Our family stumbled upon modern board gaming during our country's strict COVID-19 lockdown. When we first started off, none of us would've predicted that a box with an unassuming name like "Fields of Green" would become our most-played title. "It's just a farm game," we all thought in unison.
So how'd it happen? What does Fields of Green do so well?
1) The THEME: Artipia Games couldn't have imagined what COVID-19 lockdown would feel like back when Fields of Green was designed in 2016. Our family had spent the better part of two years largely confined indoors. We didn't realize how much we enjoyed the great outdoors until going outside wasn't an option.
It's one thing to feel a longing for the countryside while living in the city. The city slicker who dreams of moving away to get a fresh start on a farm is a trope found across the decades, from old TV shows like "Green Acres" to contemporary video games like "Stardew Valley." Everyone's a sucker for the idyllic farm life, and Fields of Green certainly hits the spot if that's what you're looking for.
That said, COVID-19 brought with it a different feeling: suffocation. Under lockdown, no one could afford to daydream about our ideal lives; instead we found ourselves longing for our old USUAL lives, back when we took open spaces for granted. There's a fundamental vastness underlying Fields of Green's theme that we needed in our locked-down lives.
2) The ART: Most of the tile-laying card games we've played have represented rooms/locations from one of two perspectives: top-down maps (Carcassonne for example) or assorted portraits of scenes and characters (as seen in Forbidden Island and Among the Stars). Fields of Green instead presents its landscapes from an elevated (but not top-down) view that imagines the player gazing across the land from atop their farm's central water tower. (In modern terms, I'd call it a drone's-eye view.)
The imagery strongly resonates with the game's thematic vastness. The slightly-angled aerial view used in Fields of Green's tiles creates the illusion of a contiguous landscape. You don't feel like you're building an abstract tableau; you're building and expanding your farm's land.
It's a style that's lovely and saturated with charm. Talented artists were involved in this production and it shows, particularly in the expansion. I've seen the higher-resolution landscape images and they're fantastic. There are so many little details to discover on the cards if you take the time to look closely!
3) The GAMEPLAY: Fields of Green is the only engine-building game we've found with a spatial element to consider. The need for proximity to water sources or distance from conflicting features is intuitive, and many tiles' mechanics play off of this thematically. (For example: the Bison ranch produces more points the farther they're placed from your farm's crowded center. They need space!)
Engine builders often feel hollow in the sense that, at the end of the game, the theme falls away and your hand/tableau all feel like "just a bunch of cards." Fields of Green takes these abstractions and grounds them in a sense of real landed space.
It's been said elsewhere but is worth repeating here that Fields of Green plays just as well at two players as it does with groups. The shift from closed pick-and-pass drafting to open pool drafting is seamless and ups the competitive ante during two-player sessions. That we include Fields of Green among our favorite family games AND couple games is a testament to the nuts and bolts of the game's engine.
The EXPANSION: Grand Fair's "attraction" mini-boards span a wide range of weight and complexity. This allows us to switch between simpler attractions (when the kids are playing with us) and heavier mini-games (during couple games).
Our only complaint about Grand Fair is that the attractions were printed on relatively thin card stock rather than board material. We'd like to at least sleeve them, but they're of a nonstandard size that we've yet to find a fit for.
Since getting the base game and expansion, we've also acquired both Kickstarter packs and a handful of promotional cards. Every new set we've opened with the kids has felt like getting a bunch of miniature Christmas presents. Hearing our city-dwelling children squeal with delight over a new ostrich ranch or strawberry field that had arrived was one of the cutest things we've ever seen as parents.
In CONCLUSION: Think about about all the board games you've ever played. How many had a 1) theme, 2) art style AND 3) gameplay that all resonated in harmony? Achieving all three of these is what defines a good board game.
Fields of Green nails this trifecta while also bringing a unique spatial strategy to the engine-building genre for two players AND groups alike. That's what elevates FoG from a good game to a truly GREAT game — and definitely not "just a farm game."
| Model Number | 8026SG |
|---|---|
| Number of game players | 4 |
| Assembly Required | No |
| Batteries Required? | No |
| Batteries Included? | No |
| Color | Green |
| Manufacturer recommended age | 11 years and up |
| Item model number | 8026SG |
| Product Dimensions | 7.11 x 22.61 x 31.5 cm; 1 Kilograms |
| ASIN | B06VW4PC29 |
