A4&gt;&lt;b&gt;cferejohn wrote:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;i&gt;Just to nitpick my own answer: note that newly bred animals can't be turned into food before they have actually been placed in your farm. So if you have 2 sheep and no room for any more, you can't eat the baby. However if you have 3 sheep and no room, you can kill and eat one sheep just before animal breeding and then breed the remaining 2.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;It's simpler to state that animals won't breed if there is no room on your farm, so there just isn't a baby period. So if you have 2 sheep and no room for any more there never will be a baby.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Because even if you don't have room you can take animals and cook them: the only way the baby thing is consistent is if it never happened. :)</description>
	<link>http://www.boardgamegeek.com/article/3653618#3653618</link>
	<pubDate>Mon, 06 Jul 2009 17:42:53 +0000</pubDate>
	<dc:creator>jsciv</dc:creator>
	<guid>http://www.boardgamegeek.com/article/3653618#3653618</guid>
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<item>
	<title>Thread: Re: Pimp your Agricola, part 3: New Designer Player Boards</title>
	<description>Just got mine today, too.  Very nice.  The space station and UFO on the Mars map and the footprints in the snow are nice touches.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;So, uh, when do we get the house tiles to match?  :)</description>
	<link>http://www.boardgamegeek.com/article/3653188#3653188</link>
	<pubDate>Mon, 06 Jul 2009 15:33:37 +0000</pubDate>
	<dc:creator>Haggis</dc:creator>
	<guid>http://www.boardgamegeek.com/article/3653188#3653188</guid>
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	<title>Thread: Re: Round cards face up or face down?</title>
	<description>&lt;div&gt;&lt;font color=#2121A4&gt;&lt;b&gt;cpsof95 wrote:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;i&gt;The rules say: &quot;Turn the blue Round cards face up and sort them according to the Stage of the game. Shuffle each small pile and place the piles on top of each other with the cards for Stage 6 at the bottom, Stage 5 on top of that, etc - with the four cards for Stage 1 on the top. The Round cards bring new possible actions into the game.&quot;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;So we have a deck of face up cards so the topmost card is always visible.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br&gt;I believe it's implicit in the act of shuffling that the cards are no longer visible, i.e., face-down.  Otherwise, they're not really randomized, as the shuffler, as well as anyone watching, will know the card order.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Thus, I interpret those rules as: &lt;br&gt;1) Turn the Round cards face up.&lt;br&gt;2) Sort the Round cards into stages.&lt;br&gt;3) Take each Stage's Round card piles, one at a time, and &lt;u&gt;shuffle&lt;/u&gt; them (i.e., turn them over and mix them up).&lt;br&gt;4) Stack the Round card piles in reverse Stage order.&lt;br&gt;</description>
	<link>http://www.boardgamegeek.com/article/3652915#3652915</link>
	<pubDate>Mon, 06 Jul 2009 14:12:28 +0000</pubDate>
	<dc:creator>Xaxyx</dc:creator>
	<guid>http://www.boardgamegeek.com/article/3652915#3652915</guid>
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<item>
	<title>Thread: Re: Wife is getting the hang of it</title>
	<description>On the flip side... my sister-in-law played her first game and ended with *snicker* 1 point.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Has anyone done worse without trying to score low?&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;=][=</description>
	<link>http://www.boardgamegeek.com/article/3652473#3652473</link>
	<pubDate>Mon, 06 Jul 2009 11:43:39 +0000</pubDate>
	<dc:creator>Mordenthral</dc:creator>
	<guid>http://www.boardgamegeek.com/article/3652473#3652473</guid>
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	<title>Thread: Re: Chicken or the Egg?</title>
	<description>&lt;div&gt;&lt;font color=#2121A4&gt;&lt;b&gt;manowarplayer wrote:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;i&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;1. Chickens DO NOT need to be fenced in.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;I was thinking, instead of not needing to be fenced in, what about using a stable as a chicken run/hen house.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;maybe 8 hens per stable/hen house capacity.</description>
	<link>http://www.boardgamegeek.com/article/3652288#3652288</link>
	<pubDate>Mon, 06 Jul 2009 09:17:50 +0000</pubDate>
	<dc:creator>Liggur</dc:creator>
	<guid>http://www.boardgamegeek.com/article/3652288#3652288</guid>
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<item>
	<title>Thread: Re: Pimp your Agricola, part 3: New Designer Player Boards</title>
	<description>I just received them! They're all gorgeous, my favorite being the Mars one with its little details :cool:.&lt;br&gt;The only thing i don't like is the removal of the panels telling you can exchange 1 grain / veggie for 1 food and how much grain / veggie to sow on the 'easy' side of the mats; and the 'advanced' side of the mats has the little strip to leave resources under the house basements (or has the house basements on the up/right).&lt;br&gt;Still waiting for that Giger mat... and the August surprise :ninja:</description>
	<link>http://www.boardgamegeek.com/article/3652256#3652256</link>
	<pubDate>Mon, 06 Jul 2009 08:43:47 +0000</pubDate>
	<dc:creator>senseless</dc:creator>
	<guid>http://www.boardgamegeek.com/article/3652256#3652256</guid>
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	<title>Thread: Third Time Pays For All, or MisterG vs Ronbo: The Tiebreaker</title>
	<description>Anyone who’s played Agricola more than a few times quickly comes to realize the equivalence of food, actions, and victory points.  The relationship can be very roughly expressed as Food Expended = Actions Taken = Score, or FEATS, as I like to call it, as in “Feats, Don’t Fail Me Now!”  This algorithm will, of course, vary from game to game depending on what cards are played and what sort of efficiencies can be achieved, as well as what measures the opposition takes, but as a general rule of thumb, it holds up pretty well.  Food equals actions equals points.  Learn it, live it, love it.  &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;What throws many players, at least in the initial experience of learning the game, is that actions cost less food in the early Stages than the later ones.  In Stage One, with rare exceptions like the appearance of the Lover or the use of the Winter Action in the “Through the Seasons” variant, actions only cost a half a food, while in the last Stage, each action costs as much as two food, again with certain exceptions.   That escalating cost is precisely the reason that players are forced to establish some sort of food engine, be it via baking grain, cooking animals or vegetables, or using sources like the Fish Pond, Day Laborer, or some sort of card-enhanced stratagem.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Met for the third time on the fallow fields of Agricola, Ron and I once again played with a deal-ten-drop-three draft.  Sorry to say, I came up pretty empty as far as Minor Imps go, and in fact never played any of the “permanent” ones I had.  Oddly enough, the “passable” ones I owned served me quite nicely.  Even more oddly, Ron never played any of his permanent Minor Imps either.  All in all, ‘twas passing strange indeed!  The only two Minors that saw action were Building Material and the Field.  How many times does &lt;i&gt;that&lt;/i&gt; happen?&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Enough blather; let’s see what happened…      &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;u&gt;Round One/Sow &amp; Bake&lt;/u&gt;&lt;br&gt;Ron – Occ/Field Watchman&lt;br&gt;Geoff – 3W(3)&lt;br&gt;Ron – 1G + PF&lt;br&gt;Geoff – SP + Field&gt; (PF-1f)&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Ron opens the proceedings with the (somewhat) dreaded Field Watchman, a quite powerful Ock for those intent upon setting up a strong grain/food engine.  I counter with a simple wood grab.  Ron then breaks himself even on his Ock, and I take the button, coughing up a food for a pass-along field of my own, setting myself up for stacked reed.  My intentions are quite plain: I’m going to build a room and expand as soon as possible, having been spanked last game for failing to do so.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;u&gt;Round Two/MIMI&lt;/u&gt;&lt;br&gt;Geoff – 1R(2)&lt;br&gt;Ron – 1C(2)&lt;br&gt;Geoff – Occ/Wood Collector (5W&gt;)&lt;br&gt;Ron – MIMI/Fp2&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;MIMI says hello, the reed is mine, and Ron predictably swipes the clay.  I get out the only Ock I have that’s worthy of early play, a long-term 5Wood, and Ron even more predictably buys his fireplace, absolutely no surprise there beyond a raised eyebrow at his not retaking the button to gain next Round’s 6Wood.  Usually wood mania outstrips any other impulse Ron has in the game, but he’s also very big on an early cookery, so like I said, no surprise.  I’m always willing to take advantage of an opponent’s oversight.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;u&gt;Round Three/Sheep&lt;/u&gt;&lt;br&gt;Geoff – 3W(6)&lt;br&gt;Ron – Occ(1)/Clay Worker&lt;br&gt;Geoff – 1G&lt;br&gt;Ron – SP + Field&gt; (PF-1f)&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Naturally, I fall upon the wood.  Ron now seemingly forgets about his Watchman and pops out another Ock, one that provides him a long-term 5Clay.  Not awful, but I’m thinking he’d have been better off taking advantage of that Watchman.  Instead, he ignores it until the final Round of the game.  Of course, I encourage this by immediately claiming a grain with my second peep.  Unperturbed, Ron now nabs the button, sending the Minor field back to me.  Fair enough, I can live with that.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;u&gt;Round Four/Fences&lt;/u&gt;&lt;br&gt;Ron – Fish(4f)&lt;br&gt;Geoff – DL(2f)&lt;br&gt;Ron – 1R(2)&lt;br&gt;Geoff – BR(1) +2s&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Now Ron gets sneaky, emptying the fish pond and pretty much &lt;i&gt;forcing&lt;/i&gt; me to hit up Day Laborer in order to feed my family.  Fair enough again; I’m wise to his wily ways.  He then gloms the stacked reed (so much for a double build for moi), and I crank out a room, along with a pair of stables.  How will Ron respond to the sheep threat?  We shall see, soon enough.  Dudes home, and fed.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;u&gt;Round Five/Stone&lt;/u&gt;&lt;br&gt;Ron – 3W(6) +1C&lt;br&gt;Geoff – Sheep(3)&lt;br&gt;Ron – 1C(3+1)&lt;br&gt;Geoff – SP + Building Material&gt; (1C)&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Tempting as the woolies must surely be, Ron cannot resist the stacked wood, especially with its clay bonus.  I bopeep the little beggars, tails wagging.  Ron piles up the clay, and I take the button away from him again, picking up a clay that he’s otherwise seemingly determined to never let me have.  That’s okay; two can play at that sort of game.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;u&gt;Round Six/Family Growth + MI&lt;/u&gt;&lt;br&gt;Geoff – 1R(2)&lt;br&gt;Ron – 3W(3) +1C&lt;br&gt;Geoff – FG + x&lt;br&gt;Ron – Occ(1G)/Bricklayer&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Quite naturally, I claim the stacked reed, the rarest commodity in the game.  Ron gathers in more wood and the bonus clay, still ignoring his Watchman, as well as the potential of a button grab.  I add a worker to my family, sans Minor.  I could play the Spit Roast, but truth is I don’t want to spare the wood; I’m going to need every stick I can get for my next room.  Ron drops down the Bricklayer, a fine complement to his enhanced clay-gathering abilities, but again, a button grab would have left him in a much better position, imnsho.  My ability to feed my family is unassailable, but he could deny me the stone next Round, which would certainly be a hindrance to my rather transparent plans.  &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;u&gt;Round Seven/Renovation + MIMI&lt;/u&gt;&lt;br&gt;Geoff – Fish(3f)&lt;br&gt;Ron – Sheep(2)burn2&lt;br&gt;Geoff – 1S(3)&lt;br&gt;Ron – Ren&gt;C + Fp&gt;CH4&lt;br&gt;Geoff – MIMI/Stone Oven (4f)&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Preferring not to offer up my sheep to the gods, I fish.  Ron has no similar ovine mercies, and a compelling reason against them: he needs to feed.  I snap up the bargain stone.  Ron knows the Well can be mine if I want it, but instead of blocking MIMI and making life difficult for me, he chooses to renovate his hut, bumping his fireplace to a hearth in the process.  Relieved that I’m not going to have to visit Day Laborer and sacrifice my grain to feed my family, I go ahead and procure the Stone Oven, turning that lonely grain into plentiful, delicious bread.  My family is fed with one to spare, and my newborn wooly scampers off into the wilderness, since I have yet to acquire a cookery.  Just don’t wander back too close, little sheep, or the big, bad wolf is gonna getcha…&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;u&gt;Round Eight/Boar&lt;/u&gt;&lt;br&gt;Geoff – 1C(3)&lt;br&gt;Ron – 3W(6) +1C&lt;br&gt;Geoff – MIMI/Fp2&lt;br&gt;Ron – 1R(2)&lt;br&gt;Geoff – 1G&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Having been reminded that my food engine needs some bite to it, I take the clay, which also serves to derail Ron’s hut-building opportunities.  Sweet!  Ron vengefully sweeps in the 6Wood plus.  I build a fireplace—no more Mr. Nice Guy, li’l woolies!—Ron nabs another stack of reed, and I pick up another grain.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;u&gt;Round Nine/Vegetables&lt;/u&gt;&lt;br&gt;Geoff – Boar(2)burn3sheep&lt;br&gt;Ron – Sheep(2)burn2&lt;br&gt;Geoff – BR(1)&lt;br&gt;Ron – Fences(15)&lt;br&gt;Geoff – FG + x&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Much as I’d like to crank out another room, I simply have to assure myself food for three without, if you’ll pardon the expression, giving away the farm.  I capture the boar and slaughter the sheep.  Sorry, but I warned ‘em.  Ron must be thinking the same thing, since he bypasses building a clay room (he has enough clay thanks to his Bricklayer) and pulls a “Mars Attacks” on the sheep.  Perhaps he didn’t trust me to leave them alone if he went for the room—and he would have been right!  Ack! Ack! Ack! Ack!  I have every reason to build now, and do so, following up with Family Growth after Ron fences.  I’m almost starting to feel sorry for his poor, seemingly useless Field Watchman.  Almost.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;u&gt;Round Ten/Cattle&lt;/u&gt;&lt;br&gt;Geoff – 1G&lt;br&gt;Ron – 3W(6) +1C&lt;br&gt;Geoff – 1V&lt;br&gt;Ron – BR(1) +3s&lt;br&gt;Geoff – PF&lt;br&gt;Geoff – S&amp;B (1Gf/1Vf +4f)&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Time now to be offensively defensive: I snag a simple grain, once again denying Ron’s Watchman its due.  Ron clears the 6Wood, seeking stabilization.  Get it? Get it?  Oh, never mind.  I glom a veggie, and Ron &lt;i&gt;finally&lt;/i&gt; enjoys the luxury of building a room, along with a trio of stables.  I wrap the Round up with another plowed field, and a nice, utilitarian Sow &amp; Bake.  Things are looking very copasetic on my farm.  &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;u&gt;Round Eleven/Stone&lt;/u&gt;&lt;br&gt;Geoff – 1S(4)&lt;br&gt;Ron – Cattle(2)&lt;br&gt;Geoff – 1R(3)&lt;br&gt;Ron – FG + Building Material&gt; (1C)&lt;br&gt;Geoff – 1C(3)&lt;br&gt;Geoff – Ren&gt;C + Fp&gt;CH5&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Much as I’d love to deny Ron the double-stacked reed, another potential room, I can’t ignore the superb value of a 4Stone.  It has renovation spelled all over it, or the Well, if I so choose.  But truthfully, it’s the renovation that’s of paramount importance.  Then, Ron surprises me by snagging cattle instead of the reed.  It’ll mean three points down the line, and a 4food, but I’m still a bit nonplussed, though not enough to resist scooping up the beckoning reed.  Ron at long last hires on a third peep, tossing the traveling Minor back to me for a clay he never uses.  I think at this point he’s recognized the writing on the wall.  He’s certainly going to by the end of the next Round.  I scarf the 3Clay, renovate, and claim the other hearth, a most timely acquisition that will mean one critical extra food very shortly.  Dudes home, jiggety-jig, and we scramble to placate the gods of subsistence.  Now I see why Ron was practically forced to take the cattle: he has to burn them both to provide for his newly expanded troop.  I sacrifice a raw grain and a torched piggy to satisfy my own family.  Life is tough at times.  We move into the endgame. &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;u&gt;Round Twelve/Plow &amp; Sow&lt;/u&gt;&lt;br&gt;Geoff – 3W(6)&lt;br&gt;Ron – Boar(3)&lt;br&gt;Geoff – (burn1boar) Ren &gt;S + Field&gt; (PF-1f) &lt;br&gt;Ron – Sheep(3)&lt;br&gt;Geoff – Occ(1)/Mason (1StoneRoom)&lt;br&gt;Ron – Fish(5f)&lt;br&gt;Geoff – FG + Building Material&gt; (1W)&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;For once, my first play is as forced as forced can be.  I have to think about fencing and think about it &lt;i&gt;now&lt;/i&gt;, or risk a punitive strike by Ron.  He probably has no genuine use for wood (having already converted to clay and built max fences), but it’s possible he has a Minor or two that need wood, and there’s always the Joinery to consider.  I take the 6Wood; I simply can’t afford not to.  Ron herds boar while I slaughter one to pay for another field as I renovate to stone.  Ron herds sheep, and I unleash the Mason.  Ron sighs and fishes, my workforce expands, with a stick of wood to boot.  There was really nothing he could have done to stop me.  &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;u&gt;Round Thirteen/Family Growth w/o&lt;/u&gt;&lt;br&gt;Geoff – 1G&lt;br&gt;Ron – Cattle(2)&lt;br&gt;Geoff – P&amp;S (1Gf/1Vf)&lt;br&gt;Ron – 1V&lt;br&gt;Geoff – Occ(1)/Master Builder (1StoneRoom)&lt;br&gt;Ron – FG w/o&lt;br&gt;Geoff – 1S(3)&lt;br&gt;Geoff – MIMI/Well (1f&gt;)&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Again I cramp Ron’s style by taking the grain.  He brings home the beef, forlorn.  I sow a few fields, he eliminates a negative, and I use the last of my fresh ham to build my sixth stone room, something I haven’t accomplished in scores of games (if ever).  Disconsolate, Ron hires on a cheap peep.  I close out the Round securing the Well.  It costs me a veggie, two boar, and a grain to feed my dudes, which is fine by me.  The points lost are more than fair payment for the ones I’ve gained.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;u&gt;Round Fourteen/Renovation + Fences&lt;/u&gt;&lt;br&gt;Geoff – P&amp;S (1Gf/1Vf)&lt;br&gt;Ron – 1G + PF&lt;br&gt;Geoff – 3W(6)&lt;br&gt;Ron – PF&lt;br&gt;Geoff – Boar(2)&lt;br&gt;Ron – 1V&lt;br&gt;Geoff – Fences(12)&lt;br&gt;Ron – S&amp;B (2Vf/1Gf)&lt;br&gt;Geoff – Sheep(2)&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;The final Round is a flurry of negatives elimination.  Ron knows he can mess with my fencing plans, but chooses to boost his own score as much as possible, rather than try to deflate mine.  It wouldn’t make any great difference.  Due to a slight miscalculation, my array of rooms and fields keeps me from maximizing pastures when I fence, but no matter.  Dudes home, rack ‘em and stack ‘em.  My dinner menu comprises a veritable culinary trifecta: one each of grain, veggie, boar, sheep and food.  Can’t say I’ve ever done that before.  Ron puts two boar and a sheep to the knife to sate his own crew’s appetites.  A quick survey of the boards tells the tale…   &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;u&gt;Final Score (Occupations Played, Minors/Majors Played)(Wood taken/bonus)(Rounds as Starting Player)(Total Primary/Secondary/Tertiary Actions)(Points Per Primary Action)&lt;/u&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Geoff – 49 (3 Occ, 4/3)(21/6)(11)(43/6/0)(1.140)&lt;br&gt;Ron – 36 (3 Occ, 2/1)(21/0)(3)(32/4/6)(1.125)&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Note how close we both came to the FEATS algorithm: I spent 47 food, and Ron spent 35 food.  The extra food that I generated (and spent) stemmed from one thing.  I grew as early as I could, and used that multiplier to grow again and again.  Increasing one’s actions is the key to this game, and that first growth, as many writers on these boards have described, is of primary importance.  You simply cannot afford to fool around; if you don’t have a third peep by the end of Stage Two, or at very worst Stage Three, you are most likely going to lose to the player who does.  You don’t have to be the first to grow (and the more players there are in the game, the more latitude in this you have), but you’d best not be too far behind.  By the time we got to the endgame (the last three Rounds), Ron was laboring under a seven-action deficit, a handicap virtually impossible to overcome.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;How did this happen?  Mostly, it was due to a lack of &lt;i&gt;focus&lt;/i&gt; on Ron’s part.  His initial play of the Field Watchman was a decent one.  It’s a strong Ock—I think we all know that by now—but it has to be &lt;i&gt;used&lt;/i&gt;, or it’s worthless.  Ron could have had a nice grain engine going by the end of Stage One, but he shifted his efforts to obtaining a fireplace that he didn’t use for five Rounds, then shifted again to building a clay engine, and at that, one that wasn’t strong enough to really support early renovation to clay.  Further, he ignored getting a room built in Round Five or Six, a near-unpardonable sin given that he had all the requisite tools at hand.  It’s one thing to &lt;i&gt;adapt&lt;/i&gt; to an opponent’s moves; it’s another thing entirely to constantly shift focus willy-nilly.  This was a game I would have dearly loved to play again, with each player playing the opponent’s hand.  I feel certain I could have done far better with Ron’s holdings than he managed himself.  &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Ron’s first major misstep came in Round Two, I believe, when he marked time picking up a premature fireplace.  I think he’d have been much better off had he popped out the Clay Worker &lt;i&gt;right then&lt;/i&gt;, and then snagged the button to get the 6Wood in Round Three.  From there, he could have put the Watchman to work, gotten his grain engine going, picked up his fireplace (or with any luck, a hearth in one shot), and gotten to work on an oven in Stage Two.  His build-and-grow routine would be one step behind mine, but that handicap would have been far from insurmountable.  Alternatively, he could have saved the Watchman for his late game efforts, gotten the Clay Worker and Bricklayer out earlier, and concentrated on a clay machine.  But, to misquote Cornelius Ryan, he “went an Occupation too far.”  He bit off more than he could chew, and it cost him any chance at the win.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;As always, I hope Constant Reader enjoyed this account.  Stay tuned next week for “Takin’ Care of Business All the Time, or MisterG and the Pieceworker Meet JimmyO and the Bricklayer.”&lt;br&gt;</description>
	<link>http://www.boardgamegeek.com/article/3652033#3652033</link>
	<pubDate>Mon, 06 Jul 2009 05:50:39 +0000</pubDate>
	<dc:creator>MisterG</dc:creator>
	<guid>http://www.boardgamegeek.com/article/3652033#3652033</guid>
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<item>
	<title>Thread: Re: Chicken or the Egg?</title>
	<description>Tried this variant today.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;I&lt;b&gt;ssues to look at:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;1. Total number of Chickens at game end seemed a tad high:&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Wife 10&lt;br&gt;Sister 22&lt;br&gt;Me 16&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Food &amp; breeding rates seemed good. &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;2. Everyone was able to adopt a full or partial Chicken strategy.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Is it too easy to do?&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;3. Extra Grain space probably not needed in a 3 player game.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;4. No one ever took the Chicken Coop action.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;b&gt;Clarifications: &lt;/b&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;1. Chickens produce eggs in the FIELD phase of the Harvest.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;2. Grain has to be in supply, not in fields to be able to feed chickens.&lt;br&gt;</description>
	<link>http://www.boardgamegeek.com/article/3651964#3651964</link>
	<pubDate>Mon, 06 Jul 2009 05:09:50 +0000</pubDate>
	<dc:creator>manowarplayer</dc:creator>
	<guid>http://www.boardgamegeek.com/article/3651964#3651964</guid>
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<item>
	<title>Thread: Re: Urgent (in-game)! Replenishing when missing resources</title>
	<description>Yes so do I, and I appreciate it a lot. :) Thank you all for your help. It was a nice first game, everyone seems to have enjoyed it, myself included!</description>
	<link>http://www.boardgamegeek.com/article/3651956#3651956</link>
	<pubDate>Mon, 06 Jul 2009 05:02:50 +0000</pubDate>
	<dc:creator>Jello53</dc:creator>
	<guid>http://www.boardgamegeek.com/article/3651956#3651956</guid>
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<item>
	<title>Thread: Re: Where&#039;s the reed?</title>
	<description>Oops - that's it - we were misinterpreting the reed cost for renovation.  Thanks everyone</description>
	<link>http://www.boardgamegeek.com/article/3651728#3651728</link>
	<pubDate>Mon, 06 Jul 2009 03:03:45 +0000</pubDate>
	<dc:creator>Ryan Keane</dc:creator>
	<guid>http://www.boardgamegeek.com/article/3651728#3651728</guid>
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<item>
	<title>Thread: Re: Improvement &amp; Occupation Cards</title>
	<description>&lt;div&gt;&lt;font color=#2121A4&gt;&lt;b&gt;MisterG wrote:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;i&gt;You can never convert grain (or vegetables) that are on your fields at any time.  They &lt;i&gt;must&lt;/i&gt; have been harvested first.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br&gt;Again, truth.  Field grain and vegetables count toward your final score, but you can't do anything with them (eat, bake, cook, make knick-knacks for the middle school craft fair) until they are harvested.  (An expansion will have an improvement to turn grain into macaroni art, right?)</description>
	<link>http://www.boardgamegeek.com/article/3651234#3651234</link>
	<pubDate>Sun, 05 Jul 2009 23:21:40 +0000</pubDate>
	<dc:creator>Limey Sponge</dc:creator>
	<guid>http://www.boardgamegeek.com/article/3651234#3651234</guid>
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<item>
	<title>Thread: Re: Improvement &amp; Occupation Cards</title>
	<description>You can never convert grain (or vegetables) that are on your fields at any time.  They &lt;i&gt;must&lt;/i&gt; have been harvested first.</description>
	<link>http://www.boardgamegeek.com/article/3651147#3651147</link>
	<pubDate>Sun, 05 Jul 2009 22:30:46 +0000</pubDate>
	<dc:creator>MisterG</dc:creator>
	<guid>http://www.boardgamegeek.com/article/3651147#3651147</guid>
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<item>
	<title>Thread: Re: Alternative ways to distribute minor improvement / occupations</title>
	<description>A couple of quick points/options as I'm sure this has been discussed previously. &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&quot;Mulligans&quot; - distribute occupations and Minor Improvements the standard way (7 randomly dealt to each player) but give players the options to discard their cards and draw a new set &lt;i&gt;but with one less card&lt;/i&gt;. So if you dont like your first 7 occupations you can discard them and draw six. Still not happy, you can ditch those six cards and draw five new ones etc. Repeat the process for minor improvements.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Drafting - When drafting dont deal each player seven cards but N cards where N is the number of players. Then you dont see the same cards going around and around and theres more &quot;surprise&quot; as to what others have. Eg in three player you could deal everyone 4 cards, draft those then deal everyone 3 cards and draft. For a bit of variety deal everyone an extra card each time and instead of drafting the last card in each set throw it away face down. </description>
	<link>http://www.boardgamegeek.com/article/3651133#3651133</link>
	<pubDate>Sun, 05 Jul 2009 22:19:49 +0000</pubDate>
	<dc:creator>Mark Simpson</dc:creator>
	<guid>http://www.boardgamegeek.com/article/3651133#3651133</guid>
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<item>
	<title>Thread: Re: Improvement &amp; Occupation Cards</title>
	<description>Along the same lines, if some has the master brewer occupation out, can they convert a grain from the field to 3 food during harvest or can they only convert grain from the supply to 3 food?  I guess I would have the same question with the windmill although that one can be used any time.</description>
	<link>http://www.boardgamegeek.com/article/3651107#3651107</link>
	<pubDate>Sun, 05 Jul 2009 22:06:09 +0000</pubDate>
	<dc:creator>Kharnik</dc:creator>
	<guid>http://www.boardgamegeek.com/article/3651107#3651107</guid>
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<item>
	<title>Thread: Re: Urgent (in-game)! Replenishing when missing resources</title>
	<description>I find it pretty amazing that you can post a question here &lt;i&gt;in the middle of a game&lt;/i&gt; and get multiple answers within 10 minutes.  Very nice.</description>
	<link>http://www.boardgamegeek.com/article/3651075#3651075</link>
	<pubDate>Sun, 05 Jul 2009 21:51:13 +0000</pubDate>
	<dc:creator>leungd</dc:creator>
	<guid>http://www.boardgamegeek.com/article/3651075#3651075</guid>
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<item>
	<title>Thread: Re: Urgent (in-game)! Replenishing when missing resources</title>
	<description>&lt;div&gt;&lt;font color=#2121A4&gt;&lt;b&gt;megasycophant wrote:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;i&gt;AFAIK, resources aren't supposed to limited -- make your own chips.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;font color=#2121A4&gt;&lt;b&gt;Sungarden3 wrote:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;i&gt;&lt;br&gt;The only things that are limited are your family members, fences, and stables. &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&quot;Wood chips&quot; will work fine.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;:)&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Quoting everything for truth... no limits to resources...&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;-DK</description>
	<link>http://www.boardgamegeek.com/article/3651020#3651020</link>
	<pubDate>Sun, 05 Jul 2009 21:14:30 +0000</pubDate>
	<dc:creator>DKahnt</dc:creator>
	<guid>http://www.boardgamegeek.com/article/3651020#3651020</guid>
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<item>
	<title>Thread: Re: Urgent (in-game)! Replenishing when missing resources</title>
	<description>When we ran out of wood, we would use the 4x tiles.</description>
	<link>http://www.boardgamegeek.com/article/3651018#3651018</link>
	<pubDate>Sun, 05 Jul 2009 21:13:27 +0000</pubDate>
	<dc:creator>dmcallahan</dc:creator>
	<guid>http://www.boardgamegeek.com/article/3651018#3651018</guid>
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<item>
	<title>Thread: Re: Urgent (in-game)! Replenishing when missing resources</title>
	<description>use the 5x tokens - someone has to be hoarding</description>
	<link>http://www.boardgamegeek.com/article/3651013#3651013</link>
	<pubDate>Sun, 05 Jul 2009 21:11:16 +0000</pubDate>
	<dc:creator>Tatsu</dc:creator>
	<guid>http://www.boardgamegeek.com/article/3651013#3651013</guid>
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	<title>Image</title>
	<description>
		Detail of the new Wild West map&lt;br&gt;
		&lt;img src="http://images.boardgamegeek.com/images/pic510845_mt.jpg"&gt;
	</description>
	<link>http://www.boardgamegeek.com/image/510845</link>
	<pubDate>Mon, 06 Jul 2009 15:47:06 +0000</pubDate>
	<dc:creator>Haggis</dc:creator>
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<item>
	<title>Image</title>
	<description>
		Detail of the new Spring map&lt;br&gt;
		&lt;img src="http://images.boardgamegeek.com/images/pic510844_mt.jpg"&gt;
	</description>
	<link>http://www.boardgamegeek.com/image/510844</link>
	<pubDate>Mon, 06 Jul 2009 15:46:36 +0000</pubDate>
	<dc:creator>Haggis</dc:creator>
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<item>
	<title>Image</title>
	<description>
		Detail of the new Winter map&lt;br&gt;
		&lt;img src="http://images.boardgamegeek.com/images/pic510843_mt.jpg"&gt;
	</description>
	<link>http://www.boardgamegeek.com/image/510843</link>
	<pubDate>Mon, 06 Jul 2009 15:46:03 +0000</pubDate>
	<dc:creator>Haggis</dc:creator>
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<item>
	<title>Image</title>
	<description>
		Detail of the new Autumn map&lt;br&gt;
		&lt;img src="http://images.boardgamegeek.com/images/pic510841_mt.jpg"&gt;
	</description>
	<link>http://www.boardgamegeek.com/image/510841</link>
	<pubDate>Mon, 06 Jul 2009 15:45:28 +0000</pubDate>
	<dc:creator>Haggis</dc:creator>
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<item>
	<title>Image</title>
	<description>
		Detail of the new Mars map&lt;br&gt;
		&lt;img src="http://images.boardgamegeek.com/images/pic510839_mt.jpg"&gt;
	</description>
	<link>http://www.boardgamegeek.com/image/510839</link>
	<pubDate>Mon, 06 Jul 2009 15:44:53 +0000</pubDate>
	<dc:creator>Haggis</dc:creator>
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<item>
	<title>Image</title>
	<description>
		Detail of the new Mars map&lt;br&gt;
		&lt;img src="http://images.boardgamegeek.com/images/pic510838_mt.jpg"&gt;
	</description>
	<link>http://www.boardgamegeek.com/image/510838</link>
	<pubDate>Mon, 06 Jul 2009 15:44:23 +0000</pubDate>
	<dc:creator>Haggis</dc:creator>
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<item>
	<title>Image</title>
	<description>
		Agricola Korean edition by Korea Boardgames&lt;br&gt;
		&lt;img src="http://images.boardgamegeek.com/images/pic510750_mt.jpg"&gt;
	</description>
	<link>http://www.boardgamegeek.com/image/510750</link>
	<pubDate>Mon, 06 Jul 2009 13:07:02 +0000</pubDate>
	<dc:creator>itiswon</dc:creator>
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<item>
	<title>Image</title>
	<description>
		Once again, Seth makes a fool out of himself...&lt;br&gt;
		&lt;img src="http://images.boardgamegeek.com/images/pic509838_mt.jpg"&gt;
	</description>
	<link>http://www.boardgamegeek.com/image/509838</link>
	<pubDate>Sat, 04 Jul 2009 14:08:11 +0000</pubDate>
	<dc:creator>belyakoff</dc:creator>
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<item>
	<title>Image</title>
	<description>
		My very pregnant girlfriend expects a very bountifull harvest...&lt;br&gt;
		&lt;img src="http://images.boardgamegeek.com/images/pic509740_mt.jpg"&gt;
	</description>
	<link>http://www.boardgamegeek.com/image/509740</link>
	<pubDate>Sat, 04 Jul 2009 09:01:59 +0000</pubDate>
	<dc:creator>jtspecial</dc:creator>
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<item>
	<title>Image</title>
	<description>
		$3 (CDN) container from the craft section of Walmart. A bit more robust than some of the other Walmart containers posted here. Fits in the box, but the cards have to be placed on their side, which lifts the top a third of an inch.&lt;br&gt;
		&lt;img src="http://images.boardgamegeek.com/images/pic509576_mt.jpg"&gt;
	</description>
	<link>http://www.boardgamegeek.com/image/509576</link>
	<pubDate>Sat, 04 Jul 2009 01:22:40 +0000</pubDate>
	<dc:creator>Juomes</dc:creator>
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<item>
	<title>Image</title>
	<description>
		Our “Mayday pimped” custom storage 3 of 3, removable trays&lt;br&gt;
		&lt;img src="http://images.boardgamegeek.com/images/pic509500_mt.jpg"&gt;
	</description>
	<link>http://www.boardgamegeek.com/image/509500</link>
	<pubDate>Fri, 03 Jul 2009 21:59:33 +0000</pubDate>
	<dc:creator>Sungarden3</dc:creator>
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<item>
	<title>Image</title>
	<description>
		Our “Mayday pimped” custom storage 2 of 3, bottom layer &lt;br&gt;
		&lt;img src="http://images.boardgamegeek.com/images/pic509499_mt.jpg"&gt;
	</description>
	<link>http://www.boardgamegeek.com/image/509499</link>
	<pubDate>Fri, 03 Jul 2009 21:58:27 +0000</pubDate>
	<dc:creator>Sungarden3</dc:creator>
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<item>
	<title>Image</title>
	<description>
		Our “Mayday pimped” custom storage 1 of 3, top layer&lt;br&gt;
		&lt;img src="http://images.boardgamegeek.com/images/pic509497_mt.jpg"&gt;
	</description>
	<link>http://www.boardgamegeek.com/image/509497</link>
	<pubDate>Fri, 03 Jul 2009 21:57:35 +0000</pubDate>
	<dc:creator>Sungarden3</dc:creator>
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<item>
	<title>Image</title>
	<description>
		my blue &quot;family&quot;&lt;br&gt;
		&lt;img src="http://images.boardgamegeek.com/images/pic508674_mt.jpg"&gt;
	</description>
	<link>http://www.boardgamegeek.com/image/508674</link>
	<pubDate>Thu, 02 Jul 2009 17:48:31 +0000</pubDate>
	<dc:creator>cimsoc</dc:creator>
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<item>
	<title>Image</title>
	<description>
		My father takes one of his infamous long turns.&lt;br&gt;
		&lt;img src="http://images.boardgamegeek.com/images/pic508419_mt.jpg"&gt;
	</description>
	<link>http://www.boardgamegeek.com/image/508419</link>
	<pubDate>Thu, 02 Jul 2009 13:29:09 +0000</pubDate>
	<dc:creator>fangorrn</dc:creator>
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