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Minecraft Builders and Biomes Farmer’s Market Expansion is (surprise surprise) an expansion for the Minecraft Builders and Biomes board game. If you don’t own the original game, you will need to purchase a copy to be able to play this expansion.
I’m just going to give a brief overview of the main game Minecraft Builders and Biomes in case you’ve come to this section considering buying both the original game and expansion at once. If you are fully informed about the base game, please feel free to skip to the ‘To Market’ section.
The Original Game
In Minecraft Builders and Biomes, you play over 3 rounds. Each player has an individual player board where you place your collected tiles in order to score points at the end of each round. This is based on the sets of symbols you have. Each tile has different symbols and only one is applicable in each round. You may collect a tile to help with your set collecting for the next round even though it will not score you points this round or focus on maxing out your points in the current round.
I enjoy this element as it means you are changing tactics each round. This means that even if someone scores highly in one round, they will not necessarily score highly in the next round. It gives all players a chance without the feeling that there is no way to catch up early on in the game.
The Block Tower
There is a communal cube-shaped block tower that players take resource blocks from throughout the game. The rounds come to an end when each level of the block tower is emptied. This is a fun countdown timer and very visually effective and on-brand with the computer game, on which this is based. The different colour blocks are different resources (emerald, wood, sand, obsidian, and stone).
There is also a communal play area, consisting of stacks of tiles in a 4x4 grid with weapon cards placed around the edges. When flipped over, the tiles all have different costs so the tiles you are looking to acquire will determine which resource blocks you are taking from the cube.
Each turn you can take 2 actions. Action choices are: take 2 resources from the cube, purchase a tile, move and turn tiles, fight a mob or collect a weapon.
Fighting mobs is a great way to add additional points to your score and many come with extra benefits like extra action too. To have the best chance of defeating these mobs you need to acquire better weapons (like the diamond sword) as the basic weapons each player starts with include 3 rotten potatoes which can ruin your chance of winning a battle if drawn!
At the end of each round, you score your player board according to that round card and then proceed to the next round.
To Market
Minecraft Farmer’s Market Expansion adds the element of a market board. On the board are various items available for purchase by the players throughout the game. A new row of items is revealed at the beginning of each new round, with the cost and benefits increase as you go. The items either have benefits that help you out throughout the game or at the game end increase your score. For example, take the Minecart with chest and whenever you execute the ‘collect blocks’ action you take 3 blocks instead of 2. Take the target and at game end scoring you will receive 2 points per Mob you have defeated.
How Do You Pay For These New Items?
The answer is clearly with vegetables! Each player now starts with a farm tile at the beginning of the game which gives them 2 vegetables per round. Additional farm tiles are shuffled into the communal tile grid and can be purchased by players with resource blocks like any other tile. When you purchase a farm tile you receive 1 or 2 vegetables (depending on the spaces on that tile) and these will regrow at the beginning of each round just like your original farm tile.
Spending your vegetables wisely on items that will help your gameplay becomes an important part of the play. Purchasing from the market is now another choice when it comes to taking your actions.
The Farmer’s Market Expansion also comes with some new skins for you to choose from as playing pieces. These add no change to the gameplay but the kids seemed to very much enjoy the extra choices.
Overall Thoughts
If you enjoy playing the base game, then I would definitely recommend adding the expansion to your collection. It isn’t a huge expansion where gameplay alters significantly from the original, but I think that’s a good thing. The original game is perfectly aimed at kids who love Minecraft and has covered the main elements of the computer game except for items. The farmer’s market adds the element of items into the game which added a lot of excitement for the kids.
I do wish some of the components were better quality and the box from the original could do with some sort of insert because it’s chaos in there! The player boards from the original and the new market ‘board’ are actually just glossy paper which may tear over time.
I love how much the kids love playing this game and it gets them off the computer! Bringing their favourite computer game to life has helped me understand what they are doing more and sparked lovely conversations about how you find emeralds/what their favourite items are/how fun it is to fight mobs etc.
From an adult’s perspective, it’s very refreshing to play an enjoyable kid’s game (I can’t wait until they let me give away snakes and ladders!). It isn’t a game I’d reach for without playing with young Minecraft enthusiasts, but I find it a thoroughly enjoyable way to spend a Sunday afternoon playing with family and friends. You also don’t need to know anything about Minecraft to be able to pick up how to play. This is not simply a themed Minecraft game. This is an original game and real thought has gone into it by the creators. I am very glad we own both the original game and The Farmer’s Market Expansion.
