Are you stuck trying to decide if you should buy the board game Agricola or Caverna?

You might be on a limited budget, or maybe you would rather buy two different board games for your money rather than two similar ones, regardless if they are both good.

We get that.

That’s why today we are going to help you decide which one is the right one for you.

When we first started researching these games, we spent lots of time reading comments on Reddit, Board Game Geek, and other sites to try and see which game was the one we should buy.

The internet was split on which was the game for us, so we went to a Board Game Café to try them out for ourselves.

We will preface this by saying we have played both (base) games, and really enjoyed each one. They are both great games, with fairly similar mechanics used in them…

In both games, you start with 2 workers/people/Meeples (and usually aim to get more), which you will have to feed every harvest. You also must gather ‘materials’ to help pay for improvements to your life/farm by placing your Meeples on the game board. Which, the number of places available for placing the Meeples grows every round. This is all done while simultaneously getting points for a variety of things, over a set number of rounds to the game.

Agricola - Image of the different components (Click to enlarge)

What we aim to achieve in this article is to lay out all the similarities and differences between Agricola vs Caverna so to help you decide for yourself, which is the game you, and your group, will enjoy the most. In some instances we will let you know our personal preference, but not always.

We will look at things like scoring, replay-ability, interaction, and many more, since some things will be very important to you and others, not so much.

Let’s get started… but first a quick comparison chart…

Number of Players

We’ll start off with the lowest hanging fruit, since this might make your choice easy. As you can see in the chart above.

Agricola –> 1 – 5 People

Caverna –> 1 – 7 People

Time of Game Play

Both these games have a similar playing time structure. What we mean by that, is that both games take 30 minutes PER player playing.

While Caverna can take longer overall based on more people being able to play, we also noticed that decision making seems to take longer near the end of Caverna vs Agricola, thus making it take longer… but that might just be our group.

Cost

The cost of these games can fluctuate over time, so we will only speak in relative terms here, but Agricola is generally cheaper than Caverna.

This is mainly due to the amount of components and number of players possible that Caverna has over Agricola.

Size/Space

Since we are talking about components, let’s also talk about the amount of space needed to play these games.

Caverna takes up much more space than Agricola. As mentioned, the former has a lot more components and ‘improvements’ to it than the latter.

When we played Caverna with 6 people, not only was a fairly large table full with all the game boards and components, we had to have side table with the extra tiles as well. This isn’t usually a problem for us, but depending on your situation, it is something to consider.

Setup of the Board Area

There are some similarities (the people placing areas aka Action Spaces), with the games setup, and some differences. The main difference is that Agricola has a Major Improvements board, where as, Caverna has a Supply Board. Both have a similar concept in that they are things you can buy in order to help you during the game, whether it’s making an action easier, or helping you accrue points.

Agricola Major Improvements Board (Click to enlarge)

Caverna Improvements Board (Click to enlarge)

Those have more of an effect on game play, which we will discuss in a bit.

The one difference we would like to note here is that Agricola has a board you can read that tells you how many points each item is worth, as well as a cheat sheet card that tells you what ‘action spaces’ are going to be available in upcoming rounds. For us, and for people who haven’t played before, this can be a big deal. Experienced players already have an advantage in this game, but this further increases it if they know what is coming.

Agricola Scoring Tab and Upcoming Spaces Tab (Click to enlarge)

Also, having this scoring board can really help to dictate your play in that each move becomes increasingly critical for gathering points as the game goes on.

Starting Position and Luck

In both games, all players start with the same amount of Meeples, game board (although different in each game), and the amount of food per player (in both games, the starting player has less food).

The difference between Agricola and Caverna is that Agricola has a more dynamic starting position and Caverna is static.

What this means is that in Agricola you are dealt some cards (Minor Improvements and Occupations), which are different for each character, and will strongly dictate your game play. Whereas, in Caverna, all players start down the same path and the game board will dictate your game play.

What does that mean for you? Well, there is a bit of luck involved in Agricola (especially since some experience players will tell you the cards are unbalanced and need some house rules… though we haven’t encountered this problem yet) but it also randomizes game play, which we will get into more next.

Game Play

Routes To Take

As mentioned, you get cards in Agricola which can strongly help you along the way. This means that Agricola will allow for a lot more randomization when you play, since you will likely have to follow a different path depending on what you are dealt.

There are games that will be more advantageous to be work a lot of fields for harvesting, or others that if may be cheaper to upgrade your home. In some games you and your opponents will be going for similar things, while in others, totally different things.

Agricola Player Board (Click to enlarge)

Caverna Examples of some upgrades (Click to enlarge)

In Caverna, however, there are no cards to dictate your actions Everyone has the same set of actions they can take, that is until another player places his people on your action (just like Agricola). What Caverna does differently than Agricola is it gives you a lot more options for what you can do with your Meeples.

So which is better? Impossible to answer, sorry. This comes down to personal preference…

One the one hand you have a more randomized game that forces you to take different paths every time you play (Agricola) making you think about how to maximize what you are given. Or, on the other hand, you have a game that gives you a bunch of options on what direction you can go, allowing you to try different things every time… or, conversely, get really good at one specific strategy (Caverna).

It might also be wise to think about who you will be playing with here. What do they normally do? What is more fun for your group? Do you each like to get good a one strategy and see who executes better this time around (Caverna), or do you like to see who can adapt the best (Agricola), or maybe everyone likes being exploratory with their gameplay (Either).

Harvest

One of the differences between Caverna vs Agricola is the timing of the harvests. In former they are random but in the latter they are set. Each has its benefits and its drawbacks (i.e. planning vs luck). They each work great to help keep the feel (a point we will discuss in a bit) of their respective games, but it is worth noting here.

Caverna - Harvest is on the green/grey tokens, but only randomly (Click to enlarge)

Feeding Your Meeples

Here is where you really start to see differences in the two board games.

In Agricola it is almost always strictly 1 item for 1 food, and sometimes this involves an additional step or action taken.

With Caverna, there are a lot more options for food, and usually there is more food available per item you are using.

What this means to you is that it changes the dynamic of the game. In Agricola you have to spend more energy feeding your people, while building your farm/collecting points is something extra that happens along the way. Whereas, Caverna, you focus more on getting points, while feeding your people along the way as a side job. Again, this is where the ‘feel’ of the game is different in each one…

The ‘Feel’ Of The Game

In Agricola it feels a lot tighter and limited in what you can, but it Caverna it is a lot looser and free in what you can do. You may think that latter sounds way better, but is it?!

Both games force you to feed your people at regular intervals, yet Agricola makes it a lot harder to do. You will constantly feel limited in what you can do because you are busy setting up your ‘Food Engine’.

At first we hated this feeling, but then we realized this makes the game feel more puzzle-like. It constantly makes you decide on which is the course of action you need to take in order to be ahead further down the road. It makes it feel more like a chess match in that you must be thinking ahead based on what is in front of you. Make the right choices and predict your opponent’s moves and you will come out ahead!

In Caverna, as mentioned, there are a lot more paths you can take, so you will have a lot more options every time you have to place you Meeple. This has the advantage that you aren’t as stressed about every decision and can adapt more easily next round.

Again, we can’t tell you which one is ‘better’ or you will like more, since that is personal preference, but keep these in mind when deciding.

Other Player Interaction

In these games you are usually only indirectly interacting with other players. When placing your Meeples on the game board, you might block someone from the space that they want to go on.

In Agricola, we found that this ‘blocking’ happens a lot more. It leads to a lot more bottle-necking along the way. Again, this refers to the fact that Agricola feels tighter. In Caverna, there is still ‘blocking’ that occurs, but there more openness and paths, so it feels more like a sandbox…. If you are playing with my toys here, then I’ll go play with some other toys over there.

Some people like this interaction/tightness/fighting, while others don’t. What’s your preference?

Agricola - Different Actions Spaces (Click to enlarge)

Specialization vs Diversification

Before we get into points and scoring, one last game play point that we will talk about is how you must build your settlement/take your actions in these games.

In many games, you find yourself specializing in one area in order to maximize the points you can get by the end of the game. This I true with both Agricola and Caverna, but rewards you more in Caverna.

In both board games, you will find yourself wanting a little bit of everything in order to get points. However, having too many of one item in Agricola doesn’t help you score any more points, whereas in Caverna it can.

Agricola encourages diversification, but Caverna encourages specialization. Let’s talk about how that translates into points next.

Points

There are a few items to touch on when it comes to the points in these games. Mainly the Point Cap, the Points for Different Items, and Amount of Points. We already touched on the fact that we like the Scoring Board that is available in Agricola.

Point Cap

In Agricola there is a hard cap on the number of points you can get per item, but Caverna doesn’t have these caps on the points. This has a huge effect on the game play (as noted above).

In Agricola each category caps out at 4 points, but you will want to get some of each item in order to avoid the negative points. Yet in Caverna, each item is worth a certain amount of points, if you have 10, you get 10 points, if you have 1 you get 1 point type of thing. Also in Caverna, you may acquire a tile that gives you a certain amount of points per item.

This is where your specialization comes in. You may get more points per item or acquire that item a lot easier so you will focus on it throughout the game.

It’s fun to try to chase a little bit of everything and maximize that item out where possible like in Agricola, but it’s also fun to try and dominate a category and rack up as many points as possible, like in Caverna.

Two different styles, both fun, and with different outcomes. Which do you think your group will enjoy doing more of?

Points For Different Items

In both these games, you have a number of items to get, however, in Agricola the amount of points you get for each item can vary.

For example: Cows are harder to get, but worth more points per cow than sheep.

How does this affect your decision? Well, it reinforces the fact that there is a deeper decision making process when it comes to action vs reward in Agricola than in Caverna.

With each decision in Agricola, you are limited (as opposed to the more open feel of Caverna), so you must be constantly figuring out what will help you the most in the near term (and long term). You won’t want to miss out on the available cow right now so it can breed (extra point) since an extra sheep breeding this round won’t get you an extra point (Agricola) vs I will get sheep this round and maybe cows or something else next round since they are worth the same (Caverna).

Amount of Points

In Agricola a good score is around 40 points, where in Caverna a good score is above 80 points. Again this will come back to the tightness of Agricola. Every decision is critical to amassing points at the end of the game. It’s almost like you are trying to stay alive/out of the negative points but getting extra points here and there along the way.

In Caverna, you are collecting points the whole time, but making sure to remember to feed your Meeples along the way.

A good way to summarize the points and feel of the games is:

Expansions

Both of these games have a number of expansions that can drastically change the game play of the game. This will not be a deciding factor in which game you chose, unless you really want to go through all that research first.

Use this point as more of a reassurance once you decide on a game. If there is something you don’t really like about the game, or maybe looking to change things up to keep it from getting stale… there are expansions available to cover your needs, so fret not.

New Players

The last point we will touch on is the new player aspect. If you are planning on playing these games with new players, know that both games have HUGE rule books and can be very overwhelming for new players.

It’s hard to determine which one is more new player friendly. Caverna is bigger, but has more paths to take for game play, while Agricola is smaller but more restrictive in game play. Each has its advantages, but if was to come down to ‘feel’, well Agricola feels a lot more stressful the whole time. This might discourage players from wanting to try it again since they didn’t like the stress.

A good way to counter this is to preface things before starting a game. Something like “this game is tough and you will feel like you are short of time and resources the whole time, but that’s the point. You make the best of what you have!” can go a long way.

Conclusion

Well, there you have it, a bunch of different things to consider when comparing Agricola vs Caverna. Not all the topics discussed will matter to you, but it is good to be mindful of them when making a decision. These are two different and unique games, though very similar. Is there room for both on your shelf? Yes, I believe so.

If money, space, and time were no issue to you, then by all means, buy both Agricola and Caverna. You will surely get enjoyment out of both! However, as is usually the case, you must pick one. We cannot definitively recommend one game over the other since a lot of it comes down to personal preference.

What we can do is give you all the information you need to ponder which one is the one for you. In our case, we started with Agricola, since it was cheaper, but quickly convinced someone in our friend circle to get Caverna so we have access to both.

If you’ve come this far, you are probably leaning towards one. Think back to what you thought while reading this article. Which game did you keep thinking to yourself “I think (insert game here) would be more my style”.

Good luck and let us know in the comments, which one you prefer and also if there is something you think we missed.