Minecraft: Farmer’s Market Expansion by Ravensburger Games
Price: ~$20.00
Players: 1 to 4
Playtime: 30 to 60 minutes
Perfect for: Families who enjoy playful strategic movement games and fans of the video game franchise.
Minecraft: Farmer’s Market Expansion further develops the tabletop game of construction and mob slaying! Building upon Minecraft: Builders and Biomes (base game necessary for expansion), Farmer’s Market introduces a brand-new farm biome to the proceedings which players can construct to produce vegetables immediately and between rounds.
The acquisition of vegetables incorporates a new strategic pathway in Minecraft that can significantly alter gameplay. As a new action on their turn, players can now trade in grown vegetables (represented by yellow cubes) to the market for new abilities and powerups. At the start of the game, four items are available (with four more revealed at the end of each round) and it’s first-come, first-serve. For example, purchasing the minecart allows players to now up move to 3 spaces instead of two; acquiring the target gives that individual 2 points for each mob they still own at the end of the game; and the stonecutter reduces the building cost of future biomes by one block. Players must then be expedient to get the items they think would benefit them before their opponents, but also be efficient about vegetable-spending since the gardens fully replenish after round.
RELATED: Tabletop Game Review – Minecraft: Builders and Biomes
The addition of the farm biomes in Minecraft: Farmer’s Market Expansion works incredibly well to add both breadth and depth to already exceptionally clever game. In many base games, players tend to go all-in on one primary victory point strategy: bolster their inventory and slay mobs; or optimize their biome player board. With the Farmer’s Market Expansion, it is far easier (if not encouraged) to diversify one’s plan of attack to a more balanced gameplay style between the two routes to victory. The result is (somehow) an even more interesting, engaging, and entertaining experience—especially since market items are limited and there’s uncertainty if “better” options will come up later. This expansion makes Minecraft feel more robust and it’s likely that once people incorporate Farmer’s Market, players are unlikely to exclude it from future games.
This may seem a little too obvious, but really the only people who won’t enjoy the Farmer’s Market expansion are those who don’t really like Minecraft: Builders and Biomes to begin with (or like it just the way it is and fear change!). This expansion only enhances the base game—so it’s more an individual preference regarding its value proposition.
Minecraft: Farmer’s Market Expansion is a fantastic addition to the base game. The vegetable trading aspect and market add some exciting new variables into the mix that really liven up the gameplay. Highly recommended.
Recommended if you like: Minecraft: Builders and Biomes, In the Hall of the Mountain King, Tiny Towns
Final Grade: A+
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